Chapter 23: The Rise Of Fascism And Totalitarian States -Introduction
Chapter 23 – When Tough Leaders Took Over
1. Introduction
President Woodrow Wilson of the United States once said, "We need to make the world safe for people to live in democracy," when the US joined World War I in 1917. But after the war, things didn't go as hoped. Even the winners of the war weren't happy with the peace that came after, and the losers, especially Germany, were very upset because of the tough rules they had to follow. Countries had a hard time fixing their broken economies.
The 1920s were filled with problems inside countries and between them. Things got even worse in the 1930s when the Great Depression, a time of very little money and jobs, spread from the United States to the rest of the world. During these tough times, some people in countries like Germany, Italy, the Soviet Union, Hungary, Portugal, Poland, and Romania started to like leaders who promised to fix everything, even if it meant giving up some of their freedoms. These leaders set up strict rules and took control of everything.
Themes
Cultural Interaction: Fascism was when people really loved their country, listened to strong leaders without questioning them, and thought their country's needs were more important than their own rights and freedoms.
Political Systems: The mess left by World War I and the Great Depression made it easier for very strict leaders to take control in some countries.
Economic Systems: Under the control of these strict leaders, the government decided how almost everything related to money and jobs was done.