How totalitarian governments took power in the 1920s and 1930s

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Propaganda and the record

   Columns: Tool or claim; Country and date; What it said or did; What the record shows. Row 1, Ministry of Propaganda: Country and date: Germany, from 1933; What it said or did: led by Joseph Goebbels, it spread the Nazi message through art, music, films, books, radio, schoolbooks and the press; the film Triumph of the Will (1935) glorified Hitler; What the record shows: its campaigns before the 1935 and 1938 measures against Jews created an atmosphere that tolerated violence against them. Row 2, The Reichstag fire claim: Country and date: Germany, February 1933; What it said or did: the Nazis blamed the Communists for the fire and said they were planning an uprising; What the record shows: the fire's origins are still unclear; the uprising claim was false, and it was used to suspend rights. Row 3, The show trials: Country and date: Soviet Union, 1936 to 1938; What it said or did: Stalin's former opponents were tried as traitors; What the record shows: millions of innocent people were arrested in the Great Terror. Row 4, The Mukden incident: Country and date: Japan, September 18, 1931; What it said or did: Japan blamed Chinese nationalists for a railway explosion and invaded Manchuria; What the record shows: some suspected Japanese army officers set it up as a pretext. Below the chart: Propaganda is a source. Ask who made it, for whom, and what it wanted people to believe.

2. 1.

   What did the Ministry of Propaganda use to spread its message, Ari asks?

   • Films, radio, books and the press
   • Free debate in parliament
   • A railway explosion
   • Show trials of Stalin's former opponents
3. 2.

   The Nazis said Communists set the fire to start an uprising. Which claim is careful, Esme asks?

   • Communists set the fire because they planned to rise up
   • The fire was set in Japan in 1931
   • The claim served the Nazis; the origins are unclear
   • No fire took place in 1933
4. 3.

   Whom did Japan blame for the Mukden explosion, Jun asks?

   • German Communists
   • The League of Nations
   • Soviet Communists
   • Chinese nationalists
5. 4.

   What did some suspect about the Mukden explosion, Kira asks?

   • The League of Nations caused the explosion
   • Chinese nationalists planned it
   • It happened in 1936
   • Japanese army officers set it up
6. 5.

   What do the four rows have in common, Milo asks?

   • Each was run by voters
   • Each told the plain truth
   • Each happened in 1945
   • Each spread a claim to justify control
7. 6.

   A note says, 'The Reichstag Fire Decree protected free speech.' What fix does Noah make?

   • Change decree to election
   • It suspended free speech
   • Change speech to religion
   • Keep it; the note is right
8. 7.

   A note says, 'Nazi films were made to inform people fairly.' What fix does Pia make?

   • They were made to shape opinion
   • Keep it; the note is right
   • Say the films were Japanese
   • Change films to newspapers
9. 8.

   How many years passed from Mukden (1931) to the start of the show trials (1936), Ren asks?

   • 5 years
   • 2 years
   • 15 years
   • 3,867 years
10. 9.

    What did Nazi propaganda do before the 1935 and 1938 measures, Tala asks?

    • Stopped films and papers
    • Warned people to protect Jews
    • Made violence against Jews seem acceptable
    • Blamed Chinese nationalists
11. 10.

    What is the best question to ask of any propaganda, by the note, Zee asks?

    • How colorful is it?
    • How long is it?
    • Who made it, and what did it want believed?
    • How popular was it?