The Rise of Fascism and Militarism

<h1>Text Preview</h1> <p> <P>During the 1920s and 1930s, as the communists were consolidating their control in the Soviet Union, right-wing totalitarian states ruled by dictators or military cabals emerged in Europe and Japan. Benito Mussolini set the pattern for these governments when he gained power in Italy in 1922. Mussolini's fascist movement emphasized aggressive nationalism, bombastic patriotic fervor, and a socialistic partnership between government and big business. "Il Duce," or "the leader" as he styled himself, sent Italian troops into the African nation of Ethiopia in the fall of 1935. The League of Nations imposed economic sanctions, but could not prevent the annexation of Ethiopia. Mussolini thus set into motion his grandiose plans to carve out a new Roman empire. Unfortunately, his dreams of territorial expansion were soon eclipsed by another fascist dictator. </P> </p> <p> <P>Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist Party—the Nazis—rose to power in large measure by playing on the German public's sense of betrayal directed against the Versailles Treaty and the reparations burden. With the economic collapse of the democratic Weimar Republic, Hitler and the Nazis seized their chance. On January 30, 1933, Hitler became chancellor, and embarked on the plan he created in his autobiographical book <i>Mein Kampf</i>. With the acquiescence of the Reichstag, the national legislature, the "fuhrer" established one-party rule, stripped Jews of their citizenship, and denounced the disarmament clauses and territorial losses dictated by the Versailles Treaty. Hitler withdrew Germany from the League of Nations, and pledged to achieve <i>lebensraum </i>("living space") for the German people. American ambassador William Dodd ominously warned from Berlin that most Germans would support the fuhrer even in "outright conquest."</P> </p> <p> <P>Hitler announced in March 1935 that the Third Reich—a synonym for Nazi Germany—was beginning a re-armament program that included an army of 500,000—five times that allowed under the Versailles Treaty. Britain and France protested, but took no military action. In America, the depth of the Great Depression and disillusionment over America's participation in the "War to End All Wars" was reaching a peak. Since the United States had never ratified the Versailles Treaty, President Roosevelt and an increasingly isolationist Congress left the entire matter to the European allies.</P> </p> <p> <P>As Mussolini and Hitler rose to power, a similar situation was unfolding in Japan. The tradition-bound Japanese military became more democratic after the World War, paving the way for young patriotic commoners to enter the officer ranks. These men and their commanders were determined to make Japan a world power, and they planned to use the "Showa"—the reigning name of Emperor Hirohito—as the figurehead for territorial expansionism. China, a natural geographic target for the Japanese militarists, was torn by civil war between the Nationalist forces led by Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek) and the communists under Mao Zedong.</P> </p> <p> <P>In September 1931, the Japanese began a military offensive against the Chinese in Manchuria. This was a direct violation of the League of Nations charter, the Nine Power Treaty, and the more recent Kellogg-Briand Pact. The League of Nations sent a commission, headed by the Earl of Lytton, to investigate the Manchurian crisis. When the Japanese expanded their attack, Secretary of State Henry Stimson responded in January with the so-called "Stimson Doctrine," of non-recognition. Drawing upon the Open Door policy and the Nine-Power Treaty, Stimson pledged that the United States would refuse to recognize any military conquests. The Hoover administration, however, was not prepared to back up this policy with force, and the Japanese established a puppet regime—"Manchukuo." The Lytton Commission eventually urged the withdrawal of both Japanese and Chinese forces from Manchuria and the creation of an autonomous government for the region. The Japanese, however, withdrew from the League and occupied Manchuria until 1945.</P> </p> <p id="TextCopyright">Copyright 2006 The Regents of the University of California and Monterey Institute for Technology and Education</p>