BETWEEN THE WARS
“INTERSESSION”
World War
One
1914-1918
Allies
World War
1919
thru
1938
Two
1939-1945
Allies
- vs -
- vs -
Central Powers
Axis Powers
dematteo global 10 hsw
I. Totalitarianism
1. Describe the condition of many European nations after the Fist World War.
2. Why did people “accept” the leadership of a “Totalitarian Dictator”?
3. Purpose and function of - Propaganda - Censorship – Terrorism - as tools of a government
4. Examine why Religion would be made illegal in a dictatorship.
dematteo global 10 hsw
Name;
Period;
DeMatteo
Date;
Wodd War II
Culture/Society/Politics D.B.Q.
Point Value:
Directions: Read the passage below and answer the following questions using your knowledge of Social Studies.
Whenever possible you should provide background and setting for the passage and/or include specific
historical details such as people, places, events, ideas and concepts that pertain to the document.
The passages below written by Benito Mussolini in 1932, Adolf Hitler in 1924, and Joseph
Goebbels in 1930 express some beliefs of fascism and Nazism. Read the excerpts and then
answer the questions that follow.
German people a unified community and give them
Benito Mussolini'
freedom before the world, then the Jew can have no pla
Fascism repudiates the doctrine of Pacifism.... War
among
us... . The Jew is responsiblefor our misery and
alone puts the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who
he lives on it.
have the courage to meet it... . Fascism combats the
—From Louis L. Snyder, The Weimar Republic (New York:
whole complex system of democratic ideobgy, and
D. Van Nostrand, Co., 1966).
repudiates it.... Fascism denies that the majority can
direct human society.... Fascism denies the absurd
Adolf Hitler:
converaional untruth ofpolitical equality.... Fascism
conceives of the State as an absolute, in comparison with
From [the Aryan] originate the foundations and walls of
which all individuals or groups are relative, only to be
all human creation. . . . Blood mixture and the resultant
conceived of in their relation to the state.
drop in the racial level is the sole cause of the dying ou
—Adapted from Benito Mussolini, T h e Political and Social Doctrine
old
cultures. .. .All who are not ofgood race in this
of Fascism." International Conciliation No. 306 (January 1935).
tvorld are chaff . . . [The Jew] weaves a net of enemies .
[and] incites them to war... destroys the foundations of
all national self-maintenance and defense, destroys faith
Joseph Goebbels:
in the leadership ... contaminates ari, literature, the
The Jew has no interest in the solution of Germany's
theater.. . and. .. drags men dovm.
fateful problems. He cannot have any. For he lives on the
—Adapted from Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, R. Manheim, trans.
fact that there has been no solution. If we would make the
(New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1943).
6. What effect do you think fascism and Nazism had
on the rights of individuals? Explain.
3. According to fascism, what is the proper relationship
between the people and the state?
5. Compare Hitler's and Goebbels' statements. H o w do
both of them promote hatred of Jews?
2. What is the fascist attitude toward democratic
principles?
4. How is racism reflected in Hitler's statements?
1. Why does fascism reject pacifism'
Propaganda
Censorship
Between the Wars
THE TOTALITARIAN DICTATORS
JOSEPH STALIN
BENITO MUSSOLINI
ADOLPH HITLER
Communist
Party
Fascist Party
Nazi Party
SOVIET UNION
U.S.S.R
ITALY
GERMANY
dematteo global 10 hsw
List the style
List the style
List the style
(methods and policies)
(methods and policies)
(methods and policies)
which he ruled:
which he ruled:
which he ruled:
Use the specific names for their Organizations
Use the specific names for their Organizations
Use the specific names for their Organizations
dematteo global 10 hsw
ra....~ The. Rise of the Modern Totalitarian
." State
~
RIse of the Nazis to Powe I dd"
the Weimar government and:;e n :e~~~o:o the proble~s of
Totaillanamsm IS a politIcal philosophy that emeraed in the
po
e played by HItler,
20th century. Totalitarianism describes government~ in which
a number of other factors led to the rise of the N ',' G
one political party monopolizes all power and exercises com­
many:
aZls In er­
plete authority over the people and their activities. It involves
, l . Economi~ problems. The N~is offered simple explanations
total control of all ~spects of an individual's life by lhe govern­
for both the causes of Gennany s economic problems and its
ment, wIth both ,CtvIi and political rights being curtailed. Al­
cures. These problems, as described above, affected millions of
though vano~s tonns of totalitarianism exist in parts of the
Gennans. The reparations demanded by the Versailles Treaty were
w.orld tod,ay, Its earlIest examples were in three European na.',".
condemned
2 P , as. unjust and Tblamed for causing the econom'IC cnslS.
tlO~S dunng the 20-year period following World War I. These
. ' . atrlotlc appeals. . he Nazi program stirred German na­
natIOns were the Soviet Union (under Communism; see Unit
tlOnahsm. It called for:
• a large increase in the armed forces;
Seven), Italy (u?der Fascism), and Germany (under Nazism).
• the expansion of the Gennan fatherland to inclUde terri­
Totah.tartan SOCIeties look down on individual human rights
tory In Europe where people of German descent lived
II and clvII h?ertIes. The values of democracy are not found in
such SOCieties. Totalitarian states emphasize: (I) glorification
(Austna, parts of Poland, and Czechoslovakia);
of the whole community (that is, the state); (2) authoritarian
• control over educational and cultural institutions to teach
rule by a dictator or by selected members of the one political
Nazi principles of racism and physical fitness for the glory
party allowed to exist; (3) control of the individual citizen's
of the state;
life; (4) belief in· the idea that the individual should benefit the
• ignoring the Versailles Treaty and refusing to accept the
state and exists 'solely to serve the state's interests. In Western
war-guilt clause;
• regaining land that Gennany had held in Europe and its
Europe, these features of totalitarianism were most characteris­
tic of Gennany under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi
overseas colonies prior to World War I;
party, from 1933 to 1945. This government, known as the
• the use of violence as a legitimate means to achieve do­
Third Reich, arose after the period of the. Weimar Republic.
mestic and international goals;
• the importance of looking back to and glorifying the
mythicaJ Gennan race (the so-called Volk) as the source of
Germany Under the Weimar RepubUc (1919-1933). The
Weimar Republic was the name of the German government
all strength and power.
The Nazis also claimed that Nordic Germans were destined
that came to power after World War I. It was a democratic gov­
ern~ent, wllh a constitution that was drawn up in the city of
to rule the world and to eliminate undesirable peoples. They
Weimar. However, this experiment with democracy in Ger­
blamed the WeImar government for accepting the Versailles
many faced many problems, includmg economic chaos and
Treaty and said it had been forced to do so by Jews, Commu­
street violence. It was not successful for a number of reasons.
msts, and others. Finally, the Nazis claimed that Gennan forces
had not been defeated in World War I but had been stabbed in
I. In the early 1920s the Weimar government printed paper
money with little to back it, resulting in severe inflation. This
the back.
devastated the German economy and resulted in severe unem­
3. Anti-Semitism. Prejudice toward Jews had existed in Ger­
ployment and street violence.
many for hundreds of years, resulting in exile, loss of life and
2. When Germany was unable to meet its reparations pay­
property, ~d hatred. However, Hitler's prejudice against Jews
ments in 1923, France sent troops to occupy the Ruhr Valley,
was fanatIcal; he used Jews as scapegoats and blamed them for
Germany's chief industriaJ area.
his own personaJ failures and also for Germany's problems.
3.. There was terrible unemployment in Germany in the early
These false ?otions became persuasive parts of Nazi propa­
1920s and again in the 1930s.
ganda, especlaJly when they were blended with Hitler's master
4. The German economy was restored after 1923 and condi­
race theories. Hitler claimed that the Aryans (Germans) were a
master race who were naturally entitled to control and rule peo­
tions improved. However, in 1929 a worldwide depression that
pies of less "pure" blood, such as Slavs and Jews. (The Holo­
threatened the stability of democratic governments everywhere
brought much suffering to Germany. Unemployment rose to 6
caust, in which 6 million Jews were systematically murdered
after Hitler came to power, was the tragic consequence of these
million in 1932, and Germans lost faith in their political lead­
ers. This further fueled the bad feelings that had been caused
misguided notions.)
4. Fear of Communism and of Soviet Russia. The Nazis
by the Versailles Treaty.
5. The government was unstable because no single party
played upon these fears with much success and portrayed
themselves as the only ones capable of protecting Germany
was able to achieve a majority in the Reichstag, the more pow­
from foreign beliefs and potentiaJ aggressors. In this way, they
erful of the two legislative houses created by the Weimar con­
stitution. As a result, German politicaJ leaders seemed helpless
were able to win the support of large segments of the German
population, such as bankers and industrialists.
to deal with the severe economic problems.
These problems led many Germans to conclude that democ­
5. Use of private, illegal armed groups. Many of Hitler's
racy was ill suited to their nation and that autocracy was prefer­
followers were organized into private armies. One such group
able, especiaJly since it had brought Germany politicaJ unifica­
was the Storm Troopers (S.A.), or Brown Shirts, who used
tion, economic growth, and respect as an internationaJ power. A
scare tactics and violence to terrorize Jews and opponents of
strong democratic tradition did not exist in German history.
the Nazis.
.
6. Lack of meaningful opposition. Few strong voices inside
Germany spoke out against the Nazis. Many Germans came to
The Role of Adolf Hitler. Hitler was born in Austria and
served in the German army during World War L He joined the
graduaJly support Hitler,. while others were apathetic. Others
Nazi party (NationaJ Socialist German Workers party). He
feared speaking against him, and many who did were intimi­
dated. InternationaJly, there was little awareness of or concern
spoke out against the Weimar government and was arrested for
his role in the Munich Putsch of 1923, an unsuccessful attempt
about the Nazi movement
to overthrow the government. While imprisoned, he wrote the
book Mein Kampf(My Struggle) that contained his ideas for a
stronger and more powerful German nation. It also revealed his
racist beliefs concerning the alleged superiority of Aryans asa
"master race" and the need to eliminate all groups he consid­
ered inferior, such as Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, and blacks. Hitler
was a stirring and charismatic speaker when addressing large
crowds, thereby attracting many people to the Nazi party.
