The Rise of Dictators

ITALY

• An Allied nation during WW I - nation left angry at the terms of the Versailles Treaty - felt that it had been promised a lot more under the Treaty of London than it actually received - the nation had sustained large casualties
• Returning veterans could not find jobs in the post-war economy - massive unemployment - urban workers were forming unions affiliated with the communists - a general strike in 1919 paralyzed the country - peasant farmers seized landlord estates in areas of the countryside
• the middle-class feared the growing instability and unrest

Fascism

• The Fascist Party was organized immediately after the end of the war
• Benito Mussolini (Il Duce) led the party (b.1883 - d.1945) - born in Dovia - son of a blacksmith - teacher and journalist (newspaper editor) - former socialist - veteran (wounded) - organized disgruntled veterans (unemployed soldiers) into a paramilitary force called the "Blackshirts" - they beat up communists - terrorized those who opposed them
• By 1922 the Fascist Party had become very powerful - supported by the middle-class and the young - destroyed the socialists
• Ideology - authoritarian - leader centered - elite party - rallying cry: "Believe, Obey, Fight" - nationalistic - militaristic - advocated a system where private property and business were allowed; but where the state controlled the direction of the economy - for his Italian audience Mussolini preached a restoration of the Glory of Rome - he promised to revive the Roman Empire

March on Rome

• The political situation in the country continued to deteriorate in 1922
• The government was powerless
• In October 1922 several thousand Blackshirts marched on Rome to demand a role for Mussolini in the government (without a majority in parliament)
• The marchers were unopposed
• King Victor Emmanuel III (he will be king during WW II and eventually be the one to oust Mussolini) offered Mussolini the Prime Ministership - he became Premier

Once in power Mussolini and the Fascists quickly solidify their control

• Opposition parties are outlawed
• Dissidents are exiled or killed
• Law and order restored
• Censorship
• Unions and strikes are banned
• Every segment of society organized into corporations

Economics - Mussolini's government achieved some important results

• Swamps (south of Rome) were drained - ending the threat of malaria and providing new productive farmlands
• Roads, bridges, dams, power plants, hospitals, and schools built
• "Mussolini made the trains run on time"

Foreign Policy

• Initially Mussolini pursued a very cautious foreign policy - he was soon hailed as a statesman of Europe
• Mussolini signed the Treaty of Locarno in 1925
• In 1928 he made peace with the Catholic Church in the Lateran Treaty - the Catholic Church (Pope Pius XI) finally recognized the Italian state - Italy paid compensation for the Papal loss of Rome and made Catholicism the state religion
• Mussolini defended the sovereignty of Austria from a Nazi coup in 1934
• But - his status changed after the 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia - he wanted to avenge the defeat at Adowa in the 1890's - savage attack - the Italians attacked with modern weapons and the Ethiopians defended with spears and shields - the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie appealed to the League of Nations for assistance - got weak sanctions
• In 1936 Mussolini signed the Rome-Berlin Axis formally binding Italy to Nazi Germany

Weimar Germany

• When Kaiser Wilhelm II's government collapsed in 1918 a republic was proclaimed in Berlin
• Weimar Republic lasted from 1918 to 1933 - a very liberal democratic government - constitutional freedom for all citizens - dynamic culture - even decadent
• The new republic was hated by many citizens on both the right and the left - the right blamed the Weimar government for signing the Versailles Treaty and  "stabbing the nation in the back." - the left felt that Weimar was in the way of the true socialist revolution they desired
• In 1919 an attempt at a communist coup was made in Berlin called the Spartacus Revolt - led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebkneckt - crushed by right-wing veterans called the Free Korps and the army
• In 1923 a coup attempt called the Beer Hall Putsch - in Bavaria by the National Socialists (Nazis) led by Adolf Hitler was put down - When the economy begins to recover in the mid-1920's Weimar finally begins to gain popular support

Economics

• Immediately following the war Germany was in economic collapse
• It was saddled with hue reparations
• Inflation devastated the economy - by 1923 the Mark was worthless - prices raised more than one trillion percent from Aug. 1922 to Nov. 1923 - In 1923, $1 in U.S. money was worth over 4 trillion German marks - workers would go to work in the morning, get paid at noon, and their wives would come get the money and spend it - because it would be worth less by evening
• In 1925 the United States organized the Dawes Plan (developed by Charles Dawes and American banker  1865-1951) which offered loans and payment relief (a realistic schedule) to the Germans - the economy finally began to recover - by 1928 Germany had attained pre-war prosperity
• In 1929 the United States developed the Young Plan (Owen D. Young an American businessman  1874-1962) which offered Germany still further relief
• In Oct. 1929 the stock market crash destroyed the German economy
• The collapse of the economy doomed the Weimar Republic

Foreign Relations

• Treaty of Rapollo (1922) - Russia signed with Germany
• Treaty of Locarno (1925) - Germany, France, Belgium, British, Italy
• Kellogg-Brand Pact (1928) - 23 nations - to renounce war
• All 3 treaties basically renounced war

