REJECTION OF LIBERALISMIn Germany and Russia

Liberalism Liber

alism

Lacey PilgrimHumanities 30-1 Mr. Kabachia

Rejection of Liberalism In Germany and Russia

The Single Factor Most Responsible

The single factor that was most responsible for the rejection of liberalism in Germany and Russia were the desperate situations the people of the countries were in. Their country was in turmoil and they needed a solution to their problems, therefore they were open to almost any new ideas so help solve their problems.

When people are put in desperate situations and all hope seems to be gone, and a person steps forwards and says that they have the solution to the problem, the people will listen and have open minds to their ideas, and possibly blur their values and beliefs.

Germany

During the Depression in the 1930’s, Germany was in a devastating turmoil throughout the country. They were in debt from World War 1 from the Treaty of Versailles, and the Great Depression brought their country to even greater despair. The citizens of Germany were desperate for an answer to their country’s liberation.

Adolph Hitler seemed to be the man of answers. He rose up and convinced the citizens of Germany that he had solutions to help the country break out of their turmoil. His solution was to cleanse the country of Jewish people and other “undesirables”, such as gays or gypsies. The citizens were so desperate, that this absurd idea actually seemed reasonable and legitimate.

The Nazi party eventually guided the Germans into rejecting principles of liberalism such as individual rights and freedoms, Hitler made it illegal to marry or have children with the “undesirables”. Another rejection of liberalism would be rule of law, because the Jewish people were not treated equally under the law, in fact they were treated like animals.

Russia

In the late 1800’s the many people of Russia were interested to the ideas for social reform that were developed from Europe. Eighty per cent of the Russian population were peasants and some were serfs who were low-income farmers who were legally bound to the land they worked on. The Czar announced the emancipation of the serfs, however the government was slow to execute the new policy. From 1860s to the 20th century, the Russian society underwent many radical changes such as industrialization, although the country was still far behind what was happening in many of the European countries. The political structure remained autocratic, because they did not want to give up the control of the country. When the Czar Alexander II was assassinated, his son took control and reacted by imposing stricter political control, including the persecutions and exiling liberals and revolutionary groups with the use of a secret police force.

The citizens of Russia were in a rut, being subjected to difficult social and economic conditions. Lenin was then introduced into politics, promising change to the troubles of the landless peasants, the starvation of low-income workers in the cities, and many other groups. He believed the only way to overturn the government was to have a violent revolution. The citizens were put in such desperate situations that when Lenin told them there was a way out, they were lead to believe a violent revolution was their only way.