fascist italy and nazi germany
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Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Chapter 29-2. Causes for the rise of fascism in Italy. In the early 20 th century Italy was a liberal state with civil rights and a liberal constitution Then: - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany
Chapter 29-2
Causes for the rise of fascism in Italy
In the early 20th century Italy was a liberal state with civil rights and a liberal constitution
Then: Italia Irrendenta: Orlando left the Paris
Peace Conference early and angry because Italy did not get the territory promised to her after the war
1919 depression in Italy = many strikes and class tension
Fascism in Italy Causes continued:
Wealthy classes wanted a strong anti-communist leader
By 1921 socialists, conservatives and property owners were opposed to a parliamentary government
In Italy, Fascism was a combination of authoritarian conservatism & nationalism (but never as extreme as Russia or Germany)
Benito Mussolini (Il Duce)
Originally a nationalist and newspaper editor
Organized the Fascist party in Italy Combined socialism and nationalism Promoted
territorial expansion Benefits for workers Land reform for peasants
Fascism Party was named after Fasces: rods
carried by Imperial Roman officials as symbols of power
By 1920 Mussolini gained the support of the conservative classes and frightened middle class using anti-socialist rhetoric
He had abandoned his socialist programs
The Black Shirts (Squadristi)
Paramilitary forces that attacked Communists, Socialists, and other enemies of the fascists.
Hitler will later have his own Brown Shirts
March on Rome October 1922 Mussolini led a large group of
fascists who marched on Rome to threaten the king
The Government collapsed and Mussolini was given the right to organize a new government
King Victor Emmanuel III gave Mussolini dictatorial powers for one year to solve Italy’s social unrest
The Corporate State Aka the syndicalist-corporate system The economic basis for Mussolini’s
fascism By 1928 all independent labor
unions were organized into government-controlled syndicates
Organizations of workers and employers were created
Strikes and walkouts were banned
The Corporate State Corporations were created to
coordinate activities between the worker-employer syndicates
Authority came from the top
NOT like socialist corporate states where workers made decisions
Mussolini’s dictatorship The right to vote was big-time
limited All candidates for the Italian
parliament were chosen by the fascist party
Government ruled by decree Dedicated fascists were put in
charge of the schools
Government tried to control leisure time of the people
(not successfully) Balilla Fascist youth movement
Labor unions
The Dopolavoro (After Work) social activities for the working class
Italy never a true totalitarian regime
Mussolini never became all-powerful Failed to control citizens’ leisure
time The old power structure
(conservatives, military, Church) remained
Mussolini never tried to purge the conservative classes
He controlled labor but business was self-regulating
Mussolini’s Italy No land reform No ruthless police state (only 23
political prisoners were executed 1926-1944)
Racial laws not passed until 1938 Jews not persecuted until Italy was
occupied by Nazis
Women Traditional role was emphasized Divorce was abolished Women told to stay home and
procreate By 1938 women were limited by law
to a maximum of 10% of better-paying jobs in industry and government
Mussolini’s accomplishments
Many internal improvements: road-building and electrification
More efficient government (mostly at municipal level)
Suppression of the Mafia (was especially strong in southern Italy and Sicily)
Improvements in the justice system (except for “enemies of the state”
The Church The Lateran Pact 1929 reconciled
the state with the papacy
The Vatican received $92 million for Church lands and was reduced to a tiny independent state
In return the Pope recognized the legitimacy of the Italian state.
