THE RISE OF DICTATORSHIP IN GERMAN

One of the unforgettable frustrations among the capitalist nations is the 1914-1918 armed confrontation. What began as a relatively small conflict in southeast Europe became a war between European empires. Over 30 nations declared war between 1914 and 1918. The big powers of Europe; Britain, France, and Russia were fighting against Germany.This is one of the most gruesome wars in European history. Never before had there been such a conflict.

A dictator is a political leader that holds absolute power over a country. No one is allowed to oppose their leadership and they are allowed to handle any national situation without approval from anyone. Dictatorshid is the system of government whereby the ruling power is on the hand of a single person or minority. It is opposite to Democracy.

The bitterest impact of World War One was the rise of dictatorial regimes in Europe. During the inter-war period, many European countries experienced periods of new governments. They were government ruled by dictators. European nations were in very bad economic situation as an outcome of the First World War. While striving to rebuild their economies, the Great Depression began in 1929 and added to their problems. These situations caused panic among the citizens. Hungry and hopeless people in many European nations wanted to see changes, thus they looked to powerful people they thought could solve the problems. The social miseries and economic distress resulted from the war and great depression created a climate for the rise of dictatorial regimes.

It all started in Italy, where an ambitious young man, Benito Mussolini, organized a new political party, the Fascists, and finally assumed power in 1922. While Mussolini was gaining power in Italy, Adolf Hitler was organizing the Nazi party in Germany. Hitler promised to restore Germany to its former political, economic and military position. He was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933. From there, dictatorship spread to many other European nations like Spain and Portugal. Very few powers among the major European states, especially France and Great Britain remained democratic states. However, in this topic, the focus is Fascist regimes in three countries

DICTATORSHIP IN ITALY (FASCISM)

Fascism is a dictatorial ideology formulated by Benito Mussolini soon after the First World War. It is in other words a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressingopposition and criticism.

As said previously, the first successful Fascist takeover was in Italy under Benito Mussolini around 1920’s, and spread to other European nations some decades later. The word 'fascism' draws its root from the Roman word 'Fascie' which means a bundle of rods around an axe, which was once the symbol of the power and authority during Roman Empire. 

The period between 1914 and 1918 witnessed the occurrence of the world’s first global conflict, fought between two military camps; triple entente and triple alliance, which ended with the victory of Britain with her allies (triple entente). The confusion in Italy started in 1914, when the war started. A debate developed in Italy between the nationalists who wanted to enter the war and the Socialists and others who were against the war. The socialists, greatly opposed Italy’s decision to join the war, on ground that the war was planned by capitalists, and thus their nation would achieve nothing rather that suffer the consequences. The following year, in 1915 the Allies convinced Italy to join them, thus Italy had signed the secret Treaty of London (Anglo-Italian agreement of 1915). In this treaty Britain and France wanted Italy to join their side promising her large sections of territories.

Italy therefore, was a victorious, not defeated power at the end of the First World War. However, although spent a lot to finance the war, and emerged victorious at the end, Italy was not given the promised by the triple entente in the 1915 agreement. Thus after World War I, Italy was like other defeated nations, rocked by economic problems, the rise of communist movements, political turmoil. The Italian civilian government proved weak to deal with the problems resulted from war. It was around these circumstances, when Benito Mussolini with his fascist party came into power.

WHO IS BENITO MUSSOLINI?

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born in Predappio on July 29, 1883 in Italy. His father was a blacksmith and his mother was a schoolteacher. After his education life, he became a schoolteacher and journalist. He was active member of Italy’s socialist party before becoming a fascist, and the editor of the party's daily paper, Avanti. Because he supported Italy’s decision to join the war, Mussolini was expelled from the Socialist Party. With these new ideas, Musssolini established a new paper called Il Popolo d'Italia (People of Italy).

After the end of the war, the socialists were becoming popular with their movements, and Italy was politically very instable. As Italian government proved failure to overcome the situation, in 1919Mussolini established the Fascio Italiani di Combattimento (Italian Combat Squad) consisting of ex-soldiers - known for their black shirts. Engaged in violent attacks on strikers in cities and engaged in violence with the socialist groups in the countryside. Mussolini's squads were more famous for their violence than their policies. The combat group turned into a political party (Fascist Party), and became official political party in 1921.

