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Period: to
Rise of Totalitarianism
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The End of the Romanov Dynasty
The Romanov Dynasty came to an end immediatley after Rasputin was killed. The dynasty's downfall was a result from ignored problems in the government and the tensions of war. -
March Revolution 1917
Disasters on the battlefield along with food and dfuel shortages in the home front caused the monarchy to collapse. Workers went on strike on Petrograd. These marchers went on strike; many of these rioters included women that rioted for "Bread!" the government was left with little power when troops seized to fire on the marchers. In return, Czar Nicholas II abdicates. Duma set up a provisional/ temporary goverment run by Alexander Kerensky. They wanted to continue war with Germany. -
Lenin and the Bolsheviks
Lenin srudied the ideas of Karl Marx. He adapted Marxist ideas to Russian conditions. Marx predicted that the "industrial working class would rise spontaneously to overthrow capitalism." However, Russia did not have a large urban proletariat. So, he called for a priveledged class to lead the revolution and set up a "dictatorship of the proletariat." This group became known as the Bolsheviks. -
Lenin returns
Germany saw a chance to weaken its enemy by helping Lenin return home to the Russian frontier from exile. So, in April, Lenin arrived in Petrograd.
"Long live the International Socialist Revolution." -
The November Revolution
Lenin and Leon Trotsky, another Marxist revolutionary worked together in furthering the revolution. Lenin and the Bolsheviks promised many anxious Russians "Peace, Land, and Bread." The provisional government soon made a new offensive against Germany. -
Under Seige cont.
The presence of these forces roused Russian nationalism and support for the Reds. The Communists unleased a reign of terror to beat their enemies. A secret police called, the Cheka was launched, executing anyone suspected of counterrevolutionary activities. Lenin created a poilicy of "War Communism." Communists took over banks, factories, mines and railroads, along with forcing peasants to work in factories. -
The Bolshevik Takeover
A band of Red Guards which were made of armed factory workers, joined sailors from the Russian fleet to attack the provisional governement. Lenin and his forces overthrew the governement in a short span of time. The provisional governement fell without a stuggle. -
The Bolshevik Takeover cont.
The Bolsheviks seized power in othre cities. Moscow became the Bolsheviks' new capital, and Kremlin their headquarters. The Bolsheviks has a goal in mind, "We shall now occupy ourselves in Russia in building up a proletarian socialist state." The Bolsheviks ended private ownership of land and distributed land to peasants. Workers were also given control over factories and mines. The Bolsheviks had a union betwween peasants and workers. They soon became known as Communists. -
Under Seige
Lenin sought peace with Germany after the Bolshevik Revolution. Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, giving up a large amount of its population and territory in the east to end the fighting on the eastern front. Civil war raged. The newly formed Red Army battled the whites, counterrevolutionaries still loyal to the czar. The Allies felt betrayed by the Russian treaty and decided to intervene. Japan seized land in East Asia. Britain, France, and the US sent forces to help the Whites. -
Mussolini creates the Fascist Party
Italians were aggravated by the results of WWI. In addition to a great number of casualties, Italians were not granted the land they were promised and they felt betrayed. To fix this problem, Mussolini stepped in to fix this problem by organizing a group of nationalists called the Black Shirts, and the name of this type of group is called Fascio di Combattimento. -
Struggles of the Weimar Republic
In 1919, the new German Republic drafted a constitution in the city of Weimar. It created a democratic government known as the Weimar Republic. It set up a parliamentary from of government led by a prime minister, or chancellor. Men and women were also given the right to vote. The Weimar gov't, however, faced problems from the start. -
Hitler Joins NSDAP
Hitler joined a small group of extremists. Hitler said that the party should change its name to the National Socialist German Workers Party from just the German Worker’s Party, and within a year, Hitler became leader of this group. Hitler organized members into fighting squads, and these squads fought against communists and any others they saw as enemies. -
Reds win the Civil War
The Communists defeated their enemies. The whites surrendered and the Reds buolt the USSR (United Soviet Socialst Republic). Russia, however, was left in ruins from famine strikingg the lands, bad ecinomy, and strains left from WWI. -
