1. Rise of totalitarianism and Pre-WWII Aggression
World History Final Exam Review

2. Totalitarianism

3. Characteristics of Totalitarianism
Police terror and violence - used to crush opposition and force obedience
Indoctrination - gets unconditional loyalty by glorifying the leader (works on kids!)
Propaganda - spreading biased information
Censorship - suppressing free speech and press
Religious or ethnic persecution - blame “enemies of the state” or create scapegoats

4. Stalin - Soviet Union Succeeded Lenin
Created a police state and eliminated threats in the Great Purge, making him responsible for the death of millions (mostly his own people)
Used propaganda, censorship, and indoctrination in schools to glorify communism and himself
Created a command economy and set up gov’t-owned collective farms
Five-Year Plans were aimed at increasing industrial production
WWII: Allies and part of Big Three
Major leader during Cold War

5. Mussolini - Italy Mussolini was known as Il Duce (the leader)
Founded the Fascist Party, which promoted extreme nationalism, denial of individual rights, and dictatorial one-party rule
His “black shirts” acted as his militia
Coerced King Victor Emmanuel III to step down and give him power legally
Joined the Axis Powers in WWII alongside Germany and Japan

6. Hitler - Germany
Wrote Mein Kampf in prison, outlining his major beliefs (Aryan race+, Versailles Treaty-, lebensraum+)
Rose to power largely due to Germany’s WWI loss and the depression
Led the Nazi party
Severely anti-Semitic and responsible for the Nuremberg laws and the Holocaust
Part of the Axis Powers
Blamed for starting WWII with his invasion of Poland and violation of both the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the Munich Conference

7. Aggression Leading to World War II

8. Aggressors Japan under Emperor Hirohito
Focused on creating a Pacific Empire in the Asian Pacific
Italy under Mussolini
Wanted to make gains in Africa
Germany under Hitler
Sought to gain territory in Europe, particularly in areas with people of German descent, and create a Third Reich (German Empire)
Basically, just think of the Axis Powers as the aggressors leading up to WWII

9. Acts of Aggression (Pre-WWII)
Japan’s invasion of Manchuria and eventually a good portion of China during the Chinese Civil War
Japan’s Rape of Nanking (Nanjing)
Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia
Germany’s violation of the Treaty of Versailles by building their military and taking the Rhineland back
Germany’s annexation of Austria (Anschluss)
Germany’s violation of the agreement at the Munich Conference by taking all of Czechoslovakia anyway

10. Attempts to Avoid War Kellogg-Briand Pact denounced war
League of Nations - meant to keep peace but had no ability to stop aggressors
Isolationism - US didn’t join the League and passed Neutrality Acts before WWII
Appeasement - Other allies gave in to the aggressors to avoid even bigger problems
Munich Conference: GB PM Chamberlain agreed to let Hitler take the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia if he promised that was all he would take — this backfires!