BETWEEN THE WARS “INTERSESSION”moodle.smithtown.k12.ny.us/pluginfile.php/33159/... · Germany's fateful problems. He cannot have any. For he lives on the fact that there has been

BETWEEN THE WARS “INTERSESSION”

1919 thru

1938

World War One

1914-1918

Allies - vs -

Central Powers

World War Two

1939-1945

Allies - vs -

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.


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.

Benito Mussolini'

Fascism repudiates the doctrine of Pacifism.... War alone puts the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have the courage to meet it... . Fascism combats the whole complex system of democratic ideobgy, and repudiates it.... Fascism denies that the majority can direct human society.... Fascism denies the absurd converaional untruth of political equality.... 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. —Adapted from Benito Mussolini, The Political and Social Doctrine

of Fascism." International Conciliation No. 306 (January 1935).

Joseph Goebbels:

The Jew has no interest in the solution of Germany's fateful problems. He cannot have any. For he lives on the fact that there has been no solution. If we would make the

German people a unified community and give them freedom before the world, then the Jew can have no place among us... . The Jew is responsible for our misery and he lives on it.

—From Louis L. Snyder, The Weimar Republic (New York: D. Van Nostrand, Co., 1966).

Adolf Hitler:

From [the Aryan] originate the foundations and walls of all human creation. . . . Blood mixture and the resultant drop in the racial level is the sole cause of the dying out of old cultures. .. .All who are not of good race in this 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 in the leadership ... contaminates ari, literature, the theater.. . and. .. drags men dovm.

—Adapted from Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, R. Manheim, trans. (New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1943).

1. Why does fascism reject pacifism' 4. How is racism reflected in Hitler's statements?

2. What is the fascist attitude toward democratic principles?

5. Compare Hitler's and Goebbels' statements. How do both of them promote hatred of Jews?

3. According to fascism, what is the proper relationship between the people and the state?

6. What effect do you think fascism and Nazism had on the rights of individuals? Explain.

Between the Wars

THE TOTALITARIAN DICTATORS JOSEPH STALIN

Communist

Party

SOVIET UNION

U.S.S.R

BENITO MUSSOLINI

Fascist Party

ITALY

ADOLPH HITLER

Nazi Party

GERMANY

Propaganda

Censorship


List the style (methods and policies)

which he ruled:

Use the specific names for their Organizations


which he ruled:



which he ruled:



r ~ ." IRIse of the Nazis to Powe dd" a....~ The. Rise of the Modern Totalitarian State the Weimar government and:;e n :e~~~o:o the proble~s of

Totaillanamsm IS a politIcal philosophy that emeraed in the 20th century. Totalitarianism describes government~ in which one political party monopolizes all power and exercises complete authority over the people and their activities. It involves total control of all ~spects of an individual's life by lhe government, wIth both ,CtvIi and political rights being curtailed. Although vano~s tonns of totalitarianism exist in parts of the w.orld tod,ay, Its earlIest examples were in three European na-tlO~S dunng the 20-year period following World War I. These natIOns were the Soviet Union (under Communism; see Unit Seven), Italy (u?der Fascism), and Germany (under Nazism). Totah.tartan SOCIeties look down on individual human rights

II and clvII h?ertIes. The values of democracy are not found in such SOCieties. Totalitarian states emphasize: (I) glorification of the whole community (that is, 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; (4) belief in· the idea that the individual should benefit the state and exists 'solely to serve the state's interests. In Western Europe, these features of totalitarianism were most characteristic of Gennany 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. C' Germany Under the Weimar RepubUc (1919-1933). The Weimar Republic was the name of the German government that came to power after World War I. It was a democratic govern~ent, wllh a constitution that was drawn up in the city of Weimar. However, this experiment with democracy in Germany faced many problems, includmg economic chaos and street violence. It was not successful for a number of reasons.

I. In the early 1920s the Weimar government printed paper

money with little to back it, resulting in severe inflation. This devastated the German economy and resulted in severe unemployment and street violence.

2. When Germany was unable to meet its reparations payments in 1923, France sent troops to occupy the Ruhr Valley, Germany's chief industriaJ area.

3 .. There was terrible unemployment in Germany in the early 1920s and again in the 1930s.

