Transcript Chapter 29 The Rise of Fascism By Andrea Villegas

Villegas, Andrea
Period 3
AP World History
 Italy was the first country to seek radical answers. (Bulliet 773)
 World War I left thousands of veterans who found neither pride in their victory nor
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jobs in the postwar economy. (Bulliet 773)
Unemployed veterans and violent youths banded together into fasci di
combattimento, which are fighting units used to demand action and intimidate
politicians. (Bulliet 773)
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), a magnetic public speaker and parliament member,
had been expelled by the Socialist Party for supporting Italy’s entry to the war.
(James 1) He quickly became the leader of the Fascist Party, which glorified warfare
and the Italian nation. (Armstrong 245)
Mussolini proceeded to install Fascist Party members in all government jobs, crush
all opposing parties and jail anyone who criticized him. (Armstrong 245)
The party took over the press, public education, and youth activities and gave
employers control over their workers. Fascists lowered living standards but reduced
unemployment and provided social security and public services. (Spodek 832)
They excelled mainly in publicity with bombastic speeches, spectacular parades
using modern communication and advertisement to spread. (Bulliet 774)
("CIA - The World
Factbook -- Italy.“, 1)
(James 1)
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Germany had lost WWI and millions of Germans blamed Socialists, Jews, and foreigners for their troubles.
(Bulliet 774)
Adolf Hitler(1889-1945) joined the German army in 1914 and enjoyed the authority and camaraderie he
experienced in the battle. After the war he used his talent in public speeches to lead a political splinter group
called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (A.K.A. Nazis). (Bulliet 774)
Mein Kampf is a book Hitler wrote during a brief jail sentence where he outlines his goals and beliefs. (Andrea
394) No one took his ideas about an Aryan race being the “master race” seriously. (Bulliet 774-5)
Hitler’s first goal was to repeal the humiliation and military restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and then to
annex all German-speaking territories to a greater Germany and conquer Libensraum to finally eliminate all Jews
from Europe. (Bulliet 775)
From 1924-1930 Hitler’s followers remained a minority until the Depression hit, which is when they gained
support among the unemployed who believed their promises for jobs and among frightened property owners.
(Spodek 835)
March 1933, Hitler became the chancellor of Germany and quickly assumed dictatorial power, putting Nazis in
charge of all government agencies, educational institutions, and professional organizations. (Bulliet 775)
Jews were deprived of their citizenship and civil and were prohibited to marry Aryans. They were also ousted from
their professions and had their properties confiscated. (Bulliet 775)
In Augst 1934 Hitler proclaimed himself Fuhrer (leader) and called Germany the “Third Reich” (empire) which
would be the third after the Holy Roman Empire of midieval times and the German Empire of 1871-1918. (Andrea
245)
The Nazi’s economic and social policies were effective. They undertook massive public work projects:
 Women were forced to go leave the work force and go back to “inder, kirche, kuche” (children, church,
kitchen) which opened jobs for men.
 Businesses got contracts to manufacture weapons for the armed forces.
 Living standards rose (“The Rise of Adolf Hitler” 1)
(The Academy
 Most Germans believed that their economic well-being outweighed the loss of liberty.
By 1936, business was booming. Unemployment was at its lowest level since the 1920s. (Bulliet 775) Awards 1)
(James 1)
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Hitler’s goal was not prosperity or popularity, but conquest and building the armed forces. (Bulliet 775)
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1933-5: Hitler withdrew Germany from the League of Nations and violated the Versailles Treaty by building up the
army, creating an air force, and introducing conscription. (Bulliet 775)
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1935: Italy invaded Ethiopia. The League of Nations protested but refused to close the Suez Canal to Italian ships or
impose an oil embargo.(Bulliet 775)
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1938:Hitler decided that his rearmament plans were far enough advanced that he could afford to escalate his
demands.
 March: Germany invaded and willing Austria.
 Then Hitler demanded their autonomy from Czech rule, then Czechoslovakia’s annexation to Germany.
 Munich Conference: He met wit h the leaders of France, Britain, and Italy, who gave him everything he wanted
without consulting Czechoslovakia. Hitler again learned that aggression paid off and that the democracies
would always give in. (Bulliet 775)
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Appeasement, the weakness of the democracies, ran counter to the traditional European balance of power and had
three causes:
 Deep-seated fear of war among people who had lived through WWI. Unlike dictators, politicians could not
ignore the peoples’ yearnings for peace.
 Fear of communism among conservative politicians who were more afraid of Stalin than of Hitler, because
Hitler claimed to respect Christianity and private property.
 The novelty of fascist tactics. British’ Prime Minister believed political leaders were honorable men, so when
Hitler promised to incorporate only German-speaking people into Germany and said he had “no further
territorial demands”, he believed him. (Spodek 840)
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After Munich it was too late to stop Hitler. Germany and Italy signed and alliance called the Axis.(Armstrong 245)
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March 1939 Germany invaded what was left of Czechoslovakia. (Armstrong 245)
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The Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 23, 1939, freed Hitler from the fear of a two-front war and gave Stalin time to build up
his armies. One week later (Sept. 1) German forces swept into Poland, and the war was on. (Bulliet 776)
 The Academy Awards. 30 Mar. 2009
<http://academyawardsinformation.blogspot.com/>.
 Andrea, Alfred J., and James H. Overfield. Human Record. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 2004.
 Armstrong, Monty. Cracking the AP World History Exam. New York: The Princeton
Review
Inc., 2008.
 "Benito Mussolini." Comando Supremo: Italy at War. Ed. Heddlesten James. 30 Mar.
2009 <http://www.comandosupremo.com/Mussolini.html>.
 Bulliet, Richard W., Pamela Kyle Crossley, Daniel R. Headrick, Steven W. Hirsch,
Lyman L.
Johnson, and David Northrup. The Earth And Its Peoples A Global
History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.
 "CIA - The World Factbook -- Italy." Welcome to the CIA Web Site — Central
Intelligence
Agency. 31 Mar. 2009 <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld- factbook/geos/it.html>.
 James, Heddlesten. "Benito Mussolini." Comando Supremo: Italy at War. 30 Mar. 2009
<http://www.comandosupremo.com/Mussolini.html>.
 "The Rise of Adolf Hitler." The History Place. 31 Mar. 2009
<http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/index.htm>.