9.2: The Rise of Dictatorial Regimes Understand the causes and consequences of the Russian Revolution, including Lenin's use of totalitarian means to seize and maintain control (e.g., the Gulag).

The Rise of Dictators  By 1939 only two countries were democratic (France and Great Britain)  Italy, Germany, the Soviet Union and many others adopted dictatorial regime.  Fascism was a new kind of dictatorship, the modern totalitarian state.  Totalitarian state is a government that aims to control the political, economic, social, intellectual and cultural lives of its citizens.

 Totalitarian states wanted complete obedience – they achieved this goal through mass propaganda and high speed modern communication – newspapers, radio and film.  Totalitarian governments were ruled by a single party and a single leader.  They rejected limited government and individual rights.  Instead, it was the state above the individual.

Fascism in Italy  Benito Mussolini established the first European Fascist movement in Italy.  Fascism glorifies the state above the individual by emphasizing a strong central government led by a dictatorial regime.  People are controlled by the government and all opposition is suppressed.

 Rise of Fascism  Fascism arose from the severe economic problems after WWI.  The middle class began to fear a communist take over and Mussolini emerged with his blackshirts to save the day.  The middle class feared socialism, communism and disorder - so Fascism seemed more attractive.  Mussolini was also aware that the Italian people were angry over the peace settlements and demanded more land for Italy

 Mussolini used nationalism to gain power – he threatened to march on Rome if his party was not given power.  Mussolini was made prime minister.  He used his power to create a fascist dictatorship  He passed laws that would ban any critic of the government, Catholic Church, or the monarchy.

 Mussolini also gave the police unrestricted power to arrest anyone for any reason – OVRA, secret police.  The Fascist also worked through youth groups to promote their ideas.  Mussolini never achieved the kind of control that Hitler did in Germany  He also recognized the sovereignty of the Vatican as its own country.

New Era in the Soviet Union  During the Civil War, Russia practiced war communism – the government had control of the economy  Once the war was over, the peasants wanted more and begin to sabotage the communist.  Lenin’s New Economic Policy  NEP – peasants were allowed to sell their produce in the open market. Smaller industries could be privately owned  Heavy industry, banking and mining remained in the hands of the government.

 In 1922 Lenin and the Communists formally formed the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) or just Soviet Union.  The NEP saved the Soviet Union, but it wasn’t intended to be a long term solution.  The Rise of Stalin  The Politiburo – the committee that made Soviet policy was divided after Lenin died.  One group, led by Leon Trotsky, wanted to end the NEP and launch Russia on a path of rapid industrialization on the backs of the peasants

 Trotsky also wanted to expand communism around the world.  The other group, led by Joseph Stalin, believed that rapid industrialization was too radical and it would hurt the peasants.  They wanted to focus on building a socialist state at home and continue the NEP  Stalin used his position as secretary general, to gain complete control over the communist party.

 Stalin was able to eliminate anyone that stood in his way.  Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party, he fled to Mexico, and was later killed.  Five Year Plans  Stalin’s Five Year Plan replaced the NEP in order to transform the Soviet Union from an agricultural state to an industrial state.

 The First Five-Year Plan emphasized the production of armaments and heavy goods – machines that are made to produce other goods.  The social and political cost of industrialization were enormous  The living conditions for the poor in the cities were pitiful.  To keep the workers content, the government propaganda exclaimed that sacrifice was needed to create a socialist state.

 With rapid industrialization also came collectivization – a system in which private farms came under the control of the state.  Peasants resisted by killing their livestock and hoarding crops – Stalin just increased their efforts – roughly 26 million farms were collectivized into 250,000 units.  Cost of Stalin’s programs  10 million peasants died of famine between

 Stalin was also able to remove all of his opponents.  An estimated 8 million Russians were arrested, millions were sent to forced labor camps in Siberia. Others were executed  He also overturned much of the legislation that was passed in the 1920s.  He made divorce more difficult – the family was a collective, parents were to teach their kids the value of hard work and duty.

Authoritarian States in the West  Eastern Europe  Parliamentary systems failed in eastern Europe  Most of these countries had no experience with democracy  Their population were also largely rural and uneducated TotalitarianAuthoritarian 1.Create a new kind of mass society 1.Preserving the existing social order

 Large landowners still dominated the social and political systems  Eastern European states were made up of multiple ethnic groups who were at odds with each other and wanted their own nations.  Powerful landowners, the church, and middle class feared land reform, communism, and ethnic conflict – that’s why they supported Authoritarian governments.

 Spain  Francisco Franco led a revolt against the democratic government in 1936 – civil war began.  Foreign intervention complicated the war.  The Soviet Union aided with 40,000 men along with trucks, planes, tanks, and military advisors.  The Fascist aided Franco with arms, money and men.

 Hitler used the civil war to test out his new weapons – Guernica.  Franco captured Madrid and established a dictatorship favoring large landowners, business people, and the clergy.  Because it favored traditional groups and it did not try to control every aspect of people’s lives – authoritarian.