4. The German economy was restored after 1923 and conditions improved. However, in 1929 a worldwide depression that threatened the stability of democratic governments everywhere brought much suffering to Germany. Unemployment rose to 6 million in 1932, and Germans lost faith in their political leaders. This further fueled the bad feelings that had been caused

by the Versailles Treaty. 5. The government was unstable because no single party

was able to achieve a majority in the Reichstag, the more powerful of the two legislative houses created by the Weimar constitution. As a result, German politicaJ leaders seemed helpless to deal with the severe economic problems.

These problems led many Germans to conclude that democracy was ill suited to their nation and that autocracy was preferable, especiaJly since it had brought Germany politicaJ unification, economic growth, and respect as an internationaJ power. A strong democratic tradition did not exist in German history.

The Role of Adolf Hitler. Hitler was born in Austria and served in the German army during World War L He joined the Nazi party (NationaJ Socialist German Workers party). He spoke out against the Weimar government and was arrested for his role in the Munich Putsch of 1923, an unsuccessful attempt 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 considered 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.

po e played by HItler, a number of other factors led to the rise of the N ',' G many: aZls In er,l. Economi~ problems. The N~is offered simple explanations for both the causes of Gennany s economic problems and its cures. These problems, as described above, affected millions of Gennans. The reparations demanded by the Versailles Treaty were condemned as unjust and blamed for causing the econom' .',".2 P , . T IC cnslS. .'. atrlotlc appeals. . he Nazi program stirred German na

tlOnahsm. It called for: • a large increase in the armed forces; • the expansion of the Gennan fatherland to inclUde terri

tory In Europe where people of German descent lived (Austna, parts of Poland, and Czechoslovakia);

• control over educational and cultural institutions 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 Gennany had held in Europe and its overseas colonies prior to World War I;

• the use of violence as a legitimate means to achieve domestic and international goals;

• the importance of looking back to and glorifying the

mythicaJ Gennan race (the so-called 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 peoples. They blamed the WeImar government for accepting the Versailles Treaty and said it had been forced to do so by Jews, Commumsts, and others. Finally, the Nazis claimed that Gennan forces had not been defeated in World War I but had been stabbed in

the back. 3. Anti-Semitism. Prejudice toward Jews had existed in Ger

many for hundreds of years, resulting in exile, loss of life and property, ~d hatred. However, Hitler's prejudice against Jews was fanatIcal; he used Jews as scapegoats and blamed them for his own personaJ failures and also for Germany's problems. These false ?otions became persuasive parts of Nazi propaganda, especlaJly when they were blended with Hitler's master race theories. Hitler claimed that the Aryans (Germans) were a master race who were naturally entitled to control and rule peopies of less "pure" blood, such as Slavs and Jews. (The Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were systematically murdered after Hitler came to power, was the tragic consequence of these misguided notions.)

4. Fear of Communism and of Soviet Russia. The Nazis played upon these fears with much success and portrayed themselves as the only ones capable of protecting Germany from foreign beliefs and potentiaJ aggressors. In this way, they were able to win the support of large segments of the German population, such as bankers and industrialists.

5. Use of private, illegal armed groups. Many of Hitler's followers were organized into private armies. One such group was the Storm Troopers (S.A.), or Brown Shirts, who used scare tactics and violence to terrorize Jews and opponents of the Nazis. .

6. Lack of meaningful opposition. Few strong voices inside Germany spoke out against the Nazis. Many Germans came to graduaJly support Hitler,. while others were apathetic. Others feared speaking against him, and many who did were intimidated. InternationaJly, there was little awareness of or concern about the Nazi movement


The Nazis Come to Power. The formal takeover of Germany by the Nazis took place in January 1933 when the president 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 destroyed the democracy that had existed under the Weimar Republic. The result was a totalitarian dictatorship that eventually brought about World War II and brought devastation to Germany 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). Italyexperienced 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 severe 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 saddened by the many deaths in World War I. Mussolini promised the Italian people security, order, and economic progress in exchange 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 revolution, Mussolini came to power. Neither the king nor the army opposed him. He soon established a police state, destroying 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 industries, and Italy was run as a corporate state.


