Unit3 Review - Fascism, communism, etc

Fascism: Mussolini & Hitler

Definition: Radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology 

Authoritarian:  A governing system characterized by the concentration of power in a single authority, limiting individual freedoms and political opposition.

Why is fascism on the far right?

• Because far right politics involve supremacism

  • supremacism:  complete rejection of social inequality in which it believes superiority and inferiority is the norm in society

• Supports segregation of “inferior” groups - elitism

• Often includes authoritarianism and discrimination

4 Key Ideas of Fascism

1. Great Man Theory: Better for a strong brilliant man to make decisions for the people

2. Action & War:  Aggression is very important 🡪 Actively seek out what is best for state and war is necessary. 

   • Better to live one day alive than one day asleep

3. State-ism: State > Any Individual 🡪 everyone must work to keep it going

4. Racism: The idea of a master race

   • Only took place in Germany

Fascism in Italy - Mussolini

• Mussolini

  • Original fascist and on the rise in 1920

  • #1 goal: recover past glory

Why does Fascism believe democracy is dead?

• Perception of Democracy:

  • It’s weak

  • consumed by self-interest

  • Unable to have proper direction

  • Unable to agree on any needed action

  • Stalled in endless democratic process

• Why it’s dead

  • Government rules by self-interest

  • Politicians don’t care about the future of Italy, just themselves

  • Political leaders don’t serve the true interests of citizens

  • Because everyone argues, laws take forever to get passed

  • People don’t get what they need because of constant political fighting

  • Leaders make shady deals, get stuck in gridlock, and listen to foreigners instead of Italians

Before Mussolini’s Rise

After WWI, many Italians were angry and disappointed because Italy didn’t get the land it was promised, suffered huge losses, and felt weaker than other major powers. At the same time, the Italian government in 1919 was extremely unstable—there were too many political parties, constant government changes, and no strong majorities. With the country frustrated, divided, and struggling, Mussolini took advantage of this chaos by presenting himself as the strong leader who could fix Italy’s problems and restore national pride.

How Mussolini took power

• Mussolini led the Blackshirts

  • Blackshirts: violent street thugs who attacked opponents and tried to overthrow the government.

• Many Italians liked Mussolini’s aggressive style because they felt Italy had been cheated after WWI and wanted someone to “take back” what they deserved.

• In 1922, Mussolini ordered the March on Rome

  • March on Rome: where thousands of Blackshirts moved toward the capital to demand political power.

• The Italian government tried to stop them, but the king, Victor Emmanuel III, feared a violent battle in the streets.

• To avoid bloodshed, the king gave in and appointed Mussolini as Prime Minister.

• Mussolini then used propaganda to portray the March on Rome as a heroic victory, even though the government basically handed him power out of fear.

Fascism in Italy

• Mussolini took over all of Italy

• Il Duce controlled all aspects of Italian life through the use of a totalitarian government

• His influence

  • Public work programs(building roads, ports, railways, etc)

  • Italy was still weak after WW1

  • Made people fear communist takeover

  • Great depression hits Italy and uses war to help take the people’s mind of their problems

    • attacked Ethiopia

4 Techniques of Mussolini’s Dictatorship

• Force and Intimidation

• Direction of Popular Discontent/Scapegoating

• Controlled Participation

• Indoctrination/Propaganda

The Doctrine of Fascism: set of ideas that define fascism, written by Benito Mussolini. It emphasizes:

• Strong, centralized authority: The state is above all and individuals must serve it.

• Rejection of democracy and liberalism: Fascism opposes political freedom and equality.

• Nationalism and unity: The nation comes first, and citizens are expected to be loyal and obedient.

• Use of violence and militarism: Force is a legitimate tool to achieve national goals and maintain control.

Fascism in Germany - Hitler

Treaty of Versailles(1919 - After WW1)

• Guilt clause - Germany is forced to accept responsibility for WW1

• Reparations - Owed a lot of money to the allies for damages caused by the war

• Forced to limit its army to 100k soldiers

• Loss of Territory - Alsace-Lorraine to France and Ruhr Valley

Problems of the Weimar Republic

Because the W. Republic had submitted to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany’s economy was unable to focus on the citizens wants and needs, therefore, the government party had loss the support of the people as Germans suffered more and more

• Ruhr Occupation: Germany refused to pay for the reparations causing France to occupy and takeover industry in Ruhr

• German Workers strike rather than work for France

• W. Republic decides to print money to support striking workers, but this only causes hyperinflation

  • Hyperinflation: money is worthless

• W. Republic looses all credibility, benefitting/the start of Hitler’s rise

How did Hitler use this opportunity to rise to power?

