Process

Signing of Treaty of Versailles

Stage 1: Overview of European & Asian History 1919-1945 for Background Understanding

You will review the history of this time period using the books, online databases, Web sites and videos from the Resources page. This will give you some background information to better understand why this time period was so “fertile” for the rise of dictatorships. Go to the Resources Web page and the Background Resources to Understand Rise of Dictators section. Visit the various sites, read and start building your understanding of the events leading to World War II and the rise of dictatorships.

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Stage 2: Research Your Dictator & Country or Historical Event

You will now research your chosen dictator & nation or historical event recording your research in a mind map created in Mindmeister. You will work with your teacher to choose either aftermath of World War I & Treaty of Versailles, Hitler/Germany, Mussolini/Italy, Stalin/USSR or the military dictatorship of Japan.

• 1. Create your mind map. Entitle it “9hums- research- your name”. Share is with your teacher.

  2. Create 4 connected nodes with the categories of History, Anthropology (Culture), Political Science (Government) and Economics. Scroll down this page to find your dictator or historical event with questions. Add each of these questions to the correct category node. Then use the Note tool for each question to save your research information. Remember to record your sources in each of your Notes.

  3. As you do your research on each of the categories think of more questions to add to your categories.

  4. You will then work to answer your additional questions adding your research findings to the Notes.

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Questions for Your Research>

End of WW I & Treaty of Versailles: The following are a few questions to get you started with your research. Remember that you are to come up with your own questions as you research.

History>

• • What events led to the Treaty of Versailles being so much of a punishment for the losing nations?

  • What were the punishments and how did they affect the losing nations?

  • Who were the main leaders involved in the Treaty?

  • What were their goals for the peace talks?

  • How did they affect the results?

  • How did the League of Nations get started? What was it set up to do?

  • What happened to Wilson’s 14 Points?

Sociology (Culture)>

• • What was the role of the military in the culture of the countries of Europe?

  • How did Germany’s military and people react to the Treaty?

  • How did the forcing Germany to pay reparations affect the German people and their pride?

  • What, if any, prejudices were evident in any of the countries towards their neighboring nations?

Government (Political Science)>

• • What types of government did the following countries have after WW I? USSR, Germany, Italy, France, Great Britain, Japan

  • How “strong” were these government to not being overthrown and replaced?

  • What made the weak governments so unstable?

  • What were the weaknesses of the League of Nations? What could it not do?

  • Why did members of the League design it to have limitations?

  • How did the nations of Europe work towards “collective security”?

  • How could a different style League of Nations helped prevent the rise of some dictatorships?

Economics>

• • How did the forcing Germany to pay reparations affect the German people economically?

  • How did the government leaders of the Weimar Republic manipulate the currency to pay reparations?

  • What was the role of US government and private industry in helping Germany with their debt?

  • What was the state of the German economy in the early 1920’s? By 1927? By 1930?

  • What was the economy of Europe like in the 1020’s? 1930’s?

  • How did the Great Depression affect Europe?

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Dictators & Countries (Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin & Japanese Military): The following are a few questions to get you started with your research as you study your dictator and nation. Remember that you are to come up with your own questions as you research.

History>

• What were some important events in the history of your nation that lead to the rise of your dictator? Really focus on the aftermath of WWI starting in 1919.

• How did the childhood and early adulthood of your dictator possibly guide him to gain leadership skills, possibly be power hungry, possibly be overly patriotic (nationalistic), militaristic and nation-focused vs people-focused?

• What opposition was there to your dictator?

• How did he deal with opposition internally within his party and externally to those who did not support him?

Anthropology (Culture)>

• What was the culture of your nation that might make it more open for dictatorship than other countries?

• Which groups of people held the power? Which ones had little power? Why?

• How were the dictators able to stay in power? What were their “methods”?

• How was your dictator able to focus attention on events and/or groups of people to unite his people?

• How was nationalism a part of the culture and history of your nation?

Government (Political Science)>

• What form of government did your country have after WW I?

• Why did they have that form of government?

• Who wanted to change it? Why?

• How can a democracy sometimes be easier to overthrow than a dictatorship during troubled times?

Economics>

• What was the economic status of your country in 1919 at the end of WW I? In 1925? In 1930? In 1935? In 1939?

• How did the rise of your country’s dictator affect the economy?

• What direct steps did he take to try and improve the economy?

• How did most of your citizens feel about the change in the economy between 1919 and 1939?

• How did the growth of the military affect your nation economically?

What questions did you come up with during your research? Add them to your notes and work to answer them!

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Stage 3: Factors Leading to Dictatorship

Dictatorships exist in Asia today. Search online news providers and search engines using the Resources page. What practices do present day Asian dictators use that compare to the ones you are studying leading up to WWII? How might they differ?

You are to use the information from your research and recorded in your mind map to write a Client Report detailing what preventative measures (i.e., need to do and not do) the nations of Asia should take to make sure that dictatorships don’t start replacing democracies in the region. See the Client Report template and "how to prevent dictatorships" rubric attached at the bottom of the page to guide your effort.

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Stage 4: What to Expect?

What if one of the nations in Asia does become an aggressive dictatorship that actually invades another country? You are to use China invading Taiwan as a case study. Your clients want to know what changes they should expect in the behavior of citizens in the invaded country and potentially from the invading soldiers.

Your team psychologist will draw from books based on Europeans living under the rule of foreign dictatorships during the WW II time period to write and perform a play with Taiwanese and Chinese participants that depicts how extreme stress and fear changes human behavior. All five members of your team will write the script and perform it. You will will work with your Language Arts teacher to do this project. Use the "play performance" rubric at the bottom of the page to guide your effort.

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Stage 5: When Dictatorships?

When might countries need dictatorships? Under what conditions might benevolent dictatorships be better than other forms of government? You are to write a persuasive essay describing to your clients that there are some cases when dictatorship as a form of government is in fact the best choice. Use the "persuasive essay" outline and the "persuasive essay-benevolent dictatorship" rubric at the bottom of the page to guide your effort.

Now go to Resources