In the 1930s, a storm was gathering around the globe. New rulers had come to power in Europe and Asia. These leaders drew on resentment about their countries’ fates after World War I. They also aimed to spread their influence. Their hunger for power would change the lives of millions of people and cause mass destruction around the world.
The Hitler Youth salute German dictator Adolf Hitler in this 1938 photograph. Write three ideas about how Germany reacted to its treatment following World War I.
How did fascist governments come to power in Italy and Germany?
How did Stalin rule the Soviet Union?
Why did the United States adopt a policy of isolationism?
In Italy and Germany, totalitarian leaders exerted complete control over the government and society. These dictators were fascists (FASHists). Fascism is rooted in militarism, extreme nationalism, and blind loyalty to the state. Fascist dictators vowed to create new empires. Unlike communists, who drew much of their support from the working classes, fascists found allies among business leaders and landowners.
In 1922, Benito Mussolini and his Fascist Party seized power in Italy. He played on anger about the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I.
Many Italians felt cheated because the treaty did not grant Italy the territory it wanted. Mussolini promised to make Italy a mighty empire.
Mussolini also used fear to gain and hold power. Economic unrest and fears of a communist revolution plagued Italy, and many looked to Mussolini to stabilize the nation.
Once in power, Mussolini outlawed all political parties except his own. He controlled the press and banned criticism of the government. Critics were jailed or simply murdered. In schools, children recited the motto “Mussolini Is Always Right!”
In the 1930s, Mussolini used foreign conquest to distract Italians from economic problems. Promising to restore the greatness of ancient Rome, he initiated a program of military aggression. Aggression is a hostile or warlike act by one country against another without provocation.
Mussolini invaded the African nation of Ethiopia in 1935. The Ethiopians fought bravely, but their cavalry and outdated rifles were no match for Italy’s modern tanks and airplanes. Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie (HIlee suhLASee) asked the League of Nations for aid. The League responded weakly. Britain and France were caught up in their own economic problems and unwilling to risk another war. Without help, Ethiopia fell.
In Germany, Adolf Hitler brought the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or Nazis, to power. Like Mussolini, Hitler played on anger about the Treaty of Versailles. Germans bitterly resented the treaty because it blamed their country for World War I and made them pay heavy war costs.
Analyze Charts The chart shows the severe economic situation that existed in Germany in the years following World War I.
Identify Cause and Effect What evidence from the graph partly explains why many Germans would support a change in government?
Hitler assured Germans that they had not lost the war. Rather, he said, Jews and other traitors had “stabbed Germany in the back.” The argument was false, but in troubled times people were eager to find a scapegoat—a person or group on whom to blame their problems.
Hitler was a dynamic speaker and skillful politician. By the time the Great Depression struck, many Germans looked to him as a strong leader with answers to their problems.
In 1933, Hitler was named chancellor, or head of the German government. Within two years, he ended democratic rule and created a militaristic totalitarian state. In Nazi Germany, the government controlled the press, the schools, and religion.
The following year, Hitler organized a week-long rally in Nuremberg. Crowds chanted slogans praising Hitler. Uniformed soldiers marched in seemingly endless parades and engaged in mock battles. American reporter William Shirer described the Nuremberg rally:
“It is difficult to exaggerate the frenzy of the three hundred thousand German spectators when they saw their soldiers go into action, heard the thunder of the guns, and smelt the powder.”
— William L. Shirer, Berlin Diary
Hitler preached that Germans belonged to a race that was biologically superior to Jews; Roma, or Gypsies; and other peoples. The Nazi government singled out the Jews for special persecution. Jews were deprived of their citizenship, forbidden to use public facilities, and driven out of almost every type of work. Later, Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps, originally prison camps for civilians whom the Nazis declared “enemies of the state.” Many camps became death camps. In time, Hitler would unleash a plan to kill all the Jews in Europe.
Analyze Images Germans observe the aftermath of Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass). On November 9–10, 1938, Nazi troops ransacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues, and killed at least 91 Jewish people.
Infer What can you infer from the people’s expressions about their response to Kristallnacht?
Hitler claimed that Germany had a right to expand to the east. In defiance of the Treaty of Versailles, he began to build up Germany’s armed forces. Although the League of Nations condemned his actions, Hitler predicted that the rest of Europe would “never act. They’ll just protest. And they will always be too late.”
In 1936, German troops moved into the Rhineland, near the border with France and Belgium. The Treaty of Versailles had banned German troops from this region. France and Britain protested Germany’s illegal action but took no other action.
