Analysing key concepts..
How totalitarian was
Mussolini’s Italy
Key traits of
totalitarianism
 State control of individuals
 Ideology
 Dynamic leader
 Methods of enforcement
 Modern technology
 State control of Society
 Dictatorship and One – Party Rule
George Orwell “1984”
 George Orwell illustrated the horrors of a totalitarian
government in his novel, 1984
 Personal freedom and privacy vanished
 World made possible through technology
Totalitarian leaders of the
th
20 century
 Adolf Hitler (Germany) 1933-45
 Benito Mussolini (Italy) 1925-1943
 Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union) 1929-1953
 Kim IL Sung (North Korea) 1948-1994
 Saddam Hussein (Iraq) 1979-2003
Totalitarianism Today
 There are many authoritarian regimes in the world but
there are very few (thankfully) actual totalitarian
governments.
 In 2000 one agency identified 5 totalitarian regimes
 Afghanistan
 Cuba
 North Korea
 Iran
 Sudan
 Myanmar
 Libya
Characteristics of Fascism
Basic principles
State more important
than individual;
charismatic leader;
Social
Supported by middle
class, industrialists
and military
Cultural
Censorship;
indoctrination
Secret police
Political
Nationalist, racist,
one party rule,
supreme leader
Economic
All controlled by
state corporations or
state
Questions?????
 1.How does a totalitarian state attempt to make citizens
obey its rules? (synthesizing)
 2. How would your life change if you lived in a
totalitarian state? (hypothesizing)
 3. Which political, cultural and economic characteristics
helped make fascism an authoritarian system?
 4. What characteristics of fascism make it appealing
during times of crisis?
Make a documentary movie on life in
a totalitarian state
Choose from:
Afghanistan
Cuba
North Korea
Laos
Vietnam
Imagine you are a journalist writing an article on life in a totalitarian state
What would it look like?
Create a 6-10 minute video on a sneak show of life in……..
To show reflections from a social, political and economic perspective
What aspects of totalitarianism are described in the documentary