Rise of the Nazis

• The National Socialist German Worker's Party (when Hitler took it over it only had 7 members) was formed in 1920
• It gained followers in the early years among veterans and nationalists who
• felt that the Weimar government had betrayed the nation a Versailles

Adolf Hitler 1889-1945

• son of an Austrian customs official
• father illegitimate - probably 1/2 Jewish - conceived while his mother worked as a maid for a Jewish family - the family paid support until he was 14
• when Austria was captured Hitler had his father's birthplace, Dollersheim and his grandmother's grave, designated a tank training ground - destroyed all evidence
• Hitler's mother died in Dec. 21, 1907 of breast cancer - the doctor that treated her was Jewish and Hitler would later help him escape Germany
• he also had an older brother that had died
• Hitler fought in WW I - he was wounded (He was a runner delivering messages.  He was sent out to deliver a message when 6 runners had already been killed.  He succeeded but was wounded.  He received the Iron Cross.)  and he was gassed
• After the war he tried to become an architect - he was rejected from the school and told he had not talent (When he came to power he had a great deal of building done.  His main architect was Albert Speer.) - he drifted and painted postcards and sold them to raise money - he became involved with the Nazi party

Hitler's Main Henchmen

• Joseph Goebbles who would become his head of propaganda - one of the few with a university education - had a PHD - got it at age 24 - crippled left leg - result of osteomyelitis at age 7 - followed by an unsuccessful operation - fine voice - razor keen sense of timing
• Hermann Goering - head of the airforce - a heroin addict
• Heinrick Himmler - head of the SS and the concentration camps - a former chicken farmer

Beer Hall Putsch

• 1923
• Hitler believed that the time was right to stage a coup in Munich - inspired by the March on Rome in 1922
• Joined by General Ludendorff
• Failed when the police interfered
• Hitler was tried and sentenced to prison for 5 years - he served 9 months - while in prison he dictated Mein Kampf to Rudolph Hess - it spelled out his future goals including Lebensraum (living space - conquest!) and the Final Solution
• ***  "Hess known in Party circles as "Black Emma," was for many years the Fuhrer's (homosexual) partner, especially during their joint detetion in Landsberg." ( The Hidden Hitler p. 232)

By the time Hitler was released from prison the economy had begun to recover and his popularity evaporated - in the 1928 election for the Reichstag the Nazis got 12 seats

The Depression began in 1929 and gave Hitler a new opportunity - in the 1932 Reichstag elections the Nazis got 230 seats - he was supported by business who feared the Communists

In 1932 Hitler challenged President Paul von Hindenburg (General) in the presidential election - Hindenburg won easily - but Hindenburg was old (in his 80's)and sick and not able to stand up to Hitler

Hindenburg appointed Hitler the Chancellor in January 1933 - he and his conservative supporters believed Hitler could be controlled  - they were wrong

The Approach of War

From 1933 on the stage was set for another major European war

Nazi Germany

Following Hitler's appointment to the Chancellorship in January 1933 he quickly consolidated his grip on power

In February 1933 the Reichstag building was set on fire by an arsonist

• A Dutch communist (mentally retarded) was quickly arrested and charged with the crime - it's believed the Nazis actually set the fire
• A new Nazi government use the incident to seek broad dictatorial powers to reestablish law and order in Germany

In March 1933 The Reichstag passed the Enabling Act which gave Hitler full dictatorial power - he never gave them up after that

In June 1933 all other political parties were officially declared illegal

Night of the Long Knives

• The German Army was jealous of the Nazi Party's private army the Stormtroopers (SA) - the "Brownshirts"
• To win the army's support Hitler secretly planned the murders of several SA leaders when reports of their homosexuality began to surface in the media - he had initially protected them
• especially Ernst Roehm (had him executed in prison) - he was homosexual - he had established a sort of homosexual network within the SA - assigned prominent posts to homosexual friends and lovers
• ***  There is a book called The Hidden Hitler by Lothar Mechtan.  It alleges Hitler was homosexual as well as many of the men around him.  I personally think the author makes a very good case!

On August 2,1934 President Hindenburg died - he was the last voice not under control of Hitler

Hitler was master of Germany

Nazism

• Very similar to Fascism
• Nationalistic and militaristic
• Elite party - leader center (Der Fuhrer)
• Totalitarian
• Pageantry and ceremony (almost paganistic)
• The biggest distinction between Fascism and Nazism is the racial policies of Nazism
• Secret police maintained tight control - Gestapo

Anti-Semitic Legislation

• In 1933 Jews were barred from the civil service
• In 1935 the Nuremburg Laws were passed - Jews were stripped of their citizenship - no intermarriage - no government jobs or college education

In November 1938 the first wide-scale violence occurred - Kristalnacht

• Thousands of businesses were attacked
• Thousands of people were deported

Not until after the start of the war did the large-scale extermination policies of the Final Solution begin - adopted in January 1942 at the Wanasee Conference

***1938 - Time Magazine named Hitler "Man of the Year" - criteria "news impact" not moral worth

Initial popularity of the Nazi regime stemmed from a sense or renewed spirit and pride - Hitler promised jobs and glory - he delivered both

