A Level History M. Nichols SCIE 2011

THE CULT OF THE STRONG MAN –

WHO BELIEVED WHAT?

Match up the term with the correct dictator we have been studying.

(Remember some of the terms may be common to two or even all three).

/ Uncle Joe portrayed a benign image that was in sharp contrast to the vicious, ruthless and vindictive reality
While not above murdering opponents, this dictator preferred the old Roman punishment of internal exile to barren islands
Established a vicious police state where neighbours were encouraged to spy and inform on each other
Set up camps where political opponents and racial outcasts were sent and often murdered
Was a provincial outsider from a humble background who perhaps always had an inferiority complex
A megalomaniac determined on wars of foreign conquest and expansion
/ Came to power undemocratically through intrigue and the use intimidation
Known as the Fuhrer, he was regarded as an almost messianic saviour of the Fatherland
Popular with ordinary people who believed he could no wrong and that others in the government were responsible for errors
Known as ‘the boss’ (or vozdh) he surrounded himself with sycophants and yes men
Ordered the ‘Final Solution of the Jewish question’. Went to his grave an obsessed anti-Semite
Determined to recover the lost territories of the Tsars. Often referred to by historians as ‘the Red Tsar’
/ Known as Il Duce, his image was everywhere and venerated as the saviour of his nation
Tried to establish autarky in his country, which was too small and poorly resourced to achieve this grandiose aim
Veteran of the trenches of WWI. The War perhaps hardened and desensitised him, and certainly made him bitter
Met a brutal end, perhaps not undeserved given the bloodshed they had caused
Died in his bed, an old man, but still bitter and hateful to the end of his life
Determined on resurrecting ancient Roman ideas, symbols and even its empire

A Level History M. Nichols SCIE 2011

A Level History M. Nichols SCIE 2011

TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DICTATORSHIPS

Use your own knowledge and what you learned to help you find the correct definitions. A dictionary might also be useful.

TERM / DEFINITION
AUTARKY / Hitler’s justification for expansion to the east and an attack on the USSR, was living space for the German people
TOTALITARIANISM / Fear and repression kept people under control - and this made them afraid to oppose the regime
PERSONALITY CULT / All the dictators committed mass murder against their political and racial enemies, especially Hitler and Stalin
NATIONALISM / Ordinary people were indoctrinated and brain-washed into supporting the regime
LEBENSRAUM / Most of the dictators aimed at total control and domination of their nation and its people
MILITARISM / People could not express themselves freely. Free speech and freedom of the press quickly disappeared
POLICE STATE / The belief that a nation could become economically self-sufficient and did not need to import resources
UBIQUITOUS PROPAGANDA / Force and its use against real or imagined external enemies was a major feature of the dictatorships
CENSORSHIP / All the dictators encouraged a belief in their omnipotence and made sure their image was ubiquitous
SHOW TRIALS / All the dictators, whatever their professed ideology, were first and foremost interested in their nation’s success
GENOCIDE / Opponents of the regime were often subject to cruel exposure in court, where a guilty decision was a foregone decision
TERM / DEFINITION
AUTARKY
TOTALITARIANISM
PERSONALITY CULT
NATIONALISM
LEBENSRAUM
MILITARISM
POLICE STATE
UBIQUITOUS PROPAGANDA
CENSORSHIP
SHOW TRIALS
GENOCIDE