Totalitarianism and Fascism
Europe between the wars
Lecture Outline
European States after the War
Rise of Dictators
Fascism and Benito Mussolini
Key Terms
Totalitarianism
Benito Mussolini
Black Shirts
Fascism
What is totalitarianism?
A government that controls every aspect
of public and private life
New totalitarian governments wanted to
conquer the minds and hearts of their
subjects
Democratic States After the War
 By 1939 only 2 major European states—
France and Great Britain—remained
democratic.
Authoritarian Governments in the East
Authoritarian governments developed in
some of the new nations in Eastern
Europe, including Austria, Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria,
Hungary, and Yugoslavia.
Reasons for the Spread of Authoritarian
Governments
 Most of these countries had little or no
experience with political democracy
 Their populations were largely rural and
uneducated
 Large landowners still dominated the social and
political system and they did not want to give up
power
 Eastern European states were usually made up
of multiple ethnic groups, which often were not
united.
How did totalitarian governments achieve
their goals?
Mass propaganda and communication
By being led by a single leader and party
The rejected the idea of limited government
power and the guarantee of individual
freedoms
Individual freedom was subordinate to the
collective will of the masses which was
organized and determined by the leader
They expected the active involvement of the
masses in the achievement of these goals.
How did WWI and the Depression affect
Italy?
Inflation grew, and both industrial and
agricultural workers staged strikes
The middle class began to fear a
Communist takeover.
Who is Benito Mussolini?
 He was an Italian
radical who detested
liberal, reform ideas
 He had been
seriously wounded in
WWI.
Who are the Black Shirts?
Paramilitary units organized by Mussolini
made up of dissatisfied veterans and other
disillusioned Italians.
 In 1919 they used violence to intimidate
their opponents. They ransacked the
offices of leftist organizations and
newspapers.
Who supported Mussolini?
The middle class and wealthy landowners
supported Mussolini because of their fear
of a Communist revolution.
He also appealed to nationalists by
arguing that Italy should have received
more land in the peace agreement after
WWI.
The Fascist Party had 10% of the seats in
Parliament and total membership was only
around 300,000.
How did Mussolini gain power in Italy?
In 1922, Mussolini and the Fascists
threatened to march on Rome if they were
not given power.
Victor Emmanuel II, king of Italy, gave in and
made Mussolini prime minister of Italy.
In December 1922, parliament granted
Mussolini dictatorial powers for one year to
restore order to the country.
In the elections of 1924 the Fascists
received 63% of the vote.
What did Mussolini do as dictator?
He banned freedom of speech
The prime minister was made the head of
the government with the power to make
laws by decree
The police were given unrestricted authority
to arrest and jail anyone for either political
or nonpolitical crimes.
In 1926, all other political parties were
banned and a secret police was
established.
Italy as a totalitarian state
Mussolini never attempted to establish
control over all aspects of Italian life
The Catholic Church and the monarchy
were not formally subjugated to the state.
The Italian Fascists respected the
independence of the judges, and made no
attempt to interfere with court procedures