What factors led to the rise of the authoritarian regimes?

Political factors
Redistribution of land and resources after World War I caused political shifts and discontentment

New nations felt threatened by the larger nations and uncertain that the League of Nations would be able to protect them
New nations had to set up a government, and establish an economy Several countries had a democratic government that was ineffective

Authoritarian regimes promised a strong government

Social factors
War had caused social upheaval

During the war, rigid gender and class divisions were blurred
After the war, tensions arose between those who wanted to return to the old ways and those who wanted to keep their new-found status Authoritarian regimes tended to offer order in society

Economic factors
Economies of many countries suffered badly during and after the war War damage was great; costs of rebuilding were extremely high Trade was disrupted; various currencies were hit by inflation Unemployment was high

Authoritarian regimes offered stability and hope

Effects of the Wall Street Crash

US stock market collapsed in the Wall Street Crash in 1929 Rest of the world was affected, except USSR and countries that were too poor to trade Authoritarian regimes used the discontent arising from economic problems to seize power They offered stability and security with confidence

Communist Russia: How did Stalin come to power and what was life like under the Stalinist regime?

How did Stalin come to power and what was life like under the Stalinist regime?
February 1917 revolution overthrew the Tsar and threw Russia into chaos A Provisional Government took over, but was very weak:
Faced tough opposition from Soviets (those who organised the revolution) and those who wanted to put the Tsar back in power
Did not solve critical issues like food and fuel shortages that had sparked the revolution Instead, it made liberal reforms (freeing political prisoners, allowing free speech), allowing critics the chance to attack

How did Stalin come to power and what was life like under the Stalinist regime?
The Bolsheviks, one of the most popular opposing parties, campaigned against the government Led a second revolution in October 1917, seizing power from the government Signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, taking Russia out of the war

Renamed themselves the Communist Party (CP) and Russia became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

How did Stalin come to power and what was life like under the Stalinist regime?
Russia was out of World War I but was swept into a Civil War Red Army (Bolsheviks) had to fight off many opponents before winning the Civil War in 1921 War communism imposed during the Civil War everything owned by the state

After the war, people allowed more freedom they could own land and small businesses

How did Stalin come to power and what was life like under the Stalinist regime?
The Russian economy gradually improved However, Lenins health worsened and he died in 1924 Main contenders to take over: Trotsky and Stalin

Why did Stalin win the leadership contest?

Stalin focused on consolidating his power more than the running of the country His post as General Secretary helped it was a sign of Lenins favour

How did the Five-Year Plans build up USSRs industry?

Five-Year Plans introduced to make USSR an autarky self sufficient, not relying on trade with other countries Stalins economic committee, GOSPLAN
Drew up the plans Set targets for industrial and agricultural growth

Created a command economy the state told factories what to produce and farmers what to grow

Three Five-Year Plans

First plan (1928 to 1932)
Concentrated on expanding industry, transport and the power supply

Second plan (1933 to 1938)

Focused on more manufactured goods, in addition to first plan

Third plan (began in 1939 but interrupted by outbreak of war)

Production of luxuries like bicycles and radios

Controlling the workers

Local party workers set up committees and supervised all levels of industry

Food was rationed by the state. Ration cards, wages and housing were allocated by committee
Workers who met targets were rewarded in the form of extra rations. Those who were thought to not be working hard enough had their rations cut Food was in very short supply an effective way to control workers

Problems with the Five-Year Plans

Problem 1: the quality of goods suffered
Rapid production led to poor quality of goods Workers were not trained properly Stalin desperately sought help from Western experts

Problem 2: human cost

People were crowded into new industrial towns to live and work in appalling conditions Living conditions were cramped with little running water or sanitation

How did collectivisation change farming life?

Collectivisation
Stalin took all farmland and set up huge state-run farms called collectives (kolkhozy) Peasants kept enough for themselves and sold the rest to the state

Could not own land or sell food privately

Had fixed hours and wages

State provided homes, food, fuel, and clothing for the peasants

Resistance
Many peasants resisted collectivisation
As a result, food production went down, leading to another famine in 1932.

Stalin sent soldiers to force collectivisation on the people Land was taken from the kulaks (people with the biggest farms) and millions were sent to labour camps. By 1930, the kolkhozy had been changed
No longer huge state-run farms, but smaller collectives run by the local CP.

Did collectivisation work?

By 1940,almost all farms were collectives Some collectives had good production figures and were used as model examples However, some peasants reverted to traditional, inefficient farming methods when their tractors broke down.

On the whole, collectives were producing enough food to feed peasants and workers in the industrial towns
Thus, Stalins main aim of keeping the industry going was met

How did Stalin use propaganda to control people?

