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The Rise of Dictators and WWII

Total questions: 15

Worksheet time: 30mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

". . . The key-stone of the Fascist doctrine is its conception of the State, of its essence, its functions, and its aims. For Fascism the State is absolute, individuals and groups relative. Individuals and groups are admissible in so far as they come within the State. . . ."

— Benito Mussolini, Fascism: Doctrine and Institutions, Howard Fertig, 1932

Which statement expresses the main idea of the passage above?

a)

The people have a right to overthrow ineffective governments.

b)

The state is more important than the individuals within it.

c)

The state gets its authority from the power of individuals

d)

The establishment of an empire will cause division and chaos.

2.

Which statement about the Weimar Republic before November 1933 is best supported by the information in the chart?

a)

Political representation of various groups was limited.

b)

Diverse political ideas were discouraged by the government.

c)

The Social Democrats continued to gain support throughout the period.

d)

Many different political ideologies were represented in the Reichstag.

3.

The terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the global economic depression of the 1930s both contributed to the 

a)

Scramble for Africa 

b)

Amritsar Massacre 

c)

rise of a totalitarian dictatorship in Germany 

d)

formation of the Congress of Vienna 

4.

"It took the Big Four just five hours and twenty-five minutes here in Munich today to dispel the clouds of war and come to an agreement over the partition of Czechoslovakia. There is to be no European war, after all. There is to be peace, and the price of that peace is, roughly, the ceding by Czechoslovakia of the Sudeten territory to Herr Hitler's Germany. The German Führer gets what he wanted, only he has to wait a little longer for it. Not much longer though — only ten days. . . ."


Source: William Shirer, recording of CBS radio report from Prague, September 29, 1938


The policy that France, Britain, and Italy chose to follow at this meeting is known as

a)

appeasement

b)

self determination

c)

liberation

d)

pacification

5.

Based on the information provided by the diagram, which statement is a valid conclusion about the 1930s?

a)

The United States led international peace-keeping efforts.

b)

Aggression led to the start of World War II

c)

The actions of Italy, Germany, and Japan united Europe.

d)

Economic and social upheaval led to the rise of democracy in Asia.

6.

“Mussolini Attacks Ethiopia” (1935) 

“Germany Takes the Rhineland Back” (1936) 

“Germany and Russia Divide Poland” (1939) 

These headlines might be used to illustrate the weakness of the 

a)

United Nations

b)

Congress of Vienna

c)

Warsaw Pact

d)

League of Nations

7.

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I did not speak out. Then they came

for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the

Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to

speak out for me.”

- Martin Niemoller

Which event is Martin Niemoller referring to in this passage?

a)

Holocaust

b)

Reign of Terror

c)

Breakup of Yugoslavia

d)

Irish Potato Famine

8.

The World War II cartoon to the right is showing the relationship between climate and the

a)

efforts by Allied troops to control Berlin

b)

inability of Nazi forces to defeat the Soviet Union

c)

causalities suffered by the Soviet Union

d)

success of Allied troops after D-Day

9.

“You should take steps now to cease military resistance. Otherwise, we shall resolutely employ this bomb and all our other superior weapons to promptly and forcefully end the war…”

This paragraph from a 1945 Allied leaflet warned the

a)

Czechs of a Germany invasion

b)

Koreans of a Russian invasion

c)

Americans in Hawaii of a Japanese attack

d)

Japanese civilians of an American attack

10.

The World War II military action shown on this map was significant because it 

a)

took the pressure off the war in the Pacific 

b)

led directly to the war crimes trials in Nuremberg

c)

caused Germany to resort to unrestricted submarine warfare 

d)

forced Germany to fight the Allies on eastern and western fronts 

11.

After VE [Victory in Europe] Day the ground people wanted to see the damage done by “us” bombers, so our crew was one assigned to fly low altitude tours over Germany with our waist area full of ground crew people. Unless one could see with his own eyes, he could not imagine how devastated Germany was. Not a bridge standing anywhere, not a railroad, not a highway, not a factory. Frankfurt, for instance, was just a pile of rubble. I was in Frankfurt in 1977. It was easy to distinguish new construction. Looking down the street I could see that about every third building was old, indicating that two-thirds had been completely bombed out. . . . 

—Lt. Robert Pepper, U.S. Army Air Force pilot 

The scene described in this passage is most closely associated with the 

a)

policy of nonalignment 

b)

doctrine of containment 

c)

impact of modern war technology

d)

effects of industrialization on the environment 

12.

"The important lesson wasn't so much the Nazis' extraordinary evil but that it could happen with the participation of so many, the indifference of many more, that humanity has no guarantees against its vicious streaks except its own conscience, for which each individual is responsible . . . the effort for decency and justice must go on every day, everywhere."

–Flora Lewis, the New York Times, July 7, 1987

What is the main idea of the passage?

a)

Holocaust

b)

Marshall Plan

c)

French Revolution

d)

World War I

13.

“What harms the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.”

- Elie Wiesel

In this quotation, the author is suggesting that

a)

totalitarian governments generally support civil liberties

b)

nations of the world must always condemn human rights violations wherever they occur

c)

ethnic cleansing in not an issue to be addressed by the United Nations

d)

demonstrations against human rights violations are of limited value

14.

A. Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

B. Allies invade Europe on D-Day. 

C. Germany invades Poland. 

D. Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. 

Which sequence shows the correct chronological order of these World War II events, from earliest to latest? 

a)

A → B → C → D 

b)

B → A → D → C 

c)

C → D → B → A 

d)

D → C → A → B 

15.

". . . The key-stone of the Fascist doctrine is its conception of the State, of its essence, its functions, and its aims. For Fascism the State is absolute, individuals and groups relative. Individuals and groups are admissible in so far as they come within the State. . . ."


— Benito Mussolini, Fascism: Doctrine and Institutions, Howard Fertig, 1932

Which statement expresses the main idea of the passage above?

a)

The people have a right to overthrow ineffective governments.

b)

The state is more important than the individuals within it.

c)

The state gets its authority from the power of individuals

d)

The establishment of an empire will cause division and chaos.