Italy seemed to be slipping into political chaos during 1920’s, and the newly formed political party by Benito seemed accepted by the majority Italians. In October 1922, Benito Mussolini who presented himself as the only man capable of restoring order, and his supporters of the National Fascist Party, popular as “The Black Shirts” marched on Rome to demand the resignation of liberal Prime Minister Luigi Facta and the appointment of a new government. As the marching approached Rome, Prime Minister had resigned and King Victor Emmanuel III invited Mussolini to form a government, and named him as the head of government.

ITALY UNDER MUSSOLINI

As shown above, Mussolini was appointed the prime minister of Italy in 1922 following the Rome march. After becoming prime minister, Mussolini demanded and obtained dictatorial powers from the parliament. He concentrated all the power in his hands, he made himself absolute ruler with the final say over all governmental affairs.

Firstly, he took control of education. He controlled all educational institutions by appointing fascist teachers in schools, colleges and universities. University professors for example, were forced to take an obedient oath and teach in accordance with the fascist policies. Kids on the other side were taught to sing songs of praising fascist government, so that grown with the fascist mentality, thus wouldn't have the will to rebel against the government.

All opposition parties were banned. In his speeches he often said 'I and I alone assume the political, moral and historical responsibility for all that has happened'. Thus, soon in November 1926, all rival political parties were banned in Italy, making Italy a single-party state. The leaders of the opponent parties were forced out of politics or into exile. This was to make his government comfortably exercise its duties, without any inconveniences from the opponents.

State control of economy. As he rose into power when Italy was in economic distress, unemployment and severe poverty, economic life of the country was closely organized by the state. Key industries and financial sectors were placed under government control, and government even ordered what to produce and arranged the prices for the products

Strict censorship and control of all mass media. The Fascists also gained control of the press by persuading newspaper owners to sack anti-Fascist editors and replace them with friendly ones. Opposition newspapers were banned in Italy.

He ordered the arrest of all anti-fascists. All the people who opposed the fascist policies were killed, tortured or sent to exile or to small villages in Italy where they didn't have any possibility to speak up against him. It is true to say that Mussolin’s rule was nowhere near as cruel and brutal as Hitler’s Germany.

Foregn invasions. Like hitler, Mussolin also wanted to rebuild a new empire by taking over other lands. In 1935, Mussolini invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) a poor country in Africa. Abyssinia appealed to the League of Nations for help. The League placed economic sanctions on Italy but these were ineffective and failed to stop Italy.

He limited the people’s freedom. He viewed that this would open the new room for people’s criticism over his government, thus during his reign people in Italy had no of press, speech, and assembly. Individuals lost the right to privacy, which meant that officials could read people's mail, listen in on telephone conversations, and search private homes without a warrant.

Anti-communism. Mussolini rose into power during the fear of communist takeover. Thus fascists very quickly began a campaign of violence and terror against Communists and other opponents. Their campaign also involved banning opposition newspapers and meetings.

WHAT FACTORS LED TO THE RISE OF FASCISM IN ITALY

The effect of the First World War. The modern historians do agree that the problems Italy faced after world war one was the cause of the rise of Fascism. Although Italy’s involvement in the war was less far-reaching in comparison with that of Britain and France it did have devastating effects on the lives of many Italians. The post-war Italy was dominated by the economic collapse. The problem of unemployment increased, as aggravated by the return of millions of ex-soldiers to Italy. Moreover, inflation added to the sufferings of the Italians. This resulted to political instabilities in the country, since hungry mobs organized a number of uprisings and there were frequent riots. Even the middle classes who were greatly impoverished by the war, lost confidence to their existing democratic government, that was considered to be too feeble to tackle the numerous problems confronting the country. Under this situation, people thought that only a strong and powerful government could take the country forward. This provided the room for the success of Benito who came up with strategies to overcome the situation.

Weakness of existing government. During the post war Italy was ruled by weak monarchy government under King Victor Emmanuel. The existing government proved failure in different areas. For instance, it failed to solve problems caused by the First World War like mass unemployment, inflation and social unrests. The situation that resulted to political instabilities. The sufferings of people in post-war period, made many people to lose hope in their government, supporting Benito with his Fascist Party, who seemed more competent in comparison.

Disappointment by the Versailles Peace Treaty. As discussed above, Italy fought on the side of the victorious Allies in the First World War (triple entente), following the 1915 London Agreement in which she was promised several territories upon the end of the war, but the promise was overturned. She was not happy with the terms of peace settlement because she was not given what had been promised to her. This proved that the existing democratic government was weak as failed to defend the interests of Italy against other nations, especially those betrayed it at Paris. Benito convinced people that strong government was needed to fight for these Italy’s benefits, thus used this to make himself with his party popular.

