Conditions in which authoritarian states emerged: economic factors; social division; 

impact of war; weakness of political system 
 
Hitler  Both  Mao 
● Hitler focused on  ● Promised the  ● Mao focused on 
increasing  improvement of the  improving the 
employment after the  economy: Mao through  conditions of the 
Great Depression,  1st 5 Year Plan, the  peasants after the civil 
mainly through  Great Leap Forward,  war through tax and 
industry  and modernization  land reform 
● Emerged after  (competing with West);  ● Emerged after poverty, 
hyperinflation,  Hitler through  high taxes, and large 
deflation, and  increased industrial  debts 
unemployment  production for war   
  ● Emerged out of  ● Peasants were going 
● Workers were going  widespread poverty  broke due to 
broke due to owning    decreasing farm sizes, 
no capital, while  ● Working class had less  taxes, and little 
owners stayed stable  wealth than owners  available land, while 
● Workers were less  (industry/agriculture)  landowners held all the
supportive of NSDAP,    wealth 
proportionally  ● Poor treatment by  ● Peasants were most 
● Owners not  foreign powers  supportive of the CCP 
intentionally  exploited by  ● Landlords intentionally
Emergence of  oppressing workers  Mao/Hitler (Treaty of  oppressing peasants  
authoritarian  ● Inequality resulting  Versailles/Imperialists ● Inequality engrained in 
states  from war and Great  , 21 Demands, Japan)  feudal system 
Depression     
  ● Emerged after  ● Chinese Civil War led 
● World War 1 led to all  disorganized political  to Pillaging by the NRA
of these economical  situations  - Support for CCP 
issues  ● Widespread  ● Sino-Japanese War led 
● Treaty of Versailles  dissatisfaction with  to rape and murder - 
Resentment  government  Resentment 
● HUGE DEBT  (NRA/Weimar)   
  ● Emerged after a 
● Emerged after a  disorganized Warlord 
disorganized weak  Period (anarchy) 
Weimar Government  ● Separate warlords, 
(Unchanged structures,  unable to form 
Article 48)  national government 
● Coalition government,  or policy 
unable to pass laws or 
garner a majority - 
ineffective 
 
Methods used to establish authoritarian states: persuasion and coercion; the role of 
leaders; ideology; the use of force; propaganda 
 
Hitler  Both  Mao 
● Hitler used the support  ● Both tried to gain  ● Mao used the support 
 of elites to gain power  support from the  of the peasants to gain 
(elite intrigue)  masses  power 
● Used rearmament     
campaign to gain  ● Gained support  ● Gained office through 
industrial and military  through hate  civil war (with a 
support  (Landlords;  majority) 
● Advocated against  Diktat/Jews)  ● Helped by generals, 
Weimar practices (art,  such as Lin Biao 
music, democracy) to 
gain support from 
upper class rightists 
● Capitalized on 
economic failures 
during Weimar to 
promote his Fascist 
ideology 
 
● Gained office “legally” 
(not with a majority) 
● Helped in to office by 
unknowing elites 
● Granted chancellery by 
Hindenburg 
 
 
Use of legal methods; use of force; charismatic leadership; dissemination of propaganda 
 
Hitler  Both  Mao 
● Hitler semi-legally  ● Produced publications  ● Mao gained power 
obtained power  (Mein Kampf/The  through a civil war, 
(Enabling Act,  Little Red Book)  illegally 
Reichstag Fire Decree) 
 
 
Nature, extent and treatment of opposition 
 
Consolidation  Hitler  Both  Mao 
and  ● Faced little divisions in  ● Faced several divisions 
maintenance  his cabinet  in party 
of power  ● Solved divisions  ● Solved divisions 
through purges (night  several ways, only 
of the long knives,  some successful 
Rohm)  (Hundred Flowers 
Campaign, Hiding 
Behind Curtain, GPCR) 
 
The impact of the success and/or failure of foreign policy on the maintenance of power 
 
Hitler  Both  Mao 
● Focused on  ● Aimed to remove  ● Focused on Domestic 
Expansionism (Saar,  foreign influence  (Economy, Social) 
 Rhineland, Austria,  (Young Plan/Treaty of  ● Generally Failed (Great 
Czechoslovakia,  Versailles; Foreign  Leap Forward) 
Poland)  Imperialists, Japan)  ● Treated conflicts 
● Generally Successful,  ● Both methods of  through war or simply 
by the Beginning of  treating conflicts were  disagreement (USSR, 
World War II  successful (Unfair  Japan) 
● Treated conflicts  comparison since  ● Didn’t attack Taiwan 
through false promises  China had less  to prevent war 
(Appeasement,  enemies) 
Czechoslovakia) 
● Continued invasions at 
risk of war 
 