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. Totalitarian 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 government that had sent representatives to sign the Versailles peace treaty. However, this experiment with democracy in Germany fact!d many problems. These included 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 decreases.) 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. 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 condluo . temporarily improved. However, in 1929, a worldwide economic depressJ~nl

agailthat threatened the stability of democratic governments everywhere. n. ilhon Ibrought 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 houses created by the Weimar constitution. As a result, German po ~

. . ' rob1ern·· leaders seemed helpless to deal With the challengmg economIC p

0


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 countries 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 byemphasizing 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


• 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 attitude 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."

3. Anti-Semitism: The tenn anti-Semitism refers to prejudice and hatred directed toward Jews only because they are jews. Prejudiced attitudes toward Jews had existed in Gennany and Austria for hundred of years, resulting in persecution, 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.")

4. 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 protecting Gennany from foreign beliefs and potential aggressors. In this way. they were able to win the support of large segments of the Gennan population, including such influential groups as bankers and industrialists. In addition, because Karl Marx was of jewish origin, Hitler was able to link his 0\\11

anti-Semitic propaganda with his anti-Communist position. 5. Use ofPrivate, 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.

6. 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 awareness of or concern about the Nazi Movement.

The Nazis Come to Power

. . 1933 whenThe fonnal takeover of Gennany by the NaziS occurred III january , " 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 '

Par la' many and formed the single largest block in the Reichstag, the German '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. " [ea-Hitler promised to preserve the Weimar constitution with all its democr~tIC [h,ll

tures and protections. However, he soon instituted (set in place) polICIes


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 Communists. predicting that they were about to lead a revolt. He then persuaded President \"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. Nevertheless, with Hitler's followers applying various kinds of intimidation, almost the entire Reichstag voted to pass the Enabling Act. This act suspended the constitution and gave Hitler dictatorial powers. H~ shortly thereafter abolished all opposition 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 organization. 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 hundreds 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.


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 spellbinding 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 pseudoscientific 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 German 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 economic 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 development 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 instead 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 conciliation 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 hammer. 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 augments 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 represented 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 forget 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 appointed 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 democracy - of an authoritarian state where everyone is proud to obey, because he knows: I will likewise be obeyed when I must take command.


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 humanity. All inventions in the field of transportation must be credited to the members of a particular race. Our entire industrial science is without exception the work of the Nordics. All great composers from Beethoven 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 creatures 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. 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 future. 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 people to war, and not for the revision of frontiers, but for the deliverance

WAR AND EXPANSION. Source: Ibid., pp. 27-28.

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.

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 ambition 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 completely 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 enormously 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

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 community 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 intellectual 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 people, the freedom of our Reich; and the security of the German Lebensraum [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.


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 wanted 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 legislature 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 atheism, 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 monarchy 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 combattirnento (groups for combat). This organization was to become a powerful political and terrorizing force, tripling its membership to 300,000 between 1920 and 1922.


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 support. 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 newspapers, and labor unions were attacked. Police often looked away from these incidents, 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'ernment 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 VictorCEmmanuel 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

, ctmade sure the fascists would control the weakened parliament. Other Jaws reStf l

eeled 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 important industries, such as manufacturing and transportation, 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 Rumania (1938), and General Francisco Franco in Spain (1939).

The use of armed force at home was a strong thread in this cloth. The international 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.


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 vtussolini, a tormer Socialist. The Fascists appealed directly to the use ot torce. They were a party ot the tar right, emphasizing extreme 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 Mussolini 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 substitute energy tor complicated theories and long-winded discussions. 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 determination to strengthen the economy and rebuild the army.

Mussolini scoffed at the weakness ot democracy and parliamentary government. There was no room in his new order tor opposition or discussion. Opponents ot Fascism were given brutal 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 Florence 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 University 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 societies 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 socalled 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 instruments of production. That the changes in the economic field - new discoveries of raw materials, new methods of working them, and the inventions 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 economic motive, direct or indirect. ... And above all Fascism denies that class war can be the preponderant force in the transformation of society. 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-fedand would thus degrade humanity to a purely physical existence.