Threat of communism. The end of the world war one on the other hand, raised majority’s faith over socialism. The successful Bolshevik Revolution was spreading socialism worldwide, thus the socialist party became very popular after the war, due to its advice to unadvisable Italian government of not joining the war. Honestly, Italians were not economically and militarily prepared for a world war and they therefore suffered harder in comparison to other victorious countries. There was the fear that socialist revolution would at any point occur in Italy. One of the ultimate agendas, and successes, of the fascists was to suppress communist movements and create a strong and stable middle class. Benito claimed his Fascist Party to be the only political group who would ward off a socialist revolution. This made them supported especially by the middle class who feared communism

The role of Benito Mussolini. In discussing factors gave to the rise of fascist party, Mussolini’s own role was also important. The pragmatic character of Benito Mussolini, an Italian fanatic fighter, who was born in 1883, played a significant role in forming and organizing the national fascist party, and finally accession to government. The success of fascist party resulted from his ambitious nature and political ability, plus good slogans he made, which convinced majority’s support.

NAZISM IN GERMANY

Nazism refers to the totalitarian ideology and policies espoused and practiced in Germany under Adolf Hitler between 1933-1945.

The period following the world war one was the period of confusion in Germany. Being defeated by the allied powers, Germany was in a severe economic situation, with higher levels of unemployment and hyperinflation. In addition, the postwar Versailles treaty had mercilessly humiliated her. People will always vote for or join a political party that they believe will increase their wealth, power, and prestige. The Nazis realised that if they were to gain and keep mass support from the German people, they would have to tackle these serious issues. Thus the Nazi Party had taken advantage of the economic and political unrest in Germany to gain majority approval. These conditions provided the chance for the rise of a new leader, Adolf Hitler, and his National Socialist German Workers' Party, or NAZI Party.

WHO WAS ADOLF HITLER?

Adolf Hitler was a German dictator born on 20 April 1889 in the small Austrian town of Braunau am Inn. He was the fourth of six children born to Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl. His father, Alois, was a customs official while his mother, Klara, came from a poor peasant family. When Hitler was 3 years old, his family moved from Austria to Germany. After the death of his father in 1903, Hitler dropped out of school and moved to Vienna where he worked as a casual laborer, shoemaker and a painter.

During the world war one, the big powers of Europe were fighting against Germany. Hitler applied to serve in the German army during the war. Perhaps here is when his political story started. He joined the army, and he was decorated for bravery, receiving the Iron Cross First Class and the Black Wound Badge when the war ended.

Adolf was frustrated by Germany’s defeat in World War, which had left the nation economically depressed and politically unstable. Disapproving the existing government, he joined a fledgling political organization called the German Workers’ Party in 1919, and in 1921 became a leader. He then started his movements to popularize the Party, condemning the existing weak government of Weimar Republic. Through the 1920s, Hitler gave speech after speech in which he stated that unemployment, rampant inflation, hunger and economic stagnation in postwar Germany would continue until there was a total revolution in German life, and that was by voting out the existing weak government in favour of NAZI.

His movements led him arrested within few days and tried for high treason, in which in 1923, Hitler sentenced to imprisonment. His struggles never ended, while in the prison released the book “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle) in which he laid out his plans for restoring Germany’s reputation and transforming German society into one based on race. The NAZI Party grew into a mass movement, more popularity and eventually in 1933 Hitler was appointed the chancellor of Germany by President Paul Von Hindenburg. Here is when the so called NAZI REGIME officially started in Germany.

Note: Hitler came to power legally; he did not overthrow an existing government or seize power through the military. Hitler was approved by the German people, and appointed by president Hindenburg hoping he would solve problems faced postwar Germany, and restore Germany to the position it had before war. And when rose into power, he enforced policies which made NAZI-regime be termed as Dictatorial regime.

THE MAIN FEATURES OF NAZI TOTALITARIAN STATE

Once Hitler gained control of the government, he started his struggles of restoring Germany’s standing in the world. He began implementing several policies which put it clear that his government was dictatorial. These were;

One party state. After Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany 1933, he moved quickly to turn Germany into a one-party dictatorship so as to put conducive environments to enforce Nazi policies. He slowly started replacing elected officials in state governments with Nazi appointees. In July 1933 all political parties, like Communist Party, and Catholic Central Party, except the Nazi party were dissolved. The Nazi party is the only political party permitted in Germany.

