The Rise of TOTALITARIANISM 1917- present

What Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a political system where the state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life whenever necessary.

Types of totalitarian systems:

Fascism Dictatorships Stalinism/Communism

What: FascismPhilosophy of government that:

● stresses the primacy and glory of the state...NATIONALISM● unquestioning obedience to its leader...DICTATORSHIP ● subordination of the individual will to the state's authority, and

harsh suppression of dissent...AUTHORITARIANISM/TOTALITARIANISM

● Militaristic virtues are celebrated, while liberal and democratic values are rejected...MILITARISM

Fascism...continuedAll forms of fascism share some basic features: They were rooted in extreme nationalism. Fascists glorified action, violence, discipline, and, above all, blind loyalty to the state. Fascist leaders glorified warfare as a noble struggle for survival.Fascists are anti democratic. They rejected faith in reason and the concepts of equality and liberty.Fascists emphasized emotion and the supremacy of the state.

FASCISM continuedThe leaders of the fascist governments of Italy (1922–43) Benito Mussolini, Germany (1933–45) Adolf Hitler,Spain (1939–75) Francisco FrancoThese leaders were portrayed to their publics as embodiments of the strength and resolve necessary to rescue their nations from political and economic chaos. (Failure of Democratic Governments following WWI, Economic Depression, Threat of Violent Communist revolution)

What: Dictatorship

Dictatorship: ● Government by a single person that is not responsible to the people or

their elected representatives. ● A despotic (ruler with absolute power) system ruled by a dictator

possessing absolute power and absolute authority.TATORSHIPSynonyms

absolutism, autarchy, authoritarianism, autocracy, Caesarism, czarism, despotism, totalism, totalitarianism, tyranny

What: Stalinism/Communism

Communism:a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.

Stalinism:the political, economic, and social principles and policies associated with Stalin; especially: the theory and practice of communism developed by Stalin from Marxism-Leninism and marked especially by rigid authoritarianism, widespread use of terror, and often emphasis on Russian nationalism

WHO...Italian Fascism Under Mussolini

Benito Mussolini. Mussolini had been a socialist in his youth. During the war, however, he rejected socialism for intense nationalism. In 1919, he organized veterans and other discontented Italians into the Fascist party. They took the name from the Latin fasces, a bundle of sticks wrapped around an ax. In ancient Rome, the fasces symbolized unity and authority.

Who...German Fascism under Hitler

Adolph Hitler: Hitler was dictator of Germany. He promoted and adopted the NAZI Party and his supporters suspended civil rights, persecuted "inferior peoples" (jews, gypsies, communists, homosexuals, handicapped peoples) and disbanded other political parties. Germany became a one-party state. Nazis learned that Hitler demanded unquestioning obedience.

Who... Soviet Union Under StalinStalin’s Terror Tactics

In addition to tactics like the Terror Famine, Stalin’s Communist party used secret police, torture, and violent purges to ensure obedience. Stalin tightened his grasp on every aspect of Soviet life, even stamping out any signs of dissent within the Communist elites.

Terror as a WeaponStalin ruthlessly used terror as a weapon against his own people.There was no free press, and no safe method of voicing protest. Critics were rounded up and sent to the Gulag, a system of brutal labor camps, where many died.

The Great Purge Even though Stalin’s power was absolute, he still feared that rival party leaders were plotting against him. In 1934, he launched the Great Purge. During this reign of terror, Stalin and his secret police cracked down especially on Old Bolsheviks, or party activists from the early days of the revolution. His net soon widened to target army heroes, industrial managers, writers, and ordinary citizens.Between 1936 and 1938, Stalin staged a series of spectacular public “show trials” in Moscow. Former Communist leaders confessed to all kinds of crimes after officials tortured them or threatened their families or friends. Many of the purged party members were never tried but were sent straight to the Gulag. Secret police files reveal that at least four million people were purged during the Stalin years. Some historians estimate the toll to be much greater.

WHEN: The Rise of Totalitarianism : 1919–1939

Italian, Spanish and German Fascism arose during the 1920s and '30s partly out of fear of the rising power of the working classes (Communism) and the rising chaos as post World War I democracies began to fail. The economic depressions of the 20's and 30's caused people to seek strong leaders to fix the problems.Stalin began authoritarian and totalitarian rule after assuming power following lenin's death in 1925. In 1934, he launched the Great Purge.

Where: Western Europe and RussiaTotalitarian Regimes spread throughout Europe (Italy, Spain, Germany, Russia) following World War One.

Why did the people of Germany elect and support the Nazi party?

Fear- People saw their world spinning out of control. Economic crisis,(inflation, devaluation of currency) failures of democratic governments resulting in rioting in the streets (anarchists, communists, socialists) The Nazi Party promised and delivered a strict obedience to authority thus bringing under control the lawlessness and hopelessness of the post WWI era.

Why did the people of Germany elect and support the Nazi party?

Nationalism: The Nazi Party brought pride back to the German people following the devastation of World War I. Germany was blamed for the war and were labeled as the losers and the country was in decline from 1919 until the Nazi's assumed power in the early 1930's. German nationalism and sense of superiority were manipulated by the Nazi's to gain the support of Germans who may otherwise have opposed their more extreme policies.

How did Stalin maintain such support/popularity when he was terrorizing his countrymen on such a mass scale?Propaganda: Most people in the Soviet Union did not believe Stalin was responsible for the terror. He always made it appear that it was "enemies of the people" who were committing the atrocities and he was fighting against them to save the people. He controlled all aspects of information (radio, newspapers, and other media outlets)

Wisdom Outcomes and Results

The totalitarian rule in Germany and the Soviet Union led to the concentration camps of the Holocaust and Gulags in Siberia.Both "prison systems" were used to silence critics, eliminate enemies and terrorize the masses to be obedient to the dictators.

Wisdom Outcomes and Results

The camps led to millions of people being brutalized and eventually dying from disease, execution, starvation, murder, and genocide.