Mention any two common causes for the rise of dictatorship.

(1) Economic crisis — both countries suffered unemployment, runaway inflation and poverty after the First World War, made worse by the Great Depression of 1929. People turned to a strong leader who promised bread and work. (2) The weakness of democratic government and dissatisfaction with the peace settlement — the parliamentary governments of Italy and Germany were unstable and appeared helpless, while Italy felt cheated of her promised gains and Germany humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles. Both leaders exploited that resentment with intense nationalism, and the fear of Communism drove industrialists and the middle classes to support them.

One mark each, and the word COMMON matters — give causes that operated in BOTH Italy and Germany, not one peculiar to each. The two safest are economic distress and the failure of weak democratic governments. The dissatisfaction with the peace settlement is a strong third, though its form differed: Italy felt cheated of promised territory, Germany felt humiliated by Versailles. The fear of Communism is the point candidates most often omit, and it explains who FUNDED these movements.