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Why would anyone want to give up their liberty to be controlled completely by a supreme figure? Totalitarianism was found in a few European countries and the common reason between them was that they were living in miserable conditions, and it feels irreparable. Some of the outcomes of their conditions caused production to plummet, faltered economies, and a rapid decline in population. The people of these falling nations began to reject their current government because they were unable to hold the country together, so they were open to ideas of the extreme left and right. The poor living conditions played as a catalyst to attract leaders who would then take advantage over the desperate people.
The first country to adopt a totalitarian state was Italy. Prior to becoming one, Italy has suffered greatly from the results of World War I. The death toll was about 700,000 soldiers, and in addition, they had the heavy burden of debt worth 149 billion lire. In hopes to make up for their sacrifices, Italy demanded that they have control over the land of Fiume and Dalmatia. However, they rejected their request and they felt deceived and cheated out of their rewards. This infuriated Italy and they were left with inflation and high unemployment rates. In addition, the parliament was ineffective during this time, so a man named Benito Mussolini took the chance to take over the country by attracting them by appealing to their wants. Mussolini declared a march on Rome to seize power, but after the announcement the government made him the prime minister of Italy. Mussolini wanted even more power over Italy and did so by using force and intimidation to take 364 seats out of 535 in parliament. With the newfound power, he implemented many legislations that restricts anyone to exhibit disrespect for the Catholic Church, the monarch or form any resistance group. Mussolini also took control of mass media as propaganda to teach his people about fascist education, militarize young people, and keep women at home for child bearing. He wanted to create a “hardworking, physically fit, disciplined, intellectually sharp, and martially inclined” (Spielvogel, 815) Italian government. Although Mussolini was the head of Italy, he could not control it completely as the armed forces and the monarchy still had their liberty. However, there is another leader who far surpasses the work of Mussolini.
Germany was another nation subjected to totalitarian rule after the despair they felt after the results of World War I. After Germany’s defeat in World War I, a republic was established, however they faced a period of inflation and depression. This caused people to be hostile towards the government and Hitler’s ideals started to gain popularity. Before Hitler’s rise to power, he joined the Workers’ Party and staged an uprising in Munich to overthrow their current government, however he was arrested for treason. During his time of imprisonment, he wrote an autobiography about his reasons for the movement. He also wrote about superior nations taking control of all living spaces. He gained popularity from his autobiography, ‘Mein Kampf’, so after his release, he wanted to overthrow the government by taking positions in seats. Many young people were attracted to Hitler’s ideals and on September 1930, Hitler and the Nazi Party occupied a majority of the Reichstag, and he promised to rebuild Germany where there is no class difference. By January 30, 1933, Hitler was deemed chancellor and after that he took complete control. With his new level of authority, he created a new police force and enabled the Nazi party to restrain anyone without resistance. Other political parties were disbanded, and Hitler took control over the business sector as well. Workers must provide proof of owning a workbook to show that they see Hitler as their master. He also imposed his idea of the master race and spread his hate towards the Jewish people. He formed squads that would use terror and ideology to exterminate Jews and took over churches so that Germans would devote themselves to Hitler.
One major country that fell subject under totalitarian rule was Russia. Before totalitarian rule, Russians suffered from widespread famine, which caused a large death toll. A drought also occurred, which further accelerated food shortages between 1920 to 1922. The food shortages took the lives of 5 million people, and to fix the situation, Lenin proposed the New Economic Policy that allowed people and business owners liberty in selling their goods. The result of this policy ended the famine. When Lenin died of a stroke, Stalin took control and chose to move the government towards a more socialist state. He altered what Russia was as an agricultural nation to an industrial one. Stalin wanted to exponentially increase production, and the labor force has increased by millions. Although production was improving, on the other side, the peoples’ lives were becoming miserable. There was little investment in workers’ housing, and Stalin used propaganda that their sacrifice is for the good of their nation. On top of little investment, Stalin collected the workers’ property and reduced their farms by millions, which would cause another food shortage. As a result, 10 million people died from the food shortage created by Stalin. He further asserted authority by sending anyone who resisted Stalin to labor camps or got killed.
The nations that fell under totalitarian rule had conditions that related to one another before. Each nation faced socio economic downfall, and in the time of despair they were attracted to extreme sides of socialism or authoritarianism. Each nation had a different route during their totalitarian period. Mussolini in Italy had goals of militarizing his people, Hitler in Germany had goals of refining the Aryan race, and Stalin had intentions of industrializing the Soviet Union. All of these nations were subject to totalitarian rule, so comparing them to this term would not be useful. What really distinguishes them from other countries is how and what their leaders did in their nation to achieve their positions and pursue their goals.
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