C'
dematteo global 10 hsw
The Nazis Come to Power. The formal takeover of Ger­
many by the Nazis took place in January 1933 when the presi­
dent of the Weimar Republic, Paul von Hindenburg, appointed
Hitler as chancellor. By this time, the Nazis had become the
largest political party in Germany, and they formed the single
largest block in the Reichstag, the German parliament. Yet they
had never won a clear majority in any national election. (In
1932, for example, they won slightly less than 40 percent of the
seats in the Reichstag.) Although Hitler promised to preserve
the Weimar constitution, he soon carried out policies that de­
stroyed the democracy that had existed under the Weimar Re­
public. The result was a totalitarian dictatorship that eventually
brought about World War II and brought devastation to Ger­
many and to most of Europe. Hitler's distorted ideas, along
with his antidemocratic beliefs and tactics, unfortunately found
a receptive audience in post-World War I Germany. He was
caIled der FUhrer, or leader.
Italy Under a Fascist Government (1922-1943). Italyex­
perienced totalitarian rule under a Fascist government headed
by Benito Mussolini. The word "fascist" comes from the word
"fasces," an axe-like weapop that was a symbol of the ancient
Roman Empire. Mussolint wanted Italians to feel a strong
sense of nationalism and to remember the glory of the Roman
Empire. Mussolini and his Black Shirt followers came to
power for some of the same reasons that led to the rise of the
Nazis in Germany.
I. Economic. The costs of World War I had been staggering.
After the war, there was high unemployment, strikes, and se­
vere inflation.
2. Political. The weak and divided government of King ViL:­
tor Emmanuel III was unable to provide leadership or to inspire
confidence in its ability to solve the postwar crisis. Also, there
was no strong democratic tradition in Italy. Moreover, the fear
of Communism and a Communist-led revolution was seized
upon by Mussolini, who promised to defend Italy and thereby
won followers.
3. Social. Italy was suffering from low morale, and was sad­
dened by the many deaths in World War I. Mussolini promised
the Italian people security, order, and economic progress in ex­
change for their liberties and freedom.
Mussolini in Power. As a result of his famous March on
Rome in 1922 supposedly to save Italy from a Communist rev­
olution, Mussolini came to power. Neither the king nor the
army opposed him. He soon established a police state, destroy­
ing civil liberties and demanding that people recognize him as
1\ Duce, the leader. Mussolini reorganized the economy of
Italy, establishing Fascist-controlled associations in all indus­
tries, and Italy was run as a corporate state.
dematteo global 10 hsw
I.~ Nazism in Germany
Totalitarianism is a political philosophy that has emerged in the twentieth cen­
tury. The term totalitarianism describes a government in which one political party,
or a single group of like-minded persons, monopolizes all power and exercises
~omplete authority over the masses of people and their activities. This system
mvolves total control of all features of an individual's life by the government, with
both civil and political rights being curtailed. Although various forms of totalitari­
anism exist in parts of the world today, the earliest examples were evident in three
European nations during the 2o-year period following World War I. These nations
were the Soviet Union (under Communism), Italy (under fascism), and Germany
(under Nazism). Totalitarian societies look down upon individual human rights
and civil liberties. The values of democracy are not found in such societies. Totali­
tarian states emphasize four factors:
1. Glorification of the whole community (i.e., the state);
2. Authoritarian rule by a dictator or by selected members of the one political
party allowed to exist;
3. Control of the individual citizen's life; and
4. Belief that the individual sh6uld serve the state and exists solely to promote
the state's interests.
In Western Europe, these features of totalitarianism were most characteristic of
Germany under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party, from 1933 to 1945,
This government, known as the Third Reich, arose after the period of the Weimar
Republic.
Germany Under the Weimar Republic (1919-1933)
The Weimar Republic was the German government established after World.War
I. It was a democratic government, with a constitution drawn up in the city of
Weimar. There were many political parties that would campaign for seats in the
government, which was headed by President Friederich Ebert. This was the gov­
ernment that had sent representatives to sign the Versailles peace treaty. However,
this experiment with democracy in Germany fact!d many problems. These includ­
ed economic chaos, street violence, and political threats from the left and right.
The five main reasons why the Weimar government was unsuccessful are as
follows:
1. In the early 1920s, the Weimar government printed paper money with little
hard currency to back it, resulting in severe inflation. (Inflation occurs when
there is such a great amount of money in circulation that its value decreas­
es.) This situation devastated the German economy and resulted in severe
unemployment and street violence.
2. When Germany was unable to meet her reparation payments in 1923.
France sent troops to occupy the Ruhr Valley, Germany's chief industn~1
area. III will grew against the French, while the Weimar government s
response was simply to print more money. This action, of course, added to
the inflationary crisis.
0
3. The terrible unemployment in Germany in the 1920s and again in the 193 s
caused severe.suffering and unrest.
, . n~
4. The German economy was restored somewhat after 1923, and condl uo .
temporarily improved. However, in 1929, a worldwide economic depressJ~nl
agail
that threatened the stability of democratic governments everywh ere.
.
ilho n I n
brought much suffering to Germany. Unemployment rose to siX m
leO
1932, and Germans lost faith in their political leaders. This further foe
the anger that had been caused by the Treaty of Versailles.
able to
5. The government was unstable because no one single party was . latin'
achieve a majority in the Reichstag, the more powerful of the twO leglsli{iOI
global 10constitution.
hsw
houses createddematteo
by the Weimar
As a result, German po ~
.
.
' rob1ern··
leaders seemed helpless to deal With the challengmg economIC p
These problems led many Germans to conclude that democracy was ill suited to
their nation. and that a strong. bold autocracy would be preferable. The desire for
such a political system grew as people remembered that it had brought Germanv.
under Bismarck's leadership, political unification. economic growth, and respect
~lS an international power. Furthermore. a strong democratic tradition did not
exist in German historY. The evolution of representative elected government and
respect for human rights. which over the centuries had taken place in such coun­
tries as Britain and France, had not occurred in Germany.
The Role of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was born in Austria and served in the German army
during World War I. Mterwards, he joined the Nazi (National Socialist German
Workers) Party. He spoke out against the Weimar government and was arrested
for his role in the Munich beer hall putsch of 1923, an unsuccessful attempt to
overthrow the government. While imprisoned, he wrote the book Mein Kampf (My
Struggle), which was not immediately popular In Germany. It explained Hitler's
ideas for a stronger and more powertul German nation. It also revealed his racist
beliefs concerning the alleged superiority of Aryans as a "master race" and the
need to eliminate all groups he considered inferior, such as Jews, Slavs, gypsies,
and blacks. Hitler was released from prison in 1924 and resumed efforts to
expand support for his ideas and those of the Nazi party. He showed himself to be
a stirring and charismatic (appealing) speaker when addressing large crowds,
thereby attracting many people to the party.
The Rise of the Nazis to Power
The Nazis began to run candidates for seats in the legislature and were able to
win some, although they never gained a majority of seats. In addition to the prot>­
lems of the Weimar government and the powerful role played by Hitler, a number
of other factors also led to the eventual rise of the Nazis to power in Germany.
1. Economic Problems: The Nazis offered simple explanations for both the causes
of and the cures for Germany's economic problems. These problems, as
described above, affected millions of Germans (six million workers were
unemployed in 1932). Reparations demanded by the Versailles treaty were
condemned as unjust and were blamed for causing the economic crisis.
2. Patriotic Appeals: The Nazi program stirred German nationalism byempha­
sizing several points. Among the measures it called for were the following:
• A large increase in the armed forces;
• Expansion of the German fatherland to include territory in Europe where
people of German descent lived (i.e., Austria and parts of Poland and
Czechoslovakia) ;
• Control over educational and cultural institutions in order to teach Nazi
principles of racism and physical fitness for the glory of the state;
• Ignoring the Versailles treaty and refusing to accept the war-guilt clause;
• Regaining land that Germany had held in Europe prior to World War I
and its overseas colonies;
• Use of violence as a legitimate means to achieve domestic and internation­
al goals; and
dematteo global 10 hsw
3.
4.
5.
6.
• Glorifying the mythical Gennan race (the so-<:alled Volk) as the source of
all strength and power. The Nazis also claimed that Nordic Germans were
destined to rule the world and to eliminate undesirable people, This atti­
tude was an example of excessive ethnocentrism. Hitler and his followers
blamed the Weimar government for accepting the Versailles treaty, and
said it had been forced to do so by Jews, Communists, and others. Fina1lv,
the Nazis stated that German forces had not been defeated in World War'l
but rather had been "stabbed in the back."
Anti-Semitism: The tenn anti-Semitism refers to prejudice and hatred direct­
ed toward Jews only because they are jews. Prejudiced attitudes toward Jews
had existed in Gennany and Austria for hundred of years, resulting in perse­
cution, exile, and loss of life and property. However, Hitler's prejudice
against jews was fanatical. He used them as scapegoats for his own personal
failures in Vienna and elsewhere, and also for Gennany's problems. These
false ideas became persuasive parts of Nazi propaganda, especially when they
were blended with "master race" theories. Hitler claimed that the Aryans
(Gennans of Nordic descen t) were a master race who were naturally entitled
to control and rule people ofless "pure" blood, such as Slavs and jews. (The
Holocaust, in which six million jews were systematically and intentionallY
murdered after Hitler came to rfower, was the tragic consequence of these
misguided ideas. See Chapter 34, 'The Holocaust.")
Fear of Communism and of Soviet Russia: The Nazis played upon these fears
with great success, and portrayed themselves as the only ones capable of pro­
tecting Gennany from foreign beliefs and potential aggressors. In this way.
they were able to win the support of large segments of the Gennan popula­
tion, including such influential groups as bankers and industrialists. In addi­
tion, because Karl Marx was of jewish origin, Hitler was able to link his 0\\11
anti-Semitic propaganda with his anti-Communist position.
Use of Private, Illegal Armed Groups: Many of Hitler's followers were organized
into private armies. One such group was the Storm Troopers, or "brown
shirts." They employed scare tactics and violence to terrorize jews and other
opponents of the Nazis. Many were thugs and gangsters who took matters
into their own hands and beat up people for little or no reason.
Lack of Meaningful opposition: Few strong voices inside Gennany spoke out
against the Nazis. Many Germans came to gradually support Hitler, while
others were apathetic. A third group feared to speak against him; indeed.
many who did were later intimidated'. Internationally, there was little aware­
ness of or concern about the Nazi Movement.
The Nazis Come to Power
. occurred III
. january 1933 , when"
The fonnal takeover of Gennany by the NaziS
the president of the Weimar Republic, Paul von Hindenburg, appointed Hitler a~
l
chancellor. By this time, the Nazis had become the largest political party in Gle '
ar la'
many and formed the single largest block in the Reichstag, the German P 'j~,
ment. Yet they had never won a clear majority in anv national election. (In 19. 11
.
' .
