WW2 Flashcards
Rise of Totalitarian States
Common Characteristics:
Single-Party Rule: A dominant political party controlled the state, suppressing opposition.
Cult of Personality: Leaders were glorified through propaganda, fostering blind loyalty.
State Control of the Economy: The government directed economic activity to serve its goals.
Secret Police and Terror: Used to enforce obedience and eliminate dissent.
Propaganda and Censorship: Controlled information to manipulate public opinion.
Suppression of Individual Liberties: Rights like freedom of speech and assembly were abolished.
Militarism: Emphasis on military strength and expansion.
Ideology: An all encompassing ideology that every person was expected to follow.
Communism vs. Fascism:
Communism:
Based on Marxist-Leninist ideology, advocating for a classless society.
Focused on internationalism and the global spread of revolution.
State ownership of the means of production.
Atheistic.
Fascism:
Nationalist and authoritarian, emphasizing the state’s supremacy.
Promoted national unity and expansion.
Allowed private ownership but under strict state control.
Could be allied with religious institutions.
Political Spectrum Shift:
The 20th century saw the emergence of radical ideologies that redefined the political spectrum.
Communism shifted the far-left, while fascism moved the far-right beyond traditional conservatism.
This created a dynamic where traditional liberalism and conservatism were challenged from both extremes.
Rise of Totalitarianism:
Soviet Union:
Resulted from the chaos of World War I and the Russian Revolution.
Stalin’s consolidation of power after Lenin’s death.
Economic problems, and the desire for modernization allowed Stalin to gain popularity with his 5 year plans.
Italy:
Post-WWI economic instability and social unrest.
Fear of communist revolution.
Mussolini’s charismatic leadership and the fascist promise of order.
Germany:
The Treaty of Versailles’ harsh terms and economic depression.
Weakness of the Weimar Republic.
Hitler’s manipulation of public anger and promises of national restoration.
Implementation of Totalitarianism:
Soviet Union:
Stalin’s “Great Purge” eliminated political opponents.
Collectivization of agriculture and the Five-Year Plans.
The KGB secret police.
Propaganda promoting the cult of personality around Stalin.
Italy:
Mussolini’s use of the Blackshirts to intimidate opponents.
Establishment of a corporatist state.
Control of the media.
Instilling nationalistic fervor.
Germany:
The Gestapo and SS to enforce Nazi ideology.
The Nuremberg Laws, which persecuted Jews.
Control of media, education, and culture by Goebbels’ propaganda machine.
Creating organizations like the Hitler youth, to indoctrinate the young.
Causes of WWII
Treaty of Versailles’ unresolved issues.
Economic depression.
Rise of aggressive nationalism.
The failure of the league of nations.
Immediate:
Hitler’s expansionist policies.
The invasion of Poland in 1939.
Hitler’s Nazi Empire:
Hitler’s military strategies, such as blitzkrieg, overwhelmed opponents.
Exploitation of occupied territories.
The use of propaganda to generate popular support within Germany.
The weakness of the allied powers early in the war.
Munich Conference:
Great Britain’s policy of appeasement, led by Neville Chamberlain, aimed to avoid war.
Hitler’s promises were not kept, and it showed the weakness of the league of nations.
The conference gave Hitler the sudetenland.
Turning Points:
Battle of Stalingrad: Marked the turning of the tide on the Eastern Front.
D-Day (Normandy landings): Opened a Western Front, weakening Nazi forces.
Battle of Al Almein: Prevent Nazi’s from entering the north africa. Mussolini is now a puppet government for Adolf Hitler
Wartime Conferences:
Yalta and Potsdam:
Decisions made on the postwar division of Europe.
Growing tensions between the Allies, particularly the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
The division of Germany.
Discussions regarding the creation of the United nations.
They were on shaky ground, because of rising tensions between the soviet union, and the western allies, also many agreements were made with only a verbal commitment.
Hitler’s Anti-Semitic Agenda:
Nuremberg Laws: Deprived Jews of citizenship.
Kristallnacht: Attacks on Jewish businesses and synagogues.
The “Final Solution”: Systematic genocide in concentration camps.
End of the War:
Europe: Soviet forces captured Berlin, leading to Hitler’s suicide and Germany’s surrender.
Japan: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, followed by Japan’s surrender.
Allied Goals:
Goals were to create a peaceful postwar world, but growing cold war tensions proved otherwise.
The goals were for self determination of nations, and the creation of the united nations to insure peace, but soviet expansion went against those ideals.
WWII vs. WWI:
WWII was more global and ideological.
Greater use of technology and civilian targeting.
WWII’s outcome produced a bi-polar world. WWI did not.
The treaty of Versailles directly lead into world war 2.
WWII and the Cold War:
The division of Europe into Soviet and Western spheres of influence.
Ideological conflict between communism and capitalism.
The arms race and nuclear threat.
The weakened state of the european nations, allowed the United states and the soviet union to rise as super powers.
