Exercises on totalitarian regimes

(Fafipa - adapted) Between 1939 and 1945, the world went through World War II, one of the best known facts being the Nazi persecution of Jews, condemning them to camps of extermination, the most famous being that of Auschwitz, Poland. On the subject, mark the meaning of the word “holocaust”:

a) The name of a Polish city.

b) The name of the peace treaty that ended World War II.

c) A dress typical of the Jewish people.

d) The mass extermination of Jews and other minorities during World War II.

e) None of the above.

(Amauc - adapted) Battle that took place between August 1942 and February 1943, considered the main battle of World War II. The Nazi Germans were defeated by the Soviets. The German defeat in this battle is considered the beginning of the collapse of the Nazi country in the war. Said battle is:

a) Battle of Crete

b) Battle of Britain

c) Battle of Smolensk

d) Battle of Moscow

e) Battle of Stalingrad

(FURB) “Slowing down would mean falling behind. And those left behind are defeated. But we don't want to be defeated. No, we refuse to be defeated! A feature of the history of old Russia was the continual beatings she suffered [...]. Everyone won it—because of its backwardness, because of its military backwardness, cultural backwardness, political backwardness, industrial backwardness, agricultural backwardness. They beat her because it was profitable and could be done with impunity. [...] This is the law of exploiters — defeating the backward and the weak. It is the law of the jungle of capitalism. You are late, you are weak - therefore you are wrong; therefore, you can be defeated and enslaved. You are powerful — therefore you are right; therefore, we must be cautious with you. That's why we shouldn't be left behind anymore.”

Joseph Stalin, speech delivered at the first All-Union Conference of the Leading Personnel of Socialist Industry, February 4, 1931.

The meaning of Stalin's speech expressed in the text reflects the Soviet economic context that can be understood from:

a) Stalin's effort to develop a war industry that would place the USSR on favorable terms in the arms race.

b) the implementation of the New Economic Policy that centralized economic decisions and Soviet resources for the rapid development of wealth.

c) from the “war communism” phase, which militarized the workforce, nationalized union actions and the State's appropriation of surplus production.

d) the need to introduce capitalist measures, especially private property and the strong role of the banking sector to strengthen the Soviet economy.

e) the adoption of five-year plans in order to coordinate economic production with Soviet social needs.

(Excellence Institute) For historian Robert O. Paxton (2007), Fascism is a typical product of the 20th century. To understand how this complex phenomenon, born in Italy in the 1920s, it is important to understand it both in its discursive and practical dimensions in the political sphere. Assuming the singularities of the fascist regime in Italy, mark the CORRECT option:

a) Among the fascists there was a strong appeal to capitalism as the ideal model of production, but being influenced by socialist trends, they criticized the exploitation of the proletariat.

b) Fascism advocated national unity to the detriment of individual interest and even though its rise was marked by episodes of violence, it obtained considerable support from common people and elite sectors.

c) It is not possible to place Italian fascism as a regime of the right or left, so it is in the center, as a conciliator of the extremes.

d) State intervention in the economy was frowned upon by the business community, however, the Italian fascist regime still had broad popular support to remain in power.

e) None of the above.

Josef Stalin was responsible for implementing a totalitarian regime in the Soviet Union. Stalin was a member of the Communist Party who gained notoriety in the 1920s. He hails from which country:

a) Russia

b) Belarus

c) Latvia

d) Georgia

e) Azerbaijan

Which event was responsible for Benito Mussolini's rise to power in Italy in the 1920s?

a) Revolution of Rome

b) Lateran Treaty

c) March on Rome

d) Night of the Long Daggers

e) Brewery Coup

Nazism developed in a period of German history known as:

a) Weimar Republic

b) Republic of Versailles

c) German Empire

d) Third Reich

e) Holy German Empire

Regarding the Nuremberg Laws, select the INCORRECT alternative:

a) Prohibited marriage between Germans and Jews.

b) They only allowed Jews to have German maids over the age of 45.

c) They determined that anyone with ½ Jewish blood would still be entitled to German citizenship.

d) They considered adherents of Judaism to be Jews, regardless of ancestry.

e) They made the swastika the symbol of the German flag.