R 'chst<te-'
for example, they won shghtly less than 40 percent of the seats III the el. fi"[
-\t Ir"
To control the government, a party had to win a majority of the seats. ) " [e aHitler promised to preserve the Weimar constitution with all its democr~tIC [h,ll
tures and protections. However, he soon instituted (set in place) polICIes
dematteo global 10 hsw
ended the experiment in democracy that had been introduced in 1919 under the
Weimar Republic.
[n Februarv 1933, he began to transform hlmself from a ch~mcellor to a dictator.
He called for new elections to the Reichstag for \larch ef. However. on Februarv '27.
;l tire uf unknown origin destroved the Reichstag building. Hitler blamed the Com­
munists. predicting that they were about to lead a revolt. He then persuaded Presi­
dent \"On Hindenburg to issue orders ending freedom of speech and assemblv..-\
mentally retarded Dutch Communist was eventually brought to trial and convicted
of setting the tire. It is generally assumed, however, that the ~azis themselves had
done so. To falsely and maliciously hold others responsible for acts they did not do
is to use them as scapegoats and to employ the "big lie" technique. Both of these
notorious tactics are frequently used by dictatorial and totalitarian governments.
In the March elections, the Nazis won only 44 percent of the seats. Neverthe­
less, with Hitler's followers applying various kinds of intimidation, almost the
entire Reichstag voted to pass the Enabling Act. This act suspended the constitu­
tion and gave Hitler dictatorial powers. H~ shortly thereafter abolished all opposi­
tion parties. Labor unions and opposition newspapers were banned. Radio
stations were placed under government control, -with Joseph Goebbels as minister
of propaganda. To carry out all these policies, Hitler established a secret police
force called the Gestapo. People ar.(ested by the Gestapo would often be sent to
large prison areas called concentration camps. These, however, were not the death
camps that were built in the 1940s.
Hitler's Governlnent Becolues Known as the
Third Reich
With the death of President von Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler became president
as well as chancellor, adopting the title of der fUhrer (the leader). He proclaimed
his government as the Third Reich and predicted that it would last for 1,000 years.
For Hitler, the Third Reich was the successor to both the Holy Roman Empire
(First Reich) and the German Empire begun by Bismarck (Second Reich).
The rules and policies of the Nazis now were spread throughout Germany, in
schools, churches, social clubs, sports programs, and a special Hitler youth organi­
zation. Young children were encouraged to wear the swatiska, the twisted-cross
symbol for the Nazi party, and to inform authorities about their parents and any
friends who were not following Nazi rules and regulations or who did anything
else that could be regarded as antigovernment behavior. Books were burned that
contained writings of Jews or any others who were deemed "undesirable." Large
meetings and rallies were held where Nazi followers made emotional speeches
praising Hitler and condemning Jews and the Treaty of Versailles, and where hun­
dreds would shout approval of Hitler and give the Nazi salute. This situation was a
far cry from the hopes of those who had brought forth the Weimar Republic, a
chance for Germany to become a democratic nation.
dematteo global 10 hsw
Hitler's Theories
The nature and aims of Nazism can be found in the speeches
Adolf Hitler made long before he came to power. Those who
treated him with disdain or indifference were sOOn shocked by
the enthusiastic support he won for his cause. Hitler was a spell­
binding orator and a masterly political organizer who combined
socialism and nationalism in his appeal for mass support. The
National Socialist Party vowed to avenge the humiliation of 1918
and restore Germany to prosperity and power.
At the center of Hitler's political creed was the pseudosci­
entific doctrine of the master race - the superior Germans
needed room for expansion; the inferior Slavs would have to be
exterminated or enslaved. Hitler fanned the German hatred of
the Jews, using them as a scapegoat for all the ills of Germany.
He well realized that his utterances did not have to be true as
much as they had to be emotionally appealing. What the Ger­
man people needed and wanted, he believed, was strength and
leadership, and not interminable democratic discussions.
Hitler was able to win the support of many Germans, among
whom were men of great power and wealth. During the eco­
nomic depression and the political chaos of the early 1930's,
millions flocked to his banner and looked to him for salvation.
In 1932 he had the largest party in the German Reichstag (the
lower house of the German legislature), though not a majority.
His assumption of the Chancellorship in January 1933 was but a
prelude to absolute dictatorship. Once in power, Hitler was as
good as his word; and the brutality of his regime did not seem to
detract from his support.
In the following selections Hitler's theories are presented in
excerpts from his speeches.
Force and Struggle
In a speech delivered at Essen on November 22, 1926, Hitler
said: The fundamental motif through all the centuries has been the
principle that force and power are the determining factors. All develop­
ment is struggle. Only force rules. Force is the first law. A struggle has
already taken place between original man and his primeval world. Only
through struggle have states and the world become great. If one should
ask whether this struggle is gruesome, then the only answer could be:
For the weak, yes, for humanity as a whole, no. . . .
Unfortunately, the contemporary world stresses internationalism in­
stead of the innate values of race; democracy and the majority instead
of the worth of the great leader. Instead of everlasting struggle the
world preaches cowardly pacifism and everlasting peace. These three
things, considered in the light of their ultimate consequences, are the
causes of the downfall of all humanity. The practical result of concilia­
dematteo global 10 hsw
tion among nations is the renunciation of a people's own strength and
their voluntary enslavement. ...
At Munich, March 15, 1929: If men wish to live, then they are
forced to kill others. The entire struggle for survival is a conquest of the
means of existence, which in turn results in the elimination of others
from these same sources of subsistence. As long as there are peoples on
this earth, there will be nations against nations and they will be forced
to protect their vital rights in the same way as the individual is forced
to protect his rights.
One is either the hammer or the anvil. We confess that it is our
purpose to prepare the German people again for the role of the ham­
mer. For ten years we have preached, and our deepest concern is: How
can we again achieve power? We admit freely and openly that if our
movement is victorious, we will be concerned day and night with the
question of how to produce the armed fo\ces which are forbidden us by
the peace treaty [Treaty of Versailles]. We solemnly confess that we
consider everyone a scoundrel who does not. try day and night to figure
out a way to violate this treaty, for we have never recognized this
treaty. . . .
We will take every step which strengthens our arms, which aug­
ments the number of our forces, and which increases the strength of
our people.
We confess further that we will dash anyone to pieces who should
dare to hinder us in this undertaking. . . . Our rights will never be rep­
resented by others. Our rights will be protected only when the German
Reich is again supported by the point of the German dagger.
Leadership
At Nuremberg, September 14, 1935: We will harden ourselves
to such an extent that any storm will find us strong. We will never for­
get that the sum total of all virtues and all strength can be effective
only when it is subservient to one will and to one command. . . .
Nothing is possible unless one will commands, a will which has to be
obeyed by others, beginning at the top and ending only at the very
bottom. . . .
We must train our people so that whenever someone has been ap­
pointed to command, the others will recognize it as their duty to obey
him, for it can happen that an hour later they will be called upon to
command and they can do it then only if others in turn obey, This is
the expression of an authoritarian state - not of a weak, babbling de­
mocracy - of an authoritarian state where everyone is proud to obey,
because he knows: I will likewise be obeyed when I must take com­
mand.
The Superiority of Aryans
At Munich, April 2, 1927: We see before us the Aryan race
which is ... the bearer of all culture, the true representative of all hu­
manity. All inventions in the field of transportation must be credited to
the members of a particular race. Our entire industrial science is with­
out exception the work of the Nordics. All great composers from Bee­
thoven to Richard Wagner are Aryans, even though they were born in
Italy or France. Do not say that art is international. The tango, the
shimmy, and the jazzband are international but they are not art. Man
owes everything that is of any importance to the principle of struggle
and to one race which has carried itself forward successfully. Take away
the Nordic Germans and nothing remains. . . .
At Munich, November 21, 1927: From all the innumerable crea­
tures a complete species rises and becomes the master of the rest. Such
a one is man - the most brutal, the most resolute creature on earth. He
knows nothing but the extermination of his enemies in the world. . . .
This struggle, this battle, has not been carried on by all men in the same
way. Certain species stand out, and at the top of the list is the Aryan.
The Aryan has forged the weapons with which mankind has made itself
master of the animal world. There is scarcely anything in existence
which when traced back to its origin cannot claim an Aryan as its
creator.
THE SUPERIORITY OF ARYANS.
Democracy
In a speech at Hamburg on August 17, 1934 Hitler said: This
parliamentary democracy of ruin has at all times destroyed peoples and
states. It does not express the will of the people: it serves only the am­
bition and interests of conscienceless corrupters of the people, be they
small or great.
The effect of this kind of government in Germany was disastrous.
From the time when this parliamentary democracy had finally and com­
pletely mastered the nation there began a downfall in every sphere: not
only in politics, in culture, and in morals was Germany disintegrated
and weakened, but even in the sphere of economics those conditions
were destroyed under which alone, in the last resort, such an enor­
mously complex and sensitive organism can flourish . . . .
But it is clear that this political disintegration of the body of a
people must necessarily mean the end of every authority. Without such
an authority the economic life of a people cannot function healthily.
Freedom and Peace
Source: Ibid., pp. 5-6.
War and Expansion
At Munich, May 23, 1928: We admit that for us the future of
Germany does not lie in a mechanical revision of frontiers. In such a
case we would again be forced to rely upon world trade, which in turn
would make us competitors of four or five other states. That is no fu­
ture. The National Socialist Movement extends far beyond the deceitful
level of such a ... conception. It is the champion of that idea which
claims that if we do not acquire more soil, then we shall some day perish.
We pursue no policy which will not secure the existence of the people
for all time. . . . I believe that I have enough energy to lead our peo­
ple to war, and not for the revision of frontiers, but for the deliverance
WAR AND EXPANSION.
of our people in the most distant future, so that our people acquires so
much soil and territory that the sacrifice in blood can be returned to
posterity in four-fold measure.
Source: Ibid., pp. 27-28.
May Day Speech, 1939: And with that I come to the problem
of freedom in general. Freedom, yes! So far as the interest of the com­
munity of the people gives the individual freedom, it is given him. But
at the point where his freedom harms the interests of the community of
the people, at that point the freedom of the individual ceases and the
freedom of the people steps into its place. And besides, in no state is in­
tellectual achievement more highly valued than with us. I believe that
one can see that even in the leadership. We fancy that in Germany
there are, after all, men at the head of the state who in intellect can
stand comparison with the representatives of other states. But high
above all the freedom of the individual there is the freedom of our peo­
ple, the freedom of our Reich; and the security of the German Lebens­
raum [living space] is for us the supreme law. That we love peace I do
not need to stress. . . .
