Question

Why did Totalitarian states rise after WW1 and what did they do?

Answer 1

After WW1, a number of countries were burdened with a large number of unemployed (such as soldiers returning home) and weak economic conditions. Germany, in particular, had its economy devastated by the brutal reparations demanded by the Treaty of Versailles (which would later contribute to its aggression in WW2).

The Great Depression would also begin in 1929, further exacerbating these issues. In this economic climate, a number of individuals and parties rose up promising a number of solutions to their problems which appealed to the masses eventually catapulting them into power.

In Germany, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis eventually rose to power by promising to restore the country to greatness. In Italy, Benito Mussolini and his Fascists promised the same thing years earlier, forcing their way into government by ousting the previous prime minister.

Under their control, the governments of Germany and Italy eventually became dictatorships as power was centralized into a single party and individual, casting away any semblance of democracy in the process.

Answer 2

thank you!