2.3 The Rise of Mussolini and Hitler -T-

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 3

9. The Time of World Wars

2.3 The Rise of Mussolini and Hitler

What is this lesson about?

After World War I, both Germany – now called the Weimar Republic - and Italy struggled with problems. In Italy, Mussolini founded Fascism. He overthrew the democratic government and became a dictator. The founding of his totalitarian state inspired Adolf Hitler to do the same in Germany. Hitler joined the nationalist party NSDAP and attempted a coup in Munich. He failed and was sent to prison where he wrote his book Mein Kampf. In this book, he described his plans for Germany.

people in this lesson

Benito Mussolini

Adolf Hitler

Word Duty

WORD DUTY

Interbellum: the period between the two world wars (i.e. between 1918 and 1939) 

fascism: nationalist and authoritarian political ideology founded by Mussolini 

Blackshirts: private militia of Mussolini

censorship: prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

totalitarian state: a state with a centralized government that is dictatorial and controls every part of people's lives

Weimar Republic: name now used for Germany from 1919 to 1933 

Universal suffrage: every citizen above the age of 18 is allowed to vote (algemeen kiesrecht)

Nazi Party: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, abbreviated NSDAP; German political party led by Hitler 

National Socialism: political ideology of the Nazi Party 

Brownshirts: private militia of Hitler, officially called the S.A. (Sturm Abteilung)

coup: overthrowing the government, seizing power by force (German: Putsch)

anti-semitism: hatred towards jews

What you will learn in 

this lesson

• How did Mussolini come to power in Italy
• What are the characteristics of Fascism and national Socialism?
• Compare fascism and National Socialism
• What was the political situation in Germany after WW1?
• What were Hitler's ideas / plans?
• Expain the Bierkeller Putsch of 1923

Use these questions to make your own summary

Important dates in this lesson:

1919: Treaty of Versailles

1922: Mussolini's March to Rome

1923: Hyperinflation in Germany (see lesson 2.4)

1923: Hitler's failed Munich Putsch (coup)

1929: start economic crisis in America

Introduction

Extreme nationalism, which had been a significant cause of World War I, did not disappear after in 1919. In the democratic states of Italy and Germany, it reached new heights during the Interbellum and dictators came to power. How could this happen?

Discontent in Italy

During World War I, Italy had sided with the Allies and participated in the Paris peace conference of 1919. The Italians wanted to add large parts of Austria-Hungary to their territory, but only a few of their wishes were fulfilled. For many Italians, the Treaty of Versailles was a major disappointment; among this group was Benito Mussolini. Born in 1883, he was a socialist as a young man. But as a soldier during the war, he became nationalistic and right-winged, dreaming of a revolution that would change Italy. After the war, Italy was faced with a huge debt, unemployment and social unrest. This strengthened Mussolini and other war veterans in the idea that Italy needed a new political movement.

Fascism

Their new movement was called fascism and Mussolini became the leader of the National Fascist Party. His goal was to make Italy powerful again, to rebuild the Roman Empire in effect. To achieve this, Italy had to turn into a totalitarian state. Everything and everyone should be focused on achieving the national goals. According to fascists, democracy was just chit-chatting and that the country only needed one strong leader. Mussolini named himself 

Il Duce (the leader) and presented himself, with his flamboyant gestures and arrogant stances, as a powerful man. 

Fascism glorified violence and Mussolini used his private militia, called the Blackshirts, to beat up opponents. In 1922, he led the Blackshirts on a march to Rome to take over the government. The Italian parliament and king feared civil war and so made Mussolini the new Prime Minister. When he came to power, he immediately ended the influence of parliament, placed the press under censorship and banned all other political parties. Mussolini was the first nationalist dictator in Europe after World War I and became an example for another one: Adolf Hitler.

Mussolini and his Blackshirts during the March on Rome, 1922.

