Both had established fascist forms of government.
Looking back on the 20th century, many historians trace the causes of World War II, including the rise of totalitarian leaders, to factors created by World War I and the treaties signed at the end of the “Great War” (as WWI originally was called).
After WWI, many countries faced severe economic problems. Germany was particularly hard hit economically. According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was required to pay large sums of money, called reparations, to the countries that had won the conflict.
By 1930, mass unemployment and economic depression led to bitter poverty in Germany, Britain, Japan, Italy, and the United States, as well as other countries around the world.
In Germany and Italy, the economic depression weakened the existing governments. As people demanded change, a political movement that believed in an extremely strong, national government, called fascism, became popular in these countries.
Fascism included a sense of nationalism (a powerful sense of patriotism) and leaders were often dictatorial, ruthless in suppressing opposition, and interested in centralizing power. Economic problems and ethnic tensions contributed to instability and helped fascist rulers to gain power.
See THE RISE OF TOTALITARIAN LEADERS: ITALY, GERMANY, THE SOVIET UNION, AND JAPAN (Microsof Word document) from Schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us to learn more.
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