• Hitler used the Treaty of Versailles to appeal to the Germans and sympathize with their struggle

Beer Hall Putsch(1923): Hitler’s failed attempt to overthrow the Germany Government

• The uprising fell apart when the police confronted the Nazis, leading to deaths and the collapse of the revolt.

• Hitler was arrested and sent to prison, where he wrote Mein Kampf.

• The event is significant because it taught Hitler that he needed to gain power legally rather than through violence, and it increased his national attention and popularity.

The Dawes Plan (1924) was an agreement to help Germany pay its World War I reparations.

What it did:

• Reduced the amount Germany had to pay each year.

• Provided loans from the U.S. to help Germany’s economy recover.

• Stabilized the German currency and economy temporarily.

Reichstag Fire(1933): happened when the German parliament building suddenly burned down shortly after Hitler became Chancellor

• Hitler’s main political opponents at the time were the communists.

• The day after he took power, the Reichstag mysteriously caught fire.

• The Nazis arrested a communist and claimed he was responsible.

• Hitler used the fire to blame the Communist Party and turn the public against them.

Anschluss (1938): The annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany.

• Hitler sent in troops and took over Austria without a fight.

• A staged vote was held to make the takeover appear legal.

• It was one of Hitler’s first major steps in expanding German territory before World War II.

• Lebensraum: means “living space” in German and was Hitler’s idea that Germany needed more territory for its people to live, farm, and grow.

  • Justified invading other countries, especially in Eastern Europe.

  • Used to expand Germany’s borders and control more land and resources.

  • Led to displacement, oppression, and mass killings of non-Germans.

Kristallnacht (November 9–10, 1938), also called the “Night of Broken Glass,”: a violent attack against Jewish people in Nazi Germany.

• What happened:

  • Synagogues, Jewish homes, and businesses were destroyed.

  • Thousands of Jewish people were arrested or killed.

  • Streets were covered in broken glass from smashed windows (hence the name).

• Significance:

  • It marked a major step toward the Holocaust, showing that the Nazi regime would use violence openly to persecute Jews.

4 Techniques of Hitler’s Dictatorship

1. Force and Intimidation

• S.A/Storm Troopers/Brown Shirts

  • Thugs, most are former military, who helped Hitler

  • But in the “Night of the Long Knives”, Hitler killed all of these people who contributed to his rise to power

  • The Nazi SS(Schutzstaffel- elite guards) and Gestapo(secret police) replaced the storm troopers 

2. Direction of Popular Discontent/Scapegoating

• Hitler used scapegoating as a technique to blame people for Germany’s suffering

  • W. Republic 

  • Communists

  • Jews

3. Controlled Participation

•  Elections were just sideshows used to build confidence in the government

• Ballots only had one name

4. Indoctrination/Propaganda

• 1933 - Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda is established in Germany

  • Josef Goebbels is in charge

  • Designed to build support for the Nazi Party and Hitler’s politics

  • Control of media was essential

• Indoctrination

  • Students were taught loyalty to nation, sacrifice for state, defense for the state, work ethic

  • Youth Organizations: Hitler Youth and League of German Girls were taught Nazi ideology

Hitler’s 2 key laws and how they reject liberalism

1. Enabling Act: A special law that basically allowed Hitler to rule by himself

• It gave him full, legal dictatorship. With it, he could ban political parties, control the media, arrest opponents, and change Germany however he wanted — all without anyone being able to stop him.

2. Nuremburg Laws: Laws that defined who was considered “Jewish” and stripped Jewish people of their citizenship and basic rights. They also banned marriage and relationships between Jews and non-Jews

• These laws helped Hitler legally enforce his racist beliefs, separate Jews from the rest of society, and justify discrimination and future violence. They were a major step toward the Holocaust because they made antisemitism part of the law.

Corporatism: system where the government organizes and controls society’s economic and social groups to serve state interests, like Mussolini’s Italy controlling businesses and labor unions, or Hitler’s Germany coordinating industry and workers to support the Nazi regime.

Great Man Theory: the idea that history is shaped mostly by the actions of “great” or extraordinary individuals, like leaders or geniuses, rather than by larger social, economic, or cultural forces.

• Example: People who support this theory might say Hitler or Napoleon changed history mainly because of their personal abilities and decisions.

Irredentism: a political movement that seeks to reclaim or take back territory that a country believes rightfully belongs to it.