Study the pictures and answer the questions that follow:

(a) Identify the two leaders in the picture. How did they establish a totalitarian states in their respective countries?

(b) State three factors that led to the rise of leader (A).

(c) State four similarities between the ideologies followed by these two people.

(a) The leader shown in the picture (A) is Adolf Hitler.

Hitler established a totalitarian state in Germany by dismantling democratic institutions and concentrating all power in his hands.

1. He rejected the parliamentary system and eliminated all opposition.
2. The federal structure was replaced with a unitary government.
3. Hitler became Governor of Prussia, Germany’s largest state.
4. Provincial legislatures were dissolved in 1934, centralizing power.
5. All political parties, except the Nazi Party, were banned.
6. Press, public speeches, and publications were heavily censored.
7. Even dissent within the Nazi Party was crushed.
8. The Gestapo, a secret police force, monitored and suppressed opposition.
9. Suspected enemies of the state were imprisoned or executed without trial.

The leader shown in picture (B) is Benito Mussolini.

After coming to power, Mussolini established a totalitarian state by concentrating all civil and military powers in his hands.

1. All political parties, except the Fascists, were banned.
2. Special courts replaced the jury system to try political cases, controlled by Fascist officials.
3. Political freedom was curbed, and press censorship was imposed.
4. Freedom of speech and public meetings was prohibited.
5. Mussolini brutally suppressed all opposition.

(b) Three factors that led to the rise of Hitler were —

1. Humiliating Treaty of Versailles — The harsh terms of the treaty humiliated Germany. Hitler exploited this resentment, promising to defy the treaty and rebuild the empire of Germany by recapturing lost colonies
2. Economic crisis — Post-war economic hardship, rising unemployment, and suffering farmers created widespread distress. Hitler gained support by promising debt relief to farmers and reassuring capitalists that industries would not be nationalised.
3. Growing Fear of Communism — The rise of Communism after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia alarmed many Germans, especially as Communists gained seats in the Reichstag. Hitler warned that they would serve Russian interests and positioned Nazism as a safeguard, winning support from the middle and upper classes.

(c) Four similarities between the ideologies of Nazism and Fascism were-

1. To have faith in the totalitarian rule.
2. To despise democratic political systems.
3. To uphold One-Party and one leader.
4. To believe in aggressive nationalism and imperialism.