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12. War and Revolution (Milestones of Century)

Authoritarianism

democracy came under sharp attack after World War I

communism (Russian Revolution of 1917)

authoritarianism

features

highly authoritarian

intensely nationalistic

territorially aggressive

ferociously anticommunist

Italy, Germany, Japan

common political goals drew them by 1936-1937 into an alliance

against Soviet Union

against international communism

1940: Axis Powers

formal military alliance

Japan and Germany stood out

their impact on the larger patterns of world history

efforts to “establish and maintain a new order of things” (Axis Pact)

generated Second World War both in East Asia and Europe

European fascism (Italy)

Fascism

fascism: driving force of history is the conflict of nations

intensely nationalistic

revitalize and purify the nation

mobilize its people for some grand task

praised violence against enemies as a renewing force in society

celebrated action rather than reflection

placed faith in charismatic leader

fascists opposed what they argued divided and weakened the nation

individualism

liberalism

feminism

parliamentary democracy

communism

revolutionary yet conservative

revolutionary: determination to overthrow existing regimes

conservative: embrace of traditional values and opposition to much of modern life

Support

after First World War, number of discontent people grew substantially

middle and upper classes: rise of socialism and communism was threatening

small-scale merchants, artisans, farmers: feared loss of independence to big business or socialist revolution

demobilized soldiers: few prospects, many resentments

intellectuals: appalled by materialism and artificiality of modern life

many lost faith in ability of liberal democracy and capitalism to create a good society and protect their interest

fascist or other highly authoritarian movements appeared in various countries

Europe

Spain

Romania

Hungary

Latin America

most prolonged power and consequences

Italy

Germany

Beginnings

fascist alternative first took shape in Italy

became unified only in 1870

not yet developed thoroughly industrialized economy or solidly democratic culture

First World War → resentful veterans (many unemployed), patriots (believed Italy did not gain what it deserved from Treaty of Versailles)

established social order was threatened with strikes and land seizures

trade unions

peasant movements

various communist and socialist parties

Benito Mussolini

Rise to power

1883-1945; charismatic orator and former journalist with socialist background

gained power in 1922 amid considerable violence

helped by Black Shirts: private army of disillusioned veterans and jobless men

promises

alternative to communism

order in streets

end to bickering party-based politics

maintenance of traditional social order

View of fascism

viewed fascism as

anticommunist: “the complete opposite...of Marxist socialism”

antidemocratic: “Fascism combats the whole complex system of democratic ideology, and repudiates it”

core of Mussolini’s fascism was his conception of the state

“Fascism conceives of the State as an absolute, in comparison with which all individuals and groups are relative, only to be conceived of in their relation to the State”

state was conscious entity with “a will and a personality”

represented the “spirit of the nation”

expansion in war and empire-building was “an essential manifestation of vitality”

Political

suspended democracy

imprisoned, deported, or executed opponents

disbanded independent labor unions, peasant groups, opposing political parties

Economic

“corporate state” took shape, at least in theory

workers, employers, various professional groups organized into “corporations”

supposed to act under the supervision of the state

settle their disagreements

determine economic policy

Cultural

invoked various aspects of traditional Italian life

Lateran Accords of 1929

Mussolini was personally an atheist but embraced Catholic culture of Italy

made Vatican a sovereign state; Catholicism Italy’s national religion

women were portrayed in highly traditional domestic terms

especially as mothers creating new citizens for the fascist state

no equality or liberation

nationalists delighted when Italy invaded Ethiopia (1935), avenging their defeat to them in 1896

beginning of “new Roman Empire” that would revitalize Italian society and give it a global mission

Hitler and the Nazis (Germany)

Nazi (National Socialist) Party gained power in 1933 under leader Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)

similar to Italian fascism

extremely nationalistic

openly advocated the use of violence as a political tool

generated a single-party dictatorship

were led by charismatic figures

despised parliamentary democracy

hated communism

viewed war as a positive and ennobling experience

circumstances

Germany was new European nation that lacked a long-term democratic tradition

widespread resentment about Treaty of Versailles

fear of socialism or communism

Beginnings

essential to victory: Great Depression

German economy ground to a halt in early 1930s amid massive unemployment

everyone demanded decisive action from the state

messages widely resonated

intense German nationalism in terms of racial superiority

bitter hatred for Jews as alien presence

passionate opposition to communism

determination to rescue Germany from humiliating Treaty of Versailles

willingness to tackle the country’s economic problems

Nazis won 37% of vote in 1932; Hitler legally installed as chancellor in 1933

quickly consolidated Nazi control of Germany (more thoroughly than Italy)

outlawed all other political parties

ended independent labor unions

arrested thousands of opponents

controlled press, radio

Factors for support

Ending the Great Depression

government invested heavily in projects

superhighways

bridges

canals

public buildings

after 1935: rebuilding and rearming diminished military

drove down number of unemployed Germans

6.2 million (1932) to fewer than 0.5 million (1937)

two years later: labor shortage

“glimmer of hope...not just for the unemployed but for everybody because we all knew that we were downtrodden.... It was a good time ... there was order and discipline” (Erna Kranz, teenager in 1930s)

Appeal to rural and traditional values

values that many Germans feared losing as their country modernized

reflected and reinforced broader, long-established anti-Semitism

Jews became symbol of what was undermining traditional German culture

urban, capitalist, foreign influences

Policies

Racial revolution

central feature of Nazi program

policies that increasingly restricted to Jewish life

excluded

universities

professional organizations

civil employment

Nuremberg Laws (1935)

ended German citizenship for Jews

forbade marriage or sexual relations between Jews and Germans

November 9, 1938: Kristallnacht

“Night of Crystal” or “Night of Broken Glass”

Nazis smashed and looted Jewish shops

Nazi’s determination to rid Germany of its Jewish population became clear

most radical element of Hitler’s program

did not yet mean killing Europe’s Jews until World War II

Gender

wanted to limit women to home, not paid workforce (unlike Soviets)

natural domain of men was state, natural domain of women was home

“Woman in the workplace is an oppressed and tormented being” (Nazi publication)

promoted cult of motherhood (like Italy)

out of concern about declining birthrates

glorified and rewarded women who produced children for the state

generally opposed ideas associated with feminist thinking (like Italy)

abortion

contraception

family planning

sex education

Germany: state-sponsored system of brothels initiated in mid-1930s

men assumed to have casual sexual partners

soldiers assumed to require sexual outlet in order to contribute to nation’s military strength

Torchlight ceremonies

celebrated superiority of German race and its folk culture

Hitler portrayed as:

mystical leader

Führer (leader)

orator

Hitler would lead

Germany to national greatness

individual Germans to personal fulfillment

View of core values

rejection of some values that represented core of Western civilization since Enlightenment

rationalism

tolerance

democracy

human equality

Nazis claimed legacy of modern science

classification and ranking of various human groups

emphasized “scientific racism” and phrenology (size and shape of skull linked to human behavior and personality)

reflected Enlightenment confidence in:

their effort to purify German society

perfectibility of humankind

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