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After Socialis~, Fascism co-mbats -the whole complex system of democratic ideology and repudiates it, whether in i~s theoretical premises 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 mankind, which can never be permanently leveled through the mere operation of a mechanical process such as universal suffrage. The democratic regime may be defined as from time to time giving the people the illusion of sovereignty, while the real, effective sovereignty lies in the hands of other concealed and irresponsible forces. Democracy is a regime nominally 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 fiveyearly 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 certain level of weB-being and peaceful conditions of life; for a mere council 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 custodian 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 reactionary but revolutionary, in that it anticipates the solution of the universal political problems which elsewhere have to be settled in the political field by the rivalry of parties, the excessive power of the parliamentary 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 country. 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 soldier in a regiment is not diminished but rather increased by the number of his comrades. The Fascist State organizes the nation but leaves a sufficient 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 indirectly 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 renunciation 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 foreign 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 inevitable 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 direction, and of order. If every age has its own characteristic doctrine, there are a thousand signs which point to Fascism as the characteristic doctrine 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 inaugurated a "manhunt" against the Freemasons. Bludgeonings devel

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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 discussion soon degenerated into blows. Another Freemason, named Becciolini, 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 Federation, 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 incident. The Fascists cleared the streets in the center of the town, blindly bludgeoning everybody. The cafes were forcibly closed, the theaters invaded, 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 headquarters.... 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 indiscriminate looting. The Nazione of October 6 writes: "These shady individuals who are found on the outskirts of every great party abandoned themselves 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 paper Non Mollare ["Never Yield"] and acquitted after forty days' imprisonment. But if judges acquit, Fascists kill. During the evening Consolo'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 nearest police station for protection. The Fascists beat in his door. Leaving the telephone receiver on the table he hid in his children's room, between their two little beds. The telephone receiver transmitted automatically 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 arrived from headquarters they found no one but the widow and children 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 headquarters of the ... center of all the Christian-Democratic cooperatives of the district.

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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 the 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.

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 governments, 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 command of the army in the autumn of 1915. The retreating Russian forces, demoralized (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 Alexandra (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 military performance. Russia was hopelessly unable to supply her troops with weapons or food. The fragile industrial structure was near collapse. Revolutionaries agitated 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.


The Provisional The Program of the Provisional Government. The Democratic Provisional Government, as the new administration was called, declared that Russia was a democGovernment racy and announced plans to hold elections. It consisted, however, of the(March-October 1917) bourgeoisie (middle class), liberal nobles, and intellectuals, and did not end Russia'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 allowing elections and freedom of speech was well intentioned, but impracticable during 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 soviets. In April, the leader of the Bolsheviks, or Communists, Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), returned to Russia from exile in Switzerland and presented his radical 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 Government. Known as the July Days, the uprising in Petrograd was the result of frustration 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 Decem-of 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. Therefore, 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. Religion was prohibited as a reactionary institution. All property of the Russian Orthodox 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


War Communism

Marxism-Leninism

The New Economic Policy

The Struggle Between Trotsky and Stalin

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 communication. Also, the Bolsheviks had Russia's remaining industry under their control, whereas the White Army was dependent on assistance from the British and Americans. 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.

During the civil war the Bolsheviks established a policy known as War Communism. Major industries, banks, and all utilities were nationalized. Private trade was prohibited, and food was seized from the peasants. The transportation and communication systems broke down. As the economy declined and fuel shortages followed, 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)

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 represented the proletariat, who were the majority. The ultimate goal was to create a society of workers all sharing equally the burdens and the profits of their labors.

Mter the civil war, Russian discontent with Communist rule began to grow. Fearing 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 radical 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 constitution Soviet Russia became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). That same year, Lenin died, leaving no successor in the Soviet leadership.

A struggle for power developed between Trotsky, who was Lenin's designated successor, 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.


The Purges

The Five-Year Plans

Collectivization and Genocide

The USSR Under Stalin (1925-1941)

Stalin proved to be one of the most brutal and ruthless dictators in modern history. 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 members, 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.

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.

To pay for the imported technology needed to institute the five-year plans, farms 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 peasants 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 peasants 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 Russians, especially the Ukrainians, first saw the invading German armies as liberators.


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, believed that the Soviet Union could never become a true Communist 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 encourage Communist groups throughout the world. In the meantime 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.

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.... Under 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 regime], 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 victorious country against attempts at intervention and restoration, a necessary 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

country, the possibility of the proletariat assuming power and using that power to build a complete Socialist society in our country with the sympathy and the support of the proletarians of other countries, but without the preliminary victory of the proletarian revolution in other countries.

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 backwardness 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 Leninism.

What do we mean by the impossibility of the complete, final victory of Socialism in one country without the victory of the Revolution in other countries?

