World Leaders and Dictators Mr. White’s US 2 History Class

Failures of the Treaty of Versailles When World War I ended, the victors had made Germany sign Treaty of Versailles Blamed Germany for the war Germany had to pay war reparations Germany wasn’t allowed to have much of an army Questions to consider: How would Germans in general feel?

Germans Unhappy! Germans felt Treaty of Versailles was too harsh on them Many felt that Germany hadn’t been defeated; armies hadn’t surrendered War reparations, effects of the Depression, and runaway inflation put German economy in ruins

Josef Stalin and the Soviet Union Soviet Union was a communist country Stalin came to power after Lenin, founder of Soviet Union Wanted to make Soviet Union into an industrial power

Josef Stalin’s Purges Stalin used “5-year plans” to advance the country toward an industrial power Used secret police to purge country of people he felt were not loyal to him Over 1.2 million of Stalin’s own people were imprisoned and killed in these purges

Communist Soviet Union Communism – government controls all property and production (factories, farms, everything) Evenly distribute property Highly restricted personal freedoms

Benito Mussolini Benito Mussolini takes power as dictator in Italy Charismatic leader Wanted to bring back days of Roman empire for Italy

Fascist Italy Fascism was a system of government that emphasized the glory of the nation over the rights of the individual Extremely nationalist Private property was strongly controlled by the government Expand using the military Anticommunist

Adolf Hitler Young artist from Austria; wanted to be a painter Fought during World War I; was gassed in the trenches Joined Nazi party in Germany Was imprisoned after joining the party; wrote Mein Kampf, “My Struggle,” explaining the basic beliefs of Nazism

Hitler’s Rise to Power As Nazi leader, quickly gained support of the people Powerful and charismatic speaker Believed German people were part of a master race that should rule the world Was elected Chancellor of Germany by the German people

Nazi Germany “Aryan” race was master race Germans needed “lebensraum” or living space Would expand by military force, if necessary Strong support by the people (why?)

Imperial Japan Japan had been modernizing for several decades, since mid-1800s Country was taken over by military Hideki Tojo (left) became prime minister, head of the government

Japanese Expansion Japan wanted to expand over the Pacific Ocean and eastern Asia (China, Korea, Vietnam) Would use their military power to take over islands in the Pacific and land in Asia

United Kingdom United Kingdom was a democratic country with a capitalist economy Run by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain Was very wary of Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin

Big Questions Why did the people of Germany and Italy allow these dictators to rise to power? Evaluate the United States’ decision to remain neutral with all these dictators running around. Should the United States have stepped in to help stop these dictators, or was this not their fight?