RISE of DICtatORsHIps AfTEr WW1 Flashcards
Conditions that enadbled dictators to rise to power in the interwar period
C DREEM CHURG
-Destabilizing influence of war
-Role of personalities
- Emergence of New states
- Militarism of society
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
-Government wartime powers
-Refugees
-Hostility
-Unsatisfactory peace
-Changing nature of society & culture
-Conflicting political systems
Destabilizing influence of war
COND
Dictatorships offer stability
Role of personalities
COND
Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini exploited the conditions
No strong supporters of democracy
Cult of personality
Emergence of New states
COND
Minority groups
Established new economies (rivals)
New democracies - proportional representation lead to instability of coalitions
Militarism of society
COND
- Paramilitary groups
- -Freikorps (Germany)
- -Blackshirts (Italy)
- Normalisation of violence
- PTSD
- Aggressive and defensive politics
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
COND
Post-war inflation Cost of rebuilding & recovery Unemployment Re-establishment of trade & industrial production ‘Golden Twenties’ - economic recovery of 1920s built on US loans and investment Great Depression High unemployment Rise of extremism Failure of democratic systems
Government wartime powers
Limits on individual freedoms
Control over all aspects of life
Total war- establishes precedent for dictator-like conditions
Refugees
Hatred of minority groups (borders redrawn)
Hostility
Bitterness
Racism
Nationalism
Lasting influence of war propaganda
Unsatisfactory peace
All peace PPC unsatisfied
Resentment from Germans, Italians, and Japanese
Lack of effectiveness of League of Nations
Changing nature of society & culture
Role of women
Divorces & family breakdown
Decline in religious influence in dictatorships
Reorganisation of traditional class-systems & Social structures
Modernism (art, music, theatres, etc)
Conflicting political systems
autocracy/ monarchy Communism Democracies Fascism nazism -extreme nationalism -Comintern
DICTATORSHIPS OVERVIEW - USSR
Foundations of stalin’s authority:
Claimed to be Lenin’s chosen successor & a loyal servant to the CP
He claimed to be the new prophet of Marxist ideology
S used position as general Secretary of the communist party to build support by offering party members better houses, better jobs and improve their quality of life.
This won over support, & Trotsky was exiled from Russia
Stalin extended his power over the peasants through collectivisation.
This was of extreme importance as when it failed, Stalin blamed the kulaks (wealthier peasants) → resulted in their imprisonment & execution of millions in specific prison camps called gulags.
The collectivisation and subsequent terror was vital to stalin’s power as a dictator
Patronage was important as party members would need it to get the better things in life eg the better houses.
Society was dominated primarily by terror
It was easier for S to exert power & control the people living in cities because
they depended on the govt for food, water, and power.
They could also be easily watched and rounded up by police if they opposed/appeared to oppose stalin
S ‘purged’ the older members of the party because they could remember the past before stalin & challenge the stalinist version of communist history.
Stalin also feared challenge from old party members, which led to Stalin being obsessed with having trotsky killed & having people purged.
ITALY DICTATORSHIP
Fascism
Contained elements of conservatism anti-communism
Ideas of racial superiority & anti-semitism did not feature in the ideology until 1938 & were not wide-spread held beliefs
Mostly about nationalism
strong -willed, charismatic leader with a cult of personality
Militaristic
SOURCE: “…stresses the importance of the State and accepts the individual only insofar as his interests coincide with those of the State..”
“The …State, as a higher and more powerful expression of personality, is a force, but a spiritual one….the symbol of unity, strength and justice”
BENITO MUSSOLINI, The Doctrine of Fascism, published by the Italian Fascist Government in 1935
Black-shirts = secret police, paramilitary groups
JAPAN DICTATORSHIP
Tojo held the offices of PM, M for Warm for Armament, M for Education , and Chief of the Imperial Army General Staff
The european dictatorships (Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler) were dominated by a single charismatic leader & cult of personality became associated with each - became an aspect of their authority & their ‘right’ to exercise power
TOJO hover, was PART of a military OLIGARCHY → as a result of sharing power w/ the oligarchy, Tojo had limitations on power & it was always in some way subject to the authority of either the Emperor or the military.
Warrior mentality = that of the samurai = live & win or lose and die - fight to the death expected. The warriors expected death everyday and had to be ready for it
