Totalitarian Regimes and Global Crisis: 1920s and 1930s History

The Roaring Twenties (1920s)

The decade following World War I saw significant geopolitical and economic shifts:

• League of Nations (1919): Established to promote peace, though the U.S. did not join. Germany and the USSR joined later.
• Pact of Locarno (1925): Major European powers agreed to respect borders.
• Economic Recovery in Europe: Germany introduced a new currency and experienced deflation.
• U.S. Prosperity: Driven by industry, exports, loans to Europe, and a booming stock market.
• "American Way of Life": Characterized by consumer goods (cars, appliances), this lifestyle reached Europe primarily after WWII.

The Great Depression: An Abrupt End to Prosperity

The economic boom of the 1920s was largely fueled by speculation, leading to instability:

• The stock market became severely overvalued, and credit was issued without sufficient guarantees.
• The Crash (October 1929): Marked by Black Thursday and Black Tuesday.
• Consequences: Widespread panic, bank failures, and business closures. Unemployment rose sharply, and production plummeted.
• The crisis spread worldwide, initiating the Great Depression, which peaked between 1930 and 1932.
• The period was characterized by extreme poverty and a lack of social safety nets, such as unemployment benefits.

Fascism: Core Ideology and Characteristics

Fascism is defined by a set of radical political and social principles:

• Totalitarianism and Irrationalism
• Radical Nationalism, Racism, and Xenophobia
• Anti-Communism, Anti-Liberalism, and Anti-Feminism
• Imperialism and Militarism
• The Corporate State model
• State-led Capitalist Economy
• Opposition to international institutions

Stalinism: Totalitarian Rule in the USSR

Following Lenin's death, a power struggle ensued between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky. Stalin ultimately won, initiating a totalitarian regime.

• Trotsky was expelled from the USSR and later assassinated.
• Stalin promoted the doctrine of "Socialism in One Country."
• The USSR joined the League of Nations.
• Stalin gained control of the Comintern, focusing its efforts on protecting the USSR.

The Stalinist Purges and Economic Transformation

• The Purges: Characterized by mass arrests, pervasive surveillance, forced labor camps (Gulags), and show trials. Millions were imprisoned, deported, or executed.
• Five-Year Plans: Aimed at rapid industrialization and national self-sufficiency, focusing heavily on heavy industry and infrastructure development.
• Collectivization of Agriculture: Implementation of collective farms (Kolkhoz and Sovkhoz).
• The Kulaks: Wealthy peasants (Kulaks) were expropriated, deported, or killed as part of the collectivization drive.
• Despite famines and poor agricultural output, the USSR achieved fast industrial growth.
• Widespread repression and low living standards often led to social rejection of the regime.

Italian Fascism: A Historical Timeline

1. 1919: Treaty of Paris – Italy felt betrayed, receiving insufficient rewards for its war effort.
2. 1919–1920 (Biennio Rosso): Period of severe economic crisis and social unrest.
3. Early 1920s: Collapse of the liberal system and the rise of irrationalist movements.
4. 1921: Benito Mussolini founds the National Fascist Party (PNF).
5. 1922: The March on Rome by the Blackshirts leads the King to appoint Mussolini as Prime Minister.
6. 1925–1926: Mussolini dissolves Parliament, marking the beginning of the fascist dictatorship.
7. Late 1920s: The regime establishes control over politics, the economy, media, and society; strikes are banned.
8. 1929: The global economic crisis hits Italy, causing production drops and rising unemployment.
9. 1935–1936: Invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), resulting in international condemnation.
10. 1930s: Fascist propaganda intensifies; Italy forms an alliance with Nazi Germany and Japan.
11. 1936–1939: Italy intervenes in the Spanish Civil War.

Nazism: Ideological Foundations

The core tenets of Nazi ideology included:

• The alleged superiority of the Aryan race.
• The murder of disabled people to preserve perceived racial purity.
• Anti-Semitism and Anti-Communism.
• Expansion eastward into Slavic lands to secure Lebensraum (living space).
• Revanchism against France and the outright rejection of the Treaty of Versailles.

Nazism: Key Historical Milestones

• Post-WWI Crisis: Germany was impoverished and faced severe economic hardship due to the Treaty of Versailles.
• Nazi Party Creation (1920): Founded by Adolf Hitler, based on racist and nationalist ideology.
• Munich Putsch (1923): A failed coup attempt resulting in Hitler's imprisonment.
• Great Depression Impact (1929): The crisis severely impacted Germany, dramatically increasing poverty and unemployment, which boosted Nazi support.
• Hitler's Rise (1933): Hitler was appointed Chancellor by President Hindenburg, not elected by a majority vote.

The Role of Anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany

Anti-Semitism, defined as discrimination against Jews and their culture, became a foundational pillar of the Nazi regime. This hatred was codified in the Nuremberg Laws.

The Nazis launched extensive propaganda campaigns designed to portray Jews as enemies of the state. The Nuremberg Laws:

• Prohibited mixed marriages.
• Excluded Jews from government jobs.
• Removed their German nationality.

Jews were forced to wear a yellow Star of David for identification. Harassment against them, their families, and their property escalated dramatically. In November 1938, Nazi militants assaulted Jewish neighborhoods during the Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht), committing murders and destroying shops and synagogues. However, the worst atrocities were yet to come.