IB History of the Americas; Paper 2, Authoritatian States: Castro and Hitler

Hitler: economic factors in which his authoritarian state emerged

- German Economy was devastated by WWI, caused massive inflation and debt

- Dawes Plan (1924) and Young Plan (1929) further made Germany dependent on the US

- Mein Kampf publication in 1925 got national reputation and funds

- Great Depression in 1930's caused more financial issues that Hitler used to tap into to gain German support

Castro: economic factors in which his authoritarian state emerged

- Cuban sugar monoculture: 75% of the economy depended on it

- US economic presence since 1898: US owned 40% of sugar cultivation and 25% of farmland

- Cuban dependency on tourism; being the "Las Vegas of the Caribbean"

- All of these things created social division, resentment against the US, and resentment against the Batista regime that Castro tapped into to gain the Cuban people's support

Hitler: social factors in which his authoritarian state emerged

- long history of German Anti-Semitism

- Humiliation from the ToV

- Germany no longer having the title of a world power

- tradition of militarism in Germany

- General Nationalist identity

- All of these things Hitler could tap into to appeal to the German people. He created a simple solution to complex problems that united Germany against a common enemy under Hitler's rule

Castro: social factors in which his authoritarian state emerged

- large urban vs rural divide (access to electricity, education, etc)

- Uneven wealth distribution, most peasants were impoverished

- Little social mobility

- The rich kept getting richer under corrupt Batista legislature while the poor got poorer

- Castro appealed to this anti-batista and anti-American sentiment to get support, particularly from the peasants by making promises to fix it

Hitler: impact of war

- WWI economic devastation

- WWI/ToV: loss of German territory, prestige, and money

- Hitler promised to reinstate the power and prestige of Germany that WWI and the ToV took

Castro: impact of war

- Spanish American War (1898): led to Cuban dependency on the US economically, allowed for immense US involvement from 1906-1922 (on and off)

- bred widespread US resentment that Fidel promised to take care of

Hitler: weakness of political system

- attempts to overthrow the Weimar republic started in 1919

- Most notable= Munich Beer Hall Putsch in 1923

- these showed that Hitler would have to move up in the political system rather than overthrow it. It highlighted the chaos and weaknesses he would need to exploit to do so

Castro: weakness of political system

- Corrupt Batista regime (from 1934-59)

- Allowed for US organized crime, bribes, and other illegal activities to happen within the government

- Batista jailed and executed his opposers

- 1952 lack of free and open election

- Hurt the economy, caused social division and bred US resentment

- Upset a lot of people who supported Castro when he opposed Batista

Hitler: methods used to establish authoritarian states, persuasion and coercion/ the role of leaders

- Moving up in the Nazi party ranks since 1919

- Made himself appealing to the public in order to gain support to move up in the Reichstag

- Made promises to the people (promised to reach full employment, to tear up the ToV, rid Germany of its problems, etc.)

- Nazi beliefs (aryan race, eugenics, etc.)

- Presence in the Reichstag allowed him to have much support and influence when he gained power

- 1933 Hitler reduction of Taxes and Mortgage interest

- Enabling Act of 1933 gave Hitler the right to rule and officially brought him to power

Castro: methods used to establish authoritarian states, persuasion and coercion/ the role of leaders

- Cultivating peasant support by him and his followers helping with harvests and other work, killing abusive landlords, help them get medical care. He needed this to gain numbers and keep his locations secret from Batista

- Made promises to peasants that appealed to them to support his rise to power

Hitler: ideology

- Nazism- from of fascism involving racism

- Volkisch Nationalism (the idea that the white race, especially blue eyes blonde hair > all others)

- Eugenics (only healthy should have kids, eliminate the disabled and "morally corrupt"

- State Self-Sufficiency (Autarky)

- Lebensraum (Living space for the aryan race)

- Nazi Promises

- Nationalism

Castro: ideology

- No clear ideology at the beginning of his rise to power; this gained him a broader base of support and followers

- Nationalist in favor of socialism

- Revolution not declared socialist until the US withdrew economic support and they needed Soviet support

Hitler: the use of force

- Attempted Munich Beer Hall Putsch (didn't work), convinced him he needed to use legal means

Castro: use of force

- July 26 Movement (1953) was an attack on the Moncata Army that resulted in the arrest of Castro and his History Will Absolve Me speech

- 1954 went to MX to gain supporters

- Engaged in Guerrilla Warfare while recruiting peasants and living in the mountains for 3 years ('56-'58)

- On January 1st 1959 during an attack on the Moncata Army, Batista fled and Castro took power

Hitler: propoganda

- SA (till 1934) and SS (till 1945) controlled the press and published Nazi and Hitler propaganda

- Josef Goebbels= head of propaganda

- Schools were for indoctrination, not education

- Hitler Youth = 1922, mandatory in 1936

- Nuremberg Rallies (1923-38)

