1. The Interwar Years & The Rise of Totalitarian Dictators
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2. Text
Important changes took place in the 20 years between the two world wars ( )

3. What was Europe like after World War I ?

4. Title
Russia was destroyed after WWI & a three-year civil war that led to communism & the formation of the Soviet Union
Many European nations were destroyed & bankrupted by years of fighting along the Western Front
Text
Italians were angry when they did not receive land along the Adriatic Coast
Important changes took place in the 20 years between the two world wars ( )
The harshness of the Treaty of Versailles created bitterness in Germany who were unable to pay reparations
In Europe, the war led to a sense of bitterness & pessimism among nations

5. What were some new ideas in the post-war era?
The horrors of World War I changed people’s attitudes about progress
After the war, people started questioning traditional beliefs
The horrors of World War I shattered the Enlightenment belief that progress would continue and reason would prevail. In the postwar period, people began questioning traditional beliefs
What were some new ideas in the post-war era?

6. Austrian-born Sigmund Freud revolutionized psychology; He believed the mind has conscious & subconscious thoughts that affect peoples’ behavior

7. German-born Albert Einstein revolutionized physics; His theories on light, relativity, & energy disproved many of Isaac Newton’s discoveries from the 1600s

8. New abstract art like Pablo Picasso’s cubism (using geometric shapes) & Salvador Dali’s surrealism (dream-like art) reacted against tradition art forms

9. What was America like after World War I ?

10. The USA was the wealthiest nation in the world & a major world power that created (but never joined) the League of Nations
Japan gained wealth by selling supplies to the Allies & increased its position as the strongest nation in Asia
While European nations struggled to rebuild & pay for the war, some world nations benefited from WWI

11. After WWI, the United States entered the Roaring Twenties
Mass production in factories led to new consumer goods & high wages for workers
Automobiles became inexpensive & popular…

12. …Americans enjoyed themselves at movies, sporting events, & jazz clubs
Electric appliances & radios were popular…

13. The USA used its wealth to help European nations repay their debts & rebuild after the war

14. What changed in America in the 1930s?

15. The Roaring Twenties came to an end in 1929 when the stock market crash, bank failures, & high unemployment led to a Great Depression

16. The depression led to a sharp rise in unemployment in Europe
The depression in America triggered a world-wide depression in the 1930s when international trade declined & U.S. investment in Europe ended
The depression led to a sharp rise in unemployment in Europe

17. Why did powerful dictators come to power in Europe in the 1920s & 1930s?

18. Unemployment in Germany reached 30%
In Germany, the situation grew desperate by the 1930s & the Weimar gov’t became more unpopular
The Weimar republic was already unpopular because gov’t leaders signed the Treaty of Versailles
Like Germany, Italians felt betrayed by the treaty, had a suffering economy, & saw its unemployment rise
Unemployment in Germany reached 30%
To pay war reparations & rebuild the country, the gov’t printed money which led to hyper-inflation

19. These dictators played an important role in causing World War II
Due to the economic depression, bitterness, & desperation, powerful dictators will seize power in Germany & Italy
These dictators played an important role in causing World War II

20. After WWI, many nations were struggling to rebuild
A global depression in the 1930s led to high unemployment & a sense of desperation in Europe
The Treaty of Versailles created bitterness among many nations

21. In this climate of postwar uncertainty, nationalism increased & citizens turned to totalitarian dictators to rule the nation

22. Totalitarian leaders are dictators who control all aspects of the government & the lives of the citizens
Totalitarian leaders gained support by promising jobs, promoting nationalism, & using propaganda
Dictators held on to their power by using censorship, secret police, denying liberties, & eliminating opposing rivals or political parties

23. He used a secret police & the Great Purge to eliminate rivals
Among the first totalitarian dictators was Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union
Stalin was Communist & seized all property, farms, factories in order to control the economy & create equality
He used a secret police & the Great Purge to eliminate rivals

24. Stalin’s Five Year Plans & collective farms improved the Soviet Union’s industrial & agricultural output

25. Not all totalitarian dictators were Communists
In Italy, Germany, & Spain, people turned to an extremely nationalist gov’t called fascism
Fascist gov’ts were controlled by dictators who demanded loyalty from citizens
Fascists did not offer democracy & used one-party to rule the nation
Unlike Communists, fascists believed people could keep their property