Lenin Builds a Communist State
Lenin was now the leader of Russia. He turned to his original Marxist goal of building a classless society in which the means of production were in the hands of the people. In 1922, the communists produced a constitution that seemed both socialist and democratic. It established an elected legislature, called the Supreme Soviet, and gave all citizens over the age of 18 the right to vote. The means of production, political power, and resources were put in the hands of workers and peasants. -
Lenin's Economic Policy (NEP)
"war Communism" brought the economy near collapse, so Lenin retreated from it. In 1921, Lenin adopted the New Economic Policy (NEP). It allowed some capitalist ventures. The state kept control over banks, foreign trade, and large industries, however, small businesses were allowed to open for privatr profit. Peasants were also allowed to hold small land plots and sell their crops freely. The economy became stable again and food and industry production increased. -
March on Rome
Benito Mussolini was elected into Italian Parliament and he founded the National Fascist Party, which had 300,000 members by the end of the year. 20,000 of those members joined Mussolini in October to demand power. Seeing no other solution, King Victor Emmanuel III made Mussolini prime minister. -
Beer Hall Putsch
Hitler entered a beer hall in Munich with hopes to take over Bavaria while the Nazis were in Munich speaking about the new rule. Meanwhile, Hitler took the government officials captive and gave a speech about his planned overthrow. After Hitler left to check on the Nazis, the officials escaped and Hitler was arrested. -
Lenin Dies
Lenin dies from a stoke at the age of 53. -
Stalin Gains Power
After Lenin's death in 1924, Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin both were involved in a power struggle. Leon Trorsky was a brilliant Marxist thinker and an architect of the Russian Revolution. Stalin was not a scholar, but a shrewd political operator. They both differed on issues such as the future of communism. Trotsky wasnted a revolution against capitalism, but Stalin took a more cautious view and wanted to build socialism at home first. Stalin, "Man of Steel" won the struggle. -
Mein Kampf
On July 18, 1925 Hitler’s book Mein Kampf that he wrote during his imprisonment was published. Mein Kampf was about Hitler’s obsessions of his belief for “anti-Semitism”, or hatred of Jews. It also contained his strong nationalistic views, stating that Germans were the “master race” of Aryans, and that all others were inferior, especially the Jews. Hitler viewed the Jews not as member of a religion, but as a separate race. -
Foreign Policy
Lenin and Stalin wanted to bring about the worldwide revolution that Marx predicited, but at the same time, they wanted to guarantee their nation's security by winning the support of other countries. Lenin formed the Cimmunist International, or Comintern which aided revolutionary groups around the world and urged colonial peoples to rise up against impperialist powers. Comintern propaganda against capitalism made western powers suspicious of the Soviet Union.
-Red scare in US 1920s. -
Foreign Policy cont.
The Soviet Union won recognition from western powers ans increased trade with capitalist countires. Eventually, it joined the League of Nations. -
The Five-Year Plans
When Stalin was in power, he set out to make the Soviet Union into a modern industrial power. In 1928, Stalin set out to propose the first of the several "five year plans" which was aimed at building heavy industry, imporving transportation, and increasing farm output. To achieve this, Stalin brought all economic activity under government control. The Soviet Union developed a command economy, in which government officials made made all basic economic decisions. The gov't owned all businesses. -
The Five-Year Plans cont.
Stalin's Five-Year Plans set high production goals. The governemnt pushed workers and managers to meet these goals by giving bonuses to those that succeeded and punished those who did not. As a result, oil, coal, and steel production grew. Mining expanded, and new railroads were built. Despite this progress, the standard of living in certain areas remained poor. Wages were low and consumer goods were scarce. The planned economy failed to match the capitalist world in making consumer goods. -
Revolution in Agriculture
Stalin also brought agriculture under government control. From Lenin's NEP, peasants were allowed to acquire small plots of land, but Stalin saw this a threat to state power. So, he forced peasants to give up their lands and live on state owned farms or collectives.The state set all prices and controlled access to farm supplies. The peasants refused collectivization by realiating by burning crops and killinmg farm animals.The gov't responded with brutal force. -
Revolution in Agriculture cont.
