The rise of totalitarian movements like Communism, Fascism, and National Socialism is probably the most troubling development of the 20th century. Comment.
I. Totalitarianism
A. Government in which people rely on the government to solve
all problems
1. Give them power 1st
Why not?
II. Communism in the Soviet Union (formerly Russia)
A. Russian in good shape
1. Good economy
2. Lots of literature
3. Arts flourishing
4. Tsar began to work with Russian Parliament (Duma)
a. Duma an advisory board, not very representative
B. Nicholas II (Tsar)
1. Goes to Eastern Front
a. Alexandra, his wife, left to rule
b. Gregory Rasputin put her under his spell
i. How?—helped her hemophiliac son
c. People tired of war, complain
2. Nicholas felt Duma was undermining him
a. Dissolved the Duma
3. Abdicated throne, his brother didn’t want it
4. Provisional government takes over
a. Moves government towards democracy
C. Problems
1. Government undermined by Bolsheviks (Lenin)
a. Followers of Marx’ teaching
b. Try to keep things in disorder
c. Undermine war
d. Want elections
e. Get government to hold election
f. Lenin seizes power in confusion
2. Vladimir Lenin
a. Appoints himself dictator
b. Begins to crush out institutions that stand in the
way of the
proletariat (in the way of Communism)
D. Crushing of the institutions
1. No one under age 16 allowed to be taught Christianity
2. Religious figures executed
3. Priests appointed by government
4. Family
a. Easy to divorce
b. Free love encouraged
c. Children under authority of government, not parents
5. Education
a. Governmental controlled schools
b. Condition students
6. Arts
a. Journalism censored
b. Produce art supporting Bolsheviks
7. Economy
a. No private property
b. Agriculture collectivized
8. Secret police “cheka” established
9. Restrictions on speech
a. Only positive speech about Lenin
E. White Russians rise up against Bolsheviks
1. Millions die in following Civil War
2. Economic collapse
F. Economy
1. Lenin realizes problems
a. Introduces the “New Economic Policy”
i. Allowed a little free enterprise
ii. Economy rebounded
iii. Problem-not Marx’ dream
G. Lenin dies, Joseph Stalin emerges
1. 1928 takes over economy with 5-Year Plans
a. Economy transformed
b. Video “Harvest of Despair”
i. Ukraine sealed off
ii. 10 million die, 7 million in Ukraine
iii. 1932-1933 (2 years)
iv. Ukrainians fight Russia, Poland, Germany
v. Part of the breadbasket that is sucked dry
vi. 80% of Ukrainians farmers
vii. Stalin drains the grain to support Plan
2. Leads Russia in to WWII
3. Long term effects of Lenin and Stalin’s reign
III. Fascism in Italy
A. Little progress compared to the rest of Europe
B. Thought WWI was their chance to make themselves powerful
C. Joined allied in 1915
1. Spent money
2. 10% of army died
3. Only received two little pieces of land
D. Economy bad after WWI
E. Impatient with democracy
1. Wanted a quick solution
2. Went to Fascism
F. Mussoulini takes power in 1914
1. Statism
2. Nationalism (put country first)
3. Militarism (wars are good)
G. March to Rome
1. 50,000 supporters
2. Army didn’t stomp him out
3. Government cuts a deal and Mussoulini uses power
H. No challenge to his authority
I. Italians happy
1. One man in charge, things are better….for a while
IV. National Socialism in Germany
A. NAZI Party
1. National Socialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei
B. Germans leaders in science, education, and tolerance
C. WWI—an end to German happiness
D. Weimar Republic (German Democracy)
1. Representation
2. Principle of Nationalism
3. Idea of Socialism
4. Mein Kampf (Hitler’s biography—“My Struggle”)
i. Clear ideas
ii. Basic ideas
---natural selection
---find wave of the future
---Aryan race destined to dominate