 
Aims and impact of domestic, economic, political, cultural and social policies 
 
Hitler  Both  Mao 
● Focus on gaining more  ● Did not tolerate  ● Focus on changing 
land (Lebensraum)  criticism (Gestapo/Red land ownership (Land 
● Racial policies  Guards, GPCR)  Law) 
(Nuremberg Laws,    ● Allowed for 
Law for the  ● Attempted to embrace  criticization of the 
Restoration of the  modern technology  party temporarily 
Civil Service)  ● Modern department  ● Economic and Social 
  stores are enemies  Policies 
● Industrialization  ● Economic policies   
attempts more  used to improve public  ● Industrialization 
successful  image  attempts only 
● Focus on rearmament  ● Focus on increasing  sometimes successful 
  heavy industry  ● Focus on civil 
● Urban life growing,  ● Followed planned  engineering and 
Aims and  but rural preferred,  economies  modernization 
results of  with modernization    ● Heavy industry failed 
policies  seen as negative  ● Both had aspects of  to benefit the people 
● Glorified the past  collectivization   
(roman empire,  (nationalized  ● Rural life common, but 
Middle ages, Vikings)  industries)  modernization seen as 
    positive 
● Education more  ● Both emphasize war as ● The past attacked 
focused on military  an ongoing, desirable  during Attacks on the 
training  state  Four Olds 
● Education for girls  ● Science disregarded   
drastically different  (Mao’s Four Pests  ● Education more 
(preparing them to be  Campaign, farming  focused on ideology 
housewives)  techniques, backyard  ● Youth used for change 
● Youth used for  furnaces; Hitler’s  and power (Red 
propaganda (Hitler  eugenics)  Guards) 
Youth)  ● Promoted unity 
(Volksgemeinschaft; 
Communism) 
● Censorship of Art (Use 
 for political purposes 
only, Jiang Qing; 
Required approval, 
Aryan form) 
 
● Education used to 
promote political 
ideology (aryans; 
Maoist thought) and to 
prepare children for 
military/informants 
(Red Guards) 
● Anti-Intellectualism 
Promoted (Book 
Burnings, Struggle 
Sessions) 
 
 
The impact of policies on women and minorities 
 
Hitler  Both  Mao 
● Women are used for  ● Fashion is generally  ● Women are comrades, 
childbearing  looked down on  who will work 
(expanding  (cosmetics banned)  alongside men 
Nazism/Lebensraum):  ● Women mostly  ● More broad roles for 
traditional role,  uninvolved in  women 
stay-at-home,  government (ex, Jiang  ● Increased women 
submissive  Qing)  employment 
● Strictly defined roles  ● Minorities are kept in  ● Women wear similar 
for women  concentration  clothes as men (Mao 
● Decreased women  camps/laogai, where  Suit) 
employment  many die  ● Policies benefit 
● Women dress in full  ● Both rely on the  women (foot binding, 
skirts  people to turn each  marriage reform, 
● Eliminating minorities  other in, although a lot  property rights) 
is a core part of Nazi  more so in China  ● Some minorities are 
Ideology  (struggle sessions  targeted, but mainly to 
● Strong focus on ethnic  executed by the  prevent backlash or 
and religious  people, while in  rebellion 
minorities  Germany people tell  ● Focus on ideological 
● Jews are targeted with  the Gestapo)  minorities (possible 
Nuremberg Laws, Law  ● Religion discouraged  rightists) 
for the Restoration of  and disliked  ● Intellectuals are 
the Civil Service,  considered a minority 
Kristallnacht, and  ● Landowners are a 
Extermination Camps  minority compared to 
● Disabled are targeted  peasants 
with Law for the  ● Tibetan Buddhists are 
Prevention of  attacked by Red 
Hereditary Diseased  Guards 
Offspring   ● Focus on reeducation 
● Focus on  through struggle 
 extermination  sessions and thought 
● Anti-Religious, but  reform 
unable to successfully  ● Religion blatantly 
carry out reform  attacked 
(unified Protestant 
Reich Church failed; 
German Faith 
Movement delayed) 
 
Authoritarian control and the extent to which it was achieved 
 
Hitler  Both  Mao 
● Had a chaotic,  ● Used fear to  ● Had an organized 
unorganized cabinet  establish unity  government 
(people strive to  ● Single Party States  (cabinet, politburo, 
find laws to please  Created (Banning  etc.) 
him)  KPD, Law Against  ● Mao had more 
● Many people  the Forming of New  active support of the 
tolerated Hitler due  Parties; Established  people (GPCR, Red 
to fear (Gestapo,  by Central  Guards, Legacy), 
Kristallnacht, Night  Committee 1951)  possibly tolerated 
of the Long Knives)  ● Laws had to go  due to fear (for 
or passivity  through Mao/Hitler  minorities) or lack 
(Leader/follower  of education (Laogai 
mentality) or lack of  vs “Reeducation”) 
education  ● Lack of full control 
(Concentration  of government and 
Camps) or  party (Hid behind 
possibility for  curtain, Deng 
improved industry  Xiaoping, Liu 
Shaoqi)