Foreign invasion. Germany had lost land to Poland under the Treaty of Versailles. Many German-speaking people lived in areas that were now part of Poland. Again Germany lost Alsace and Lorraine to France. On 1 September 1939 Hitler ordered the German army to invaded Poland. Many other areas were invaded. This was to expand their nation. Citizens of occupied countries to the east of Germany, particularly Poles and Russians, were persecuted and sometimes killed because their countries were to be absorbed into the new German empire.

Anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism was at the core of Nazi ideology. In all times the aim of the Nazi Party was the gradual social, legal and physical exclusion of the Jews from German society. It wanted to make life so difficult for the Jews that they would leave Germany. Part of Hitler’s plan for Germany was to make the country racially pure. In 1933, he ordered all non-Aryans out of government jobs. In 1935,new laws hurt the people who were Hitler’s main target: the Jews. They lost their civil rights and property. In 1938, the Nazis terrorized Jews in a night of attacks.

Strict Censorship of Medias. In NAZI Germany all medias, being radios, televisions, newspapers, and public events were strictly censored. Attempts were also made to censor private communications, such as mail and even private conversation. The Nazis controlled all media outlets and carried on a continual propaganda campaign to maintain support for their programs and for their ideology. The aim of censorship under the Nazi regime was simple: to reinforce Nazi power and to suppress opposing viewpoints and information.

He limited the people’s freedom. He persuaded his Cabinet to declare a state of emergency and end individual freedoms, including freedom of press, speech, and assembly. Individuals lost the right to privacy, which meant that officials could read people's mail, listen in on telephone conversations, and search private homes without a warrant.

Anti-communism. The Nazis very quickly began a campaign of violence and terror against Communists and other opponents. Their campaign also involved banning opposition newspapers, leaflets and meetings. Most problems could be solved, he explained, if communists and Jews were driven from the nation.

Rearmament. Hitler’s aims could not be obtained without armed forces so he worked to make them suitable for war. Hitler had to rearm to be able to succeed. The Treaty of Versailles reduced army to 100,000 men few warships. No submarines or air force. In March 1935, Adolf Hitler announced that he would rearm Germany in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler’s desire was always to turn Germany into a world power through the development of its military. As soon as when he got into power, Germany withdrew from the world disarmament conference, and started rearing Germany.

Racism. For years before Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany, he was obsessed with ideas about race. In his speeches and writings, Hitler spread his beliefs in the superiority of the "Germanic race" what he called an Aryan "master race." He pronounced that his race must remain pure in order to one day take over the world. When Hitler and the Nazis came to power, these beliefs became the government ideology and were spread in publicly displayed posters, on the radio, in classrooms, and in newspapers. He did everything to make Aryans superior over other races in Germany.

Strict control of education. The education system was closely so that children could be indoctrinated with Nazi opinions. The curriculum was changed and school books were written to inculcate Nazi ideology. Teachers and professors were closely watched to make sure they did not express opinions which strayed from the party line

WHAT FACTORS HELPED THE RISE OF NAZISM IN GERMANY?

Effects of the First World War. As World War One ended with Germany defeated it left the German people feeling very unhappy. Germany faced a difficult moment for some years in 1920’s, even before the great economic depression. Problems such as weak industry, mass unemployment, hyperinflation and the loss of their coal and iron industry were very common. Shortly, the First World War was a calamity for Germany and Europe. All of these were consequences of the war. Hitler became the new hope of germans as he promissed economic glorification of the country.

The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Added to the problems caused by the first world war, was the unfair Versailles Paece Treaty. The Germans were made unhappy with the whole process of Verssailes Peace Treaty. Firstly, the representatives of Germany and the other defeated Central Powers were not allowed to sit at the conference table until the terms of the Treaty had been agreed upon. Secondly, Germans were frustrated by the "War Guilt Clause," which forced the German nation to accept complete responsibility for initiating World War I. They all (participating powers) agreed on one point, that Germany was the causative of the first world war, thus was to accept punitive meassures. Among others were to lose her African colonies, disarm, and pay for the war reparation.

The Great Depression. Though the depression started in the United States of America, it had profound effects also on Europe. The world war had already created an unstable economy that was overly dependent on financial support from the United States. The Great Depression affected all capitalist economies in the world. American banks immediately withdrew the loans they had made to Germany. Businesses closed, unemployment rose and inflation was rampant. For example by 1932, millions of Germans were unemployed, which played right into Hitler's hands. With good policies, Hitler promissed, once in the power, to restore the ruined economy of germany, something which made him gain support from the majority, and hence the rise of NAZISM.

