Section 2

The Rise of Dictators

The totalitarian states did away with individual freedoms.

Figure 3

Section 2

• Many European nations became totalitarian states in which governments controlled the political, economic, social, intellectual, and cultural lives of its citizens.

• These new powerful regimes used propaganda to conquer the minds of their subjects and limited individual freedoms.

The Rise of Dictators (cont.)

Section 2

• In Italy, Socialists spoke of revolution in response to severe economic problems. The middle class feared a Communist takeover similar to the one that occurred in Russia.

• Benito Mussolini created the first European fascist movement in Italy.

The Rise of Dictators (cont.)

Section 2

• Mussolini’s policy of fascism glorified the state above the individual by focusing on a strong central state led by a dictatorial ruler.

• In 1922 Mussolini became prime minister of Italy. He outlawed all political parties and established a secret police that could arrest anyone for political or nonpolitical crimes.

The Rise of Dictators (cont.)

Section 2

• Mussolini established total control over his people and exercised control over all media outlets.

• He wanted to create a nation of orderly and war-ready people, but in reality most Fascists maintained traditional social attitudes.

The Rise of Dictators (cont.)

Section 2

A New Era in the USSR

In the Soviet Union, Stalin maintained total power by murdering his political opponents.

Section 2

• Lenin adopted a new policy called the New Economic Policy (NEP).

– Peasants were allowed to sell their produce openly.

– Retail stores and small industries that employed less than 20 workers could be privately owned and operated.

A New Era in the USSR (cont.)

Section 2

• The NEP brought agricultural production back up and revived the market.

• In 1922 Lenin and the Communists created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

• After Lenin’s death in 1924, the Politburo became divided over the future direction of the Soviet Union.

A New Era in the USSR (cont.)

Figure 4

Section 2

• Joseph Stalin used his position as general secretary to gain control of the Communist Party by giving political positions in exchange for support.

• By 1929 Stalin had created a powerful dictatorship and launched the Five-Year Plans to rapidly transform Russia from an agricultural society into an industrial country.

A New Era in the USSR (cont.)

Section 2

• The government implemented the collectivization of agriculture. Peasants resisted by hoarding crops and killing livestock, which led to widespread famine.

• Stalin established complete control over the Communist Party by sending his opposition to work in forced labor camps in Siberia. Old Bolsheviks of the 1917 revolution were put on trial and condemned to death.

A New Era in the USSR (cont.)

Section 2

Authoritarian States in the West

Authoritarian governments in the West worked to preserve the existing social order.

Section 2

• Many eastern European nations adopted parliamentary systems after World War I, but were soon replaced with authoritarian regimes.

• The landowners, churches, and some members of the middle class did not want land reforms to take place. They feared ethnic and peasant unrest could lead to communism.

Authoritarian States in the West (cont.)

Section 2

• These groups wanted an authoritarian leader to uphold traditional social order.

• Only Czechoslovakia was able to maintain its political democracy.

• In Spain, Francisco Franco led a military revolt against the democratic government, resulting in a brutal civil war.

Authoritarian States in the West (cont.)

Section 2

• The Spanish Civil War ended when Franco’s forces captured Madrid in 1939.

• Franco established an authoritarian dictatorship, rather than a totalitarian regime, that favored traditional groups of large landowners, businesspeople, and Catholic clergy.

Authoritarian States in the West (cont.)

THE END

of

Section 2