That I love peace appears perhaps most clearly from my work: in
that lies the difference between me and these warmongers. What am I
creating and what do these creatures do? I have here a great people, and
for it I am responsible. I try to make this people great and happy.
dematteo global 10 hsw
I.e
Fascism in Italy
from 1922 to 1943, Italy experienced totalitarian rule under a fascist govern­
ment headed by Benito Mussolini. The word fascist comes from the Latin fasces, an
<Lxelike weapon that was a symbol of the Ancient Roman Empire. Mussolini want­
ed Italians to feel a strong sense of nationalism and to remember that glory of the
Roman Empire. Mussolini and his "Black Shirts" came to power for a number of
reasons. It is necessary for us to examine these reasons.
Reasons for the Rise of Fascism in Italv
/
1. Economic: Although considered a victor in World War I, the costs of the war
for Italy had been staggering. After the war, there was much unemployment,
many strikes, and severe inflation. Along with city workers, farmers grew
more and more dissatisfied with the hard economic conditions.
2. Political: The weak and divided parliamentary government of King Victor
Emanuel III was unable to pro¥ide leadership or to inspire confidence in its
ability to solve post-World War I crises. The multiple-party system in the leg­
islature often caused a deadlock in the passage of laws. No one political
party had a majority. Also, there was no strong democratic tradition in Italy.
Moreover, the fear of communism and of a Communist-led revolution was
exploited (used to advantage) by Mussolini, who promised to defend Italy
and thereby won many followers. The failure by Italy to gain all the land she
wanted at the Paris Peace Conference contributed to annoyance with the
government. In short, many Italians hoped for a strong leader who could
bring stability and pride to the nation.
3. Social: Italy was suffering from low morale and was saddened by the almost
700,000 deaths incurred in World War I. Pensions for families of those
killed, as well as for wounded veterans, were frequently delayed, causing
aggravation and anger. Mussolini promised the Italian people security,
order, and economic progress in exchange for their liberties and freedom.
The Role of Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) was born in central
Italy. He worked as an elementary school teacher and
as a journalist before being drafted to fight in World
War I. Formerly he had favored socialism and athe­
ism, while being opposed to the Italian monarchy and
all forms of nationalism. These views and many others
were to change as he ultimately came to champion
private property, make his own peace with the monar­
chy and the Catholic Church, and advocate (call for)
a chauvinism that made people proud to be Italian.
This frequent shifting of viewpoints was common with
him. He was an opportunist, someone without any
really consistent beliefs who would change his views
whenever it appeared advantageous to do so.
In 1919, Mussolini founded the fasci di combattirnen­
to (groups for combat). This organization was to become a powerful political and
terrorizing force, tripling its membership to 300,000 between 1920 and 1922.
dematteo global 10 hsw
The Rise
to
Power of the Fascists
Mussolini's party attracted unhappy people from various segments of Italian
society. Businessmen and the middle class were willing to give him financial sup­
port. His promise of full employment and calls for patriotic pride won him many
city workers and army veterans. The fascists wore black shirts as uniforms. and
became known by this clothing. They began to engage in violent tactics and street
demonstrations. Property and officials of other political parties, certain newspa­
pers, and labor unions were attacked. Police often looked away from these inci­
dents, while judges were pressured to release any fascists who had been arrested
for violent behavior. These patterns were similar to those used in later years by
Hitler in Germany.
In 1921, the f~scists won some seats in the Italian parliament and expanded
their activities. Mussolini felt encouraged to put added pressure on the gm' ern ­
ment and to organize his supporters for a bold step. In the fall of 1922, the Marcb
on Rome took place. Fascist followers, claiming that they wanted to save Italy from
a Communist takeover, went to Rome by railroad, car, carriage, and foot. King Vic­
torCEmmanuel III, fearing a coup (a quick, nonviolent takeover of government)
sent a telegraph message to Mussolini in Milan on October 29, 1922, asking him
to form a new government. The next morning, having taken a sleeping-{;ar train,
Mussolini arrived in Rome. He'thus became the premier of Italy, without having
been elected to the office or even thinking about it three years earlier.
Mussolini in Power
In short order, the premiership became a dictatorship. Although the king
remained in office, Mussolini was given emergencv powers. A law was passed that
,
ct­
made sure the fascists would control the weakened parliament. Other Jaws reStf l
eel
ed freedom of the press and civil liberties. Critics were silenced, usual'" b\ thr .'
and terror. Giacomo y[atteotti, publisher of a book
exposing Mussolini and his tactics, was murdered. In
1924, Mussolini took the title n Duce (the leader). He
established himself as head of the Grand Council of
the Fascist party, the most powerful group in Italy. His
picture could be seen in many places. So could signs
that urged Italians to credl!Te, combattl!Te, obbedire
(believe, fight, obey).
In the area of economics, Italy became a corporate
state. This was a system in which most of the impor­
tant industries, such as manufacturing and transporta­
tion, were formed into organizations known as
syndicates. Each syndicate was like a corporation.
From each syndicate, managers and workers came to
meet with government officers chosen by Mussolini to
decide on issues such as wages, prices, and working
conditions. Private property was allowed, however, in
keeping with Mussolini's strong anti-{;ommunlSt stance.
Poli~ical power had now become authoritarian. This situation was not what
those who helped to unify Italy in the nineteenth century had struggled for. (See
Chapter 22, "Unification of Italy.")
Mussolini had little respect for democracy. Dictators such as he often use other
means, such as force, fear, and fabrication to gain power. They will be successful if
three conditions exist:
1. Discontent is widespread.
2. Those in power are weak and also insensitive to the nation's problems.
3. The majority of people are apathetic and do nothing to oppose the seizure
of power.
To preserve power, dictators resort to some of the same means used to acquire
that power. This was true, as we have seen, of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union.
Other leaders who were cut from similar cloth in post-World War I Europe were
Marshal Pilsudski in Poland (1926), Antonio Salazar in Portugal (1932), Adolf
Hitler in Germany (1933), John Metaxas in Greece (1936), King Carol in Ruma­
nia (1938), and General Francisco Franco in Spain (1939).
The use of armed force at home was a strong thread in this cloth. The interna­
tional community of the 1930s stood still while force was used domestically. When
its use crossed internaponal boundaries, however, force eventually led to severe
conflict that broke out in the 1930s; something which will soon concern us. (See
Chapter 32, "World War II.") However, we will first learn about the totalitarianism
that arose in the nation most responsible for that war-Nazi Germany.
dematteo global 10 hsw
Italy in the
Hands of the Fascists
Italy was unable to cope with the multitude ot problems that
taced it aEter the end ot World War I. Its economy was in a
hopelessly chaotic state. The meager allotment ot spoils Italy
obtained at the Peace Conterence aroused nationa' .csentment.
Good political leadership was lacking, and the uld parties were
not up to tte task ot maintaining order.
A number ot new political groups were tormed. One ot
these was the Fascist Party, organized and led by Benito .1 vtus­
solini, a tormer Socialist. The Fascists appealed directly to the
use ot torce. They were a party ot the tar right, emphasizing ex­
treme nationalism. Mussolmi was frank about his intentions to
establish a dictatorship. In October 1922 he and his tollowers
threatened to march to Rome and take over the government by
torce. In order to avert a revolution, King Victor Emmanuel III
invited Mussolini to become Prime Minister. Before long Mus­
solini was in complete cont~ol ot the country.
Mussolini proclaimed that Fascism was above all a doctrine
ot action. To correct the disorders ot Italy he offered to substi­
tute energy tor complicated theories and long-winded discus­
sions. He also promised to revive Italy's ancient glory and power.
International peace he deemed neither practical nor worthwhile.
To prepare tor the inevitable war, Mussolini moved with deter­
mination to strengthen the economy and rebuild the army.
Mussolini scoffed at the weakness ot democracy and parlia­
mentary government. There was no room in his new order tor
opposition or discussion. Opponents ot Fascism were given bru­
tal treatment and sometimes murdered. Many were torced out
ot the country.
The tirst selection, on the theory ot Fascism, was originally
written tor the Enciclopedia Italiana (1932) by Mussolini with
the assistance ot the philosopher Giovanni Gentile. The second
selection is by Gaetano Salvemini, a well-known historian who
despised the Fascist regime. He lett Italy in August 1925 and
was officially dismissed trom his post at the University ot Flor­
ence in December. For a number ot years he lived in England
and then in the United States, where he taught at Harvard. In
1948 he returned to Italy and resumed his position at the Uni­
versity ot Florence.
Fascism in Theory
Fascism ... believes neither in the possibility nor the utility
of perpetual peace. It thus repudiates the doctrine of pacifism. . . .
War alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy and puts
the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have the courage to meet
it. All other trials are substitutes, which never really put men into the
position where they have to make the great decision - the alternative
of life or death. Thus a doctrine which is founded upon this harmful
postulate of peace is hostile to Fascism. And thus hostile to the spirit
of Fascism, though accepted for what use they can be in dealing with
particular political situations, are all the international leagues and socie­
ties which, as history will show, can be scattered to the winds when
once strong national feeling is aroused by any motive - sentimental,
ideal, or practical. . . .
Fascism [is] the complete opposite of that doctrine, the base of so­
called scientific and Marxian Socialism, the materialist conception of
history; according to which the history of human civilization can be
explained simply through the conflict of interests among the various
social groups and by the change and development in the means and in­
struments of production. That the changes in the economic field - new
discoveries of raw materials, new methods of working them, and the in­
ventions of science - have their importance no one can deny; but that
these factors are sufficient to explain the history of humanity excluding
all others is an absurd delusion. Fascism, now and always, believes in
holiness and in heroism; that is to say, in actions influenced by no eco­
nomic motive, direct or indirect. . . . And above all Fascism denies that
class war can be the preponderant force in the transformation of soci­
ety. These two fundamental concepts of Socialism being thus refuted,
nothing is left of it but the sentimental aspiration - as old as humanity
itself - toward a social convention in which the sorrows and sufferings
of the humblest shall be alleviated. But here again Fascism repudiates
the conception of "economic" happiness to be realized by Socialism
and, as it were, at a given moment in economic evolution to assure to
everyone the maximum of well-being. . . . Fascism denies the validity
of the equation, well-being happiness, which would reduce men to the
level of animals, caring for one thing only - to be fat and well-fed­
and would thus degrade humanity to a purely physical existence.
