Rise of Totalitarian Leaders

After World War I, the resulting economic disruptions created unstable political conditions in much of the world. The depression that wreaked havoc on the major industrialized economies of the world provided opportunities for the rise of dictators in the Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Images of tank and Mussolini courtesy the German Federal Archive

In the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin established a communist dictatorship which was continued after his death by Joseph Stalin. He created two Five-year plans to try and make the economy the equal of its Western European neighbors. His plan included collectivization of the farms, placing all industries under control of the state, and using the secret police to maintain his rule. He launched the Great Purge where political enemies, military leaders, and even peasants were sent to work camps in Siberia, placed in jail, or were killed. His ultimate goal was to entrench communism in all aspects of society.

The Treaty of Versailles, which was supposed to bring peace, worsened economic and political conditions in Europe and helped lead to the rise of totalitarian regimes in Italy and Germany. Mussolini was the first European ruler to establish a fascist state. He wanted to restore the glory of the Roman Empire and his first step in building that empire involved invading Ethiopia, one of the last independent countries in Africa.

Mussolini had a large influence on Hitler as Hitler plotted his version of a fascist state. As a result of extreme inflation and economic depression, the democratic government of the Weimar Republic was extremely weak. Hitler exploited these weaknesses in his speeches blaming the economic problems on European Jews and the Treaty of Versailles, which the Weimar politicians had signed. His ideas struck a chord with the German population as the Nazis continued to gain political power during the late 1920s and 1930s. Hitler became the official leader of Germany in 1933. He continued to promote extreme nationalism in order to gain followers. In 1935, he rejected the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and began to remilitarize the country, and then in 1938, invaded Austria and the Sudetenland. The Western power's weak response to Germany's aggression set the stage for Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939.

On the other side of the world, Japan emerged as world power after World War I and continued its aggressive imperialistic policies in Asia. As the country continued its rapid industrialization, many justified the colonization of neighboring countries with the need for raw materials. Bolstered by a strong military and a militaristic foreign policy, Japan invaded Korea (1910), Manchuria (1931), and the rest of China (1937), in effect, beginning World War II in Asia.