H2 - Totalitarian Regimes

Question 1

Totalitarianism

Answer 1

• form of government where the state’s power is unlimited
• controls all aspects of public and private life largely using TERROR
• control extends to all political and economic matters + attitudes, morals and beliefs of the people –

==> main foundation is the achievement of an ideology

Question 2

Ideology

Answer 2

a set of beliefs/ principles, on which a political system, party or organization is based (very important to justify power/violence)

Question 3

Kulaks

Answer 3

rich soviet farmers

ennemies of Stalin

Question 4

What are common points shared by totalitarian regimes?

Answer 4

Violence, struggles, intimidations.

Question 5

What is a dictatorship?

Answer 5

A form of government where the ruler/group governs without the consent of the population.

Question 6

What does the phrase ‘One people, One Reich, One Fuehrer’ signify?

Answer 6

The merging of the leader, state, and population into one entity.

Question 7

When did the first totalitarian regimes emerge?

Answer 7

In the 1920s, with Italy under Mussolini in 1923.

Question 8

What is the ideology of Nazism focused on?

Answer 8

Purification of the ‘master-race’ based on Aryan supremacy.

Question 9

What was the role of Stalin in the context of ideology?

Answer 9

Protector of Marxism-Leninism, interpreting and implementing its principles.

he’s a communist

Question 10

New Man (USSR)

Answer 10

selfless, hardworking, loyal to socialism, and committed to collective goals

Question 11

New Man (GER)

Answer 11

• better at everything
• fit, slender, tall
• obeys to orders
• shows how good the new regime is

Question 12

Fill in the blank: In Germany, the __________ allowed the government to forcibly sterilize certain individuals.

Answer 12

Eugenic

in 1933

Question 13

What was the goal of the economic policy in Nazi Germany?

Answer 13

Autarky, or self-sufficiency.

Question 14

What was collectivization in the USSR?

Answer 14

The transition from individual farms to collective farms owned by the state.

Question 15

What was the purpose of the Gestapo in Nazi Germany?

Answer 15

To act as the secret state police, enforcing loyalty to the regime.

the Gestapo was later controlled by the SS

Question 16

True or False: The NKVD in the USSR was responsible for the execution and deportation of suspected opponents.

Answer 16

True

Question 17

What was the significance of the Kristallnacht?

Answer 17

It marked a decisive moment in the organized and nationwide persecution of Jews.

state-organized attack on Jews in Ger and Austria on November 9–10, 1938

Question 18

What economic policy did Stalin implement to industrialize the USSR?

Answer 18

The Five Year Plan:
every 5 years, decide economic goals to reach in the following 5 years
–> unrealistic, only focused on heavy industry (shortages in consumption goods)

Question 19

What was the impact of the Holodomor in Ukraine?

Answer 19

A massive famine caused by collectivization policies, leading to millions of deaths.

Question 20

What were the Nuremberg laws in Germany?

Answer 20

Laws that restricted the rights of Jews and prohibited intermarriage with Aryans.

Question 21

Fill in the blank: The _______ was a series of political purges in the USSR during the late 1930s.

Answer 21

Great Purge

Question 22

What was the outcome of the Night of the Long Knives?

Answer 22

The elimination of SA leadership and consolidation of power for Hitler.

now it’s the SS

Question 23

What role did propaganda play in totalitarian regimes?

Answer 23

It was central to shaping public perception and enforcing ideology.

Josepsh Gobbels = Minister of propaganda in Nazi Germany

Question 24

What was the fate of political opponents in Nazi Germany?

Answer 24

Execution, concentration camps, and torture.

Question 25

What was the relationship between religion and the state in the USSR?

Answer 25

Religion was seen as opposition to communism, leading to persecution of religious institutions.

Question 26

What was the purpose of indoctrination programs for youth in totalitarian regimes?

Answer 26

To instill party ideology and create a militarized society.

Question 27

What was the primary form of resistance in the USSR during the 1930s?