=
dematteo global 10 hsw
(1
].;i1
lo~
1
After Socialis~, Fascism co-mbats -the whole complex system of
democratic ideology and repudiates it, whether in i~s theoretical prem­
ises or in its practical application. Fascism denies that the majority, by
the simple fact that it is a majority, can direct human society; it denies
that numbers alone can govern by means of a periodical consultation,
and it affirms the immutable, beneficial, and fruitful inequality of man­
kind, which can never be permanently leveled through the mere opera­
tion of a mechanical process such as universal suffrage. The democratic
regime may be defined as from time to time giving the people the illu­
sion of sovereignty, while the real, effective sovereignty lies in the hands
of other concealed and irresponsible forces. Democracy is a regime nom­
inally without a king, but it is ruled by many kings - more absolute,
tyrannical, and ruinous than one sole king, even though a tyrant. . . .
The foundation of Fascism is the conception of the State, its character,
its duty, and its aim. Fascism conceives of the State as an absolute, in
comparison with which all individuals or groups are relative, only to be
conceived of in their relation to the State. . . . In 1929, at the first five­
yearly assembly of the Fascist regime, I said:
"For us Fascists, the State is not merely a guardian, preoccupied
solely with the duty of assuring the personal safety of the citizens; nor is
it an organization with purely material aims, such as to guarantee a cer­
tain level of weB-being and peaceful conditions of life; for a mere coun­
cil of administration would be sufficient to realize such objects. Nor is
it a purely political creation, divorced from all contact with the complex
material reality which makes up the life of the individual and the life
of the people as a whole. The State, as conceived of and as created by
Fascism, is a spiritual and moral fact in itself. . . . The State is the
guarantor of security both internal and external, but it is also the custo­
dian and transmitter of the spirit of the people as it has grown up
through the centuries in language, in customs, and in faith. And the
State is not only a living reality of the present, it is also linked with the
past and above aB the future, and thus ... it represents the ... spirit
of the nation. . . ."
The Fascist State is unique, and an original creation. It is not reac­
tionary but revolutionary, in that it anticipates the solution of the uni­
versal political problems which elsewhere have to be settled in the
political field by the rivalry of parties, the excessive power of the parlia­
mentary regime, and the irresponsibility of political assemblies; while it
meets the problems of the economic field by a system of syndicalism
which is continually increasing in importance, as much in the sphere of
labor as of industry, and in the moral field [it] enforces order, discipline,
and obedience to that which is the determined moral code of the coun­
try. Fascism desires the State to be a strong and -organic body, at the
same time reposing upon broad and popular support. The Fascist State
has drawn into itself even the economic activities of the nation, and
through the corporative social and educational institutions created by
it, its influence reaches every aspect of the national life and includes,
framed in their respective organi~ations, all the political, economic, and
spiritual forces of the nation. . . . The individual in the Fascist State
is not annulled but rather multiplied, just in the same way that a sol­
dier in a regiment is not diminished but rather increased by the number
of his comrades. The Fascist State organizes the nation but leaves a suf­
ficient margin of liberty to the individual; the latter is deprived of all
useless and possibly harmful freedom but retains what is essential; the
deciding power in this question cannot be the individual, but the State
alone.
The Fascist State is an embodied will to power and government:
the Roman tradition is here an ideal of force in action. According to
Fascism, government is not so much a thing to be expressed in territorial
or military terms as in terms of morality and the spirit. It must be
thought of as an empire - that is to say, a nation which directly or in­
directly rules other nations, without the need for conquering a single
square yard of territory. For Fascism, the growth of empire, that is to
say the expansion of the nation, is an essential manifestation of vitality,
and its opposite a sign of decadence. Peoples which are rising, or rising
again after a period of decadence, are always imperialist; any renuncia­
tion is a sign of decay and of death. Fascism is the doctrine best adapted
to represent the tendencies and aspirations of a people, like the people
of Italy, who are rising again after many centuries of abasement and for­
eign servitude. But empire demands discipline, the coordination of all
forces, and a deeply felt sense of duty and sacrifice: this fact explains
many aspects of the practical working of the regime, the character of
many forces in the State, and the necessarily severe measures which must
be taken against those who would op~ 0se this spontaneous and inevi­
table movement of Italy in the twentieth century, and would oppose it
by recalling the outworn ideology of the nineteenth century ... for
never before has the nation stood more in need of authority, of direc­
tion, and of order. If every age has its own characteristic doctrine, there
are a thousand signs which point to Fascism as the characteristic doc­
trine of our time.
Fascism in Action
In the autumn of 1925 we were in Florence, . . . the favorite
scene of "Black-Shirt" exploits.
On the night of Friday, September 25, the Fascists of Florence in­
augurated a "manhunt" against the Freemasons. Bludgeonings devel­
dematteo global 10 hsw
-;::;T){ (
zJ~
oped on a large scale for three days up till September 28, and went on
... during the next day. The squads of bludgeoners were captained by
the editor of the local Fascist paper ... and by three members of the
local Fascist Directorate.
In the afternoon of October 3, after four days of almost complete
truce, a squad of Fascists under the leadership of Luporini, one of the
three directors of the local Fascio, went to the house of the Freemason
Bandinelli, who the previous day had been beaten by the Fascists. What
happened at this point is not clear. The Nazione of October 6 says
prudently that "certain circumstances are still doubtful; reports on this
point are perhaps not very precise." But if the usual Fascist methods of
persuasion are borne in mind, it may easily be imagined that the dis­
cussion soon degenerated into blows. Another Freemason, named Bec­
ciolini, who was present, drew his revolver and fired on the Fascists,
killing Luporini and wounding another. He was at once thrashed, flung
into a motor car, taken to the premises of the Fascist Provincial Fed­
eration, brought back again half dead to the scene of the murder and
there riddled with bullets. Bandinelli's house was sacked.
Two hours after this . . . vendetta, reprisals on a large scale were
set on foot against people entirely unconnected with the· original inci­
dent. The Fascists cleared the streets in the center of the town, blindly
bludgeoning everybody. The cafes were forcibly closed, the theaters in­
vaded, and the performances stopped. Soon after ten P.M. the work of
destruction began. The offices of thirteen lawyers and one accountant, a
tailoring business, and seven shops were wrecked - nearly all in the
center of the town, not far from the Prefecture and the police head­
quarters. . . . The furniture was thrown into the streets and set on fire.
Watchers on the hills round Florence saw the columns of smoke and
flame rising from the city. Many of the rioters indulged in indiscrimi­
nate looting. The Nazione of October 6 writes: "These shady individuals
who are found on the outskirts of every great party abandoned them­
selves to excesses which the Fascist authorities are always the first to
deplore."
An hour later operations were extended to private dwellings.
Still more "heroic" actions were carried out that night by other squads
of Fascists. A squad known as "the Desperadoes," which for three years
had terrorized the city and neighboring country, silently surrounded the
house of Signor Pilati, a former Socialist Member of Parliament. Pilati
had lost his right arm in the war and had received the medal for military
valor. Though living in humble circumstances, he was widely respected
for his kindly character, his intelligence, and his hard-working life. He
and his family, knowing nothing of what was happening in Florence
that night, were asleep, the windows being open on account of the
heat. Silently placing a ladder against the sill, the Fascists climbed into
the bedroom through the window and ordered the light to be turned
on. Awaking suddenly, Pilati mechanically turned on the switch, while
his wife, who was sleeping beside him, also awoke. One of the Fascists,
covering Pilati with a revolver, told him he was wanted at headquarters.
"Are the police here?" asked the unfortunate man. "Are you Pilati?"
"Yes, I am Pilati." "Then you need not come," replied the Fascist, and
emptied his revolver point-blank into Pilati's body. Pilati's wife lying
by her husband's side, and their fourteen-year-old son being present, the
Fascists ordered the woman not to mention names; otherwise they would
kill her son. Having accomplished this exploit they then returned the
way they came, while their comrades in the street fired at the windows
of the neighboring houses so as to prevent the occupants from looking
out and identifying the aggressors. . . .
Another squad went to the villa of Signor Consolo, a lawyer, in
Via Timoteo Bertelli. Consolo had been arrested the preceding Mayan
a charge of having helped to distribute the clandestine anti-Fascist pa­
per Non Mollare ["Never Yield"] and acquitted after forty days' im­
prisonment. But if judges acquit, Fascists kill. During the evening Con­
solo's chambers had been wrecked and looted. He was at home with his
wife and two children. Toward eleven o'clock somebody rang his street
bell saying that there was an express letter to be delivered. Suspicious of
their intentions, he refused to open the door and telephoned to the near­
est police station for protection. The Fascists beat in his door. Leaving
the telephone receiver on the table he hid in his children's room, be­
tween their two little beds. The telephone receiver transmitted automati­
cally to the police station every noise that was made and every word that
was said. Signora Consolo implored the Fascists who were searching for
her husband to have pity. The two children started out of their sleep
weeping. One of the Fascists drove Signora Consolo into a comer while
three others entered the children's room. They fired eight shots. Five
hit the target; three lodged in the wall. When a lorry load of police ar­
rived from headquarters they found no one but the widow and chil­
dren sobbing over the bleeding corpse. . . .
At Bergano, the secondary school teacher Fachery and the lawyer
Briolini were flogged. The Fascists looted the house of Count Secco
Suardo and of Signor Gavazzeni, Member of Parliament. The first was
ferociously beaten and forced to sign a declaration that no violence had
been done to him. Signor Gavazzeni was dragged out of his house,
beaten and spat at along the streets, and taken outside the city to a
place where a gallows had been erected. The Fascists put a noose round
his neck, lifted him on to a stool and kept him there for some time, as
if they were about to hang him. Before letting him go, they beat him
nearly to death. . . .
All the Christian-Democratic clubs of [Venice], abollt fifteen in
all, save one, were wrecked.
At Trento, the Fascists wrecked the offices of the Azione Cattolica
(headquarters of the Christian-Democratic organizations) and the head­
quarters of the ... center of all the Christian-Democratic cooperatives
of the district.
dematteo global 10 hsw
£r/JIY
,.0'0 :;;
Communism in Russia
The rise of totalitarianism in Russia began a trend that was to be followed
throughout many parts of Europe in the twentieth century. Totalitarianism is a
form of government in which one person or group, usually a political party, has
complete control and does not tolerate (allow) any opposition. With World War I,
the traditional Russian tsarist system collapsed and left a vacuum in its place. It
was the Bolsheviks, or Communists, who seized the opportunity.
When the war began, the tsarist government was trying to correct the many
problems and Widespread unrest created by Russian industrialization. The
inability Qf
regime to ~ght a modern war made the faults and weaknesses of
the monarchy even more apparent, and the lack of any democratic experience
left the nation vulnerable to any group ruthless enough. to seize power.