Nazi Foreign Policy

After the failure of the Austrian coup Hitler actively cultivated Mussolini - by 1936 the Rome-Berlin Axis was formed

Hitler wanted to annul Versailles Treaty - he began playing a game of "chicken" with the Allies

In March 1935 Hitler re-militarized the Rhineland - this was in violation of the Versailles Treaty - a gamble his generals advised against - the Western Allies did nothing to stop him - missed a great opportunity

March 1935 Hitler announced the re-arming of Germany - again the Allies only offered faint protest

In October 1935 Mussolini launched his attack against Ethiopia - again encountered limited resistance

Emboldened in March 1938 Hitler turned his attention to his homeland Austria

• The Nazi coup in 1934 had failed
• In 1938 Hitler tried to bully the Austrian Chancellor into going along with Anschluss (union of Austria and Germany) - annexation of Austria - Clear violation of the Versailles Treaty
• Chancellor Schuschnigg announced a plebiscite for March 13
• Germans invaded on the 12th
• Known as the "Battle of the Flowers" because of the tremendous welcome
• Hitler was greeted as a conquering hero in Vienna
• Austria ceased to exist - it became part of Germany

Again the West did nothing

Only Stalin was actively demanding that Hitler be confronted

SPANISH CIVIL WAR (1936 - 1939)

• The monarchy (King Alfonso XIII) had been overthrown in Spain in 1931
• The new government of the republic began some moderate reforms which enraged the traditional centers of power in Spain - the Church, the military, and the large landowners
• In the elections of 1936 a Popular Front government was elected - dominated by radical leftists including some communists - this was too much for the traditionalists
• General Francisco Franco (1982 - 1975) - 1935 Army Chief of Staff - February 1936 government exiled him to an obscure command in the Canary Islands -July 1936 brought his army over from the colony in Spanish Morocco and the civil war began - supported by the Falange (fascists in Spain) - supported by the Catholic Church
• The war devastated Spain
• nearly 1,000,000 were killed
• The war took on international ideological implications
• The government (Loyalists/Republicans) were supported by the Soviet Union - and some tepid support by the democracies
• Franco (Nationalists) was actively supported by both Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy - (Franco was 1/2 Jewish and Hitler didn't know it) - the war was an opportunity to test the weapons and tactics to be used in WW II - Condor Legion bombed the Basque village of Guernica in 1937 - this became the subject of Picasso's painting Guernica
• The war ended in a fascist victory in 1939
• Again Stalin had been the only voice to actively speak out against Hitler
• Franco would rule until his death in 1975 - in 1969 he designated Prince Juan Carlos, grandson of Spain's former king, Alfonso XIII, as his official successor

Czechoslovakia

• With it's large German minority it was the next logical target
• The Czechs had a defensive treaty with the French
• The Sudetendeutsch resented their minority status in Czechoslovakia
• They received encouragement from the Hitler government
• By September 1938 Hitler was demanding that the Sudentenland ( it was actually northeast of the German settlements) be ceded to Germany or war would ensue - in September 1938 a series of meetings were held in Munich to discuss the crisis - present were Hitler (Germany, Mussolini (Italy), Daladier (France), and Chamberlain (Great Britain) - neither the Czechs nor the Soviets were invited
• At the meeting Hitler got everything he demanded
• Chamberlain practiced the concept of appeasement
• Chamberlain returned from the Munich Conference and declared that he had bought "...peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time." - (The British and French were very afraid of another war.  World War I had been so devastating for them they were willing to do most any thing to avoid another war.  Obviously that policy did not work.  Most historians believe that WW II really is just an extension of WW I because things were not resolved in the war and the Versailles Peace Treaty was so harsh.)
• Hitler had promised that he had no further territorial demands in Europe - that he would respect the territorial integrity of what remained of Czechoslovakia
• On March 15, 1939 Hitler broke his word and seized all of Czechoslovakia

Chamberlain and Daladier were left humiliated and resolved that Hitler was an unreasonable and dishonorable man

• They were determined not to be humiliated again
• Appeasement was over
• The two democracies offered their full support to Poland - the next logical target (Polish Corridor) - Poland was skeptical

Stalin was convinced that a war between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia was inevitable - he needed time to prepare

• Stalin began secret negotiations with the Nazis
• Nazi-Soviet Pact - announced on August 23, 1939 - shocked to the French and British - non-aggression treaty - the agreement contained secret provisions for the division of Poland and the Soviet annexation of the Baltic states

Only one week later on September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland

World War II begins

Japan

• Fought with the Allies in World War I - received German islands in the Pacific
• Over industrialization created economic distress
• Struggle between democracy and militaristic feudal ways
• 1931 - young army officers plotted to overthrow the government
• To gain support they invaded Manchuria - successful
• Swept the military into power
• Civilian ministers eliminated
• Military dictatorship established
• Started invasions of southern coastal cities in China - information reported back to the U.S. by the "Old China Hands" (Mainly missionaries.  President Roosevelt's cousin was one.)