- Mein Kampf (published in 1925)

- These means of propaganda allowed Hitler to create his personality cult that prevented others from challenging his power

Castro: propoganda

- Mathews Interviews (1957)

- Radio Rebelde (1958)

- These helped recruit supporters and garner public support for Castro by making him seem strong (Mathews interviews) and making him personable (radio rebelde)

Hitler's Consolidation and maintenance of power: use of legal methods

- When the Reichstag Fire Decree was implemented, Hitler had successfully gained the power to rule legally

- He changed the education standards to indoctrinate children (Nazi Teacher Association) - this helped him gain support and brain wash the youth

- National Reich Church (1933) brought the region under his control and instituted him as a substitute God

- implementing the SA and SS to disseminate propaganda

Castro's Consolidation and maintenance of power: use of legal methods

- Agrarian Reform Law (1959)- helped him keep peasant support

- 1961- All US business nationalized

- Declared Cuban Revolution as Socialist

- Command Economy

- Fundamental Law of the Republic (1959)

- Free speech suppressed (1960)

- Made free healthcare and public education - kept him popular

Hitler's Consolidation and maintenance of power: use of force

- Reeducation camps and concentration camps

- Gestapo (secret police used to instill fear in people so they wouldn't step in his way)

- Executing political opponents

Castro's Consolidation and maintenance of power: use of force

- silenced opposers in less violent ways (letting them leave Cuba, jailing them, etc)

Hitler's Consolidation and maintenance of power: charismatic leadership

- he would prep for speeches given to the nation for HOURS

- he connected with people of Germany to further establish his personable personality cult

- This gained him even more devout support and ensured opposition would be no match for his support

Castro's Consolidation and maintenance of power: charismatic leadership

- Castro had a big personality, but no personality cult

- he used populist rhetoric to align himself with the Cuban people

- egalitarian ideals

- pushed the idea that he wanted to unite Cuba against foreign enemies (the US)

- By using his charismatic leadership to make himself approachable, Castro maintained the support of the vast public of Cuba

Hitler's Consolidation and maintenance of power: dissemination of propaganda

- extensive use of mass media to promote himself and his message

- use of radio to disseminate nazi beliefs

- use of film to allow people across Germany to experience and promote Nazi values

- post cards, board games, coloring books, etc.

- people felt connected to him and wanted to support him

- propaganda build love for Hitler and reached the likelihood that someone would challenge him

Castro's Consolidation and maintenance of power: dissemination of propaganda

- very little propaganda of Castro himself

- some propaganda of Che Guevara to push the socialist rhetoric

- he did not build a personality cult, so publishing propaganda was not as important for him

Hitler's Consolidation and maintenance of power: nature, extent, and treatment of opposition

- Hitler Youth Members were encouraged to report opposition

- Gestapo was used to root out enemies and opposition

- Those found would be arrested and sent to concentration camps

- Political opponents (communist, left wing parties) were arrested, jailed, and sent to concentration camps

- Law Against New Formation of Parties (1933)

- Night of Long Knives (1934)

- underground opposition continued

Castro's Consolidation and maintenance of power: nature, extent, and treatment of opposition

- early on, Batista supporters and affiliates were executed, many fled to the US

- Former Castro allies who had become critical were sent to prison

- people could be arrested and convicted for crimes against the state for opposing him too openly

- in general if people opposed him, they would be allowed to flee

Hitler's Consolidation and maintenance of power: the impact of the success and/or failure of foreign policy on the maintenance of power

- Tearing up the ToV

- Ange-German Naval Treaty (1935)

- Saar Vote (1935)

- Remilitarization of the Rhineland (1936)

- Rome-Berlin Axis (1936)

- European Expansion (Austria, Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia) 1938-39

- Nazi-Soviet Non Aggression Pact (1939)

- While these foreign policies gained him prestige and support when in power, they ultimately cost him his power and life by starting WWII, which he did not win.

Castro's Consolidation and maintenance of power: the impact of the success and/or failure of foreign policy on the maintenance of power

- US relations (started in late 1800s with Spanish-American War)

- However Castro pushed away the US and began imports from the USSR in 1959-60 (Castro nationalized US business, Eisenhower suspended the sugar quota)

- 1961 Bay of Pigs (CIA attempt to overthrow Castro) had failed, which increased Castro's prestige and prompted him to declare the movement socialist and ask the USSR for defensive support

- October 1962, Cuban Missile Crisis. Handling of it was viewed as good in Cuba

- Afterwards, the USSR supported Cuban growth for 30 years, great for Castro's prestige at home

- Castro became involved with various communist movements which also increased his international and internal strength and prestige

Hitler's aims and impacts of domestic economic policies

- Full employment (success): unemployment nearly eliminated by 1939

- methods to get full employment (mixed): good for public works, however it pushed women and jews etc out of the work force and they were not considered in the unemployment numbers

