THE TOTALITARIAN STATE

History 20 - Unit TwoSection Four

World War One

WWI proved not to be the “war to end all wars”

PEACE TREATY Germany was held solely responsible Germany resented the guilt placed on them, territorial losses,

and the reparation payments

LEAGUE OF NATIONS Although meant to be a peaceful idea, they did not receive

support from major world powers, making them unable to dissuade aggressions

In many nations, a political vacuum was created which permitted the rise of non-traditional political solutions (ex: totalitarian regimes)

League of NationsA Search for Collective Security

• The Versailles Treaty provided for the creation of a League of Nations– The new League of Nations, which was to reconcile disagreements

between nations and contribute to political stability possessed inherent weaknesses that contributed to its failure

• The League consisted of a Council of Great Powers, an Assembly of all members, each with one vote and a Secretary– Action on the part of the League required the unanimous vote of the

Assembly -This made any serious action improbable– The League lacked the force of authority to achieve its goals. It was

essentially an open forum for international discussion

• The League was weakened by the reluctance of some major powers to join– The U.S. did not join – Germany and Russia also did not join the League at its inception

(later joined in 1926)

Search for Peace/Fear of Germany• The future of Germany was an issue with

caused dissention among the victorious allies• FRANCE’S ATTITUDE:

– France feared that Germany would pose a military threat in the future and was determined to keep them weak• Their insecurity was reinforced by both the ending of its

wartime alliance with Britain and U.S., plus the US refusing to join L. of N.

• BRITAIN’S ATTITUDE:– Reducing Germany to a second-rate power would

create economic hardships for all countries, including Britain, by reducing the prosperity brought about by trade from them

GERMANY

• Germans felt a need to blame someone: – Western governments– Their own government– Big business– The Jews– The workers– The communists– ETC.

• They were looking for radical solutions (or a radical someone) that could put the world right again

Issue of Reparations

• In 1922, the German government announced it was unable to meet its reparation obligations. – Germany’s economy suffered from high inflation– They proposed a suspension of reparation payments for

3 years

• Britain accepted; France refused– France took over Germany’s industries; German workers

strike; France couldn’t collect– Germany printed large amounts of money to pay its bill.

This triggered runaway inflation, destroying the currency and the life savings of its citizens

• The economic difficulties contribute to political instability and the rise of political extremism

Italy – An Authoritarian State• After WWI

– The hopes they entered the war with (acquiring territory), were paid for by a heavy price; over 600,000 Italian soldiers were killed

– The Versailles Treaty did not give results to Italy– The returning soldiers were faced with unemployment, rising

inflation, and food shortages– Labor unrest paralyzed industry– Rural areas saw peasants using violence to seize land

• The parliamentary government seemed incapable of dealing with the multitude of problems.

• Enter: Benito Mussolini

Fascism

Fascism: Advocating a dictatorship of a one-party ruling; believes in extreme form of nationalism, denying rights and supremacy of the state

Fascists: A union (or group) of forces with fascism ideals

Benito Mussolini

• Mussolini, an ex-socialist, organized war veteran and a small property owner who feared Bolshevism into an organization called the Fascists

• His hatred of communism gained him support from the Catholic and business communities

• Mussolini was determined to create a totalitarian state. His motto was:

“Everything in the state, nothing outside

the state, nothing against the state”

Mussolini Dictatorship

Upon assuming power in 1922, Mussolini transformed Italy from a parliamentary democracy into a dictatorship All political opposition was crushed; civil rights

were suspended; strikes were outlawed This did not result in a social or economic

revolution, his government did not regulate all aspects of life like in other dictatorships

Italy Traditional roles of women:

Mussolini abolished divorce and encouraged women to stay at home and raise large families

Women were restricted to no more than 10% of better paying jobs in industry and government

Jews: The Italian fascists were not overly interested in

persecuting the Jewish community – it wasn’t until late in WWII and under heavy German pressure that the Jewish population were targeted

Only 23 political prisoners were executed between 1926 and 1944

Economics, Religion and Plans for the Future of Italy Economics:

Employment was stimulated through an extensive program of public works Land reclamation projects increased agricultural outputs The taxation system was revised to encourage foreign

investment – the economy did record growth because of this system

Church: Mussolini obtained support of the Catholic Church by

recognizing the sovereignty of the Vatican and by making the Catholic religion the official state religion in Italy

Future Plans: Mussolini wanted to restore the ancient glories of Rome. He

wanted to create a new Roman Empire. His activities on the international stage were to be a destabilizing influence for Italy