The threat of communism taking over the German government. The period after the First World War witnessed the strong communists movements in Europe. Perhaps because of the effects of the war that had worsened the lives of the people. Communist agitators were very active. They were determined to create a communist state in German. Many of Hitler's speeches decried the threat of communism. In order to defend their properties, many capitalists decided to ally with Hitler hence he came into power.

Personality of Adolf Hitler. Hitler himself had an extraordinary political ability. Had it not been the good slogans, to convince the majority disappointed Germans, hitler would have not succeded to come into power. One of Hitler’s greatest strengths was his speech making. Although he was largely uneducated, Hitler was a charismatic speaker who captivated audiences with his eloquence, able to incite entire crowds and the masses and force his views on them. He was charismatic, loud, and impassioned. Hitler was so hot with the success of his country, and thus formulated good policies which raised people’s confidence.

ü For unemployed people, Hitler promised them job

ü For common people, Hitler promised them bread (food)

ü For businessman and industrialist, Hitler promised them the elimination of the communist movements. As a result people turned their support to Hitler and the Nazi Party.

Weaknesses of Weimar republic. After World War I, the German ruler, Kaiser William I, abdicated and fled to Holland. The republican democratic governmemnt then was set up in Germany. The democracy that governed Germany met at the town of Weimar. It is because of this that it became known as the Weimar Republic. Perhaps because it was born in a time of serious economic and political instability, the Republic was seen weak from the beginning. The inflation rate rose so dramatically that the German currency lost virtually all value, and it caused many people, especially in the middle classes to fall into poverty. Many never trusted the Republic again. Thus, the weaknesses in the Weimar system of government were one of the causes of Hitler’s access

WHAT WERE THE IMPACTS OF DICTATORSHIP IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD AT LARGE ?

It cannot be doubted that Hitler and Mussolini formulated the most destructive political regime of the 20th century, not only because it unleashed World War II or instigated the holocaust but because of its impact on German society and Europe at large.

Assassination of many people. Many people lost their lives during bothMussolini’s and Hitler’s reigns, especially those who opposed their policies. It is impossible to know exactly how many people died as the deaths were comprised of thousands of different events over a period of more than ten years. It for example argued that, ot 9 milions Jeews living in europe, 6 millions were killed in concentration camps as hitler ordered. All of those who were opponent to him were to leave the country, and find somewhere to live, otherwise were subject to death.

Forced migration. There were many people fleeing the Nazis in the 1930s, to escape persecution or discrimination, a lot of them Jewish. From Germany and Italy, mostly these people were welcomed by Britain and America. And German citizens fled Germany in the 1930s Some among them got jobs in the industry, or other potentially sensitive positions. For example, With Hitler on the rise, writers like Thomas Mann, and the brililiant scientist Albert instein and his family fled their native Germany and emigrated to America.

Prosperity of economy. Hitler notably revived the German economy by launching a number of policies which restored several economic sectors, and caused the unemployment figures to drop. Hitler was not merely a politician, once got into power took different meassures to rebuild the economy of his country. For example, unemployment droped from six million in 1933 to only three hundred thousands by 1939. Likewise, Italy’s economy rose during the reign of Benito Mussolini.

Fascism burried communism in both Italy and Germany. Fascism was completely against communism. The governments arrested and silenced any citizens who disagreed with their policies, and the communists were the special target. As one of the strongest political parties in germany before 1934, communists were the major opponents of the Nazis. Large number of comunists were arrested and sentenced to prison. It is estimated that 340,000 communists were imprisoned within short time of the Nazi regime. Thus comunism totally disappeared in Germany with the rise of Adolf.

Loss of democracy. When these men rose into power, both Italy and Germany were democratic. Nazi Germanyunder the leadership of Hitler soon became a dictatorship. Hitler banned all opposition parties, abolished election, restricted the freedom of expression, and many other elements of democracy. The same policies were adopted by Benito in Italy.

Outbreak of the second world war. World War Two began in September 1939 when Britain and France declared war on Germany following Germany's invasion of Poland. Hitler was undoutedly once again responsible for instigating the second world war. Obviously the second world war was the battle between Democrats (Britain, France and USA) against Dictatorial powers (Germany, Italy, Japan).

