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The Gathering Storm Reading Focus Taking Notes
• What kind of dictatorship did Stalin set up in the Soviet
Union?
Key Terms
totalitarian state Fascism aggression
Copy the table below. As you read complete the table with
informa_ ' tion about the world in the 1930s.
• How did authoritarian gov-ernments come to power in Italy,
Germany, and Japan?
• Why did the United States adopt a policy of isolationism?
Nazis scapegoat concentration camp Neutrality Acts Good Neighbor
Policy
COUNTRY Soviet Union Italy Germany Japan United States
n Idea In the 1930s, as dictators elsewhere embarked ::::=. on a
path of aggression, the United States tried to stay out of
the' conflict.
LEADER GOVERNMENT!
POLICIES -----. --.
Selling the Scene A man strutted onto a balcony in Rome. A sea
of people cheered in the plaza below. He thrust his jaw forward,
puffed out his chest, raised his arm, and began a fiery speech.
"Ducef Ducef" the crowd cried. "Leader! Leader!"
In the 1920s, Benito Mussolini set the style for a new breed of
dictators, men with absolute power and visions of conquest. Some
Americans worried about the war clouds gathering in Europe and
Asia. But most hoped to isolate themselves from the conflict.
Stalin's Totalitarian State As you have read, Lenin had 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 u"i;ate, 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 Soviet industry and
agriculture. He ordered peasants to hand over land and animals to
government-run farms. Millions who resisted were executed or sent
to labor camps. Stalin also staged trials and executions of his
politi· cal enemies. Many confessed to false charges under
torture.
Fascist Italy Totalitarian leaders also came to power in Italy
and Germany. Unlike Stalin, these dictators were Fascists (FAR
shists). Fa cism was rooted in militarism, extreme nationalism, and
blind loyalty to the state. Fascist dictators vowed to create new
empires. While Communist~ drew much of their support from the
working classes, Fascists foun allies among business leaders and
landowners.
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l\'1ussolini In 1922, Benito Mussolini and his Fascist party
seized power in Italy. He played on anger about the Versailles
Treaty end-ing World War 1. Many Italians felt cheated because the
treaty did not grant Italy the territory it wanted. Mussolini also
used economic unrest and fears of a communist revolution to win
support.
Once in power, Mussolini outlawed all political parties except
his own. He controlled the press and banned criticism of the
govern-ment. Critics were jailed or simply murdered. In schools,
children recited the motto "Mussolini Is Always Right!"
Conquering Ethiopia In the 1930s, Mussolini used foreign
con-quest to distract Italians from economic problems. Promising to
restore the greatness of ancient Rome, he embarked on a program of
military aggression. Aggression is a warlike act by one country
against another without just cause.
Mussolini invaded the African nation of Ethiopia in 1935. The
Ethiopians fought bravely. However, their cavalry and outdated
rifles were no match for Italy's modern tanks and airplanes.
Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie (HI lee suh LAS ee) asked the
League of Nations for aid. The League responded weakly. Britain and
France were caught up in their own economic problems and unwill-ing
to risk another war. Without help, Ethiopia fell to the
invaders.
Nazi Germany In Germany, Adolf Hitler brought the National
Socialist German Workers' Party, or Nazis, to power. Like
Mussolini, Hitler played on anger about the Versailles Treaty.
Germans bitterly resented the treaty because it blamed their
country for World War I and made them pay heavy war costs.
Hitler Becomes Dictator Hitler assured Germans that they had not
lost the war. Rather, he said, Jews and other traitors had "stabbed
Germany in the back." The argu-ment 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 powerful speaker and skillful politician. By the
time depression struck, many Germans looked to him as a strong
leader with answers to their problems.
In 1933, Hitler became chancellor, or head of the German
government. Within two years, he ended democratic rule and created
a mili-taristic totalitarian state. In Nazi Germany, the government
controlled the press, the Schools, and religion.
Soviet Propagan-da Poster The Soviet totalitarian state was
built on the glorification of Stalin (left) . This poster
celebrated the adoption of a new Soviet constitution in 1937.
Evaluating Information What emotions did this propaganda poster try
to stir in the Soviet people?
The following year, Hitler organized a Week-long rally in
Nuremberg. Crowds chanted slogans praising Hitler. Uniformed
soldiers
D I' L' U R. S. B.