Answer 27

Peasant resistance against collectivization ## Footnote Around 13,000 riots occurred, and approximately 1,000 communist officials were assassinated by peasants

Question 28

What methods did the Soviet government use to suppress resistance?

Answer 28

Famine enhancement (ukraine), sending the Red Army, and killing/deporting/torturing people ## Footnote Resistance was particularly crushed among peasants, who were deemed less important than workers.

Question 29

How did resistance manifest in Germany during the totalitarian regime?

Answer 29

Forms of opposition were weak, including passive resistance and clandestine operations by socialists and communists ## Footnote for ex: some people just didn't listen to speeches etc.

Question 30

What role did priests and pastors play in resistance in Germany?

Answer 30

They embodied resistance but were often isolated or deported for their public sermons ## Footnote Their influence was limited by state repression.

Question 31

What was Germany's motivation for totalitarian expansion after the Versailles Treaty?

Answer 31

Revenge against the unfair treaty, to reclaim lost territories and establish the Thousand Year Reich ## Footnote Germans believed they had been betrayed by Jews and communists, leading to the 'stab in the back' myth.

Question 32

What significant actions did Hitler take to violate the Versailles Treaty?

Answer 32

Withdrew from the League of Nations (33), began rearmament, reoccupied the Rhineland, and created the Luftwaffe ## Footnote These actions escalated tensions leading up to WWII.

Question 33

What were the alliances formed by Germany in 1936?

Answer 33

Rome-Berlin Axis and Anti-Comintern Axis ## Footnote Japan joined the Anti-Comintern Axis in 1937.

Question 34

What was the Comintern's strategy after 1934 regarding alliances?

Answer 34

Allowed communist parties to ally with socialists to form the Popular Front ## Footnote This was a shift in tactics to combat democratic regimes.

Question 35

What was the outcome of the Spanish Civil War?

Answer 35

Republicans were defeated and nationalists under Gen Franco took control

Question 36

What was the significance of the Munich Conference in 1938?

Answer 36

Allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland without resistance ## Footnote This event highlighted the weakness of democracies against totalitarian regimes.

Question 37

What actions did Germany take in March 1939?

Answer 37

Annexed the rest of Czechoslovakia ## Footnote This was part of a series of aggressive expansions leading to WWII.

Question 38

What was the Pact of Steel?

Answer 38

A pact reinforcing the alliance between Italy and Germany in May 1939 ## Footnote This solidified their military cooperation leading into WWII.

Question 39

What was the secret pact between Germany and the USSR in 1939?

Answer 39

A non-aggression treaty that included plans to invade and divide Poland ## Footnote This treaty was not intended to be honored by Germany.

Question 40

What common characteristics did German and Soviet regimes share?

Answer 40

Propaganda, cult of the leader, indoctrination, political police, violence, terror ## Footnote Despite their differences in ideology, both regimes employed similar methods of control.

Question 41

What were the ideological differences between Nazism and Communism?

Answer 41

Nazism focused on Lebensraum; Communism focused on internationalism ## Footnote These differing ambitions shaped their respective policies and actions.

Question 42

True or False: Western democracies effectively countered the rise of totalitarian regimes during the interwar period.

Answer 42

False ## Footnote Western democracies seemed powerless and did not know how to react to the growing threat of totalitarianism.

Question 43

Enabling Act

Answer 43

1933-1934 Adolf Hitler and his cabinet the power to make laws without the Reichstag’s approval, including laws that violated the German constitution ## Footnote Passed after the Reichstag Fire, the act gave Hitler dictatorial powers for four years (later extended) and effectively marked the end of democracy in Germany. It allowed the Nazi regime to establish a totalitarian state.

Question 44

1st concentration camp established near Munich

Answer 44

Dachau, 1933

Question 45

Munich conference

Answer 45

September 1938 ## Footnote which led to Germany annextating Sudetenland in 1938

Question 46

The Great Terror

Answer 46

series of mock trials (1937-1938)

Question 47

Stalin's death

Answer 47

1953