Countries Turn to Dictators
After World War I ended, and the Treaty of Versailles went into effect, the world entered what was supposed to be a period of peace, but that is not what happened. Angry over being punished for a war that they did not start, and being financially ruined, many Germans wanted revenge. Other countries in Europe and Asia were facing equally difficult hardships, and were struggling to feed their citizens. Economically, both sides who fought in the conflict were trying to pay off enormous war debts, and owed a lot of money to the United States. When the U.S. stock market crashed in October 1929, the entire world felt it as a result; this was called The Great Depression.
Throughout the entire length of our class, we have examined how people have fought to create a democratic society and desired to have a voice in their government, but in this unit, that changes. Many people began to feel that democracy was simply not working, and that their leaders were powerless to run the country or provide for them, instead choosing to just give in to the demands of other nations and hard situations. As the economy got worse, people began to starve, and nationalism became even more extreme after the Versailles Treaty, many demanded a stronger government that could actually get something done. This is why we began to see the rise of dictators who used their power and influence to control all aspects of society. In this time period, leaders like Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler, rose to power to make their countries great again.
Throughout the entire length of our class, we have examined how people have fought to create a democratic society and desired to have a voice in their government, but in this unit, that changes. Many people began to feel that democracy was simply not working, and that their leaders were powerless to run the country or provide for them, instead choosing to just give in to the demands of other nations and hard situations. As the economy got worse, people began to starve, and nationalism became even more extreme after the Versailles Treaty, many demanded a stronger government that could actually get something done. This is why we began to see the rise of dictators who used their power and influence to control all aspects of society. In this time period, leaders like Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler, rose to power to make their countries great again.
What kind of governments were these?
Well, democracies, monarchies, and empires broke down during this time period, and not many were able to survive the economic hardships of the Great Depression felt around the world. The worst hit places were those of the ex-Central Powers, like Germany. People had pushed for more representation in their government for a long time, but after World War I, democracy had seemed to run its course in the eyes of many.
Once again, people started reassessing what they wanted in a government, and many countries started to lean toward more authoritarian ones. In other words, governments who are controlled by one person (Dictatorships), and allow that one man to do whatever is necessary to make their country powerful. |
The Rise of Communism in the Soviet Union (USSR) |
The Rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany |
We briefly discussed Communism again during the Russian Revolution, but have not really talked about it in depth since way back during the Industrial Revolution when it first appeared. Importantly, we have not really discussed Vladimir Lenin all that much either.
Lenin was the first head of the Communist Party in Russia after it became the ruling power during the October Revolution. He wanted to create a classless society with production managed by the workers/people themselves, and raise the standard of living for all citizens. Years of abuse by the Russian Monarchy, especially Czar Nicholas II, made people desire the change that the Communists promised. Yes, there was a bloody counter-revolution to prevent the Communists from taking over, but by 1922, all of those forces had been defeated. Lenin was more pragmatic about introducing Communism to Russia, and did it gradually, which is extremely important. There was one major problem though, after finally securing the Communists' control of the government, Vladimir Lenin died only two years later, in 1924. This left his work incomplete, and also left the leadership of the government in question. After winning over the majority of the Communist Party, and assassinating his only real rival (Leon Trotsky), Joseph Stalin seized power of Russia. Stalin ruled the country with an iron fist, and wanted to move away from Lenin's gradual way of doing things, to revolutionary change. this is actually a more Communist way of doing things too. (Stalin, a name he chose, even means "Man of Steel" in Russian.) He embarked on a program to industrialize the USSR, and achieve complete government control of the economy and means of production. Under Lenin, the standard of living rose, under Stalin, it fell. Stalin also used militaristic techniques to control the Russian people, including secret police, youth groups, indoctrination methods, and propaganda. These were designed to terrorize people into having loyalty to him, and prove that he had complete control of the government. |
During the last couple of units, we have talked about nationalism, and how it goes beyond just patriotism (i.e. "I am proud to be an American.") To recap, in nationalism, people have so much faith in their country, they are willing to fight others to prove their superiority. This idea stimulated Imperialism and helped cause the First World War.
Now, in the Inter-War Period (1920's-1930's), we see the rise of Fascism, which is extreme nationalism. It comes into being in Italy first, under Benito Mussolini, and then later in Germany, under Adolf Hitler. In Fascism, one leader (dictator), controls the government, and demands complete loyalty from his citizens. Essentially, Fascism is an almost civic religion, or in other words, people practically worship their country and its leader with nationalism. Different than Communism though, in Fascism, private property ownership was important, and the state could not take things away from its citizens. Even though they could own their own property though, the individual was considered less important than the whole, and everyone had to contribute to making the country powerful. In the wake of their humiliation in World War I, and the economic hardships following the American Stock Market Crash, you can see how this might seem appealing to Germans for both, and Italians for the latter. There is one major difference between Italian and German Fascism though. Under Mussolini, Italy used the more traditional form of Fascism that we just discussed, but under Hitler, he used a different form, called Nazism. (This is where we get the term, "The Nazis" from.) Hitler, who was the head of the Nazi party, was definitely a Fascist, but he added one crucial element which made it different, racism. Nazis blamed Jews and other "undesirables" for Germany's problems, and went about terrorizing them for it as well. Similar to Communism, because both are authoritarian governments, Fascists used violent techniques to control their people, including secret police, youth groups, indoctrination methods, and propaganda as well. This was designed to force participation in all aspects of society. |