1. RISE OF DICTATORS

2. DICTATORS
Dictator - a leader who rules a country with absolute power, usually by force
Dictators are usually able to take power in countries that are suffering economically and socially
The conditions in The Soviet Union, Germany and Italy made it easy for these dictators to assume power

3. Joseph Stalin

5. Stalin’s Rise to Power
Stalin was imprisoned several times and sent to Siberia for spreading socialist ideas
Stalin became a follower of Lenin
He did not play a major role in the Bolshevik Revolution but in 1923 he became the the General Secretary of the Party
When Lenin died in 1924 there was a power struggle between Stalin and Trotsky, a brilliant Marxist thinker and speaker

6. Rise to Power cont.
Both had different views on the Future of Communism
Trotsky - worldwide revolution
Stalin - Build Socialism at home
Lenin had doubted Stalin; called him rude
Stalin isolated Trotsky and by 1929 he became an absolute dictator
Trotsky was forced to flee the country

7. The Five Year Plan
The aim was to build industry, improve transportation, and increase farm output
Command Economy - government officials controlled all economic decisions
Industry - USSR was successful with heavy industry but failed to produce competitive consumer goods ie clothing, cars and appliances

8. The Five Year Plan cont.
Stalin brought agriculture under government control
Forced peasants to work on collectives
Collective were large farms owned and operated by groups of peasants
They were allowed to keep their houses but all animals and machinery were turned over to the collective

10. Ukraine Famine
Peasants resisted the plan by killing farm animals, destroying tools and burning crops
The government responded with brutal force
Angry peasants often grew only enough food to feed themselves
Stalin responded by seizing the grain and leaving the peasants to starve
Famine spread across the USSR and over 8 million Ukrainians died
Over the years the situation did not improve much

11. The Great Purge
Stalin was always fearful of rival party members plotting against him
In 1934 he launched the Great Purge
In his reign of terror, Stalin and his Secret Police cracked down on old Bolsheviks
He then targeted generals, writers, industrial managers and ordinary citizens
They were charged with a wide variety of crimes, from plotting to overthrow Stalin to not meeting production quotas

12. Show Trials Stalin staged a series of “Show Trials”
They were public trials where people were forced to confess (often through torture and threats to family) to crimes against the Stalin regime
Many were executed publicly and other were sent to the Gulag - a series of forced labor camps throughout the USSR but mainly in Siberia
This increased Stalin’s power as old revolutionary member were replaced with young members loyal to Stalin and fearful of his wrath

13. Stalin
Cult of Personality - propaganda used by Stalin to make himself godlike
Much of the art depicting Stalin made him look strong and powerful
Religion was banned and replaced by communist icons like Lenin and Stalin

15. Benito Mussolini

16. What is Fascism?
It was a term used by Mussolini rooted in extreme nationalism
It glorified violence, discipline and blind loyalty to the state
It is anti-democratic and communist

17. Rise of Mussolini
After WWI Italy was a land of economic chaos and political corruption
Italian nationalists were upset that they were not allowed to expand their territories
People were inspired by the revolution in Russia
Peasants took land, workers went on strike and took over factories
Veterans faced unemployment
Trade declined and taxes rose
Gov’t split into warring factions

19. Rise of Mussolini He stepped in to remedy the crisis
He organized the veterans and other nationalists into the Fascist Party 1919
He was a fiery speaker
He promised to end corruption and return order
He also spoke of reviving Roman greatness

20. Rise in Power Mussolini organized The “Black Shirts”
They broke up socialist rallies, smashed leftist presses, and attacked collective farms
Many Italians were accepting of this because they had lost faith in the constitutional gov’t
In 1922 Mussolini organized a march on Rome to demand gov’t changes
Fearing a civil war, King Emanuel III asked Mussolini to form a gov’t as Prime Minister
By 1925 Mussolini assumed most of the power in Italy
Takes the title “Il Duce”

22. In Power Mussolini ran Italy like a dictatorship upheld by terror
Critics were thrown in prison, exiled or killed
Secret police and propaganda supported the regime
He preserved capitalism but much of the economy was under gov’t control
Workers suffered

23. Social Policies
In Fascist Italy the individual was only important as a member of the state
Men were urged to be warriors for Italy
Women were pushed out of the workforce and told to focus on being mothers
Children were molded to obey strict military discipline by Fascist youth groups

24. Mussolini At first he was received in both Italy and around the world
Once his policy changed toward foreign conquest other nations lost support of him
Italy’s failure in WWII and the fact that his people saw him as a pawn of Hitler lead to his demise
He was captured and publicly executed

26. ADOLF HITLER

27. Hitler’s Germany After WWI
The nation was in turmoil after the war
They lost land, the money was worthless, and the military destroyed
Hitler had served in the military during the war
In 1919 he joined the Nazi Party and became its leader in a year
1923 he tried to seize power; he failed and ended up in jail
While in jail he wrote Mein Kampf which became the Nazi’s book of goals and ideology

28. Rise of Hitler
Once out of jail he gained a loyal following of veterans and lower middle class Germans
He promised them jobs and that he would rearm the military
Hitler was elected as Chancellor of Germany in 1933; he was supported by conservatives that feared communism

29. Hitler’s Third Reich
He removed all socialist and communists, suspended civil rights and made Germany a single party state
He predicted his Third Reich would rule Germany for 1000 years
He created a totalitarian state
The Fuhrer’s rules were enforced by a brutal system of terror and repression
The SS troops were the main enforcers
The Gestapo - his secret police, removed all of his opposition

33. The Third Reich
To help Germany recover economically Hitler launched a huge public works campaign
He violated the Treaty of Versailles by rearming the nation but this created jobs
Capitalism was kept but big businesses and labor were brought under gov’t control

34. Society Under Hitler
Societal expectation under Hitler were very similar to Mussolini’s
Men were to be strong and fight for their country
Women were to produce as many “pure” children as possible; were rewarded
Children were trained to be loyal Germans and to destroy all enemies
Religion was despised and replaced with the Nazi racial creed

36. Hitler He was able to rebuild Germany in under 10 years
He tried to expand the German Empire
Nazi foreign aggression set the stage for WWII

38. Regimes Mussolini built a model for Hitler and Stalin
All three regimes were different but had several things in common
Single party dictatorship
Use of terror to enforce policy
Government control of the economy
Strict media censorship