The Rise of Totalitarianism in Europe

prior to World War II

“Democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice it is a fallacy.”

~Benito Mussolini

Common Traits of Totalitarianism

The country is run by a powerful, charismatic leader and his (or her) loyal supporters.

Any perceived or real opposition to the government or criticism of the government is oppressed violently.

The official ideology promotes militarism, national supremacy, and loyalty to the government and the nation.

Totalitarian regimes generally reject democracy and liberty, and attack them as foolish and impractical.

Totalitarian regimes promotes an aggressive and militant foreign policy.

Fascist Italy

The Soviet Union

Nazi Germany Francoist Spain

Class Clicker Quiz

Enrichment Activities

Fascist Italy

The fascist symbol is an axe bound together with many rods, borrowed from Roman tradition.

This symbolizes strength in unity. The individual rods could be easily broken, but when bound together were difficult to break.

Fascism combined several ideologies (the rods) together in support of the state. Among the most important of these were nationalism and corporatism (government by corporations).

Benito Mussolini“Il Duce”

Images of Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini“Il Duce”

•Benito Mussolini came to power through election as the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922, he gradually built a dictatorship, which lasted until his fall in 1945.

•Mussolini was admired for his efficient government and ability to stave off economic disaster.

•Mussolini was famous for his calm. During an assassination attempt at a parade in 1926, he was fired upon and nicked on the nose. His nose was bandaged, he continued marching and fully pardoned the assassin.

•Due to his popularity, Mussolini did not face much opposition, but that which he did, he crushed.

Italy Invades Ethiopia

•Italy was late in the scrambles for African colonies.

•It had tried to take over Ethiopia at the end of the 19th century, but failed.

•In 1935, Italy invaded and crushed Ethiopia.

•If you click the link below you will see some statistics on the war. Note the difference in military technology and casualties.

Italo-Abyssinian War(Italian-Ethiopian War), 1935-1936

Italian Strength under Benito Mussolini

Approx. 500,000 combatants (Approx. 100,000 mobilized)

Approx. 595 aircraft, 795 tankettes (little tanks)

Approx. 500 killed and 1,000 wounded (est. May 1936)

More than 355 killed (est. 1936-1940)

Ethiopian Strength under Haile Selassie

Approx. 800,000 combatants

Approx. 3 aircraft.

Casualties and losses

More than 4,000 sick and wounded (est. 1936-1940)

Approx. 275,000 combatants killed, 500,000 wounded.

Italian soldiers in Ethiopia, 1936. Home

Francoist Spain

The Falange Party was a unique fascist movement, which attempted to fuse elements of nationalism, Catholicism, and syndicalism (political organization by trade).

The arrows bound together represent the strength of these elements united.

Generalissimo Francisco Franco

•Generalissimo Francisco Franco was the leader of the Spanish Falange Party.

•Franco first worked as an officer for the Spanish Republic suppressing Anarchist uprisings.

•In 1936, Franco led a rebellion against the Spanish Republic, thus beginning the Spanish Civil War.

•The Anarchists, the Communists, and the Republicans created a popular front to resist Franco. See the following slide.

Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

The Popular Front The Spanish Republicans

(Those who wanted a government similar to modern European governments.)

Marxist-Leninist Communists. Anarchists. Assisted by the Soviets.

France, Britain and US do not intervene.

40,000 Foreign Volunteers; 2,800 of whom were American.

The Nationalists

Military Generals under Francisco Franco.

The Spanish Falange Party.

Assisted by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

The Spanish Civil War

Due to their vastly different ideas on society, the allies of the Popular Front frequently fought amongst themselves.

Atrocities were committed by all sides. Franco systematically used torture, extra-judicial

killings, and terror to silence any and all opposition. Franco did not stop ruling Spain until 1975. Spain is

still healing from the conflict.

The Spanish Civil War

Pablo Picasso, Guernica. This painting depicts the bombing of the town Guernica by Franco’s forces.

Enemies and Allies

Communists Anarchists

Communists frequently attacked Anarchists, their primary ideological competitors.

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Enrichment Through Film and Music.

Spanish punk band plays a song in tribute to the Anarchists of the Spanish Civil War. Excellent historic footage and informative lyrics. Note, libertarian communism is the dominant form of anarchism. Click here.

Questions to ponder: What are the goals of the anarchists? Who do they see as their enemies? What is one issue with this view (remember the alliances).

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Enrichment Through Film

Here we see a part of Francisco Franco’s victory speech after winning the Spanish Civil War in 1939.

Questions to ponder: According to Franco, what is the essential nature or purpose of a totalitarian state? What are the elements that make up this state?