Throughout the nineteenth century, the tsars had failed to respond adequately
to the need fer political reform. That failure was about to doom the Russian
monarchy.
the
Russia in World War I (1914-1917)
The Last Years of the For Russia, World War I was a devastating experience. It was the worst possible
Czarist System time for Russia, still trying to industrialize and solve many internal problems, to
go to war. The magnitude of World War I, which destroyed many stable govern­
ments, was even more damaging for the tsarist regime. Russia's limited industry,
agriculture, and communications could not sustain a major war effort. Despite
advice to the contrarY, Tsar Nicholas (Nikolai) II (1868-1918) took personal com­
mand of the army in the autumn of 1915. The retreating Russian forces, demoral­
ized (discouraged) by more than a year of terrible defeats, expected the Tsar's
leadership to turn the tide of battle. Instead, the continuing losses undermined
the image of the Russian ruler, who had left his unpopular wife, Tsarina Alexan­
dra (Aleksandra) (1872-1918), in charge of the government while he was away.
(See Chapter 24, ''Tsarist Russia.") The civilian population also wasdemoralized
by defeat and began to blame the German-born Alexandra for Russia's poor mili­
tary performance. Russia was hopelessly unable to supply her troops with weapons
or food. The fragile industrial structure was near collapse. Revolutionaries agitat­
ed workers into striking, creating even greater shortages for the army. As hunger,
suffering, and humiliation grew, soldiers refused to follow orders, revolted against
their commanders, or simply deserted.
The February By February 1917, the Tsar's army was either retreating or deserting, while riots
Revolution of 1917 erupted in Russian cities. Returning to the capital city of Petrograd (St. Peters­
burg had been renamed at the start of the war), Tsar Nicholas was captured. The
Duma (Russian parliament) had already declared a new government, under the
leadership of the liberal nobleman Prince Georgii Lv'ov (1861-1925). In March
1917, 300 years of rule by the Romanov Dynasty came to an end when Nicholas
abdicated (resigned) as the Tsar of Russia. He also abdicated for his son and
thereby ended the centuries-old autocratic monarchy that had ruled Russia. The
well-meaning but weak and incompetent Tsar never fully understood what had
happened or why. He merely observed that the date o~ the letter of abdication
was March 15, or the Ides of March, the day on which Julius Caesar had been
assassinated in the Roman Senate (tsar means "Caesar" in Russian). He accepted
his fall from power as·fate.
dematteo global 10 hsw
The Provisional The Program of the Provisional Government. The Democratic Provisional Gov­
Government ernment, as the new administration was called, declared that Russia was a democ­
(March-October 1917) racy and announced plans to hold elections. It consisted, however, of the
bourgeoisie (middle class), liberal nobles, and intellectuals, and did not end Rus­
sia's involvement in the war. The defeats continued. The leadership showed that it
did not understand how desperate and tired the Russian people were from the war.
The Provisional Government's goal to transform Russia into a democracy by allow­
ing elections and freedom of speech was well intentioned, but impracticable dur­
ing a major war. Also, the program of democratic reform was unfamiliar to most
Russians, who had known no other form of government other than autocracy.
The Rise of the Soviets. In the meantime, the workers, soldiers, and sailors in the
cities responded to the leaders of worker's parties, in particular the Socialists (see
Chapter 24 'Tsarist Russia"). These parties formed their own councils, called sovi­
ets. In April, the leader of the Bolsheviks, or Communists, Vladimir Lenin
(1870-1924), returned to Russia from exile in Switzerland and presented his radi­
cal program of proletarian (worker) Socialist revolution called the April Theses.
Despite the program's appeal to the masses (it called for "bread, land, and
peace"), the extremist Bolsheviks did not attract a majority of workers.
The July Days. In July came a revolt against the unpopular Provisional Govern­
ment. Known as the July Days, the uprising in Petrograd was the result of frustra­
tion over Russia's continued participation in the war. In an attempt to appease the
populace, Lv'ov was replaced by Aleksandr Kerenskii (1881-1970), a member of
. the Socialist Revolutionary party. In September, General Lavr Kornilov
(1870-1918), commander of the Russian army, attempted to seize power from the
provisional government and establish a military dictatorship. Desperate for troops,
.Kerenskii was forced to free all of the revolutionaries, including many Bolsheviks
who had been imprisoned during the July Days.
The October Revolution Realizing that the Bolsheviks did not have enough support to win in the Decemof 1917 ber elections, Lenin organized the Bolshevik armed forces to seize power. On
November 7, 1917, the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government. The
date was October 25 on the Julian calendar that Russia was still following. There­
fore, the event was celebrated by the Communists as the October Revolution, but
it is also known as the Second Russian Revolution.
The Russian Civil War (1918-1921)
The Establishment of Mter the October Revolution, Lenin and his followers made peace with Germany
Soviet Russia and removed Russia from the war. In the humiliating Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918),
Russia gave up much territory in order to end her involvement in the conflict. The
new government claimed that the worker's parties, or soviets, were in control, and
the nation was renamed Soviet Russia. The Bolsheviks then called on the peasants
to seize landowners' property, and the workers to take control of the factories. Reli­
gion was prohibited as a reactionary institution. All property of the Russian Ortho­
dox Church was confiscated or destroyed. Lenin organized the Cheka (Bolshevik
secret police) to fight counterrevolutionary (opposed to the revolution) activity.
The Victory of the Before long, active opposition to the Bolshevik dictatorship broke out throughout
Red Army Russia. The Russian Civil War (1918-1921) that followed was both destructive and
dematteo global 10 hsw
bitter. The Bolsheviks, or Communists as they began to call themselves, created
the Red Army to combat the counterrevolutionary armies, which were called the
Whites. Atrocities were committed on both sides (Tsar Nicholas and his family
were brutally murdered in 1918 by the Bolsheviks). Despite greater support on the
part of the populace, the Whites did not have strong lines of supply or communi­
cation. Also, the Bolsheviks had Russia's remaining industry under their control,
whereas the White Army was dependent on assistance from the British and Ameri­
cans. At the beginning the anti-Communist forces captured large areas of Russia.
However, as the conflict dragged on, overextension and lack of unity among the
diverse leadership resulted in the loss of territory to the Reds. The Red Army,
under the leadership of the ruthless Bolshevik leader Lev Bronstein, known as
Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), became an effective fighting force. By 1921, the
Whites had been defeated and the Communists controlled Russia.
War Communism During the civil war the Bolsheviks established a policy known as War Commu­
nism. Major industries, banks, and all utilities were nationalized. Private trade was
prohibited, and food was seized from the peasants. The transportation and com­
munication systems broke down. As the economy declined and fuel shortages fol­
lowed, opposition to the Bolshevik government arose. To control the population,
Lenin instituted the Red Terror, a systematic brutalization of the population. The
Bolsheviks arrested and executed thousands of innocent people to promote an
atmosphere of terror. Spies were planted to create mutual suspicion and to divide
the populace, thus preventing unified opposition.
Soviet Russia Under and Mter Lenin (1921-1925)
Marxism-Leninism Lenin had adopted the ideas of Karl Marx into his own system (Marxism-Leninism).
He believed that the Communist party was the vanguard or forefront of the Russian
Revolution. There had to be a period, the dictatorship of the proletariat (workers),
when the party ruled without opposition in order to create the conditions for a
Communist society. The government had this power because the Bolsheyiks repre­
sented the proletariat, who were the majority. The ultimate goal was to create a soci­
ety of workers all sharing equally the burdens and the profits of their labors.
The New Economic Mter the civil war, Russian discontent with Communist rule began to grow. Fear­
Policy ing the collapse of his newly established government,_Lenin introduced the New
Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921. This allowed a partial restoration of capitalisnl
on a local level to avoid the disintegration of the economy. Lenin justified this rad­
ical departure from communism as, "one step backward togo two steps forward."
He also imported foreign capitalists to provide technical expertise in rebuilding
Russian industry. During this period, Soviet Russia invaded and occupied Ukraine,
Belarussia, and the nations of the Transcaucasus. In 1924, under a new constitu­
tion Soviet Russia became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). That
same year, Lenin died, leaving no successor in the Soviet leadership.
The Struggle Between A struggle for power developed between Trotsky, who was Lenin's designated suc­
Trotsky and Stalin cessor, and Joseph Stalin (Iosif Dzhugashvili), called the Man of Steel
(1879-1953). Although less well known than Trotsky, Stalin had held several key
positions in the Soviet regime and was able to take over the leadership of the
Communist party and Soviet Russia. By 1925, Stalin had forced his rival into exile.
Trotsky was later assassinated in Mexico by Stalin:S agents.
dematteo global 10 hsw
The USSR Under Stalin (1925-1941)
The Purges Stalin proved to be one of the most brutal and ruthless dictators in modern histo­
ry. He was responsible for millions of deaths, starting with the elimination of all
possible rivals. Creating his own secret police (the NKVD, which eventually
became the KGB), Stalin spied on, arrested, tortured, and executed party mem­
bers, government officials, artists, writers, clergy, workers, and even peasants
whom he suspected of not supporting his policies. In time, he became subject to
paranoia (fear and suspicion of others, often without cause), and even close
friends and relatives were killed. From 1935 to 1936, Stalin conducted a series of
"sh!Jw trials" (hearings where the verdicts were predecided), known as the purges.
Hundreds of leading Communists were arrested, forced to confess to crimes they
had never committed, and executed.
The Five-Year Plans In 1928, dissatisfied with the slow growth rate of Soviet industry, Stalin abandoned
Lenin's NEP in favor of centralized economic planning. Goals for agriculture and
industry (often unrealistically high) as well as the means for achieving them, were laid
out in a series of five-year plans. These were designed to enable the USSR to catch up
with the other industrialized nations by emphasizing the development of steel, iron,
coal, and oil. The population was expected to sacrifice and do without consumer
goods until the Soviet Union could reach the level of industrial development attained
by capitalist nations. Opposition to these plans was quickly and brutally put down.
Collectivization and To pay for the imported technology needed to institute the five-year plans, farms
Genocide were collectivized. Collectivization was the policy of forcing peasants to farm on
state land and to allow the government to decide on the distribution of profits.
