1. Aim: Could the Rise of Fascism Been Prevented?
Period 6: 1900 – Present
Disney, 1943
Der Fuehrer’s Face, featuring Donald Duck as a reluctant Nazi Factory Worker.

3. Totalitarianism and Fascism
A) After WWI, Russia, Germany, Italy, & Japan established Totalitarian rule.
- Response to costs of war and the Great Depression
B) Fascism (a form of totalitarianism) grew in Italy and Germany, and Japan. Fascism is a political ideology that advocates the glorification of the STATE.
Single-party system
One ruler
Aggressive Nationalism
State has absolute authority
It opposed communism; believed that having a property-owning class and a worker class would maintain a stable and healthy economy.

4. Compare and contrast Fascism and Communism in a Venn Diagram.

5. Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seus
On the far-away island of Sala-ma-Sond, Yertle the Turtle was king of the pond. A nice little pond. It was clean. It was neat. The water was warm. There was plenty to eat. The turtles had everything turtles might need. And they were all happy. Quite happy indeed. They were... until Yertle, the king of them all, Decided the kingdom he ruled was too small. "I'm ruler", said Yertle, "of all that I see. But I don't see enough. That's the trouble with me. With this stone for a throne, I look down on my pond But I cannot look down on the places beyond. This throne that I sit on is too, too low down. It ought to be higher!" he said with a frown. "If I could sit high, how much greater I'd be! What a king! I'd be ruler of all that I see!“ And all through the morning, he sat up there high Saying over and over, "A great king am I!" Until 'long about noon. Then he heard a faint sigh. "What's that?" snapped the king So Yertle, the Turtle King, lifted his hand And Yertle, the Turtle King, gave a command. He ordered nine turtles to swim to his stone
And, using these turtles, he built a new throne.
He made each turtle stand on another one's back
And he piled them all up in a nine-turtle stack.
And then Yertle climbed up. He sat down on the pile.
What a wonderful view! He could see 'most a mile!
"All mine!" Yertle cried. "Oh, the things I now rule!
I'm the king of a cow! And I'm the king of a mule!
I'm the king of a house! And, what's more, beyond that
I'm the king of a blueberry bush and a cat!
I'm Yertle the Turtle! Oh, marvelous me!
For I am the ruler of all that I see!"
And he looked down the stack.
And he saw, at the bottom, a turtle named Mack.
Just a part of his throne. And this plain little turtle
Looked up and he said, "Beg your pardon, King Yertle.
I've pains in my back and my shoulders and knees.
How long must we stand here, Your Majesty, please?"
"SILENCE!" the King of the Turtles barked back.
"I'm king, and you're only a turtle named Mack.“
"You stay in your place while I sit here and rule.
I'm the king of a house! And a bush! And a cat!
But that isn't all. I'll do better than that!

6. My throne shall be higher!" his royal voice thundered,
"So pile up more turtles! I want 'bout two hundred!"
"Turtles! More turtles!" he bellowed and brayed.
And the turtles 'way down in the pond were afraid.
They trembled. They shook. But they came. They obeyed.
>From all over the pond, they came swimming by dozens.
Whole families of turtles, with uncles and cousins.
And all of them stepped on the head of poor Mack.
One after another, they climbed up the stack.
Then Yertle the Turtle was perched up so high,
He could see forty miles from his throne in the sky!
"Hooray!" shouted Yertle. "I'm the king of the trees!
I'm king of the birds! And I'm king of the bees!
I'm king of the butterflies! King of the air!
Ah, me! What a throne! What a wonderful chair!
I'm Yertle the Turtle! Oh, marvelous me!
For I am the ruler of all that I see!"
Then again, from below, in the great heavy stack,
Came a groan from that plain little turtle named Mack.
"Your Majesty, please... I don't like to complain,
But down here below, we are feeling great pain.
I know, up on top you are seeing great sights,
But down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.
We turtles can't stand it. Our shells will all crack!
Besides, we need food. We are starving!" groaned Mack.
"You hush up your mouth!" howled the mighty King Yertle.
"You've no right to talk to the world's highest turtle.
I rule from the clouds! Over land! Over sea!
There's nothing, no, NOTHING, that's higher than me!"
But, while he was shouting, he saw with surprise
That the moon of the evening was starting to rise
Up over his head in the darkening skies.
"What's THAT?" snorted Yertle. "Say, what IS that thing
That dares to be higher than Yertle the King?
I shall not allow it! I'll go higher still!
I'll build my throne higher! I can and I will!
I'll call some more turtles. I'll stack 'em to heaven!
I need 'bout five thousand, six hundred and seven!"
But, as Yertle, the Turtle King, lifted his hand
And started to order and give the command,
That plain little turtle below in the stack,
That plain little turtle whose name was just Mack,
Decided he'd taken enough. And he had.
And that plain little lad got a bit mad.
And that plain little Mack did a plain little thing. He burped!
And his burp shook the throne of the king!
And Yertle the Turtle, the king of the trees,
The king of the air and the birds and the bees,
The king of a house and a cow and a mule...
Well, that was the end of the Turtle King's rule!
For Yertle, the King of all Sala-ma-Sond,
Fell off his high throne and fell Plunk! in the pond!
And to say the great Yertle, that Marvelous he,
Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see.
And the turtles, of course... all the turtles are free
As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.