Germany: The Weimar Republic

After the war, Germany faced many problems. It had to deal with reparations, the fact that the emperor had fled to the Netherlands and that the country was on the brink of chaos. In 1919, an uprising was led by the Spartacus League. They were supported by Lenin and wanted to turn Germany into a communist state. Though the government broke up the rebellion using the Freikorps (see next video), this uprising revealed Germany’s vulnerability.

In July 1919, Germany became a democracy with universal suffrage, a parliament and a president. The name of the State was still Deutsches Reich, but was unofficially called Weimar Republic. But the leaders of the young republic could not end the political unrest. The main cause for it was that many Germans, including politicians, hated the Treaty of Versailles. They felt humiliated because of the loss of territory, the high amount of reparations and the derogation of the army. Some believed that Germany should have continued to fight and that its politicians had betrayed the army. Many believed this stab-in-the-back myth. Among them was Adolf Hitler.

two cartoons about the so-called "Dolchstoss-legende", the 

"stab-in-the-back myth"

Adolf Hitler

Hitler was born in the small Austrian village of Braunau am Inn. He had a difficult childhood; his father was very strict and died when Hitler was fourteen years old. His mother died some years later. Hitler was not a very good student and dreamed of becoming a painter. To pursue this, he moved to Vienna, where he applied to the art academy; but he was declined, which devastated him. In 1914, Hitler joined the German army. War became his new goal and he even called it the best time of his life. When Germany was defeated, he felt depressed; he blamed the communists, the government and the Jews for losing the war. Hitler was not the only one who felt this way. He joined a political party called the NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; commonly referred to as Nazi Party). He quickly became leader of the Nazis because of his talent for making speeches. During meetings, he told his listeners about the ideas of National Socialism, promising to end the Treaty of Versailles and make Germany powerful once again.

Brownshirts and a failed coup.

The Nazi’s founded the Sturmabteilung (SA), to stand guard during meetings and to fight communists. Also known as the Brownshirts, these men were a fighting unit, just like Mussolini’s Blackshirts. The Nazi’s strategy was to use violence and street fights to spread fear and to show citizens that the Weimar government was weak. Indeed, the parliament of the Weimar Republic and the police had a hard time keeping order, which weakened people’s trust in democracy even more. On 8th November 1923, Hitler planned a coup in the city of Munich; he and hundreds of Brownshirts tried to take some politicians hostage as they made speeches in a tavern. With this Bierkellerputch, Hitler wanted to take over the Bavarian government and eventually overthrow the government in Berlin. The coup failed and Hitler was sent to prison.

Mein Kampf

In prison, Hitler developed his plans and wrote the book Mein Kampf (My struggle). As Mussolini had implemented his fascist ideas, Hitler wanted to build a powerful German empire that he would call the Third Reich. For this, the state needed one strong leader with absolute power. Democracy, personal freedom and equal rights had to be abolished. Germany had to become a totalitarian state. Like Mussolini in Italy, Hitler glorified violence and the military. He believed that war was a part of evolution because it separates the strong from the weak.

The Nazi racial doctrine

There was, however, a big difference between Fascism and National Socialism. Nazis had a more racist viewpoint, from which they believed that people could be divided into races and that this could be proven scientifically. According to them, Germans descended from Aryans: a superior race of ‘masters’. As born leaders, Aryans were destined to dominate all other races. 

Coloured people in the non-Western world and the Slavic races of Eastern Europe were seen as sub-humans, who could be used to serve the Aryans. The Nazis called some people ‘parasite races.’ These were mainly Jews, who were blamed for destroying Germany. The hatred towards Jews is called anti-Semitism.

Eva Justin of the Racial Hygiene and Demographic Biology Research Unit measuring the skull of a Romani woman.

Nazi propaganda poster showing the "perfect" German family

After prison

Hitler was released from prison after just one year, but captivity had changed him. From that moment on, he wore an army uniform and he had a new strategy: to use democracy to get power. At first, Hitler and the NSDAP did not get a lot of votes; but this changed when an economic crisis hit the United States in 1929 and spread to Europe.

pictures: two election posters for Hitler's N.S.D.A.P

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