Stalin sought to destroy the kulaks, or wealthy peasants by confiscating their lands and sending them to labor camps. The effects of collectivization were horrendous. Peasants were left to starve when the gov't took the small outputs of crops from peasants, in which they relied on to eat. Porr harvest and collectivization led to a famine. Collectivization did not improve farm output. Feeding the population became a major problem inside the Soviet Union. -
Fascist Youth
Shaping the young was a major Fascist goal. Fascist youth groups toughened children and taught them to obey strict military discipline. "Mussolini is always right." A generation of young soldiers stood ready to defend Il Duce's drive to expand Italian power. -
Japan invades Manchuria
In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria in northeastern China, adding it to the growing Japanese Empire. Military leaders felt Japan should have an empire equal to those of the western powers. As the aggression of the Japanese increased, Jiang's generals began to doubt him. Jiang wasted valuable resources fighting Chinese instead of foreign invaders. Jiang was forced to form a united front with the Communists against Japan. -
Nazis win the election
Four years prior, the Nazis had only won 2.8 % of the national vote, but over time they had used propaganda to become more popular. By the end of the 1932 election, the Nazis had 37 % of the vote, making them the largest party in Germany. -
Hitler is elected chancellor
Hitler spread his ideas of anti-Semitism and his nationalistic idea of making Germany a strictly German community. To make Hitler look more powerful, the Nazis adopted the swastika as the symbol of their party. Hitler had promised to create order in the streets of Germany and to end the economic crises in Germany. On January 30, 1933 Hitler was elected chancellor and reluctantly administered oath of office by Paul Von Hindenburg. -
The Great Purge
Stalin's power was absolute, however, he had fears that rival party leaders were plotting against him. In 1934, he launched the "Great Purge." In this reign of terror, Stalin's secret police cracked down on Old Bolsheviks. He targeted army heroes, industrial managers, writers, and ordinary citizens. They were charges with crimes such as counterrevolutionary plots and failure to meet production goals. He staged public "show trials" in Moscow. Some were executed or sent to labor camps (gulags). -
An "Iron Age" of Totalitarian Control
Stalin turned the Soviet Union into a totalitarian state. This form of government has a one-party dictatorship that attempts to regulate every aspect of the lives of its citizens. Stalin's Communist party used secret police, censorship, and terror to ensure accordance. Propaganda was put out to display the evils of capitalism. Religion was also outlawed. Atheism became the official policy of the state. Portraits of Stalin replaced religious icons in Russian homes. -
Italy Invades Ethiopia
Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935. The Ethiopians resisted as much as they could, but their out-dated weaponry was no match to Mussolini’s machine guns, tanks, poison gas etc. It got to the point where Ethiopian king Haile Selassie looked to the League of Nations for help. The League of Nations concluded that no further weapons would be sold to Italy. This did not extend to petroleum though, which fueled modern warfare, which led to Italy’s 1936 conquer of Ethiopia. -
Hitler's Challenge
He tested the will of the western democracies and found it weak. He build up the German military in defiance of the Bersailles treaty. Then, in 1936, he sent troops to the Rhineland, which was another treaty violation. It belonged to Germany, but it was on the frontier of France. Western democracies dissaproved, but adopted a policy of appeasement, giving in to the demands of the aggressor in orfer to keep the peace. -
Rape of Nanjing
The Japanese attacked China proper. Airplanes bomarded cities. Equipped and disciplined Japanese troops overran eastern China, including Beijing and Guangzhou. The Japanese set up their puppet fovernment in Nanjing, the former Nationalist capital. The brutality and massacre that occurred their entry became known as the "rape of Nanjing." -
Changes in Soviet Society
The Communists transformed Russian life. They destroyed the old social order of the nobles at the top and laborers at the bottom and created an equal society. The head of the society were members of the communist party. Many joined to improve the social standing not because they believed in the idealogy. The new elite included industrial managers, military leaders, scientists, and artists and writers. They enjoyed many benefits. Those not apart of the elite still received good benefits. -
Japan
The League of Nations condemned the Japanese aggression, and Japan withdrew from the organization. Japan's success strengthened the militarists. In 1937, much of eastern China was overran by Japanese armies. -
Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
Germany, Italy, and Japan formed what became known as the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis. The three nations agreed to fight Soviet communism. They also came to an agreement in not interfering in one another's plans for expansion. This agreement was a step in bringing other nations under their authority. -
Anschluss
Hitler wanted to expand his “cleansing” of Europe of the Jews. Hitler then ordered a union with Austria, making Austria a province of Germany. -
Munich Conference
Adolf Hitler, the fascist dictator of Germany, had already annexed Austria the year before. Now he wanted to also take the "Sudetenland" region of Czechslovakia and make the territory a part of Germany. He claimed that the German speaking inhabitants of this land were being mistreated by the Czech govt. At the Munich Conf. Hitler met with representatives of the heads of state from France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. An agreement was reached that Hitler could annex the Sudetenland. -
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
Publicly, this agreement stated that the two countries - Germany and the Soviet Union - would not attack each other. If there were ever a problem between the two countries, it was to be handled amicably. The pact was supposed to last for ten years; it lasted for less than two.