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Chapter 27 Section 7 * 775
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Viewing History
Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler (left) was determined to build a
mighty military machine. Here, lines of German troops march at the
1934 Nuremberg rally. Their ban-ners display the swastika, symbol
of the Nazi party. Drawing Conclusions What impact do you think
pictures like these had on Germans? On people in neighboring
countries?
marched in 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
Attacks on Jews Hitler preached that Germans belonged to a race
that was biologically superior to Jews, 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, prison camps
for civilians who are considered enemies of the state. In time, as
you will read, Hitler would unleash a plan to kill all the Jews in
Europe.
The Nazi War Machine Hitler claimed that Germany had a right to
expand to the east. In defiance of the Versailles treaty, 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
bor-der with France and Belgium. France and Britain protested, but
they took no action.
Military Rule in Japan Jap an's economy suffered sev rely in th
e Great D epression. As rna~~ Japanese grew impa tien t "'lith th
eir democratic governmen t, 1l1~~ tary leaders tool< p weI'.
Like Hi tler th es lead r preached raCl d superiori ty. They b
elieved that the Japanese were purer than, an superior to, other
Asians as well as non-Asians.
776 * Chapter 27 The World War /I Era
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The military rulers set out to expand into Asia. In 1931,
Japanese forces seized Manchuria in northeastern China. Manchuria
was r ich ifJ coal and iron , two resources care in Japan. The J
apane e e t up
stat in Manchuria called M anchukuo. a. China called on the
League of Na tions for help. The League con-demned Japanese
aggression but did little else. The United States refused to
recognize Manchukuo but took no action.
American Isolationism In the United States, the strong
isolationist mood of the 1920s con-tinued. (See page 721.) As war
clouds gathered overseas, Americans were determined to keep from
becoming involved.
Neutrality Acts 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
coun-tries at war. By limiting economic ties with warring nations,
isola-tionists hoped to stay out of any foreign conflict.
Good Neighbor Policy Closer to home, the United States tried to
improve relations with Latin American nations. In 1930, President
Hoover rejected the Roosevelt Corollary. (See Chapter 23.) The
United States, he declared, no longer claimed the right to
intervene in Latin American affairs.
Franklin Roosevelt also worked to build friendlier relations
with Latin America. Under his Good Neig'hbor Policy, FDR withdrew
American troops from Nicaragua and Haiti. He also canceled the
Platt Amendment, which had limited the independence of Cuba.
As world tensions increased, the need to strengthen ties in the
Americas became more pressing. On a visit to Argentina, Roosevelt
warned that any foreign aggressor "will find a hemisphere wholly
prepared to consult together for our mutual safety."
Primary Source The Good Neighbor Policy
In this speech, President Roosevelt describes the results of his
policy toward Latin America: "The whole world now knows that the
United States cherishes no predatory ambitions. We are strong; but
less powerful nations know that they need not fear our strength. We
seek no conquest: we stand for peace .. .. The twenty-one American
republics are not only living together in friendship and in
peace-they are united in the determination to so remain."
-Franklin D. Roosevelt, Speech at Chautauqua, New York,
August 14, 1936
Analyzing Primary Sources According to FDR, was the Good
Neighbor Policy a success? Explain.
AnlR YOU READ
~ .Se~tion i Assessment-* ~- -Recall 1. Identify Explain the
signifi-
cance of (a) Joseph Stalin, (b) Fascism, (c) Benito Mussolini,
(d) Adolf Hitler, (e) Nazi, (f) Neutrality Acts, (9) Good Neighbor
Policy.
2. Define (a) totalitarian state, (b) aggression, (c) scapegoat,
(d) concentration camp.
Comprehension 3. Describe Stalin's totalitarian
rule in the Soviet Union. 4. What factors helped dictators
come to power in (a) Italy, (b) Germany, (c) Japan?
5. What were the goals of American isolationists?
Critical Thinking and Writing 6. Exploring the Main Idea
Review the Main Idea state-ment at the beginning of this
section. Then, make a list of at least two arguments for and two
arguments against American isolationism in the 1930s.
7. Drawing Inferences Write a paragraph explaining why you think
so many people were willing to reject democracy and turn to
dictators in the 1930s.
Drawing a Political Cartoon Draw a political cartoon about the
nature of totalitarian dictator-ships. You might focus on how the
government of a totalitarian state differs from the American system
of government.
Chapter 27 Section 7 * 777