totalitarianism

Totalitarianism 1919-1939

What is totalitarianism? A one-party dictatorship that

attempts to regulate every aspect of citizens’ lives

First developed in the 1920s by Italian fascists.

Western anti-communists frequently compared this type of government to Nazism and Soviet Communism during the Cold War era.

Characteristics of Totalitarianism

Run by a centralized government Involves a single-party dictatorship Personality cultism (creating a heroic

public image of the ruler) State control of the economy Strong military presence Use of terror & fear Use of propaganda Attacks on religion

What led to Totalitarianism? Mass destruction & devastation of World War I– HUGE DEBT for many nations– HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT– DISSATISFACTION over peace agreement

(Germany)– SOCIAL UNREST– POOR LEADERSHIP

Attempts at Peace League of Nations (1919, Geneva, Switzerland): an

intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War, whose principal mission was to maintain world peace .

Locarno Treaty (1925): settled Germany border disputes & “banned war”

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928): promised to “renounce war as an instrument of national policy”

Disarmament: reduction of forces & weapons (no real number set though, so impossible to impose specific limits)

Manchuria, 1931 Mukden Incident, aka the

Manchurian Incident, was a staged event engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China, known as Manchuria, in 1931.

Japan occupied Manchuria through WWII

League of Nations chastised Japan (only verbally) Japan withdrew from Manchuria after WWII

The Great Depression Major economic boom in the 1920s

(particularly USA) Overproduction of goods & much

higher wages Stock market crashed 1929 World-wide depression 1930s International response: high tariffs,

which made it worse

Western Europe during the Depression

England struggled with high unemployment Ireland became independent from England in

1922 (northern states remained under English rule)

Canada, Australia, New Zealand & South Africa became independent in 1931 (became self-governing dominions within the British Commonwealth)

French economy not as rough, but they distrusted Germany– Maginot Line (military fortifications along border

with Germany)

Maginot Line

Mussolini: Il Duce Italy felt betrayed after

WWI Benito Mussolini formed

Fascist Party in 1919 Promised to return Italy

to Roman “greatness” By 1922, Mussolini was

prime minister Economy corporate

state Individuality = BAD National Identity =

GOOD Hated Communism &

Socialism

Hitler: the Fuhrer After WWI, Germany went

through the Weimer Republic & economic instability

Austrian Adolf Hitler formed the National Socialist German Workers party NAZI

Hitler elected chancellor 1933 and formed the totalitarian Third Reich (1933-1945)

Adolf Hitler In the midst of the Great Depression, the

Nazi government restored prosperity and ended mass unemployment: – heavy military spending – a mixed economy of free-market and central-

planning practices – extensive public projects, including the

construction of the Autobahns Return to prosperity gave the regime

enormous popularity and made Hitler's rule mostly unchallenged

Purged German culture Attacked religion (Christianity and

Judaism)

Francisco Franco: His Excellency Generalísimo

A Spanish general, dictator and the leader of the Nationalist military rebellion in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

Franco and the military participated in a coup d'état against the Popular Front government. The coup failed and evolved into the Spanish Civil War.

After winning the civil war with military aid from Italy and Germany (as exemplified in the Bombing of Guernica), he dissolved the Spanish Parliament.

Franco established a right-wing authoritarian regime and was Head of State until 1978, when a new constitution was drafted.

April 26, 1937: Bombing of Guernica

During the Spanish Civil War, the town of Guernica was bombed by Nazi Germany. 1654 civilians were killed. The Germans were attacking to support the efforts of Francisco Franco to overthrow the Basque Government and the Spanish Republican government

Franco during World War IIDuring World War II, Franco officially maintained a policy of non-belligerency and later of neutrality, in part because Spain had not recovered from the considerable damage of the civil war. However, he supported the Blue Division, a unit of Spanish and Portuguese volunteers that served in the German Army on the Eastern Front.