IB MOCKS HITLER + MAO Flashcards
How did Economic Factors lead to the rise of Hitler?
- The Great Depression where from 1929-1930 number of unemployed increased from 2.4 million people
- Industrial Production fallen to 58% of the 1928 levels Companies and manufacturers had a sharp downturn
- 50,000 businesses went bankrupt
Historians on the economic factors affecting the emergence of Hitler?
Historian - William Carr – “It is inconceivable that Hitler could ever have come to power had not the Weimar Republic been subjected to the unprecedented strain of a world economic crisis”
Interpretations to the attitude that Hitler rose to power because of Economic Factors?
Weimar Republic was flawed even before the economic slump
Inefficient and impractical
Others argue that the slump killed a dying system
How did Opposition lead to the rise of the Nazi Regime?
The conservative elite’s second move towards authoritarian rule was helping the Nazi Party to gain power. The conservative elite and the Nazi Party had a common enemy – the political left .
As Hitler controlled the masses support for the political right, the conservative elite believed that they could use Hitler and his popular support to ‘democratically’ take power. Once in power, Hitler could destroy the political left. Destroying the political left would help to remove the majority of political opponents to the ring-wing conservative elite.
Once Hitler had removed the left-wing socialist opposition and destroyed the Weimar Republic, the conservative elite thought they would be able to replace Hitler, and appoint a leader of their choice.
As Hitler’s votes dwindled in the November 1932 elections, the conservative elite knew that if they wanted to use Hitler and the Nazis to destroy the political left, they had to act quickly to get Hitler appointed as chancellor.
Von Papen and Oskar von Hindenburg (President Hindenburg’s son) met secretly and backed Hitler to become chancellor. A group of important industrialists, including Hjalmar Schacht and Gustav Krupp, also wrote outlining their support of Hitler to President Hindenburg.
The support of these figures was vital in Hindenburg’s decision to appoint Hitler as chancellor. Once elected, the conservative elite soon realised that they had miscalculated Hitler and his intentions.
Weimar government’s structure
Change every 4 years - lack of continuity
Article 48
- president can pass laws without Reichstag approval in case of emergencies
= SO gov was seen as taking away the power from the people, undermined support
Proportional representation
- produced coalition govs
- allowed small parties to gain representation
- in total had 28 different parties
- meant rarely had a majority vote, decisions never made
= SO gov was seen as unstable/weak, undermined support
How did Hitler use Policing and Security to Maintain authoritarian rule in Germany
SS - 1925
54% of all crimes against the state was denunciated by ordinary citizens
200K people were imprisoned
10 K people in concentration camps in 1933
How did Hitler use the Legal System to maintain his authoritarian state?
- Enabling Act- Allow him to rule for 4 years – essentially making him dictator
- Led to the Nuremburg Laws of 1934
Gave him greater control over his future
- The Decree for the protection of People and State (28th February)
- suspended the essential freedoms of the individual, giving the state unprecedented rights of search, arrest and censorship.
- 1933 Banned All Trade Unions and replaced them with the DAF
How did Hitler use propaganda to maintain power in Nazi Germany?
Cult for Fuhrer established - The Hitler No One Knows sold 420 K
Media and arts controlled in March 1933
Reich Radio Company brought broadcasting under Nazi Control
Volkespfanger - 1939 (70% of all people had this radio)
All films had to pass censors
How did Mao use force to consolidate Power?
CRUCIAL
Great Terror of 1950-1951 - The terror itself was broad, widespread, and carried out with considerable ferocity
Remove opponents and deter others - was successful
46,000 Bandits killed
Maintained - Hundred Flowers Campaign - 1/2 Million People went to ‘education camps’
Force was crucial in his economic policies –> attacks on landlords helped create the communes that increased Mao’s control in the great leap forward
Criticisms to the attitude that Mao’s force was the most important factor in the emergence of an authoritarian state?
One could question how applicable force was directed solely by Mao
Cultural Revolution - Red Guards used to threaten people –> Became a threat to Mao
However, he got them under control with the PLA
More to do with harshness
Popularity - How did Mao use this to maintain power?
The Long March of 1934
marked the time when Mao “achieved effective control of the CCP”.
Even though the Long March was a retreat from Southern China to escape the wrath of Chiang Kai-shek’s troops,
it was not only a major propaganda victory for the CCP by spreading communist revolutionary ideas to northern parts of China but it also proved to be a platform for Mao Zedong to show his leadership abilities.
This included crossing through rough terrain such as mountains and rivers, covering a massive 8000 miles of land by foot and avoiding frequent conflict with Chiang’s hostile forces.
Mao had already become a popular member of the Party by winning support from the Kuomintang and the CCP when both the parties were allied in 1926 and becoming the director of the Peasant Commissions.
Adding to his support, at the end of Long March in 1936, the surviving members of the march were full of praise for Mao’s leadership abilities and he was later hailed as a hero by party members and supporters.
This laid a platform for Mao to accumulate more power within the party and created a new era of leadership in the Chinese Communist Party.
Structure - How did Mao use this to maintain power?
Seemed Democratic but ensured that nothing important was passed without his agreement.
Mao dominated entire structure , although Democratic Centralism was supposed to move information up and down the chain
Distanced himself from failures - Great Leap Forward 30 million people died, Mao was able to use the criticisms levied at him by Dehuai to cut him out of the poarty
Criticisms to the idea that structure allowed Mao to maintain Power?
It could be conversely argued that all of this would have been impossible without the many and regular display of force undertaken by Mao
How did Mao Economic factors allow Mao to rise to power?
1946, Chinese industries operated at 20% capacity
Life expectancy went from 42 –> 30 between the years 1930–> 1942
How did the GMD fail to control the economic situation?
Introduction of new currencies and the printing of money
–> Inflation which reached heights of 1000% by the time the CCP came to power.
How did the CCP gain support of the public?
Offered many ordinary Chinese the best chance of tackling peasant and working class poverty
Land Reforms and education reforms –>
It was at Yanan that Mao seized villages of the landowners and gave it to the peasants
‘Eight rules of Conduct’ –> Soldiers had to treat peasants nicely