Qn. How did the world war one cause Nazism in Europe

Germany, the powerful empire in the early 20th century effectively participated in the First World War (1914-1918) alongside the Austrian-Hungary against the Allies (England, France, Russia and the United States). The war had to them had some imperialist motives. They all joined the war with the hope to strengthen their colonial empires and economic gains. Surprisingly the war drained the big nations of Europe of all their resources. Much more affected, was the defeated Germany. 

ü Firstly, the war left Germany economically dipressed. Germany more than any other countryin Europe fell on hard times. It is basically clear that during fighting many nations stop production and concentrate on fighting. Furthermore, high percentages of the national resources are directed on financing war requirements. Poor financial management in post war Germany caused hyperinflation.

ü Secondly, the war caused social miseries like poverty and unemployment. The First World War was a calamity for Germany and Europe. Problems such as poverty, mass unemployment, famine and hunger were very common in post war Germany. Hitler became the new hope of Germans as he promised economic glorification of the country.

ü Thirdly, the war increased communist threats. Bad economic situation in post war Europe, and the success of communism in Russia, caused the increase of communist attempts to seize power in Germany. Socialism was threatening European societies, as people now saw it as the solution to their social and economic unrests. This directly threatened the rich and business, something which made them support anti-communist leaders

ü Fourthly, the war left Germany in politically unstable. Economic problems contributed to instability, which in turn helped fascist rulers gain power. The start of the Weimar Republic was marked by political unrest all over Germany. Germany was by the time split in a dozen of political parties, each with its own policies. People were bitter and angry about Versailles, unemployment and infl ation. Protests took the form of strikes, demonstrations, political assassinations and even attempts to overthrow the government. The biggest uprising took place in the capital, Berlin

ü Again, big powers were disappointed with the Versailles terms. On one side, Germany was unfairly punished by the terms of the treaty on ground that she was the causative of the war. She had for example, to pay for the war reparation, disarm, dispossess her African colonies and surrender Alsace and Lorraine to France. This had great impact to the German political atmosphere, and thus led to the rise of dictatorship

The war had ruined the economies of Europe, leaving countries which had previously succeeded in economy, with mass unemployment, inflation and many other economic problems.

Qn. The Treaty of Versailles is blamed to have caused the rise of Fascism in Germany. How

In 1919 at the close of the War, the great world powers convened in France to discuss the future of post-war Europe. The product of their meeting was the Treaty of Versailles that was signed on 28 June 1919, between Germany and the victors. In the Treaty of Versailles, the victorious powers (the United States, Great Britain, France, and other allied states) imposed harsh punitive territorial, military, and economic provisions on defeated Germany. The unfair Versailles Paece Treaty is and will always be blamed for fostering the subsequent emergence of totalitarian regimes in Germany and Europe.

ü Firstly, Germany was not consulted. The representatives of Germany and the other defeated Central Powers were not allowed to sit at the conference table until the terms of the Treaty had been agreed upon. This lack of consultation angered Germans, but had no choice, as the Allies declared that war would resume if the German government did not sign the treaty they had agreed to among themselves.

ü Secondly, the treaty caused economic problems to Germany. Germany’s economy in the 1920’s suffered greatly partly because of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany owed an abundant amount of money to the Allies. She had to pay an amount of 6,500,000,000 pounds for the damage which she had caused in the war as a reparation. This caused caused a state of hyperinflation and economic distress within Germany. The failing economy created a crutch for the rising Nazi Party.

ü Thirdly, the treaty ended with German territorial loss. In the treaty, Germany lost about 10 percent of her land. The industrial Saar region was placed under the administration of the League of Nations for 15 years, Alsace-Lorraine was given back to France while Denmark received Northern Schleswig. All of territories which were for long Germanised, were now given back. Furthermore, in 1923, France occupied the Ruhr Valley, the heartland of German industry, because Germany was unable to pay war reparations demanded by the Treaty of Versailles.This had seriously weakened Germany

ü Fourthhly, Germany was dispossessed all her African colonies. Germany lost all her colonies in Africa, which were transferred to the League of Nations which allowed the victorious powers such as Britain, France, Belgium, and South Africa, to rule over them as Mandates. Here, Tanganyika became under British, Rwanda and Burundi under Belgium, and Namibia under South Africa

ü Fifthly, Germany was militarily weakened. Germany was not allowed to have submarines or an air force. Its army was to be limited to 100,000 soldiers, and a navy of only 6 ships. The Germany was not allowed to have submarines or an air force. She was prohibited from bulding war tanks, warships and other destructive weapons.