Propaganda: the deliberate spreading of ideas and information for the purpose of promoting a specific cause
The Bolsheviks used propaganda to start the Revolution Stalin used propaganda to convince people he was a closer friend of Lenin than he really was

Stalin increasingly used extreme propaganda and censorship to control the people

False information
In his rise to power, Stalin lied to make Trotsky look like a bad person

During the Five-Year Plans, published statistics were made up to make the economic situation look good
Newspapers, radios and posters gave out state-controlled information There was state censorship of everything
Writing, art, music and plays were censored

School textbooks were changed on a regular basis

How did propaganda increase industrial production?

The Five-Year Plans encouraged everyone to exceed their targets

Alexei Stakhanov
A coalminer who mined 102 tons of coal with his work gang in one shift in 1935 Posters, newspapers and radio reports presented him as a hero, urging Russians to follow his example

Later, Stalin admitted that Stakhanov had been working on an easy seam of coal with the best equipment

How did Stalin use fear to control people?

Stalins policies were hard on the people Despite state propaganda convincing people to make sacrifices, opposition grew in the 1930s Hardships due to his policies were worsened by the 1932 famine, increasing opposition

Stalin stamped out opposition ruthlessly through the use of fear

Finding the opposition

Opponents of Stalin
Arrested, tried, sent off to labour camps (gulags) or just disappeared

Stalin used the secret police to hunt down his opposition

Arrested, questioned and shot people to order

People were encouraged to inform against friends, neighbours and family. People were arrested for even trivial examples of opposition.
E.g. telling anti-Stalin jokes warranted an arrest

Show trials
Stalin put his political rivals in public show trials Many, including former allies Kaminev and Zinoviev) were accused of plotting against Trotsky Many of those on trial confessed to crimes they had not committed, often after torture or threats to their families

Purges
Stalins purges were supposed to clean out enemies of communism in USSR

However, Stalin used them to get rid of his opponents

People were arrested and sent to labour camps without anyone knowing what had happened to them Many arrested were members of the CP some were even loyal supporters of Stalin

Effects of Stalins purges

Nazi Germany: How did Hitler come to power and what was life like under the Nazi regime?

The rise of Hitler and the Nazis

Hitler
Leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party

Tried to take over Germany by force in the Munich putsch in 1923 but failed
Arrested, tried and sent to prison for five years Released only nine months later

Hitlers ideas about empire and race

Political takeover

How did the Nazis rebuild the German economy?

To build the Third Reichs empire, Hitler needed a large, well-provisioned army

He also wanted Germany to be as self-sufficient in raw materials and food as possible

A radical Four-Year Plan was drawn up by Hermann Goering to meet Hitlers objectives

The Four-Year Plan

Geared towards being ready for war in four years, but presented instead as a way of revitalising the economy

Most important aims:

Rearmament Autarky

Provided work for the unemployed by hiring them in factories

Introduced agricultural reforms to increase production to meet the needs of a growing population

Working for Germany

The Nazis took control of the workforce
Unemployed had little choice about the work provided Factories were told what to produce

Banned trade unions as they were seen as threats to Nazi control

Everyone had to join the German Labour Front (DAF)

DAFs aim:
To indoctrinate the Germans in the Nazi state mentality so they would support the state

Children and Schooldays

The Nazis wanted hardworking, obedient, healthy Aryan citizens for their empire

They controlled childrens lives from the moment they were born so they would grow up believing in Nazi ideals
Nazi control tightened in school
Curriculum was determined by Nazis

When not in school, children were expected to join a youth group and to spend as little time as possible on their own

How did the Nazis use propaganda to control the people?

The Nazis act against Jewish people

Used propaganda against Jewish people and also acted against them

Laws were passed to increasingly isolate them and make them less part of the community this made them easier targets The SA attacked Jewish people, broke up their shops and arrested them for no reason
All people were encouraged to do the same

How did the Nazis use fear to control the people?

Hitler used fear through:
The SA (Sturmabteilung or stormtroopers) The SS (Schutzstaffel or protective squadron) Gestapo (secret police force)

Night of the Long Knives

By 1934, SA had three million members SA seen as a threat to the regular army Hitler needed the armys support Ernst Rohm, leader of SA criticised Hitlers policies Hitler had Rohm and other SA leaders arrested and shot

How did the Nazis use fear to control the people?

The Nazis used party officials to watch and report on the people

Neighbours, even family members, were encouraged to report on suspicious behaviour

Prison camps were used to re-educate prisoners to accept Nazi ideas

Effects of Nazism

Fascist Japan: How did the fascists come to power in Japan and what was life like under their regime?