- War Economy 1934 (mixed): put people to work but laid the foundation that ended Hitler

- Keeping businesses privately owned (mixed): good for farms and businesses, but they didn't apply to Jewish owned business, and allowed abusive landlords and bad pay

- Govt Debt (failure)

- Autarky (failure)

- Corruption (failure)

Hitler's aims and impacts of domestic political policies

- Corruption (failure): allowed officials to be bribed, distilled massive greed

- Purging Political Opponents (failure): hurt the talent pool needed to rule, many fled, many sent to concentration camps

- Starting WWII (failure): caused mass destruction

- Laws to target jews and other minorities (failure): crimes against humanity, led to the Holocaust

- Power concentrated in one person's hands (failure): while it provided stability, it was obviously disastrous

Hitler's aims and impacts of domestic cultural and social policies

- Perks for Workers (mixed): strength through joy, looked good on paper but didn't benefit many and ended with WWII

- Policies regarding jews women and other minorities (failure): led to 12 million deaths in the holocaust

- Education (failure): quality of education nose-dived because indoctrination>education

- Personality cult (failure): cost was too high

- Legacy (failure): Germany was ultimately de-nazified and all legacy of Hitler is trying to be erased

- Racial Theories (failure): unfounded, led to massive death and sterilization, still haunts the world because some people still believe in it

Castro's aims and impacts of domestic economic policies

- Diversification Campaign 1959-62 (failure)

- 10 Million Tons Campaign 1963 (mixed), generated 8.5 million tons, which was record breaking, however there were many issues with man power, machinery, and fudging reported numbers

- Efforts to industrialize (failure), abandoned in 1967

- Raising Workers Wage (mixed): helped with poverty but increased food demand

- Economic Growth (success): in the 70's and 80's was greater than under previous policies

- Reliance on USSR (mixed): beneficial at the beginning but led to economic collapse with Soviet collapse

Castro's aims and impacts of domestic political policies

- Fundamental Law of the Republic 1959: failure

- 1959-61 As Castro leaned more left, former allies resigned which hurt the talent pool needed to govern: failure

- Constitution of 1976 (failure): the rights and freedoms in it were not upheld by the government

Castro's aims and impacts of domestic social and cultural policies

- Healthcare (success): article 50 of the constitution, led to higher life expectancy that surpassed that of the US

- Free public education (success): article 39 and 51 of the constitution, increased the national literacy rate to 99.8% in 2000

- Social welfare programs (for the elderly, disabled, and recreational sports): success

Hitler: Impact on Women

- not accepted as equals to men

- restrictions on female education

- encouraged pregnancy > birth control clinics shut down, abortions made illegal

- Women not allowed to work 1934 (Law for Reduction of Unemployment) and were forced out of jobs

Castro: the impact of policies on women

- article 43 and 44 of the constitution gave women full equal rights

- article 44 gave women free maternity leave and day care

- over 1/2 of university students and doctors were women

- female employment went up with women making up 48% of the workforce and 25% of managerial and supervisory positions

Hitler: the impact of policies on minorities

- Jews forced out of their homes, businesses, sent to concentration camps to be worked to death or immediately murdered

- Gypsies (Roma and Sinti) were included in Nuremberg Laws and sent to Polish work camps in 1940s and Auschwitz specifically for science experiments- 50,000 dead

- 350,000+ Mentally Ill people were sterilized (1934-45)

- about 80,000 physically and mentally disabled people (including thousands of children) were euthanized (1939)

Castro: the impact of policies on minorities

- article 42 and 43 of the constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or origin

- main minority group was black people whose standard of living improved because of equal pay

- homosexuals were still discriminated against (illegal in 1979, Castro would never recognize or acknowledge it)

Hitler: Authoritarian control and the extent to which it was achieved

- Political: enabling act, Fuhrer, Law Against the New Formation of Parties

- Economic: set prices and wages, command economy, German Workers Front, allowed for private business ownership

- Religious: National Reich Church

- Social: Hitler Youth, Indoctrination not education, immense propaganda, able to enact the holocaust with no widespread resistance

- Intellectual: Nazi Ideology, Nietzsche, little resistance

- Aesthetic: Nazi propaganda dominated the arts

Castro: Authoritarian control and the extent to which it was achieved

- Political: quieting his critics (through jailing, exiling, and silencing their campaigning)

- Economic: the government directed the economy and owned most business

- Social: strong presence and personality, won support through social policies. had no personality cult or extensive propaganda

- Religious: officially atheist though there were hints of catholicism. never inserted himself as a substitute God or tried to infringe on religious rights

- Intellectual: government controlled the education, Castro gave long speeches to the public. Science and medicine were not interfered or tampered with by Castro or the gov

- Aesthetic: there was limited artistic freedom, as long as it didn't counter the revolution and its goals