---willing to sacrifice interests
(remember Hegel, Darwin, Nietzsche)
E. Germany lost WWI
1. Other races around (not all races are Aryan)
2. Jews
a. Hard to tell apart because of intermarriage
b. Put religion first
c. Wouldn’t subordinate
d. Put money first
3. Hitler tried to copy Mussoulini
a. Germany eager for power
b. People eager for better conditions
F. NAZI party growing
1. 1928-12 seats in gov’t, 600,000 followers
2. 1930-107 seats in gov’t, 6.5 million followers
3. 1932-no majority in Parliament
a. Need to appoint someone
4. Nazism better alternative to Communism
G. Hindenburg
1. President of Germany
2. Appoints Hitler Chancellor
a. Gets power to end violence in streets and all opposition
b. Passes legislation for himself
c. Uses Gestapo
H. Germans happy
1. No unemployment
2. No inflation
I. Hitler ignores Versialles Treaty
1. 1935-German arms build up
2. 1936-fortified Rhineland
3. Allies did nothing
4. Anschluss of 1938
a. Unification of Austria and Germany
5. Czechoslovakia united created after WWI
a. Hitler invades and takes the Sudetenland
b. Britain Prime Minister Chamberlain
i. Makes Hitler sign agreement
ii. Last conquest in Europe
iii. “Peace with honor”
iv. People proud
c. Churchill-leader of opposition to agreement
i. People won’t listen
6. Hitler decides to take all of Czechoslovakia
7. Allies still do nothing
V. Hitler, Poland, and WWII
A. Hitler not worried about Britain and France
B. Wants Poland—Russia is the problem
C. Non-aggression pact with Russia signed
1. Carve up Eastern Europe
D. Sept. 1, 1939 invasion of Poland
1. Hitler uses Blitzkrieg
a. Quickly moving army with massive force
b. Wants to avoid WWI stalemate problems
E. Sept. 17, 1939-takes all of Poland
F. April 1940-takes Norway and Denmark
G. May 1940-takes Benelux countries
H. June 1940-takes France
1. Vichy government won’t resist Hitler
I. Battle of Britain
1. Hitler wants Britain
2. Year of air assaults
3. Change in leadership in Britain
Chamberlain—Churchill
4. Royal Air Force pilots, Spitfires
a. German loses battle
5. U.S. passed neutrality act
a. Pay someone else to fight Hitler
J. Lend-Lease Act
1. Give what’s left back
2. Hitler invaded Soviet Union
a. Stalingrad
3. We gave $11 billion to Stalin
VI. Japanese attack the U.S.
A. Dec. 7, 1941 bombed Pearl Harbor
B. Changed American attitudes
C. Economy transformed easily
D. Retaliation of the Allies (U.S., Britain, -France, Russia-)
1. Deliberately bomb civilians
a. Dresden and other German cities
b. Hiroshima and Nagasaki
VII. Communism spreads
A. Before WWII, one Communist nation—Russia
B. Stalin creates fear of Soviet Union
1. Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania
C. Democracies fearful of Stalin, turn to Communisms
1. Iron Curtain over Eastern Europe
D. China adopts ideas in 1949
E. Churchill warned about it, but no one listened
VIII. Holocaust
A. NAZI idea to eliminate races, and belief that the Aryan race
was #1
B. Ideas of Darwin and Nietzsche taught in schools
1. Basis for genocide
2. Science with it
a. Experiments done on humans
b. Tuskegee experiment
C. Americans didn’t notice concentration camps for a while
1. Reservation system
2. Internment of Japanese-Americans
D. Death total 7-9 million
1. Many Jews, others also
IX. How could it have happened???
A. No faith in democracy
1. Sickness towards politics
2. Democracy=parties and politics
3. Didn’t want democracy
B. Weakness of oppositional institutions
1. Church
a. No dedication to beliefs
C. Bitterness and frustration
1. After WWI devastation
a. No opportunities
b. Little income
i. No marriage
c. Minorities have power-in positions of authority
D. Lasting hatred toward Treaty of Versailles, etc.
E. Secrecy
1. Cover-ups
2. Lies