26. Totalitarian Regimes in Europe & Asia
Mussolini & Hitler believed in fascism: the idea that nations need strong dictators, total authority by one party, but that people can keep private property
Stalin was a Communist believed that the government should control all property & business
In some ways, fascism was similar to communism. Both systems were ruled
by dictators who allowed only their own political party (one-party rule). Both
denied individual rights. In both, the state was supreme. Neither practiced any
kind of democracy. However, unlike Communists, Fascists did not seek a classless
society. Rather, they believed that each class had its place and function. In
most cases, Fascist parties were made up of aristocrats and industrialists, war veterans, and the lower middle class. Also, Fascists were nationalists, and
Communists were internationalists, hoping to unite workers worldwide.

27. In Italy, Benito Mussolini formed the Fascist Party
Mussolini gained popularity by promising to revive the economy, rebuild the military, & expand Italy to create a new Roman Empire
Mussolini named his Fascist Party after the fasces, a Roman symbol of authority & power

28. Mussolini created the Blackshirts (a secret police force) to enforce the goals of his Fascist Party

29. By 1922, Mussolini was popular enough to lead a “March on Rome” & forced the Italian king to name him prime minister

30. As prime minister, Benito Mussolini was known as “Il Duce” (the chief)
Mussolini ended democracy & all opposition parties
Mussolini built up the military to create new jobs
He planned to conquer new territories in Africa for Italy

31. The Nazis created their own militia called the Brown Shirts
The Nazis were a fascist group in Germany that wanted to overthrow the disloyal Weimar Republic
Adolf Hitler was an early Nazi recruit & quickly rose to power in the party
The Nazis created their own militia called the Brown Shirts
Hitler planned a march on Munich but he was arrested & jailed for 9 months
Hitler was impressed by Mussolini & used many of his ideas to make the Nazi Party strong in Germany

32. While in jail, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf which outlined his plans for Germany
He wrote that Germans were members of a master race called Aryans & all non-Aryans were inferior
He declared that Germans needed lebensraum (living space) & should conquer Eastern Europe & Russia
While in jail, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My
Struggle). This book set forth his beliefs and his goals for Germany. Hitler asserted that the Germans, whom he incorrectly called “Aryans,” were a “master race.” He declared that non-Aryan “races,” such as Jews, Slavs, and Gypsies, were inferior. He called the Versailles Treaty an outrage and vowed to regain German lands. Hitler also declared that Germany was overcrowded and needed more lebensraum, or living space. He promised to get that space by conquering eastern Europe and Russia.
He called the Versailles Treaty an outrage & vowed to regain land taken from Germany after the war

33. In 1933, Hitler was named chancellor (prime minister) of Germany
When Hitler was released from jail in 1924, he spent years organizing the Nazis into Germany’s most powerful political party
In 1933, Hitler was named chancellor (prime minister) of Germany
As chancellor, Hitler used his power to name himself dictator
He called his gov’t the Third Reich to promote pride & nationalism

34. Hitler put Germans to work by building factories, highways, weapons, & increasing the military
He created the gov’t protection squad called the SS and a secret police called the Gestapo to eliminate rivals & control all aspects of Germany

35. In 1935, Hitler began a series of anti-Semitic laws called the Nuremburg Laws that deprived German Jews of the rights of citizens, forbade mixed Jewish marriages, & required Jews to wear a yellow star
In 1938, Hitler ordered Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass), a series of attacks on Jewish synagogues & businesses

36. After WWI, Japan was the strongest nation in Asia & was ready to conquer new lands to provide resources for Japanese industry
Emperor Hirohito, gave full control of the Japanese military to Hideki Tojo who served as a military dictator

37. Italy invaded Ethiopia & Albania
In the 1930s, Japan, Italy, & Germany began aggressively expanding into new territories… these actions caused World War II in 1939
Italy invaded Ethiopia & Albania
Japan invaded Manchuria, northern China; invaded Indochina & the East Indies

38. Germany annexed Austria & Czechoslovakia

39. Continued Acts of Aggression
As these totalitarian dictators continued to annex and invade land – other European nations (most notably Britain) practiced APPEASEMENT
Eventually – the invasion of Poland leads to the rest of Europe declaring war.