World War Two Study Guide

Fascism: a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry,commerce,etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism. A political movement that employs the principles and methods of fascism, especially the one established by Mussolini in Italy.

Benito Mussolini: Benito Mussolini served as Italy’s 40th Prime Minister from 1922 until 1943. He is considered a central figure in the creation of Fascism and was both an influence on and close ally of Adolf Hitler during World War II. In 1943, Mussolini was replaced as Prime Minister and served as the head of the Italian Social Republic until his execution by Italian partisans in 1945.

Adolf Hitler: Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. Hitler was responsible for starting World War II and for killing more than 11 million people during the Holocaust. He was know as the Führer of the Third Reich. As dictator of Germany, Hitler wanted to increase and strengthen the German army as well as expand Germany's territory. Although these things broke the terms of the Versailles Treaty, the treaty that officially ended World War I, other countries allowed him to do so. Since the terms of the Versailles Treaty had been harsh, other countries found it easier to be lenient than risk another bloody European war. When the Nazis attacked Poland World War II began.
Nazism: "Nazi" is an abbreviation for the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP), known in English as the German National Socialist Workers Party, as it existed under the control of Adolf Hitler from 1920 until the end of World War II. The party was held together primarily by authoritarianism, militarism, and belief in German ethnic and cultural supremacy. They killed many Jews due to