Thus, the treaty injured Germany territorially, militarilly, economically, and politically. German people were very angry about the Treaty of Versailles and supported Hitler because he promised to overturn it

Qn. How did Great Economic Depression accelerate Hitler’s rise into power?

The Great Depression was a serious economic slump that began in the united states and hit the global economy. Although Germany was economically devastated after a draining defeat in World War I, a slight economic recovery took place in Germany 1923-1919 during the reign of Gustavo Stresseman, especially as a result of American loans. However, things changed in 1930s after the Great Depression. The Americans not only stoped their assistance to Germans, but also insisted on calling back the American loans from Europe. Germany was once again in serious financial crisis. The great depression had caused many problems to Germans ;

ü Firstly, German business collapses. As USA withdrew and called back her loans, German businesses were forced to close. Perhaps the crippled economy of Germany could not sustain without American money

ü Secondly, the rising number of unemployment. In Germany, unemployment rose sharply beginning in late 1929, and by early 1932 it had reached 6 million workers

ü Thirdly, the depression brought about hardship and sufferings. The majority Germans were in a severe bad economic situation. Increase of unemployment, failure of business and hyperinflation intensified the hardship of the lives of majority

ü Fourthly, the depression intensified communists threats. Many workers and common people whose lives became desperate, turned to communism. This frightened wealthy businessmen, so they financed Hitler's campaigns

ü Also, the depression exposed the weaknesses of Weimar government. During the whole period of depression, the government was in chaos. President Hindenburg dismissed Chancellor Heinrich Bruning in 1932. His replacement, Franz von Papen lasted six months, and the next chancellor - Kurt von Schleicher only lasted two months. People had lost confidnce on government, while NAZI was becoming overwelming. Thus the only alternative for President Paul Hindenburg was to collaborate with NAZI, thus appointed Hitler.

The Great Depression of 1929 struck America hard but Germany much harder. The Weimar government failed to muster an effective response to the Depression. This forced the Germanswho were in seek for a fast and accurate solution to join Hitler, who promissed, once in the power, to restore the ruined economy of germany.

MILITARY DICATORSHIP IN JAPAN

A military dictatorship is a form of government in which a member of the military holds authoritarian control of the governement. The military had a strong influence on Japanese society even before the actual occurrence of military dictatorship in 1930’s. There was an ideology in the Empire of Japan thatmilitarism should dominate the political and social life of the nation, and that the strength of the military is equal to the strength of a nation.

The period after the WW1 was the period of confusion to all nations participated in the war. Japan participated in World War I in an alliance with Entente Powers and played an important role. Thus Japan's economical situation in post-war period was to some extent worsened, and was more intensified by the world wide depression of 1929. The civilian government was severely criticized by the military which believed that the party politicians only worked for self-interests and thus destroyed national harmony. Moreover, the government failed to implement any socio-economic reforms to improve the living condition of the Japanese, therefore the people turned their support to the military which called for patriotism and overseas expansion. Few ultra-nationalist groups formed with the purposes of rejecting a party-based political system. The army officers held secret movements seeking to establish a military dictatorship.

The Japanese system of party government finally met its demise with the 1932 incident , when a group of military officers assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi. Many other political enemies were assassinated, and communists persecuted. Soon 1930s, the military established almost complete control over the government, military-dominated cabinet was established and Viscount Makoto Saito became Japan's premier. Navy and army officers occupied most of the important offices, including the one of the prime minister. 

Although Japan had an emperor, Hirohito, the military had taken control of the government. Emperor Hirohito could not stand up to the powerful generals; however, he was worshipped by the people who often fought in his name. 

FEATURES OF JAPANESE DICTATORSHIP

Militarism. A dictatorial nation is always a violence and aggressive state. Its objects cannot be obtained without armed forces. Dictators’ desire was always to turn their countries into a world giant power through the development of its military.

Anti-communism. The military government in japan very quickly began a campaign of violence and terror against Communists and other opponents. Internally the communists were suppressed, and internationally Japan signed Anti-comintern Pact with Germany and Italy, to react against the communist policy known as Comintern Policy.

Foreign invasion. One feature of nay dictatorship nation, is invasion. It tends to expand beyond its boarder by annexing other weaker states. While Germany invaded Poland, Italy invaded Ethiopia, Japan invaded in several times invaded China. In 1931 and 1936 for example Japan invaded Manchuria, a province of China. When the League of Nations said that Japan was wrong, Japan simply left the league.