7. Yertle the Turtle Discussion Questions
1. What does the author mean by “turtles are free as turtles and, maybe all creatures should be”?
2. Who is the king of the pond at the end of the story? How can you tell?
3. Why doesn’t the author tell us the names of the other turtles?
4. Why do you think all that he ruled was never enough for Yertle the Turtle?
5. Who do you think Yertle is in The Rise of Dictators and World War II?
Who do you think Mack is in The Rise of Dictators and World War II?

9. Fascism in Japan
A) Japan had fought with the allies in WWI, but its imperialist ambitions grew afterward. B) In the 1930s, Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) was opposed by Mao Zedong’s Communists (CCP); this lead to civil war in In 1931, Japan used this moment to invade Manchuria. C) Japan seized Manchuria in 1931 to obtain raw materials for weapons production. When The League of Nations asked Japan to leave Manchuria, Japan instead left the League in D) Prime Minister Tsuyoshi’s assassination May 15, 1932 by radicals in the Imperial Japanese Navy marked the end of civilian control of Japan until the end of WWII.

10. Fascism in Italy
A) Benito Mussolini (1883 – 1945) was an Italian WWI vet and publisher of Socialist newspapers. He established the Fasci di Combattimento ; it advocated Italian nationalism, had black shirts for uniforms, and used terrorism against its opponents. B) In Oct 1922, Mussolini led the Fascists on a march on Rome, and King Emmanuel III asked Mussolini to form a new government. Initially, Mussolini, appointed prime minister, cooperated with the Italian parliament, but aided by his brutal police force soon became the dictator of Italy January 1925.
“To make a people great it is necessary to send them to battle even if you have to kick them in the pants. That is what I shall do.” - Mussolini

11. The Italian-Ethiopian War (1935 – 1936)
Ethiopia was in 1934 one of the few independent states in a European-dominated Africa. Benito Mussolini invaded October 3, 1935 sending Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie into exile. This  African nationalist movements, and the religion of Rastafarianism.
“It is us today… it will be you tomorrow.” - Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie
Volunteers for the Ethiopian Army 1935

12. The Italian Invasion of Ethiopia
Rastafarianism is a religion begun by Marcus Garvey. It is named for Ras Tafari Makonnen, who was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia in Rastas avoid alcohol, and are vegetarian. They believe Jesus was black, and that Selassie is divine. Africa is seen as “heaven on earth”. – religionfacts.org
Bob Marley was a Rasta!

13. Fascism in Germany
A) Adolf Hitler (1889 – 1945) was born in Austria. At 18 he was rejected from a Viennese art school, and then served in WWI. In 1919, Hitler attended his first meeting of the German Workers' Party, an anti-Semitic, nationalist group. In 1921 Hitler became the leader of the re-named National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis).
B) Nov 8 – 9th, 1923, Hitler staged the Beer Hall Putsch; a coup of the Bavarian government. The coup failed; Hitler was arrested. In prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf “My Struggle”. With terrible economic conditions, support for Hitler's party grew. In 1933, President Hindenburg was forced to appoint Hitler as Chancellor due to his popularity. With the death of Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler's power was secured. Hitler set out to rearm Germany, and used propaganda to scapegoat manufactured enemies (Jews, Gypsies, communists…) to ensure obedience. Initially, Western Europe believed appeasement was the only way to avoid a war.

14. “Back home in Linz I even took Jews for Germans… Then I came to Vienna…. I zealously read the world-press… Thus I believe today that I am acting according to the will of the almighty Creator: when I defend myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.”
“Each point of that Treaty of Versailles could have been engraved on the minds and hearts of the German people and burned into them until sixty million men and women would find their souls aflame with a feeling of rage and shame...”
Hitler, Mein Kamph
Hitler at the Beer Hall Putch, a failed coup of the government in Bavaria, which led to his arrest.

15. Who Funded the Nazis?
The BBC reported in 1998: Chase Manhattan Bank, “Recently unclassified reports from the US Treasury about the activities of Chase in Paris in the 1940s indicate that the local branch worked “in close collaboration with the German authorities” in freezing Jewish assets.
One of Britain’s main newspapers – the Guardian – reported in 2004: “The late US senator Prescott Bush [George W. Bush’s grandfather], was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany. The Guardian has obtained confirmation… that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of Nazism. His business dealings … continued until his company’s assets were seized in 1942…”

16. Fascism in Spain
Francisco Franco ( ) with the help of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, his Nationalist forces overthrew the democratically elected Second Republic. Franco persecuted opponents, repressed the culture and language of Spain’s Basque and Catalan regions, and censured the media.
Who are the Basque?
The Basque are an indigenous ethnic group who traditionally live west of the Pyrenees, north-central Spain and south-western France. Basque is not related to any other language in the world!

17. Summary Questions
1. Compare and contrast fascism and communism. Are they more similar or different? Why do you think fascists oppose communism? 2. Did fascism rise in Japan, Italy, Spain, and Germany for similar or different reasons? Bonus Question: You can go back in time and kill Hitler as a baby. Would you? Why or why not?

18. Key Vocabulary
Fascism Totalitarianism Hitler Rastafarianism Haile Selassie Italian-Ethiopian War Manchuria Mussolini Franco Beer Hall Putch Mein Kamph