Interwar
After the end of WWI many people took to murdering others through attempts to control the power and the rise of fascism and it soon rose to be one of the most horrible time periods in the common era through the killing hundreds of millions and the injuring of millions mentally and physically. This ideology of extreme power occurred in three different countries, Russia, Germany, and Japan.
Because of the extreme brutality of WWI on Russian troops who were undersupplied and not as advanced as the Germans whom they were fighting, Russia realized that it needed to industrialize and fast. Under the rule of Joseph Stalin Russia was able to increase its factory and mechanical production tenfold, yet there were brutal side effects to this extreme amount of growth. His plans involved mass starvation and death to control the people. “Today, reliable estimates place the number of Ukrainian (a territory in the Soviet Union) victims of starvation at 4.5 million to 7 million... while the amount of food harvested was steeply declining…” (603 Stalin DBQ Doc 4) By taking away farmlands to make way for his factories, Stalin forced the people to starve. Throughout Russia where there originally was about 210 million livestock a year at times it fell as low to only 100 million livestock a year. This violence through the forced distribution of land towards factories created great change for some while causing the mass death of others. In addition to starving the people, Stalin felt that he needed to control them so that there was no chance of rebellion against him. “In order to plunge the whole country into a state of constant fear, the number of victims must be raised to astronomical (super high) levels. On every floor of every building there must always be several apartments where the residents have suddenly been taken away.” (603 Stalin DBQ Doc 5) By taking away people and killing them Stalin was enforcing the ideology of power for the strong and taking away the weak. Those who were able to endure and survive were the ones who deserved to reap the harvest and thus he used this mentality to control the people through immense fear. Through mass death Stalin created a situation of violence that gained him massive political power. Following the patterns of violence in past events, Stalin used violence to improve the economic and political situation of Russia while causing mass death of those who could not survive.
Germany was in a horrible situation towards the end of WWI because of the Treaty of Versailles. German money was worthless due to inflation, the people didn’t have an army to fight for them, and they were forced to take the blame for a war they didn’t start. This caused them to reject their current government, the Weimar Republic, and look towards Hitler and his Nazi Party. Under Hitler’s rule all Jewish people were lower and he created a factory like system to kill them all. “‘We have entered into a new life, and it is impossible to imagine the panic that has arisen in the Jewish Quarter. Suddenly we see ourselves fenced in (surrounded) on all sides. We are segregated and separated from the world, driven out of the society of the human race.’” (607 Holocaust Group Work Doc 5) Hitler used his newfound power through the support of the people who were desperate to regain their pride to enforce laws. He used old hatreds and new blames to get the people to hate the Jewish. Through this extreme violence against the Jewish race, Hitler gained the political support of the people.
The Japanese Yamato race believed themselves to be the purest race of all. Under this assumption and the words of their glorious leader they decided to invade the capital city of China, Nanking. Even though today Japan hides the facts of its brutality, the images and stories that are passed around from survivors of the attack tell a much more gruesome tale. During the invasion, reports were told that they, “had fun killing Chinese... we either buried them alive, or pushed them into a fire, or beat them to death with clubs… Everyone gets his entertainment this way. It’s like killing dogs and cats.” (608 Docs Invasion of Nanking Doc D) Even Japanese soldiers say what they did was horrible because they saw the Chinese as not human. Using this extreme power that they felt, the Japanese did what they felt like and massacred everyone. Through this extreme violence, the Japanese were able to gain economic and political power over the Chinese.
Through this unit the ideals of leaders caused the people to commit atrocities and thus gain the political and social power over those deemed lower than them.
Because of the extreme brutality of WWI on Russian troops who were undersupplied and not as advanced as the Germans whom they were fighting, Russia realized that it needed to industrialize and fast. Under the rule of Joseph Stalin Russia was able to increase its factory and mechanical production tenfold, yet there were brutal side effects to this extreme amount of growth. His plans involved mass starvation and death to control the people. “Today, reliable estimates place the number of Ukrainian (a territory in the Soviet Union) victims of starvation at 4.5 million to 7 million... while the amount of food harvested was steeply declining…” (603 Stalin DBQ Doc 4) By taking away farmlands to make way for his factories, Stalin forced the people to starve. Throughout Russia where there originally was about 210 million livestock a year at times it fell as low to only 100 million livestock a year. This violence through the forced distribution of land towards factories created great change for some while causing the mass death of others. In addition to starving the people, Stalin felt that he needed to control them so that there was no chance of rebellion against him. “In order to plunge the whole country into a state of constant fear, the number of victims must be raised to astronomical (super high) levels. On every floor of every building there must always be several apartments where the residents have suddenly been taken away.” (603 Stalin DBQ Doc 5) By taking away people and killing them Stalin was enforcing the ideology of power for the strong and taking away the weak. Those who were able to endure and survive were the ones who deserved to reap the harvest and thus he used this mentality to control the people through immense fear. Through mass death Stalin created a situation of violence that gained him massive political power. Following the patterns of violence in past events, Stalin used violence to improve the economic and political situation of Russia while causing mass death of those who could not survive.
Germany was in a horrible situation towards the end of WWI because of the Treaty of Versailles. German money was worthless due to inflation, the people didn’t have an army to fight for them, and they were forced to take the blame for a war they didn’t start. This caused them to reject their current government, the Weimar Republic, and look towards Hitler and his Nazi Party. Under Hitler’s rule all Jewish people were lower and he created a factory like system to kill them all. “‘We have entered into a new life, and it is impossible to imagine the panic that has arisen in the Jewish Quarter. Suddenly we see ourselves fenced in (surrounded) on all sides. We are segregated and separated from the world, driven out of the society of the human race.’” (607 Holocaust Group Work Doc 5) Hitler used his newfound power through the support of the people who were desperate to regain their pride to enforce laws. He used old hatreds and new blames to get the people to hate the Jewish. Through this extreme violence against the Jewish race, Hitler gained the political support of the people.
The Japanese Yamato race believed themselves to be the purest race of all. Under this assumption and the words of their glorious leader they decided to invade the capital city of China, Nanking. Even though today Japan hides the facts of its brutality, the images and stories that are passed around from survivors of the attack tell a much more gruesome tale. During the invasion, reports were told that they, “had fun killing Chinese... we either buried them alive, or pushed them into a fire, or beat them to death with clubs… Everyone gets his entertainment this way. It’s like killing dogs and cats.” (608 Docs Invasion of Nanking Doc D) Even Japanese soldiers say what they did was horrible because they saw the Chinese as not human. Using this extreme power that they felt, the Japanese did what they felt like and massacred everyone. Through this extreme violence, the Japanese were able to gain economic and political power over the Chinese.
Through this unit the ideals of leaders caused the people to commit atrocities and thus gain the political and social power over those deemed lower than them.