Units 12: World War II. Totalitarianism: Fascism & Communism.
Totalitarianism & Fascism Spread in Europe
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Transcript of Totalitarianism & Fascism Spread in Europe
Russia under Lenin• In 1917, Vladimir Lenin helped
lead the revolution in Russia• In 1922 Lenin renamed Russia,
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
• The country followed the principles of communism
• Marx the founder of communism preached that the workers needed to be in control with no classes in society
• In reality, Lenin’s USSR was a dictatorship with the Communist party in sole control
• By 1928, the USSR was producing at pre-WWI levels, despite the worldwide Depression
• When Lenin died the question of who would take over as leader of the USSR
Who follows Lenin?• Leon Trotsky & Joseph Stalin
were both part of the revolution under Lenin
• They both helped him set up the USSR
• However, after Lenin died, both bitterly fought for control
• Lenin did not trust Stalin, who was extremely cold and ruthless
• From 1922-1928 Stalin quietly climbed up the ladder of the Communist party in Russia
• He was always sure to put allies in other govt. positions
• By 1928 he was in sole control & a year later he sent Trotsky away into exile
Totalitarianism• Lenin & Trotsky wanted to
promote & spread communism throughout the world
• Stalin instead focused on improving Russia within
• He wanted to perfect communism before he tried to spread it
• When Stalin took over he made the Soviet Union a totalitarian state
• Totalitarianism: Government takes total control of every aspect of public & private life
• Totalitarianism challenged everything democracy is about: reason, freedom, dignity, & the power of the individual
Stalin’s New Ways• Lenin’s New Economic Policy
(NEP) was about mixing free enterprise (business) & state (govt.) control
• Stalin’s economic policy was about TOTAL state control
• Stalin introduced a command economy
• Command economy= The government makes all economic decisions
• Political leaders like Stalin make the decision on what the country’s economic needs are & fulfills them
Stalin & Industrialization
• The first target of Stalin was increasing industrialization
• He felt the USSR was 50-100 years behind other western powers
• Stalin set a Five-Year Plan which set extremely high quotas (goals) for steel, oil, coal & electrical output
• To actually reach the goals the govt. cut down on the production of consumer goods
• As a result, citizens faced shortages of food, clothing, housing & other necessary products
Stalin’s Ways Work• Under Stalin’s totalitarian
plan, the govt. controlled every aspect of the workers life
• Officials told the workers what jobs they had & what hours they worked
• Workers had to have permission to move
• The secret police would jail or execute anyone not contributing to the economy
• Stalin’s total control took a toll on people’s personal lives, but was greatly improving the Soviet economy
• From 1928-1937 industrial production rose 25%
Stalin & Agricultural Revolution• Stalin was successful in pushing
Russia through the industrial revolution
• He was even more successful pushing it through agricultural revolution
• However, he was even more brutal• When he took over in 1928, he
immediately seized 25 million privately owned farms
• He combined those farms into large govt. owned farms called collectives
• Families worked on the farms producing food for the state
• May peasants resisted-killing livestock & crops
• Resistance was especially strong among kulaks- wealthy peasants
• Stalin simply eliminated this group & other protesters by executing them
Democracy Falls to Fascism• During the Great Depression democracies
in the U.S., France, & Britain were able to survive
• Millions in other countries lost faith in democracy
• In response they turned to extreme form of govt. called fascism
• Fascism: Strong govt. led by one leader, Loyalty to leader is crucial
• Government is more important than the people. Opposition is quickly put down
• Fascists promised to revive economy, punish those responsible & restore national pride
• Message was attractive to those struggling from WWI & Depression
Communism vs. Fascism Comparison• Similarities
• Both ruled by dictators who allowed only their political party
• Both denied individual rights
• The state or government is supreme
• There is no democracy, people don’t have a say
• Differences
• Communists wanted a classless society
• Fascists believed each class had its place & function
• Communism claimed to be a dictatorship of the working class
• Fascist parties were rich aristocrats, industrialists, war veterans & middle class
• Communists wanted to unite workers around the world (internationalists)
• Fascists were concerned with national pride & gain
Fascism Hits Italy• Italy like the rest of Europe was
ravaged by WWI and received little $ or land for their efforts
• Benito Mussolini was soldier in WWI and a journalist
• Led a group of followers known as “Blackshirts” threatened to march to Rome & take over (1922)
• Italian king gave Mussolini temporary dictatorial powers, meaning he was sole ruler
• Mussolini ended up ruling for 21 YEARS!!!
• He abolished democracy in Italy, outlawing all parties except fascists
• Govt. censors forced newspapers & radio stations to publish only fascist ideas
Hitler Rises to Power in Germany• Veteran of WWI, Adolf Hitler a native
Austrian, came to power in Germany• Hitler became der Fuhrer or leader of the
National Socialist Party or Nazis• In 1923, he & the Nazis tried to seize
power in Munich, the attempt failed• While in jail, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf
(My Struggle)• Hitler asserts that Aryans, Germans who
were blond haired & blue eyed, were the master race
• Blamed communists & the Jews for Germany’s defeat in WWI
• Felt all non-Aryans (Jews, Slavs, Gypsies) were inferior & should be eliminated
• He promised to get Germany more living space by conquering lands in Eastern Europe & Russia
Hitler Gains More Control• Hitler got out of jail in 1924, but most
Germans ignored his hateful words
• When the economy collapsed many Germans turned to Hitler
• Those in power thought they could use Hitler for their advantage
• He was named Chancellor in 1933
• Hitler quickly acted to gain power
• He called for more elections hoping the Nazis could gain a majority
• Six days before the parliamentary elections, fire broke out in the Reichstag building (parliament)
• Hitler quickly blamed the communists, by stirring up the fear, the Nazi’s won a slim majority
Hitler becomes Fascist Dictator• With majority control, Hitler
demanded absolute power for 4 years
• The Enabling Act gave him this power
• Hitler used the power to make Germany a totalitarian state
• He banned all other political parties & had opponents arrested
• He created an elite black uniformed unit called the SS.
• Its loyalty was strictly to Hitler
• SS murdered Hitler’s enemies
• His Gestapo, or secret police forced most Germany to obey
• Hitler put millions of Germans to work & helped pull Germany out of Depression
Nazi Propaganda Spreads Hitler’s Ideas• Hitler wanted complete
control• He took over all forms of
media & used them to promote Nazi ways
• Books that didn’t conform were burned
• Boys had to join the Hitler Youth, while girls had to join the League of German girls
• Hitler believed in Social Darwinism
• Survival of the fittest
Hitler Targets Jews• Hatred of Jews or anti-Semitism,
was key Nazi ideology• Jews made up less than 1% of
population, but Hitler blamed them for Germany’s troubles
• He banned all Jews and non-Nazis from the government and took their property
• Kristallnacht – “night of broken glass”…11/9/1938…Nazis killed over 90 Jews and hurt more
• 7,500 Jewish businesses and 177 synagogues were destroyed
• By the mid-1930s democracies were falling across Europe
• The world was split into two camps--democratic & totalitarian