The Rise Of Dictators In The Period Between World War I & II

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The Rise of Dictators
The three major dictators that came to power between WWI and World War 2 are Germany’s Adolf Hitler, Russia’s Joseph Stalin, and Italy’s Benito Mussolini. The outcomes of WWI had a significant impact on the rise of these dictators. After the WWI, countries were left disorderly and in harsh conditions that called for a leader to show the way. Therefore, there was an opportunity for the dictators to take power as economic and political conditions were worse than they were before WWI. This paper examines the factors that contributed to the rise of these dictators between the two world wars.
A major factor that contributed to the rise of dictators was the dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles. It is this treaty that brought WWI to an end and it left Germany with a lot of reparations. The country could not finance the reparations. With the country facing humiliation and instability as it was blamed for causing the war, the Germans were in dire need of a leader to restore their economic power. It is in 1933 that the country found the leader in Hitler. Italy was also dissatisfied with the treaty as the Allies did not offer Italy land as promised. The dissatisfaction with the treaty thus led to the rise Mussolini, also a dictator. It is thus evident that dissatisfaction with the treaty that ended the WWI was a big contribution to the rise dictators.
Another significant factor that contributed to the rise of dictators is the need for orderliness. The disorder that was prevalent after WWI was an opportunity for dictators to take power. Many countries were left in poverty after the war and with citizens of the countries being afraid of what the situation would lead to, leaders presented themselves as solutions. In Russia, the death of Lenin left a gap that needed to be filled. Stalin took this opportunity to take over the country. In Germany, the economic disorder led to people believing in Hitler to restore the country’s power. In Italy, Mussolini presented himself as the only leader that would solve the country’s problems. Therefore, after WWI, there was a disorder where people needed strong leaders to solve the challenges they were facing. As such, this gave rise to dictators.
The belief in ethnic superiority is also a key factor that contributed to the rise of dictatorship between the two world wars. People were taught to believe that their ethnicity was superior to others in the world. Fostering such belief in the harsh conditions that prevailed after the WWI led to people believing that they were superior and thus deserved better. In Germany, Hitler spread the message that the Germans were of a superior race while the Jews and Slaves were inferior. Mussolini was also influenced by Germany and he began introducing anti-Jewish laws in Italy. Therefore, the belief in ethnic superiority contributed significantly to the leaders that supported it. The leaders promoted the belief rose to become dictators.
As seen above, the dissat...