This set examines how totalitarian leaders of the Soviet Union, Italy, Germany and Japan used propaganda as they tried to promote communism and fascism in the period between the two world wars.

With the collapse of the capitalist market system that caused the Great Depression, political alternatives to liberal democracies emerged, particularly communism and fascism. Through the use of graphic organizers, debates, and position papers, students may compare and contrast how these communist and fascist governments responded to the collapse of the capitalist system during the Great Depression. With a side-by-side comparison of these political alternatives, students can provide an answer to the following question: Why did communism and fascism appeal to Europeans in the 1930s?

This set examines how totalitarian leaders of the Soviet Union, Italy, Germany and Japan used propaganda as they tried to promote communism and fascism in the period between the two world wars. Students analyze examples of written and visual propaganda appealing to emotions, using symbols and evocative references, and supporting or opposing a cause.