Identify Supporting Details How did political change in Germany result in military aggression in Europe?
Totalitarian leaders also came to power in the Soviet Union and Japan. Unlike those in Italy and Germany, however, these leaders were not fascist—but they did seek complete control. They were unhappy with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and hoped to bring new glory to their nations. As in Western Europe, the political changes underway in these regions drew the world closer to war.
Vladimir Lenin set up a communist government in the Soviet Union. After Lenin’s death in 1924, Joseph Stalin gained power. Stalin ruled as a totalitarian dictator. In a totalitarian state, a single party controls the government and every aspect of people’s lives. Citizens must obey the government without question. Criticism of the government is severely punished.
Stalin took brutal measures to modernize and communize Soviet industry and agriculture. He ordered peasants to hand over land and animals to government-run farms. Millions resisted and were executed or exiled to forced labor camps. More than 5 million people starved to death.
Stalin also purged, or got rid of, his political enemies. Many confessed to false charges under torture. These people were also killed or sent to labor camps. In all, it is estimated that 20 million or more people perished by the hand of Stalin’s ruthless dictatorship.
Analyze Images This 1940 Soviet poster reads “Long Live the Victorious Nation! Long Live Our Dear Stalin.”
Synthesize Visual Information What emotions did this poster try to stir in the Soviet people?
Japan’s economy suffered severely during the Great Depression. As many Japanese grew impatient with their democratic government, military leaders took power. Like Hitler, these leaders preached racial superiority. They believed that the Japanese were purer than, and superior to, other Asians as well as non-Asians.
The military rulers set out to expand into Asia. In 1931, Japanese forces seized a region in northeastern China known as Manchuria. The region was rich in coal and iron, two resources scarce in Japan. The Japanese set up a state in Manchuria called Manchukuo.
China called on the League of Nations for help. The League condemned Japanese aggression but did little else. The United States refused to recognize Manchukuo but took no action.
Identify Supporting Details Why was the Soviet Union considered a totalitarian state?
In the United States, the strong isolationist mood of the 1920s continued. As war clouds gathered overseas, Americans were determined to keep from becoming involved. In 1935, Congress passed the first of a series of Neutrality Acts, which banned arms sales or loans to countries at war. Congress also warned Americans not to travel on ships of countries at war. By limiting economic ties with warring nations, isolationists hoped to stay out of any foreign conflict.
Analyze Charts This chart describes the main impacts of each of the three Neutrality Acts.
Use Evidence What evidence shows that the United States hoped to minimize involvement in any overseas war?
Closer to home, the United States tried to improve relations with Latin American nations. In 1930, President Hoover rejected the Roosevelt Corollary. The United States, he declared, no longer claimed the right to intervene in Latin American affairs.
When President Franklin Roosevelt took office in 1933, he also worked to build friendlier relations with Latin America. His Good Neighbor Policy emphasized trade and cooperation. Under this policy, FDR withdrew American troops from Nicaragua and Haiti.
Roosevelt also canceled the Platt Amendment, which had limited the independence of Cuba.
Roosevelt believed that as world tensions increased, the need to strengthen ties in the Americas became more pressing. On a visit to Argentina, he warned that any foreign aggressor “will find a hemisphere wholly prepared to consult together for our mutual safety.”
President Roosevelt also improved relations with the Soviet Union. He restored diplomatic relations with the Soviet government in 1933, although he remained wary about allying America too closely with the communist nation. In addition to benefiting the American economy, Roosevelt hoped that improved relations with the Soviet Union would discourage Japanese expansion in Asia.
Analyze Images In this 1935 cartoon, “Only a Generation Apart,” Woodrow Wilson tells President Roosevelt, “I hope you have better luck than I did.”
Use Visual Information What comparison does the cartoonist draw between Wilson and Roosevelt?
Understand Effects How did political changes in Europe and Asia lead to the Good Neighbor Policy?
How did Germany, Japan, and Italy act with aggression?
What was the purpose of Hitler’s concentration camps?
Why did Congress enact the Neutrality Acts?
Summarize How did Mussolini seize power in Italy in 1922, and what actions did he take that led to a fascist government?
Draw Conclusions How did the Nazi government justify its persecution of Jews during the early days of Hitler’s rule?
Writing Workshop: Introduce Characters You will write a narrative from the perspective of either an American soldier during World War II or of an American on the home front. Decide which perspective you will use, and then think about who will be characters in your story. Write three sentences describing your characters.