One ​​of the most controversial events of Stalinist totalitarianism was the famine that hit Ukraine in the early 1930s. This event became known as:

a) Kátyn Massacre

b) Holodomor

c) Babi Yar Massacre

d) Holocaust

e) Great Leap Forward

In August 1939, the world was shocked by an agreement between the Germans and the Soviets that determined peace between nations for a period of 10 years. Secret clauses of this agreement also determined the division of Poland, about to be invaded by the Germans. We're talking about:

a) Treaty of Versailles

b) Brest-Litovsk Treaty

c) Treaty of the Munich Conference

d) Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty

e) Yalta Conference Treaty

What was the outcome of Benito Mussolini, leader of Italian fascism:

a) was shot by guerrillas of the Italian resistance.

b) was arrested and sentenced by the Italian justice to life imprisonment.

c) was arrested and tried by a military and international court, being sentenced to death by hanging.

d) fled and was never found.

e) committed suicide.

What was the purpose of the Great Purge, carried out by Stalin between 1936 and 1939:

a) persecute opponents who resisted Stalin's power.

b) eliminate Nazi spies in the Soviet Union.

c) eliminate the last vestiges of the capitalist economy in the Soviet Union.

d) extinguish the landowners who dominated the Ukraine region.

e) retire Soviet soldiers who did not agree with the modernization of the Soviet army.

LETTER D

The term Holocaust refers to the genocide carried out by the Nazis during World War II. This genocide resulted in the death of about six million people, most of whom were Jews, an ethnic group persecuted by the Nazis. The killing of Jews took place mainly through death squads and in concentration camps.

LETTER E

The Battle of Stalingrad was the biggest battle fought in the Second World War and, consequently, in the history of mankind. It lasted about six months and resulted in the deaths of nearly two million people. The Germans were defeated in that battle, and that defeat began the decline of the Nazis in the war.

LETTER E

The Five Year Plans were an economic plan that sought to accomplish the industrialization of the Soviet Union in an accelerated manner. This plan was established in 1929 and aimed to develop heavy industry and electricity production in the Soviet Union as a way of ensuring industrial development. Through it, demanding goals were stipulated for every five years and required great effort from workers.

LETER B

Fascism is a totalitarian ideal that advocates state sovereignty over individuals, including the private life of citizens. Thus, individual interests cannot be more important than the interests of the state, which controls and monitors all aspects of people's lives. The rise of fascism took place in a violent way, above all as a form of repression against socialists.

LETER D

Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili was the birth name of Josef Stalin. He was born on December 18, 1878, in the city of Gori, currently located in Georgia, a country in the Caucasus region.

LETER C

March on Rome was a major fascist march held in Rome, capital of Italy, on October 28, 1922. This march aimed to pressure the Italian monarchy so that Benito Mussolini was appointed prime minister. He succeeded in his aim, and Mussolini took over as prime minister days later.

LETER A

The Weimar Republic is the name by which the social democratic republic that existed in Germany between 1919 and 1933 is known. by the post-First World War crisis and the rise of extremist groups such as Nazism.

LETER C

Under the Nuremberg Laws, those who had ½ Jewish blood were classified as members of a mixed-race class that still had the right to German citizenship. According to them, those who had ¾ of Jewish blood or more would lose their right to German citizenship, becoming only “subjects of the State”.

LETER B

The great famine that hit Ukraine between 1932 and 1933 became known as the Holodomor, which means “to kill by hunger”. Millions of Ukrainians are said to have starved to death in the context of the collectivization of Soviet lands, and there are historians who claim that the famine that hit Ukraine was probably deliberate and caused by Stalin.

LETER D

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, also known as the Non-Aggression Pact, was an agreement signed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in August 1939, on the eve of World War II. It was an agreement that established peace between the two nations in the event of war in Europe.

LETER A

Benito Mussolini, leader of Italian fascism, was executed on April 28, 1945 by members of the Italian resistance, the group that fought against the presence of Nazis and fascists in the country. He was captured on April 27, along with his mistress, and executed the next day.

LETER A

The Great Purge is also known as the Great Terror and corresponded to a phase (1936 to 1939) in which great purges were carried out in the Soviet Union at the behest of Stalin. The aim of this was to eliminate dissidents in Soviet society and within the party as well as rebellious ethnic minorities. It is estimated that nearly 700,000 people were executed in the period.