The Rise of Dictators Chap. 14 Sect. 1

Democracy Challenged in Europe Dictator - politics a leader who rules a country with absolute power, usually by force. Totalitarian Government – Government that tries to exert complete control over its citizens.

USSR After the revolution in Russia, the communist came to power. When Communist leader, V. Lenin died in 1924, Joseph Stalin took control of the country. Stalin hoped to transform the Soviet Union and make it a model of communism. He ruled with an iron fist.

Italy After WWI, Italy was very unstable. There were fears of the communist trying to take power and an economic crisis. Benito Mussolini formed an ultra-nationalist party in 1921 called the Fascist Party. Mussolini marched on Rome in 1922 and was made the head of government – “IL Duce”

Germany After WWI, German was a broken country. The economy was ruined, inflation was out of control, and the German people were angry. They blamed the Treaty of Versailles and the government that signed the treaty. There were many radical political parties trying to gain support. One is the National Socialist Workers Party or Nazi Party. The Nazi party was not Socialist.

Rise of Hitler In this turbulent time, a charismatic leader joined the Nazi party. He told them German people that their troubles were not their fault. He promised to put people to work, fix the economy, avenge the loss of WWI, and lead Germany back to greatness.

Hitler and Nazism Hitler wrote “Mien Kampf” when he was in jail. In it, he laid out his basic beliefs and goals. He was very nationalist and wanted to unite all German speaking people into a great German empire. He wanted to enforce racial purification to create a “master race” He wanted to secure more land for Germany. He called the “lebensraum” or elbow space. He predicted that his 3rd Reich would last 1000 years. It lasted closer to 13. Hitler and Nazism

Spain A Civil War breaks out in Spain in 1936. Fascist leader, Francisco Franco, lead a military revolt against the Spanish republic. Franco’s forces won out and he became the dictator in 1939.