Chapter 23: The Rise Of Fascism And Totalitarian States -Introduction

Chapter 23 - How Fascism and Totalitarian States Came to Be

1. Introduction

President Woodrow Wilson said the United States joined World War I in 1917 to help make the world safe for democracy. But after the war ended, things didn't go as planned. The peace agreement that followed made some of the winners feel like they lost too. Germany, who lost the war, was especially unhappy because of the tough rules they had to follow from the Treaty of Versailles. Countries struggled to fix their economies that were damaged by the war. The 1920s were a difficult time with a lot of instability inside countries and tension between them. Things got even worse in the 1930s when the Great Depression hit the whole world. Because of these tough times and existing tensions, some people started supporting leaders who promised to fix everything, even if it meant giving up some freedoms. Dictators came to power in countries like Germany, Italy, the Soviet Union, Hungary, Portugal, Poland, and Romania.

Themes

Cultural Interaction: Fascism is a way of running a country that says being patriotic, loyal to strong leaders, and caring about the country's success is more important than individual rights and freedoms.

Political Systems: The mess left by World War I and the Great Depression made it easier for communism and fascism to spread, and for dictators to take over.

Economic Systems: In countries with fascism or communism, the government has a lot of control over businesses and the economy.