We mean the impossibility of having full guarantees against intervention, and consequently against the restoration of the bourgeois order, without the victory of the Revolution in at least a number of countries. To deny this indisputable thesis is to abandon internationalism, to abandon Leninism.

The First Five-Year Plan

Let us now take up the results of the fulfillment of the FiveYear 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.


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 modem 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 future two new centers of the textile industry in Central Asia and Western 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 completely 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 demand, and this creates c~rtain difficulties. But then we must realize and take into account where such a policy of relegating the task of industrialization 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 present position of China, which has no heavy industry and no war industry 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 sanguinary [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 attack at his disposal.


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 nevertheless realized that revolutions were not brought about by armchair theorists. With a will of iron and amazing energy, he set about building a trained, disciplined, and militant party of revolutionaries. For moderates or compromisers he had only contempt. 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 dispersed 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 revolutionary 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 atmosphere of suspicion, espionage, and betrayal was created among the peasants. Neighbor spied upon neighbor. Peasants slaughtered their cattle and refused to sow their land rather than turn over their food supplies to the government. And the countryside seethed with local uprisings, 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 BrestLitovsk - which deprived Russia of its richest regions - brought increasing revolt from every stratum of the Russian people.

The Petrograd regiments which had overthrown Kerensky [the Provisional 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. Production would be guided by social needs, he promised.

There were special needs for nationalizing trade. The peasants. unwilling 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 merchandise 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 proposed 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 obtain this book on the payment of fifty rubles.

"Nonworkers who do not belong to the wealthy classes are also required 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 consisted 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 Germa~y..... \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 indust~ and commerce. All private stores were closed and the merchandise con

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 revolutionaries 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 prohibited under pain of being shot as a "counterrevolutionist" or speculator. But there was no trace of state-organized commerce. Economic catastrophe followed. Raw materials disappeared together with COnsumer goods and industrial products. The little that remained in private hands vanished from the markets. But although state factories could obtain nothing, there was an active black market where enormous speculation flourished. 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 peasants 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.]


I.I>

- Negatives

Communism By Karl Marx

"From Each according to their ability I

to each according to their needs" - The Communist Manifesto

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~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!" ".l\

Joseph 'f>ta\inVladimir Lenin


Where and When: Europe, 1800s. The Communist /l!Ianifesto Th~, wtitings of a Germlln jounllliist named Karl Marx introrluced the world to 1\ mdical type of socialism '~

called ~larxism. Marx alld Friedrich Engels, II German whose father 1What Marx :BeJieved: 0\\11ed a textile mill in Manchester. outlined their ideas in II 23-page

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: I 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.

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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.

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 contending classes.

KARL MARX. AND FJUEDRICH ENGELS, The Communist Manifesto (1848)

According to Marx and Engels, the Industrial Revolution had enriched the wealthy and impoverished the poor. The two writers pre

dicted that the workers would overthrow the owners: 'The proletarhU1S have nothing to lose but their chllins, The)' have a world to win. \ \'orkingmen of all countries, unite."

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CI••• Struggle

In non-COmmunist societies, owners of land and businesses (called -capitalistsj use their wealth to take advantage of workers by robbing

".them of most of what they produce, This conflict leads

:;::,', .,. tO~.~,ass struggle.

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·TAIRee'iht). \Vhile the wealthy controlled the means of producing goods, the poor performed b~lckbre~ng labor under terrible conditions.

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Violent Dictatorship of Revolution the Workera

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The conditions of workers become worse. In an attempt to correct these injustices, the workers are finally driven to overthrow their capitalist rulers in a violent revolution.

;.' The workers tri;: . umph. After the :.::. :.::

revolution, C0m", .;

.', munist leaders establish a dictatorship, run for the workers' benefit, and educa~

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the peopfe In the ";. ideas of Com

.,~. munism.

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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.

Marx called this final phase pure COllllnUllislll. Marx desc,ibecl communism as a form of complete socialism ill which the means of production-all lund, mines, 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 ..

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Marxrst iil.lias', '. . ...... '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. "

The New Communist State Gradually a new Communist society is created, with no private property. Everyone works for the good of s0ciety. Each conbibutes accOrdf~ to -= his abilities and ~esfrom society~rding

to his need!.


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