Anti-democracy. All democratic elements disappeared in japan during Japanese militarism. No freedom of speech, Strict Censorship of medias, and many other actions which showed that Japan was nno longer a democratic nation.

WHAT BROUGHT MILITARY DICTATORSHIP IN JAPAN?

Great Economic Depression.The great depression affected Japan greatly, and led to a rise in militarism. Japan was a good exporter of luxury industrial goods to other countries such as America and many others which because they were now affected by the depression, they could not afford them anymore. For example, the raw silk as well as rice. This proved the failure of the existing government. The army officers were attracted by fascism and decided to seize power and introduce a strong national government.

The issue of Manchuria. As i twas the Chinese province, chinese were trying to squeeze out japanese trade and investments from manchuria. It was also believed in Japan that Manchuria was rich in minerals, forestry and rich agricultural land. With the problems that Japan was experiencing at home, Manchuria seemed an obvious solution to these problems. To preserve their interest, the japanese army in 1931 launched an attack on Manchuria without even permission from the government. Within a few days Japanese armed forces had occupied several strategic points in South Manchuria. Thus militarism was seen necessary to continue defending the interests of Japan.

Weakness of the civilian government. After the First World War in 1918, there was a rise of Party government in Japan. To a certain, the weakness of the party government did contribute to the coming of militarists in 1930s. While the majority were starving, the government officials were corrupt, extravagantly spending government resources. Series of political scandals undermined confidence in the government and thus allowed the military to take power.

Rampant corruption. While the majority were starving, political corruption in Japan was rampant. Corruption was daily scandal of the country's most powerful political elites. This was undoubtedly among the factors for the rise of militarism

The role of military. It is military in japan that which took over the governmment from the weak civilian government, by assassinating Prime minister Inukai in 1932. The role of army and navy was therefore crucial in establishing fascist system in Japan.

IMPACTS OF JAPANESE MILITARISM

Many people lost their lives. Dictatorial government is always a violent state, and always acts violently to those opposing it. Many people lost their lives between 1932-1945. It is impossible to know exactly how many people died as the deaths were comprised of thousands of different events over a period of more than ten years. The notable example of people assassinated was Prime Minister Inukai in may 1932, the event which marked the begining of ilitarism. Many other people were killed.

Total suppression of communism in Japan. Like Italy and Germany, Japanese military government was also not interested with communism. Japan allied with Italy and Germany to form Anti-comintern Pact to combat the spread of communism within and outside their countries. Large number of comunists were arrested and sentenced to prison. Thus comunism totally disappeared in Japan with the rise of militarism.

Loss of democracy. Before military took power in japan, japan was a democratic. As the army seized power, japan became a police state. All democratic elements dispappeared with the rise of militarism.                                                        

Outbreak of the second world war. Undoubtedly the second global conflict resulted from the rise of totalitarian, militaristic regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan. The allied democratic powers (Britain, France, and USA) claimed that they were struggling to combat dictatorship in world. Obviously the second world war was the battle between Democrats (Britain, France and USA) against Dictatorial powers (Germany, Italy, Japan).

HAD FASCIST IDEOLOGY AFFECTED AFRICA IN ANY WAY ?

i. Outbreak of the second world war

ii. The rise of totalitarian ideology. eg Idd Amin, Bokassa.

iii. Territorial invasion of Africa. eg. Ethiopia was invaded by Italy in 1930’s

iv. Adaptation of Apartheid Policy

TO SUM UP,

The fascist ideology arose out of the trauma of WWI. These men rose to power essentially because their countries had in some way been made unhappy by the outcome of that war. After World War I, defeated Germany, disappointed Italy, and ambitious Japan were anxious to regain or increase their power; all three eventually adopted forms of dictatorship. These three countries also set themselves up as champions against Communism, thus gaining at least partial tolerance of their early actions from the more conservative groups in the Western democracies, like Britain, USA and France which were also against communism. However dictatorship in these three states had its end. The western powers failed tolerating Hitler’s expansion and other aggressive policies, thus invaded Germany in 1939, what brought the Second World War between democrats (Britain, France, and USA) and dictators (Japan, Italy and Germany). This initiated World War II (1939-1945) can be said to have ended the era of dictatorship in these three countries. While Mussolini was captured in 1943 and executed in 1945 with his wife, Hitler committed suicide. This brought Nazi dictatorship in Germany to an end. In Japan dictatorship came to an end in 1945 and Japan was put under Douglas MacArthur, an American general.