Results Italian democracy was destroyed Terrorism was a state policy Poor industrial growth due partly to
militarism and colonialism Disastrous wars resulted from the
attempt to recapture the glory of ancient Rome
Nazi Germany Extreme nationalism and racism is
Nazism Hyper-nationalism fed the impulse to
conquer other nations The Diktat caused massive
frustration
Racial beliefs: in the superiority of the Aryan race (Germanic peoples)
Belief in the inferiority of the Jews and Slavs
Hitler Became the leader of a very small
(7-member) National Socialist German Workers Party (NAZI) after WWI
Grew dramatically and quickly The S.A. (Brown Shirts) were a Nazi
paramilitary group that terrorized political opponents on the streets
Became the private army of the Nazis and were very loyal to Hitler
The Beer Hall Putsch 1923
Hitler and his companions failed to overthrow the government of Bavaria and was sentenced to only 1 year in jail
Gave Hitler national attention
Taught Hitler that he would have to take control legally
Mein Kampf 1923 Written while Hitler was in jail Became the blueprint for Hitler’s
future plans Lebensraum (living space):
Germans should expand east, remove the Jews, and turn the Slavs into slave labor
Anti-Semitism: Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany’s political and economic problems
Fuhrer (leader-dictator) would have unlimited power
The Fall of the Weimar Republic
Was the result of the Great Depression
By 1932 unemployment was 43% Discontent played into Hitler’s hands Hitler promised voters economic,
political and military salvation Promised Big Business that he would
restore the economy by breaking the unions and reducing wages
Hitler’s promises Assured top military officials that the
Nazis would reject the Versailles Treaty and rearm Germany
Appealed to the German youth: 40% of the party was under age 30 in
1931 67% under the age of 40
By 1930 Power struggle The struggle for power by the
communists and social democrats led to a breakdown in the government
1933 Reichstag elections gave the Nazis the largest percentage of votes (though not a majority)
1933 elections The Nazis demanded that Hitler be
given a leadership role in the government
Hitler became Chancellor January 1933
Was appointed by President Paul von Hindenburg
The Third Reich 1933-1945
The Reichstag Fire occurred during the violent electoral campaign of 1933
The incident was used by the Nazis to crack down on the communists
The S.A. increased the terrorizing of political opponents
The Enabling Act March 1933
Passed by the Reichstag Gave Hitler absolute dictatorial
power for 4 years Only the Nazi party was legal Hitler outlawed strikes and
abolished labor unions Publishers, universities, and writers
were watched closely
Hitler Blacklisted: Jewish, Socialist,
Democratic literature
Students and professors “encouraged” to burn forbidden books in public squares
Modern art and architecture (degenerate art) was prohibited
Propaganda Joseph Goebbels: minister of
propaganda Glorified the Nazi state and Hitler
Leni Riefenstal and Triumph of the Will did the same thing
June 1934 Knight of the Long Knives
Hitler was warned that the army and big business were suspicious of the S.A.
In order to please these conservatives, Hitler had his elite personal guard, the SS, arrest and kill the S.A. (about 1,000)
The SS grew dramatically in influence as Hitler’s private army and secret police
The SS were led by Himmler
The Gestapo The Gestapo were the political police
They joined with the SS to expand its network of special courts and concentration camps
The Hitler Youth At first; voluntary Soon membership was mandatory
Children were encouraged to turn in their teachers or even their parents if they seemed disloyal to the state
This was true totalitarianism
Persecution of the Jews By the end of 1934 most Jewish
Lawyers, Doctors, professors, civil servants, and musicians had lost their jobs and the right to practice their professions
1935 Nuremburg Laws deprived Jews of all rights of citizenship
Kristallnacht 1938 Knight of the broken glass After the assassination of a minor
German diplomat in Paris by a Polish student who was upset about the “resettlement” of his family
Hitler ordered an attack on Jewish communities
A well-organized wave of violence destroyed Jewish homes, businesses, synagogues
Jews were arrested and made to pay for repairs
Holocaust 6 million European Jews were
eventually killed during WWII The “Final Solution”
Other victims: Gypsies, Slavs, Jehovah’s Witnesses, communists, homosexuals, mentally handicapped and political opponents…by 1945 totaled an additional 6 million
Results of Nazi economic policies
Unemployment dropped from 6 million in 1933 to 1 million in 1936
By 1938 a shortage of workers By 1938 a modest improvement in
the standard of living Business profits rose sharply
Hitler’s popularity Largely due to economic recovery He delivered on his promise of work
and bread Large public works program helped
to get Germany out of the depression: roads, offices, huge sports stadiums (Berlin Olympics) and public housing
1936 Began to rearm in a big way Government spending focused on
the military
Society in Nazi Germany Most of those who were in good
shape before Hitler rose to power were still in good shape (educated classes)
Very little social leveling occurred Women encouraged to maintain
traditional roles like in Italy Went into the factories during
wartime