How totalitarian governments took power in the 1920s and 1930s
Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
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.
What did the Ministry of Propaganda use to spread its message, Ari asks?
- Show trials of Stalin's former opponents
- Films, radio, books and the press
- A railway explosion
- Free debate in parliament
The film Triumph of the Will glorified Hitler. How should a historian use it, Bo asks?
- As proof that Hitler was truly a national hero
- As a Soviet film from 1936
- As evidence of what the regime wanted shown
- As a fair record of German life
Whom did Japan blame for the Mukden explosion, Jun asks?
- The League of Nations
- German Communists
- Chinese nationalists
- Soviet Communists
What did some suspect about the Mukden explosion, Kira asks?
- The League of Nations caused the explosion
- It happened in 1936
- Chinese nationalists planned it
- Japanese army officers set it up
What does the record show about the show trials, Luz asks?
- The trials were held in Italy
- The trials caught real traitors and no one else
- No one was arrested in the 1930s
- Millions of innocent people were arrested
What do the four rows have in common, Milo asks?
- Each spread a claim to justify control
- Each told the plain truth
- Each was run by voters
- Each happened in 1945
A note says, 'The Reichstag Fire Decree protected free speech.' What fix does Noah make?
- Change speech to religion
- It suspended free speech
- Change decree to election
- Keep it; the note is right
A note says, 'Nazi films were made to inform people fairly.' What fix does Pia make?
- Change films to newspapers
- They were made to shape opinion
- Say the films were Japanese
- Keep it; the note is right
What did Nazi propaganda do before the 1935 and 1938 measures, Tala asks?
- Blamed Chinese nationalists
- Stopped films and papers
- Made violence against Jews seem acceptable
- Warned people to protect Jews
What is the best question to ask of any propaganda, by the note, Zee asks?
- How popular was it?
- How long is it?
- How colorful is it?
- Who made it, and what did it want believed?
