Totalitarianism & Fascism Spread in Europe

Hitler, Mussolini & Stalin Rise to Power

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