Transcript The Rise of Fascism The rise of Fascism coincided with

The Rise of Fascism
• The rise of Fascism coincided with the collapse of
governments & economies.
• Fascism emphasized loyalty to the state and
obedience to its leader
• They promised
to restore the
economy,
punish those
responsible,
and restore
national pride
(a throwback to
nationalism),
and stop
communism
• Appealed to
those who
were still
angry with the
peace
treaties from
WWI
• Their core supporters would be unemployed
veterans and violent youths
The Caption says,
“One People, One Country, Our (or One
Leader”
• Fascists believed in extreme form of nationalism
• That struggle was inevitable – peaceful
countries were doomed to be conquered.
• They pledged loyalty to an authoritarian leader
• They pledged loyalty to an authoritarian leader
• Like communists (whom they hated) the ruler was a dictator, only 1
political party allowed, denial of individual rights.
Benito Mussolini
• Italy was experiencing rising inflation
& unemployment after WWI.
• There was fear of a communist
revolution
• The government appeared to be
helpless, so the people looked to a
strong leader to right their country
• Mussolini, a
newspaper editor
promised to rescue
Italy by improving the
economy & rebuilding
the armed forces
• He used references
to the glory of Rome
to get people on his
side
• Their slogan was, “Il
Duce (the leader) is
always right”
• His support started slowly, but increased as
conditions in Italy got worse.
• In 1922 he and 30,000 fascist followers wearing
black shirts marched on Rome and demanded that
King Victor Emmanuel III put Mussolini in charge
of the government.
• ”
• Trying to protect his
dynasty, he agreed. Luckily.
Mussolini thought he had
gone too far and was ready
to flee the country!
• Historians point to the fact
that the one good thing
Mussolini did was he got the
trains to run on time
• One diplomat described him
as “an actor, a dangerous
rascal, and possibly slightly
off his head
Adolf Hitler
Born in this house in Braunau, Austria in 1889
Dropped out of
high school
(see who says
you need an
education)
• Tried his hand
as an artist
(failed)
• Volunteered
for the army –
fought in WWI
, gassed / twice
awarded the
Iron Cross, a
medal for
bravery
His favorite style – landscapes (and
dogs!)
Can you pick out which one is Hitler?
Hitler
• After the war, Hitler joined a
right-wing political group called
the National Socialist
German Workers’ Party
(NAZI in German)
• They adopted the swastika, or
hooked cross, as their symbol
(which is actually a Sanskrit
symbol (Indian) meaning well
being. This is a
lso to their misguided belief of
a connection to their ancient
ancestors, the Aryans.
• They created a private militia
called the brownshirts (because
of the color of the shirt they
wore – How cleaver!)
• Hitler’s group tried to
seize power in the city of
Munich in 1923 but
failed.
Sentenced to prison for 5
years (he only served 9
months) he wrote the book
Mein Kampf (My
Struggle)
• The book described what
his goals for Germany were
and the process to get
there.
• He also said the Treaty of
Versailles was an outrage
and vowed to regain the
lands taken from Germany.
• He said the
Germans were the
master race, and
the sub humans
were the Jews,
Slavs, and
Gypsies
• He said Germany was overcrowded and needed Lebensraum, or living space.
They could get this by conquering Europe & Russia.
• Germany’s economy was in bad shape and
Germans were turning to Hitler’s message.
• In 1933, the Nazi party got the President to
name Hitler chancellor, saying only he could
stand up to the Communist Party.
• Hitler called for a new election once in power. The
parliament building was destroyed by fire and the
Communists were blamed (historians believe it was the
Nazis)
• The Nazis and their allies won a slim victory due to fear
of the Communists.
•
•
•
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Hitler 1st got dictatorial power for 4 years
He then banned all political parties
He banned strikes and unions
The government took control of business & labor
and put millions to work constructing factories,
highways, weapons, and military. Unemployment
dropped 75%
• He created the
SS, or
protection
squad, loyal only
to him
• In 1934, the
SS arrested &
murdered
hundreds of
Hitler’s enemies
• He created a secret police called the Gestapo.
• The Nazis controlled the press, radio, literature,
painting and used them as propaganda tools. The
head of this department was Joseph Goebbels.
• The German people were willing to give up some of
their liberties for economic improvement
Many books were banned,
churches weren’t allowed to
criticize
1933
• Children were recruited into the Hitler
Youth groups – they were indoctrinated with
Nazi propaganda
The “racially inferior “AfricanAmerican Jesse Owens, won 4
gold medals. Hitler refused to put
the medal around his neck nor
shake hands
Germany was actually chosen to host the 1936 Olympics.
Hitler hoped to show the world that Germany was the
master race
Owens won gold in the 100, 200, 4x100, and the Long Jump
Kristallnacht
• Kristallnacht, (Night of the Broken Glass)
occurred Nov 9, 1938. Nazi mobs attacked
Jews in their homes and on the streets and
destroyed thousands of Jewish-owned
buildings
• This signaled the beginning of the
elimination of Jews from Germany
• On the right is a tax bill to a
Jewish business that was
forced to pay for the clean up
of the city after Kristallnacht
Sino-Japanese War 1937-45
• Again this was instigated by Japanese army officers
• Although they had a large army, the Chinese were no match for
the Japanese
• One of the most violent chapters was the Nanking Massacre,
AKA The Rape of Nanking
Estimates are
between 2-300,000
deaths committed by
the Japanese.
20,000 rapes were
committed.
150,000 bodies were
exhumed so the
numbers are not
exaggerated. Most of
those had their hands
tied behind their
backs
• This is a
newspaper
clipping. It says
they were
competing to see
who could kill 100
people first. The
headline shows the
score and says
“Incredible
Record – they go
into extra innings!”