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Authoritarianism and totalitarianism
Authoritarian and totalitarian regimes
In Germany, Italy and the USSR, authoritarian dictatorships came to power
The power was in hands of a supreme leader and a ruling political party
Some of these authoritarian regimes evolved into totalitarian regimes which were even more radical
Factors that contributed the rise of these regimes
The war had aroused nationalist feeling that was reinforced by the economic crisis of 1929 and the implementation of protectionist policies
The power of the state increased with state intervention in economy and society
The First World War had established habits of military organisation such as a chain of command and comradeship so many soldiers found it difficult to adapt to civilian life again
New parties were created that represented the working masses, who were discontented due to unemployment, low wages and land distribution
Common characteristics shared by these regimes
Foreign policy
An expansionist foreign policy to gain new territories and new markets and raw materials
Economy
The state intervened in and controlled the economy
Public works programmes were set up to reduce unemployment and imports were minimalised
Companies were nationalised
Politics
The government was an authoritarian dictatorship with a leader that possessed absolute political power and a party that supported him
It was an anti-democratic government in which there were no political parties, trade unions or free elections and in which citizens rights were suppressed
Society
Almost every class of society supported the regime because they were controlled and informed by the state and they believed that this system provided a solution to their problems
Social support of these regimes
Army
Collaborated with the regime and was a powerful organ of political control
Business owners and workers
Business owners started to support the regime when they found out that they put an end to strikes and the rise of workers parties
Workers started to support the regime after the crisis of 1929 when they realised that they could created jobs
Middle class
As they saw that the situation was not improving they wanted a strong interventionist state that would put an end to all the problems
Methods used by these regimes to safeguard their power
Culture
It was controlled by the state; the aim was to instil a code of behaviour according to the ruling party's ideology
A policy of repression
It used secret police and civil servants belonging to the party to find people who opposed the system, who were then arrested, deported, sent to labour camps or executed
Propaganda
It was used to promote its ideology and censure opposition
Violence
It was used by the army and paramilitary groups to control anyone who opposed the state's ideology
The USSR: Stalinism
Stalinism was the system of totalitarian government which was established in the USSR when, after Lenin's death in 1924
Joseph Stalin eliminated all possible political rivals and took control of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)
Characteristic of Stalin's government
The economy was planned and controlled by the state
Land and factories became state property
Five-year plans were introduced which aimed to achieve the rapid industrialisation of the USSR
Collectivisation of land by expropriation of property by force and forced obligation of the workers to cultivate the land collectively
In a Sovkhoz (a soviet-owned farm)
The land was owned by the state and the workers were paid a wage
In a Kolkhoz (collective-owned farm)
the land was owned by the collective or cooperative, and the workers received part of the harvest as a wage
The crops produced were given to the state for export
Nationalisation of existing industries and investment in and creation of heavy industry
The construction of hydraulic works to increase the production of electricity
Social inequality
There were differences between the governing elite, with high incomes, and the rest of the population, living on a minimum wage
In times of food shortages, the people went hungry because agricultural production was destined for export
All political power was held by Stalin
He set up a system in which the party leaders ran the country
He approved the Constitution of 1936, which granted citizens' rights
He maintained the CPSU as the only political party
He tried to spread communism across Europe through the Komintern
Propaganda and repression
Stalin reinforced his own power through propaganda that portrayed him as the saviour of patriotism, and through repression
He carried out various purges among the population that he suspected of forming conspiracies against his regime
Many of the suspects were sent to gulags or were executed
Democracies and authoritarian regimes in the inter-war years
Differences between authoritarian ideologies
Right-wing authoritarian regimes and were nationalist but rejected the communist ideology of the classless society
A left-wing totalitarian regimes were anti-nationalist and anti-capitalist with the aim of creating a classless communist society with the economy planned and controlled by the state,
Differences between democracies and authoritarian regimes
Democracies
Individual rights and liberties are guaranteed
There is a number of political parties
All citizens are equal
Authoritarian regimes
Rights were given to groups, not to individuals
One political party
Social inequality
Italian fascim
Although monarchy was still maintained with Victor Emmanuel III as head of state, Mussolini established a dictatorship
The measures that Mussolini adopted
Government intervention in the economy
An autarky was set up, mines and the arms industry were nationalised and large scale public works projects were begun
Social policies
He put an end to the unrest because he removed workers' rights, such as the right to a union and to strike
He indoctrinated the population through the education system
He increased the birth rate by offering subsidies to large families
In politics
He transferred all power to himself and became the leader of the only political party, the head of government and head of the army
Parliament was replaced by the Chamber of Fascists, made up of the supporters of the regime
He expanded Italy into Abyssinia and Ethiopia, in Africa
Because of the crisis after the war, the "Fasci" groups were created (volunteer militias) that helped maintain order in the streets
In 1919, Benito Mussolini created the first Fasci combat groups (Blackshirts) which were a paramilitary group with an ultranationalist ideology who opposed the socialist parties and trade unions
In 1921, Mussolini formed the National Fascist Party and in 1922, he led the March on Rome, which forced the government to step down and the king asked Mussolini to form a government
Fascism was the system of authoritarian government established in 1922 by Benito Mussolini in Italy when he became head of the government
Nazi Germany
Totalitarianism succeeded in Germany mostly because of the humiliation Germans felt over the territorial and economic conditions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles
In 1921, Adolf Hitler became the leader of the Nazi party
They used the SS, a paramilitary group, to attack the opposition (the worker's parties)
Their political programme was based mainly on the rejection of the Treaty of Versailles
Nazism was the system of dictatorship established by Adolf Hitler (known as Führer) in Germany
It was a totalitarian regime which replaced the Weimar Democratic Republic
In 1933 (After he had won elections), Hitler was named Chancellor and established a dictatorship
The measures that Hitler adopted
The economy developed
He established a programme of public works and developed the arms industry that helped reducing unemployment
He believed that the German Aryan race was superior to other races
He was extremely anti-Semitic and during the 1930s German Jews were persecuted by the regime
He established the Third Reich after being proclaimed head of government (in 1934)
The Nazi party became the only legal political party and persecuted anyone who opposed it
He started a expansionist policy that would recover the territories that Germany had lost in WWI
