Mr. White’s World History
 After
this section, we should be able to:
• Explain how fascism and Nazism grew in power
in Europe
• Explain how communist leaders worked to
control the USSR
Benito Mussolini and the Fascist party took power in Italy
following World War I.
 During World War
I, many governments
had adopted increased control over most
aspects of life to support the war effort
 After the war, many non-democratic
nations adopted this approach to
peacetime government, as well
 Totalitarian governments resulted, in
which the government sought to control
every aspect of its citizens lives
 Many
Italians were unhappy after World
War I
• Thought Italy had been cheated at the Paris
Peace Conference
• Heavy unemployment for returning soldiers,
strikes, peasants seized land
 The
Italian government wasn’t able to do
anything to relieve these problems
 In
1919, Benito Mussolini, a former
socialist, formed a new political party –
the Fasci di Combattimento (Fascist
party)
 Totalitarian government that supported:
•
•
•
•
Glorification of the state
Single-party system with strong ruler
Aggressive nationalism
Expand and increase glory through war, if
necessary
 Mussolini, as
head of the fascist party,
was able to use the unrest and discontent,
plus the violence of the fascist blackshirts,
to take power as prime minister
 1924 election – Blackshirts used
intimidation and beatings to make sure
people voted only for fascist candidates
 Mussolini and the fascists worked to end
democratic government in Italy
 Many
Italians opposed fascism –
Mussolini and the fascists responded by
saying that “the masses must obey.”
 Most Italians supported Mussolini
• Opposed communism and revolution
• Brought order to the nation
 Mussolini
rekindled feelings of
patriotism in Italians and spoke of a
future of renewed Italian power
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party took power in Germany.
 Germany
had adopted a democratic form
of government after the war known as the
Weimar Republic
 This government struggled with
Germany’s post-war problems and tried
to hold onto power
• In 1920, nationalist army officers tried to
overthrow the government; failed
German war reparations had been set at $35
billion – German government, in 1922, said it
couldn’t pay the reparations
 France sent troops into Germany and took over
coal mines and steel mills; German workers went
on strike
 To make the payments, the German government
began to print more money – inflation soared
 In the mid 1920s, Germany and France made an
agreement to decrease the payments – Germany
began to recover slightly

 Many
different political parties opposed the
Weimar government – among them was the
Nationalsozialistische Deutsche
Arbeiterpartei
 Adolf Hitler joined the Nazi party after
World War I, and formed the Sturmabteilung
(SA), or brownshirts, a paramilitary group of
young veterans and street thugs
 Hitler attempted to seize power in 1923, but
was arrested
 In
prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, a
book that outlined the basic beliefs of
Nazism
• Communists, Jews, and other groups were
responsible for Germany’s defeat in World War I
• Germans made up a master race that should rise
in power and expand
 Hitler
and the Nazis created a false
history behind why the Germans were a
master race
 After
Hitler got out of prison, he continued
his leadership of the Nazi party
• During the Great Depression, he promised to end
unemployment in Germany
• Also promised to restore Germany’s military power
 In
the early 1930s, the Nazis gained a large
number of seats in the Reichstag, Germany’s
law-making lower house
 In 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of
Germany
 Hitler
still didn’t have enough power to set
up a totalitarian government
 A week before new elections were to be
held, the Reichstag building burned to the
ground – Hitler blamed communists
 The SA forced German voters to back the
Nazis, who took many more seats in the
Reichstag
 After the elections, Hitler was granted
emergency powers to deal with the
“communist threat.”
 All
parties except the Nazi party were
banned
 Freedom of speech, press, religion, and
assembly were limited
 Nazi government took over factories and
production, also controlled churches
 1935
– Nazis passed the Nuremberg Laws,
taking away citizenship from Jews, banning
them from schools
 November 9 and 10th, 1938 – Nazis attacked
Jews on the streets and vandalized Jewish
property; Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei)
arrested Jews and political opponents, some
shot
 Jews and others were rounded up and sent
to concentration camps
 Now
with absolute power, Hitler adopted
the title, “der Fuhrer” – leader
 Set about to restore Germany’s power
• Ignored the Treaty of Versailles and ordered
German factories to begin building weapons,
ammunition, planes, tanks, etc.
• Stopped payments to the Allies
 To
glorify Nazism, the Nazis brought all art,
architecture, learning, etc., under the control
of the government – many of Germany’s
brightest minds left
 Propaganda praising the government
flooded the population
• Stressed the importance of devotion to the nation
 The
Nazis even set up youth organizations to
teach young children the beliefs of Nazism
(Hitlerjugend)
Lenin and Stalin worked to increase the power of the USSR, and
the power of the communist government.
 V.I. Lenin
had taken power in Russia as part
of the communist revolution
 Lenin brought all major industries under
state control, but early in his rule, allowed
some small industries to operate privately
 Russia changed its name to the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR
 In theory, the state was controlled by the
workers, but in reality, it was controlled by
the government and the Communist party
 Lenin
dies of a stroke; in 1922 Josef Stalin
takes over
 Stalin thought the USSR should
concentrate on growing strong, and that
this would encourage communist
revolutions in other nations
 Stalin was a capable administrator, and
was also paranoid, cold, and ruthless
 Stalin
wanted to transform the USSR into an
industrial power
 Announced Five Year Plans to reorganize
industrial and agricultural production under
government control
• Built heavy industry and collectivized farming at the
expense of consumer goods
 The
Five Year Plans and Stalin’s reign were
characterized by tight control and careful
planning – often inefficient and clumsy
 Stalin
brought farms under government
control; thought it would be more efficient
and would allow for a surplus
 He also used collectivization to intimidate
anti-Communist peasants
 Many collectivizations resulted in revolts by
the peasants; the government put down this
resistance and often sent these people to
prison camps or starved them into
submission
 Stalin
demanded complete obedience
from his people and used terror as a
government tool
 Used secret police to keep an eye on
people and their actions
 Stalin purged the government and
Communist party of elements that he
thought might be disloyal; extremely
paranoid