To what extent can Nazism in power be seen as totalitarianism in the period 1933-1939? Totalitarianism is often defined as a system of government where the state controls all aspects of life, individuals are subordinated to the state and any parties of differing opinion are suppressed, a description that fits the rule of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1939 perfectly. During Hitler’s rule, he embedded all these totalitarian characteristics as evident with the many features and atrocities of his reign like Terror and Repression through events like the Night of Long Knives, Policies that gave him complete control of all aspects of German lifestyle and Propaganda used to ensure people were subordinated to his totalitarian regime. Hitler ensured he would be an unchallenged dictator with no effective opposition in order to maintain power by eliminating enemies through acts of atrocity or through force through Terror and Repression, most notably the Night Of Long Knives. The aim of Night of Long Knives was to eliminate all who Hitler perceived as a threat to Germany and his cause like leaders of the SA and other ‘enemies’ like communists and Jews.
His alternative views struck chord with the people; he was able to channel Germany’s disgust for the Weimar Republic, Treaty of Versailles and minority groups into support for his National socialist Party. Along with the rest of Germany, Adolf Hitler was depressed after World War I due to the forfeiture and the conditions of the
Gareth Parker. A Written Report Of A Discussion On The Rise Of Hitler and the Nazi Party 1918-1933. Identify and comment upon the key weaknesses of the Weimar system of government. The Weimar Republic was born in a time of great turmoil and struggle, encountering many problems throughout its sixteen year history. Possibly the greatest vulnerability was 'the weakness within' - the constitution gave the President, the states and the military too much control, whilst proportional voting meant that the Reichstag was separated and weak.
As a ruler, Adolf Hitler of the Nazi party had numerous successes but he also had he fair share of failures. At the beginning of World War II, Hitler was seen as a savior to the German nation because of his oratory skills, appeal to the people and his successes. One of his first successes came when he fulfilled his promises to the German people and reversed the Treaty of Versailles. After the death of Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler was seen as the successor. The German public saw Hitler as god-like with his vast power and glorifying the German race as being the “master race.” When he finally reversed the power of the Treaty of Versailles and rebuilt Germany’s armed forces, the German nation basically did as he told them to do.
How important was the leadership of Adolf Hitler in the rise of the Nazis to power in Germany by 1933? The National Socialist German Worker’s Party (Nazis) came to power under the leadership of Adolf Hitler in January 1933. This followed four years of economic and political instability in Germany as a result of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and ensuing world depression. There are many reasons for the Nazi rise to power such as charismatic personality of their leader, the widespread appeal of their policies, their effective use of propaganda and modern electioneering strategies, and the success of their parliamentary organisation. One also needs to take into account the weaknesses of their democratic government of the Weimar Republic and its failure to deal with the problems of the day.
The Great Depression left European nations in ruins. The people were in desperate need for a strong leader to rise out of the ashes. Ordinary individuals became extraordinary supreme leaders overnight. Benito Mussolini was one of these people. With Mussolini’s strong beliefs in totalitarianism, militarism, nationalism, and imperialism, he was able to rise to power and carry out his Italian War Plan.
On the other hand, a dystopia is when a utopia goes wrong and several elite people in the society take over control and basically use everyone to their advantage. During the 1930’s there were many movements that could be closely associated to this utopic and dystopic views. Amongst this time was the beginning of the Great Depression and World War I. Totalitarianism had come out of this which would be associated with a dystopic society where elite individuals decide to run a whole country by force and basically make everyone under them a slave. In the article, “Alienation in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World” by McQuail it was said that, “The way Huxley’s dystopia treats humanity’s estrangement from an inner life is what makes his vision truly disturbing. Where Karl Marx proposes the abolition of private property as a means to end economic and religious
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy To what extent did Hitler and Mussolini establish a totalitarian regime? Totalitarianism is first of all only a word, but behind this word eras of terror and death are marked. People living under these regimes were led by fear, brought on by individuals who, through outside circumstances, a number of happenings and their own abilities, were able to rise to the position of a dictator, leaving the society with a decision of either showing loyalty to the leader or death. But what is it that characterises a totalitarian dictatorship? Of course there are many similarities as well as differences between the various totalitarian regimes that were in power in the past; however it can generally be said that the six major resemblances include well elaborated ideologies, an organised single mass party, a system of terror as well as propaganda affecting the citizens, a centrally directed economy together with a weapons monopoly.
At the time Brave new world was authored there were substantial issues worldwide. The economic depression in capitalist societies, fascism emerging in Europe and the high rate of unemployment meant people longed for the kind of security that Huxley provided the citizens of his fictional world. This affected Huxley, his writing and ultimately his vision of the future which inevitably seeped into Brave new world. He exaggerates all the present worrying trends of his time so that they produce awful consequences. The movement towards socialism in the 1920’s for example becomes the totalitarian state, the growth in materialism transforms into a form of religion- where humans are mass produced and henry ford is god- and depicts the end of the traditional and familiar life which becomes a strange and sterile modern state.
The rise of totalitarianism governments started before WWII, but after the Great Depression when fascism became an ideology of society. Socialist leaders told the people what they wanted to hear. These leaders not only took advantage of their powers, but became totalitarian dictators of communism and Nazism states. In 1933 Hitler became the dictator and ruler of Germany. Hitler was known for his totalitarian government, which referenced his act based on Darwism.