Many peasants were opposed to this policy and refused to surrender their land. To
end the opposition, Stalin began a series of genocides (mass killings) between 1932
and 1937. He claimed that he was eliminating the kulaks. (wealthy peasants who
supposedly exploited their neighbors). In fact, few of the at least 14.5 million peas­
ants who died by execution, perished ill Siberian labor camps, or starved in Stalin's
government-ereated famine in Ukraine (1932-1933), were kulaks. Other groups
who opposed Stalin were also crushed. In spite of these harsh measures, the peas­
ants did not fully cooperate, and the Collectivization Program failed to achieve its
goal. When World War II interrupted the Third Five-Year Plan in 1941, only heavy
industry had made any progress. The loss of life and the human suffering that
these modest gains had cost were enormous. It is understandable that many Rus­
sians, especially the Ukrainians, first saw the invading German armies as liberators.
dematteo global 10 hsw
The Dictatorship of Stalin
After outmaneuvering his political opponents, the chief of whom
was Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin emerged as undisputed dictator
of the Soviet Union. One of the many issues on which Stalin
and Trotsky differed was the extension of the revolution to
other countries. Trotsky, a cosmopolitan of wide experience, be­
lieved that the Soviet Union could never become a true Com­
munist state unless the revolution spread beyond its borders.
Stalin, who was more of a nationalist, felt that his first task was
to establish a strong state. His ultimate goal was no different
from that of Trotsky, and he continued to support and encour­
age Communist groups throughout the world. In the mean­
time he was willing to get along with capitalist nations and to
establish "Socialism in one country." In his struggle for power,
Stalin had opposed a program of rapid industrialization. Once
his competitors were out of the w~y, he initiated the Five-Year
Plan for the expansion of industry. Stalin's rule, as Nikita S.
Khrushchev has acknowledged, was an oppressive dictatorship in
which opponents could not survive.
In the first selection Stalin discusses his policy of "Socialism
in one country," and in the second he deals with the results of
the First Five-Year Plan, inaugurated in 1928.
country, the possibility of the proletariat assuming power and using that
power to build a complete Socialist society in our country with the sym­
pathy and the support of the proletarians of other countries, but with­
out the preliminary victory of the proletarian revolution in other coun­
tries.
Without such a possibility, building Socialism is building without
prospects, building without being sure that Socialism will be completely
built. It is no use engaging in building Socialism without being sure that
we can build it completely, without being sure that the technical back­
wardness of our country is not an insuperable obstacle to the complete
construction of a fully Socialist society. To deny such a possibility is to
display lack of faith in the cause of building Socialism, to abandon Len­
inism.
What do we mean by the impossibility of the complete, final vic­
tory of Socialism in one country without the victory of the Revolution in
other countries?
We mean the impossibility of having full guarantees against inter­
vention, and consequently against the restoration of the bourgeois or­
der, without the victory of the Revolution in at least a number of coun­
tries. To deny this indisputable thesis is to abandon internationalism,
to abandon Leninism.
The First Five-Year Plan
Socialism in One Conntry
On the question of victory of Socialism in our country, ...
[I said ill 1925], "We can build Socialism, and we will build it together
with the peasantry under the leadership of the working class. . . . Un­
der the dictatorship of the proletariat we possess . . . all that is needed
to build a complete Socialist society, overcoming all internal difficulties,
for we can and must overcome them by our own efforts."
On the questi::..n of the ~nal victory of Socialism ... [I said],
"The final victory of Socialism is the full guarantee against attempts at
intervention, and hence against restoration [of the prerevolutionary re­
gime], for any serious attempt at restoration can be made only with
serious support from outside, only with the support of international
capital. Therefore, the support of our Revolution by the workers of all
countries, and still more, the victory of the workers in at least several
countries, is a necessary condition for fully guaranteeing the first vic­
torious country against attempts at intervention and restoration, a neces­
sary condition for the final victory of Socialism."
Clear, one would think! . . .
What do we mean Dy the possibility of the victory of Socialism in
one country?
We mean the possibility of solving the contradictions between the
proletariat and the peasantry with the aid of the internal forces of our
Let us now take up the results of the fulfillment of the Five­
Year Plan. What are the results of the Five-Year-Plan in four years in
the sphere of industry?
Have we achieved victory in this sphere?
Yes, we have. And not only that, but we have accomplished more
than we expected, more than the hottest heads in our Party could have
expected. Even our enemies do not deny this now; and certainly our
friends cannot deny it.
We did not have an iron and steel industry, the foundation for the
industrialization of the country. Now we have this industry.
We did not have a tractor industry. Now we have one.
We did not have an automobile industry. Now we have one.
We did not have a machine-tool industry. Now we have one.
dematteo global 10 hsw
We did not have a big up-to-date chemical industry. Now we
have one.
We did not have a real and big industry for the production of mod­
em agricultural machinery. Now we have one.
We did not have an aircraft industry. Now we have one.
In output of electric power we were last on the list. Now we rank
among the first.
In output of oil products and coal we were last on the list. Now we
rank among the first.
We had only one coal and metallurgical base - in the Ukraine­
which we barely managed to keep going. We have not only succeeded
in improving this base, but have created a new coal and metallurgical
base in the East which is the pride of our country.
We had only one center of the textile industry - in the North of
our country. As a result of our efforts we will have in the very near fu­
ture two new centers of the textile industry in Central Asia and West­
ern Siberia.
And we have not only created these new great industries, but have
created them on a scale and in dimensions that eclipse the scale and
dimensions of European industry.
And as a result of all this the capitalist elements have been com­
pletely and irrevocably eliminated from industry, and Socialist industry
has become the sole form of industry in the U.S.S.R.
And as a result of all this our country has been converted from an
agrarian into an industrial country. . . .
Finally, as a result of all this the Soviet Union has been converted
from a weak country, unprepared for defense, into a country mighty in
defense, a cQuntry prepared for every contingency [possibility], a country
capable of producing on a mass scale all modem weapons of defense
and of equipping its army with them in the ~vent of an attack from
without [outside].
It is true that the output of consumer goods fell short of the de­
mand, and this creates c~rtain difficulties. But then we must realize and
take into account where such a policy of relegating the task of industri­
alization to the background would have led us. . . .
We would have deprived ourselves of the possibility of supplying
our agriculture with tractors and agricultural machinery, which means
that we would now have no bread.
We would have deprived ourselves of the possibility of achieving
victory over the capitalist elements in our country, which means that
we would have raised immeasurably the chances of the restoration of
capitalism.
We would not now have all the modem means of defense without
which it is impossible for a country to be politically independent, with·
out which a country becomes a target for military attacks of foreign
enemies. Our position would be more or less analogous to [like] the pres­
ent position of China, which has no heavy industry and no war indus­
try of her own and which is being molested by anyone who cares
to do so.
In a word, in that case we would have had military intervention;
not pacts of nonaggression, but war, dangerous and fatal war, a san­
guinary [bloody] and unequal war; for in such a war we would be almost
unarmed in the face of an enemy who has all the modem II" 'us of at­
tack at his disposal.
dematteo global 10 hsw
Lenin Rules in the Kremlin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin's life was dedicated to a single purpose ­
revolution. A devoted follower of Marx's philosophy, he never­
theless realized that revolutions were not brought about by arm­
chair theorists. With a will of iron and amazing energy, he set
about building a trained, disciplined, and militant party of rev­
olutionaries. For moderates or compromisers he had only con­
tempt. He became the leader of the extremist Bolshevik wing
of the Marxists in 1903. After years of exile, disappointment, and
despair, his opportunity came in 1917. Against great odds Lenin
won the revolution for the Bolsheviks.
Brought back to Russia in April 1917 by the Germans, who
believed that he would add to the chaos, Lenin galvanized his
followers against the Provisional Government. In simple and
powerful slogans he offered the people what they wanted -land
and peace. Departing from Marxist theory, he called for the
union of worker and peasant as the means of bringing about a
revolution in backward Russia. With customary disdain for
democratic institutions, and with typical ruthlessness, he dis­
persed the freely elected Constituent Assembly in which the
Bolsheviks had won only a quarter of the votes.
A description of Lenin as ruler of Russia is given below by
David Shub. Shub was in close contact with Russian revolu­
tionary leaders for several decades. After being exiled to Siberia
for taking part in the Revolution of 1905-06, he escaped and
came to the United States in 1908.
On the first of May Lenin stood on the Kremlin wall where
Napoleon once had watched Moscow burning and gazed down at the
May Day demonstration in Red Square.
"The most important thing is not to lose constant contact with
the masses," he told his companion. "One must be in touch with the
life of the masses." And he asked what the crowd was saying, what their
mood was, was their demonstration spontaneous or artificial? . . .
Not having industrial and consumer goods in sufficient quantity to
exchange with the peasants for grain, the Soviet Government on May
10, 1918, issued an order for the requisitioning of grain from "rich"
peasants. A month later, on June 11, the so-called "Committees of the
Poor" were created to enforce the decree in every village. An ugly at­
mosphere of suspicion, espionage, and betrayal was created among the
peasants. Neighbor spied upon neighbor. Peasants slaughtered their cat­
tle and refused to sow their land rather than turn over their food sup­
plies to the government. And the countryside seethed with local upris­
ings, which were crushed by punitive expeditions of Cheka troops
rsecret police].
The complete suppression of civil liberty, the dissolution of the
Constituent Assembly, the Cheka terror, and the ... peace of Brest­
Litovsk - which deprived Russia of its richest regions - brought in­
creasing revolt from every stratum of the Russian people.
The Petrograd regiments which had overthrown Kerensky [the Pro­
visional Government] were on the verge of a new revolt and had to be
disarmed, as were other military and naval units. The Lettish [Latvian]
sharpshooters became the only regular armed force on which Lenin
could rely with complete certainty. . . .
In 1918 Lenin embarked on a policy of "incomplete Communism."
In March the nationalization of trade was decreed. To the Seventh
Party Congress he explained that the industrial workers an~ landless
peasants had to help build Communism on the fundamental principle
"From each according to his capacities, to each according to his needs."
Communism had to be predicated [based] on the elimination of the
middleman. The system of private trading was to be abolished. Produc­
tion would be guided by social needs, he promised.
There were special needs for nationalizing trade. The peasants. un­
willing to sell their grain for worthless paper currency, were demanding
manufactured goods. In order to secure food for the urban population,
~ the government had to organize a barter system between village and
city. Committees were formed in every town with a population of ten
thousand to fix local prices of articles. The existing stocks of merchan­
dise were registered. Trading in manufactured goods was placed under
state control. But that was not enough. On October 8, 1918, the regime
nationalized all domestic trade. All shops, great and small, were closed
and their inventory used for barter with the peasants.
According to Trotsky, Lenin asserted in 1918, "You will see that
within six months we shall establish Socialism in Russia."
Lenin also prepared the draft of a decree outlining how he pro­
posed to force all able-bodied men and women to serve the interests of
the state.
