WorldWarII-ArabHighSchool.ppt

World War II American History II Rise of the Dictators The Great Depression was world-wide, so the rest of the world suffered during the 1930s. To bring about economic relief, the countries of Germany, Italy, and Japan gave power to a single political party or leader. This type of government is called a dictatorship, and these dictators led the world into another global war. Italy Benito Mussolini took advantage of the labor unrest and the fear of communism to take control of Italy’s government. He formed the Fascist Party and outlawed all other political parties in the country. The Fascists believed that the state was more important than individual freedom. They also believed in military power and war as being healthy for a nation. When Mussolini and his Fascist Party were unsuccessful in solving Italy’s economic problems, they began a military buildup in preparation for war. The Fascist slogan was “Believe! Obey! Fight!” In 1935, Mussolini put his slogan to good use and invaded North Africa. A year later, he formed an alliance with Germany called the Axis Alliance. Mussolini Germany During the 1930s, Adolph Hitler came to power in Germany. He, too, used the fear of communism and the economic hard times of the decade to become dictator. Hitler’s dream was to unite all German-speaking people into one nation. This united Germany would be the Third Reich, or third German empire. (Reich means empire in German). In Hitler’s mind, the Third Reich would be for German people (the Aryan, or white race) only. He hated the Jews and wanted them eliminated from the German Empire. Hitler’s anti-semitism (hatred for the Jewish people) resulted in the death of more than six million Jews during WWII. Another six million Gypsies, communists, homosexuals, and disabled were killed by Hitler’s men. Germany In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler began to secretly rebuild the German military. He intended to create the German empire by force if necessary. The military buildup g