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Nazi Germany•The National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), better known as the Nazi Party was formed in 1920 and led by Hitler from 1921 till 1945.

•The Nazi Party promoted Pan-Germanic Nationalism (Nationalism for all Germanic people, whether in Germany or elsewhere (Austria, Czechoslovakia, etc), and social welfare for Germanic people.

•The Nazi Party was anti-capitalist, anti-communist, anti-liberal, and anti-democratic.

•The Nazi Party promoted the destruction or enslavement of people seen as inferior: Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals, Slavs Communists, and many others.

Adolf HitlerDer Fuehrer

•Hitler was born in Austria, he was a WWI veteran and mediocre artist before he entered politics. He was a highly charismatic leader.Note the emotion in his speech.

•He led a failed coup attempt in 1923, known as the Beer Hall Putsch

•He led his party to significant electoral gains in 1932 and 1933, allowing them to control the Reichstag (German Parliament).

•He was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933, which allowed him to become the Dictator of Germany.

Nazi Oppression At Home

The Nazis brutally oppressed all opposition to their regime; closing newspapers, political parties and any organization deemed a threat to the regime.

This included the murdering the leadership of the Socialist faction of the party in 1934, in the night of the long knives.

Political opponents were sent to concentration camps along with other members of society believed unfit to live. (We will be covering the Holocaust in greater depth later).

Anschluss, March 1938: The Unification of Germany and

Austria

Anschluss represents the militaristic application of Pan-Germanic Nationalism.

The Munich Agreement and German Occupation of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia September 1938

This annexation of a part of Czechoslovakia is anotherexample of the militant application of Pan-Germanism.

Images of the citizens of Austria and the Sudetenland Greet the

Nazis

Some citizens of Austria and the Sudetenland supported the Nazi takeover,others were less than happy.

Britain and France acquiesced to Nazi Germany, this policy was known as appeasement.

Appeasement

“Peace for our time,” Neville Chamberlin, September 30th 1938.

•The Prime Minister of Britain, Neville Chamberlin, tried to avoid going to war with Germany.

•The memory of WWI was still fresh andmany in Britain wished to avoid war at all costs.

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The Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, known as the USSR or the Soviet Union, was the government of Russia and many other central Asian and European countries bound together into a single political unit.

It was established in 1922 after four years of bloody civil war and lasted until 1991.

The official ideology of the Soviet Union was Marxist-Leninist Communism, which emphasized the role of a vanguard (small group of radical revolutionaries) in running the dictatorship of the proletariat (the workers).

Joseph Stalin

Stalin, which means man of steel, was the nom de guerre of Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili.

Originally a horse thief and robber for the Communist party, Stalin quickly rose in the ranks to become the leader of the USSR by 1924. Enrichment: Learn more about Stalin’s rise to power.

Ruthlessly persecuted all opposition, real and imagined, within and outside of the Communist Party.

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

In an effort to expand the Soviet Union, Stalin signed the secret Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) in August of 1939.This alliance arranged for the division of Eastern Europe between the Nazis and Soviets (see next slide). This visual and text narration provides mores details.

Poland is Invaded

September 1st, 1939: Nazi Germany invades Poland. Soviet Union follows suit shortly thereafter, capturing most of Eastern Europe and the Balkans at the same time.

September 3rd, 1939: France and Britain declare war on Germany.

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Class Clicker Quiz Q1

Who revolted against the Spanish Government in 1936?

A. The Communists. B. The Anarchists. C. The Falangists. D. The Communists and the Anarchists.

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Class Clicker Quiz Q2

What was Anschluss? A. The Nazi invasion of the Sudetenland. B. The unification of Nazi Germany with

Austria. C. The secret pact between the Soviet Union

and Nazi Germany to divide Poland. D. The Nazi policy of eradicating enemies of

the state. HOME

Class Clicker Quiz Q3

Which of the following leaders were democratically elected?

A. They were all elected democratically. B. Stalin and Franco. C. Hitler and Mussolini. D. Only Hitler.

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Class Clicker Quiz Q4

Which of the countries we studied today did not invade another country?

A. Germany. B. The Soviet Union. C. Italy. D. Spain.

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Class Clicker Quiz Q5

Which of the following leaders had the least amount of internal opposition?

A. Francisco Franco. B. Benito Mussolini. C. Adolf Hitler. D. Joseph Stalin.

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Class Clicker Quiz Q6

What was the main purpose of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression (Molotov-Ribbentrop) Pact?

A. To prevent a future war with Germany. B. To create an alliance against Britain, France and

their allies. C. To trick the Nazis into a false sense of security. D. To divide Eastern Europe between the Nazis and

the Soviets.

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