"Every toiler having worked eight hours during the day is obliged
to devote three hours to military or administrative duties.
"Everyone belonging to the nobility or the well-to-do (an income
of not less than five hundred rubles a month or ... capital of not less
than fifteen hundred rubles) is obliged to obtain a workbook wherein
shall be recorded whether or not he has performed his share in military
or administrative service. The recording is to be done by the trade union,
the Soviet, or the staff of the local Red Guard. The well-to-do can ob­
tain this book on the payment of fifty rubles.
"Nonworkers who do not belong to the wealthy classes are also re­
quired to have such a workbook, which they can obtain for five rubles.
For failure to secure such a book or for false entries in it, punishment is
to be meted out according to military law. . . ."
When the decree for the full nationalization of all industrial and
commercial enterprises was promulgated, the Soviet state really con­
dematteo global 10 hswsisted largely of a few offices in Moscow and Petrograd, whose managers
had little practical experience. The "plan" existed mainly in the brain
of Mikhail (Yuri) Larin.
Larin was [a Communist] who had lived for many years in Ger­
\Vhen [~e].returned to Russia, ... Lenin made [him] the
mam architect of Socialist construction. He was the author of the decree
for nationalization of all industries, large and small. He created, mainl
on paper, a system of central institutions for every branch of
and commerce. All private stores were closed and the merchandise con­
ma~y .....
indust~
fiscated. With Russia's economy already undermined by war and civil
conflict, Larin in effect destroyed the remnants.
When the non-Communist specialist Lieberman reported to Lenin
on the sad state of the lumber industry as a result of Larin's decrees,
Lenin interrupted him with these words:
"Of course we make mistakes, but there are no revolutions without
mistakes. We learn from our mistakes, but we are glad we can correct
them."
As for the latest Larin decrees Lenin remarked:
"We are engaged in making revolution. Our power may not last
long, but these decrees will become part of history, and future revolu­
tionaries will learn from them. They may learn something from Larin's
decrees which you consider senseless. . . ."
The population was forbidden to produce or trade, and at the
same time the state was unable not only to build new industries but to
manage the existing ones. Opening a small factory or shop was prohib­
ited under pain of being shot as a "counterrevolutionist" or speculator.
But there was no trace of state-organized commerce. Economic catastro­
phe followed. Raw materials disappeared together with COnsumer goods
and industrial products. The little that remained in private hands van­
ished from the markets. But although state factories could obtain noth­
ing, there was an active black market where enormous speculation flour­
ished. The result was disastrous inflation. And when the cities were
unable to supply the villages with products, the peasants refused to
bring their bread and meat to the cities. A great part of the city workers
who had come from the villages deserted the hungry cities. The cities
were emptied not only of workers, but of all who could find food in the
villages. Because of the scarcity of labor and materials, hundreds of fac­
tories closed down.
To feed at least the essential workers and the administrators, the
regime had to send troops to the villages to collect bread and grain by
force. But the peasants resisted and" armed revolts broke out. The peas­
ants in 1918-19 were mostly ex-soldiers who had returned from the
front with their rifles, machine guns, and grenades. Thus a war for
bread flared in the villages. The city came to take grain but the peasant
didn't want to surrender it, because the paper currency had no value.
These forced requisitions drove hundreds of thousands of peasants into
the arms of the counterrevolution.
The ravaged villages often joined the anti-Bolshevik forces. In the
Ukraine one heard that the peasants favored the "Bolsheviks" (who
took the land from nobles) but were opposed to the "Communists,"
who sent requisitioning squads. The peasants also replied with sabotage,
refusing to produce. Crops dropped to the point where only enough was
planted and harvested for local village consumption but nothing for the
cities.
At one of the sessions of the Council for Labor and Defense, the
above-mentioned Lieberman proposed that several tons of bread and
oats be designated for the peasants who were to deliver firewood to the
cities and railways. One of the commissars opposed the plan, explaining
that this would entail reducing the already meager bread rations of the
city workers.
Alexei Rykov then took the floor.
"We are able to get our workers and peasants accustomed to work­
ing even without bread. But unfortunately we could not get our horses
accustomed to it. You may declare the horses counterrevolutionary, but
you cannot ignore the fact and you must give them oats."
Tuming to Dzerzhinsky, Rykov said, "Even Felix Edmundovitch
can do little about it. Let him try to shoot a few dozen horses."
Lenin closed the discussion and dictated an order to issue bread
and oats for the peasants.
[In March 1921 Lenin inaugurated the New Economic Policy
(NEP), which attempted to cope with the economic disorganization by
a temporary retreat from the socialization of industry, agriculture, and
commerce.]
dematteo global 10 hsw
I.I>
~:
V
kO~&J:1d
Communism
Eco:n.O:D1Y
/BOI8h.e"'Vi.S~
By Karl Marx
"From Each according to their ability
to each according to their needs"
- The Communist Manifesto
v1.vIar:X::is~
I
+ Positives +
HaUl UlCIS
i~
- Negatives ­
snppas@d
~a UI~k?
Vladimir Lenin
Joseph 'f>ta\in
~orkers
o£ ~e ~orldu.I1i.-te,
Y0"'-I h.a'V"e :n.O-t~g-to lose b"'-I-t yo~ ch.ai.:n.s!"
dematteo global 10 hsw
".l\
Where and When: Europe, 1800s.
The Communist /l!Ianifesto Th~, wtitings of a Germlln jounllliist
What Marx :BeJieved:
1. Workers were taken advantage of by the owners
of private property.
2. Workers rather than employers should own the
means of production.
3. This could be achieved' through revolution.
Impact:
1. His beliefs came to be known as Communism.
2. Some CDuntries adopted Communism as a way
of life. For example, China is a Communist nation.
'" .
' a:,~j~I'''~''''<-:,
/".;f.'"f: '"
'"'
. . . \~.
.:
';":
"
,,:~;;,~,~.~t;,
>~'7. ".~, ~(~~'
i
,
,
,l;~·?;.1j'~·;~~"
. •~~:~~~,{~~lft'" '
"
"
Karl Marx
1818-1883
Karl Marx studiad philosophy at the
University of Berfin bafora he
turned to journalism and
economics, In 1849, Marx joinad
the flood of radicals who fled
continental Europe for England, He
had declared in The Communist
Manifesto that 'tha working men
have no country:
Marx's theories of socialism and
the inev~abla revolt of the working
class mada him very little money.
He earned e meager living es a
journalist His wealthy coauthor and
fallow German, Friedrich Engels,
gava Marx financial aid.
named Karl Marx introrluced the world to 1\ mdical type of socialism
called ~larxism. Marx alld Friedrich Engels, II German whose father
0\\11ed a textile mill in Manchester. outlined their ideas in II 23-page
pamphlf't called The CO/lllllunist Mt/llifesto. In their manifesto, Marx
.and Engels argued thut human societies have always been divided
into warring classes. In their own time, these were the middle-class
"haves" or employers, ,called the bourgeoisie (BUR.zhwall.ZEE), and
the "have-nots" or workers, called the proletariat (PROH·lih·TAIR­
ee'iht). \ Vhile the wealthy controlled the means of producing goods,
the poor performed b~lckbre~ng labor under terrible conditions.
I
'.
. ...... '0; ,",.:
, All graat movements in history .
ara tha resuk of an economic
class struggle.
• The ·h~ves' take ~dvan~~~;:~ ~
of the have-nots.
~,;
..,
• Tha Industrial Revolution ..1
intansifiad tha class strug-"
'Workars are exploited
byamployars,
.
• The labor of wo
. profit fer amplo
• The capitalist SYSl'e~'
"" '-~~"
'
eventu~"y ~astroy ltii.., Th~., \'.;,(\Karl
stata will withar away s
. "Man<
classless society develops.
"
CI•••
Violent
Revolution
The conditions of
Struggle
In non-COmmunist
workers become
worse. In an
attempt to correct
these injustices,
the workers are
finally driven to
overthrow their
capitalist rulers in
a violent revolution.
".
;.'
;: .
:.::.
:.::
",
:;::,',
,
revolution, C0m­
.;
.',
:.::
.
",
'.'(:..
munist leaders
establish a dicta­
torship, run for
the workers' ben­
The New
":: ..
':':. : ~:. ':'
,
";.
ideas of Com­
munism.
;'.
;:::.,
.}"
.: ..
:.
Communist State
Gradually a new
Communist society
is created, with no
private property.
Everyone works for
the good of s0cie­
ty. Each conbi­
butes accOrdf~ to
-=
his abilities and
efit, and educa~
the peopfe In the
:
I~
;.:.;"
Dictatorship of
the Workera
The workers tri­
umph. After the
.,~.
A VOICE FROM THE PAST
Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master
and journeyman, In a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant
opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden,
now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary
reconrtitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the con­
tending classes.
KARL MARX. AND FJUEDRICH ENGELS, The Communist Manifesto (1848)
Marxrst iil.lias',
::':,::-:::.::\:.;:.:::::
.
societies, owners
of land and busi­
nesses (called
-capitalistsj use
their wealth to take
advantage of work­
ers by robbing
them of most of
what they produce,
This conflict leads
.,. tO~.~,ass struggle.
'~
1
::";
~esfrom
society~rding
to his need!.
The Future According to Marx Man: belie\'ed that the capit,llist system, which
produced the Industrial Revolution, would eventually destroy itself in the follOWing
way. Factories would drive sm'all artisans out of business, leaving a small number of
manufacturers to control all the wealth. The large proletariat would revolt, seize the
factories and mills from the capitalists, and produce what society needed. Workers,
sharing in the profits, woulcl bring about economic equality for all people. The workers
would control the govemment in iJ. "dictatorship of the proleturillt." After II period of
cooperative living and education, the state or gO\'enllnent would wither away as a
dassless society developecl.
According to Marx and Engels, the Industrial Revolution had
enriched the wealthy and impoverished the poor. The two writers pre­
Marx called this final phase pure COllllnUllislll. Marx desc,ibecl communism as
dematteo global 10 hsw
dicted that the workers would overthrow the owners: 'The proletarhU1S have nothing to
a form of complete socialism ill which the means of production-all lund, mines,
lose but their chllins, The)' have a world to win. \ \'orkingmen of all countries, unite."
factOries, railroads. and businesses-would he 0\\11ed by the.' people. Private propert}'
\lInllfrl in pITI=l('lf- . .·P:lc::P tn pvid All 17(10rlS nne! ~pniC'Ps would hf'l c:h!ll.~rl ",n".,lI ..