How did the fascists come to power in Japan and what was life like under their regime?
Japan
Small country with little land and no raw materials To expand, it had to take over land elsewhere Government that took power in 1868 focused on economic and territorial expansion Determined not to become part of Western colonisation Looked to the West for trade and ideas for modernisation Went to war with China (1894) and Russia (1904) and won both wars

World War I
Japans alliance with Britain meant that it was pulled into World War I

Japanese industries took over trade from Europe as Europe was preoccupied with war
However, wartime economic growth benefitted only the rich industrialists Rapid industralisation led to growing towns
Demand for food rose but fewer people in agricultural to grow the food

 Widespread discontentment due to:

Food shortages Rising prices Bad working conditions and wages

Workers formed unions and went on strike on a large scale Ordinary people formed political groups to express their discontentment with the government

Japan and the Treaty of Versailles

Japan was allowed to keep German possessions it had captured during the war However, the League of Nations did not have a clause about racial equality
1921 Washington Naval Conference limited size of Japanese fleet to no more than 60% of the smallest US or British fleets Japanese felt they were unfairly treated

However, Japan still traded with Western powers which enabled its industries to flourish

The Japanese economy

Japanese industry worked on a two-tier system
Top-level industrial firms called zaibatsu: favoured by the government and had connections with banks Smaller firms: survived by providing services for zaibatsu on their terms

Most trade with the West, and therefore the greatest profits, went to the zaibatsu

 Japanese control of trade gave Japan a large income:

Controlled trade routes in Pacific and Indian Oceans Controlled much trade in and out of China

This made USA uneasy of Japans intentions in China USA hoped that the threat of losing valuable imports from them would make Japan reluctant to do anything to upset them

Economic disaster
Japan was deeply affected by the Wall Street Crash in 1929

 Economic depression meant other countries could no longer afford Japanese goods
The silk industry was badly hit
By 1932, silk prices fell to less than 20% of their 1923 prices

Many businesses collapsed; unemployment rose Contact with the West was no longer seen as a good thing
Nationalist politicians argued that dependence on the West for trade and an adoption of their ways had damaged Japan economically and culturally

Why did nationalism become so powerful in Japan?

Since 1868, Japan had been governed by a constitutional monarchy

However, the government was very disorganised and unstable:

Many different parties meant the government changed often Emperor only a figurehead Real power held by a cabinet of ministers Politicians more interested in building power than governing

 A single powerful party did not emerge, unlike in USSR and Germany
However, the most influential groups had a similar nationalistic outlook Most important party:
The Seiyukai, a militaristic and nationalistic party

Nationalist ideas in Japan

Anti-imperialism
The Nationalists believed that
Anglo-American values and needs dominated the world Capitalist ways were decadent and morally wrong Japans policy of keeping peace with the West was weak

Japan needed to become an autarky by trading with strong nation-states such as Germany and Italy
Japan needed to take over land that had raw materials

What were the effects of militarism on the Japanese people?

Militarism in Japan brought both benefits and problems similar to those in USSR and Germany

Providing work
Cut unemployment by providing jobs through building projects
Encouraged women to work in the industries
Provided housing for women in the towns and cities

Controlling the workers

Government did not ban trade unions But, the government implemented various worker groups, all of which stressed the need for self-sacrifice, traditional values, etc.

Controlling the opposition

The Peace Preservation Law (1925) allowed the government to arrest and imprison anyone they thought was a danger to the government At first, it was to be used only as an emergency measure against communists or groups about to take violent action From 1928, it was increasingly used to suppress political opposition People who criticized the government lost their jobs

Controlling education
Government provided children six years of free compulsory education since 1907

Schools were seen as a good place to spread government values

Time was spent teaching traditional skills and values Boys had to begin military training exercises in school Government also broadened military training to include university and college students

Why did the military develop such a hold on Japan?

Military leaders had strong links with nationalist parties thus the growth of power of the military was tied tightly to the growth of nationalism Policy of a co-prosperity sphere evolved
Involved Japan extending control over neighbouring countries Sounded as if Japan wanted to strengthen trade links In actual fact, it aimed at taking over land and resources to benefit Japan

The Manchurian Incident (18 September 1931)

What happened?
Japanese soldiers patrolling the Japanese-owned railway line near Mukden heard an explosion and gunfire Believing they were under attack by Chinese, they called for backup and began firing back Large scale fighting broke out

Many people believed that the explosion in the Manchurian Incident was deliberately set by the Japanese to give them an excuse to fight back and seize control of Manchuria

Manchukuo
By end of January 1932, Japan was in control of south Manchuria and large parts of northern China renamed Manchukuo Announced as an independent state
Not belonging to China, USSR or Japan However, its leader Pu Yi was chosen by the Japanese

Only Italy and Germany recognised Japans control of Manchukuo

Pushed Japan into closer ties with these fascist countries

Political power
In 1932, Prime Minister Inukai was assassinated for openly disagreeing with the army From this point on, the military was more open in its control of the government More assassinations took place to remove undesirable threats to military power The army, with the emperor at the head as a puppet, was in charge

Effects of Japanese Fascism

Summary