Fascism (was this the entire topic?

) Please rewrite the topic

Akshar

10. D

2016-2017
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................. 3
Treaty of Versailles .................................................................................................................................... 4
Economic Disaster ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Political Conditions ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Start of The Second World War ............................................................................................................... 9
Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................. 11
Introduction

The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28th, 1919, in Versailles, France (hence the name)
directly after World War I, as a compromise for peace. Technically, the war ended with the
signing of the Armistice of Compiègne, on 11th November, 1918, but it took 6 months more after
that to negotiate the terms for peace. In simpler terms, the Treaty of Versailles was a set of
conditions that the Ttriple aAlliance (mainly German Empire and Austria-Hungarian Empire) had
to follow, decided by the tTriple Eentente (mainly British Empire and French Empire). It included
15 parts and 440 articles, mainly focused on Germany, as the Germans were considered the
cause of the war. The conditions were mostly for the purpose of suppressing any chances for
another outbreak of war, as their recent one had been much worse than anyone had expected it
to be.

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in the small Austrian town of Braunau.

At the age of 18, he moved to Vienna with money inherited after his father's death in 1903, in
order to pursue a career in art, but his applications for both the Vienna Academy of Art and the
School of Architecture were rejected.

It was supposedly at this time that Hitler first became interested in politics and how the masses
could be made to respond to certain themes.

Hitler voluntarily served in the army in the First World War, and won several awards for bravery
and surviving several life threatening situations. When Germany finally surrendered, he was
injured due to a gas attack, and went into depression.

In 1919, Hitler attended his first meeting of the German Workers' party, an anti-Semitic,
nationalist group as a spy for the German Army. However, he found he agreed with Anton
Drexler's German nationalism and anti-Semitism. He disagreed with how they were organized
though, leading him to make a passionate speech. Hitler quickly cemented his reputation as an
engaging orator through his passion about the injustices faced by Germany as a result of
the Treaty of Versailles.

It soon became clear that people were joining the party just to see Hitler make his speeches,
which would leave the audience in a state of near hysteria and willing to do whatever he
suggested. He quickly rose through the ranks, and by 1921, was the leader of the re-
named National Socialist German Workers' Party (The Nazi).

In the future, the promise of a better life for the pillaged Germany would lead to Hitler and the
Germans starting World War Two.
Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born on 29 July 1883 in Predappio in northern central
Italy. The prospects for employment in the area were poor, so in 1902 Mussolini moved to
Switzerland, where he became involved in socialist politics. He returned to Italy in 1904, and
worked as a journalist in the socialist press, but his support for Italy's entry into World War One
led to breaking away from it. He was drafted into the Italian army in September 1915.

In March 1919, Mussolini formed a Fascist Party, galvanizing the support of many unemployed
war veterans. He organized them into armed squads known as The Black Shirts, who terrorized
their political opponents. In 1921, the Fascist Party was invited to join the coalition government.

By October 1922, Italy was falling into political chaos among all the conflicting parties and
coalitions. The Black Shirts marched on Rome and Mussolini presented himself as the only man
capable of restoring order. King Victor Emmanuel invited Mussolini to form a government.
Mussolini gradually dismantled the institutions of democratic government and in 1925, he made
himself dictator, taking the title 'Il Duce'. He set about attempting to re-establish Italy as a great
European power.

In July 1943, Allied troops landed in Sicily. Mussolini was overthrown and imprisoned by his
former colleagues in the Fascist government. In September, Italy signed an armistice with the
Allies. The German army began the occupation of Italy and German commandos rescued
Mussolini. He was placed as the leader of a new government, but had little power, being under
the German overlords. Later, the Allies started advancing northwards through Italy, and
Mussolini fled towards Switzerland. He was then captured by Italian partisans and shot on 28th
April 1945.

Fascism

Fascism is a system of Government or a concept of philosophy that places the powers of a

Treaty of Versailles

Negotiations for the treaty between the Allied nations started on 18 January at the French
Foreign Ministry in Paris. Initially, 70 delegates from 27 nations participated in the negotiations.
The defeated nations of the Triple Alliance were excluded from the negotiations. Russia was
also excluded because it had negotiated a separate peace treaty (the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk)
with Germany in 1918. At first, there was a "Council of Ten" comprising two delegates each
from the major nations: Britain, France, the United States, Italy and Japan, that met officially to
decide the peace terms. The minor nations attended a weekly ‘Plenary Conference’ that
discussed issues in a general forum, but didn’t make any decisions. Later, when Japan dropped
out the head of state from each of the other four nations met in 145 closed sessions to make all
the major decisions to be ratified by the entire assembly. Apart from Italian issues, the main
conditions were determined at personal meetings among the leaders of the ‘Big Three’ (Britain,
France, U.S) nations.

Each of the nations had specific interests regarding the treaty. France being the only nation
that shared a boundary with Germany wanted to weaken it as much as possible, and restore as
much damage as possible. Britain didn’t receive as much damage, and was generally focused
on reparations and its economy. They were concerned about Germany’s condition, as they
considered a potential trading partner. The U.S focused more on improving the European
economy, and liberalization, and other such concepts. They were also not that supportive of the
suppressive conditions on Germany, but in the end, France won out, as Germany was still an
undeniable threat, and it couldn’t be left alone.

The conditions of the treaty were:

- The German Army was limited to only 100,000 men of all ranks.
- No large artillery pieces, tanks or aircraft were allowed for the German military.
- Limits on German Army Reserves. Men who joined the German Army had to stay in for
twelve years and officers had to stay in for twenty-five years. This meant that only a
limited number of men in Germany would have military training.
- No General Staff was allowed. The purpose of a General Staff was to plan for war, so
naturally, it was forbidden
- The German Navy was limited to six cruisers, two old battleships and few smaller ships
for port duties.
- Submarines were forbidden, as they posed a large threat during the war and caused
serious problems.
- Troops were to be constantly stations at the Rhineland for 15 years in an area called the
‘demilitarized zone’, and Germany was to pay for their maintenance troops stationed in
this area. This was done so that any invasion to France could be easily detected and
stopped.
- Many territories including those of Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Alsace-Lorraine,
and others were to be renounced.
- Parts of Germany that were occupied by Polish people were given to the new country of
Poland. This was part of the movement to create countries made up of ethnic groups,
and not run by foreign powers.
- All German overseas colonies were divided up and given to France, England, and in the
Pacific to Japan.
- Germany had to pay large sums of money for reparations over a period of 42 years.
- Germany had to submit the Saar coal mines to France for 15 years to compensate for
the destruction of the French coal mines

The treaty overall was quite harsh on the Germans, and it was inevitably going to arouse hatred
and anger among them. These conditions imposed the German people with very difficult
lifestyles, and they could barely sustain themselves. They had to give away their land, their
power, their resources, and their money, and hand them all over to their enemies. The French
especially, who lost the most at Germanys expense wanted to punish and weaken Germany as
much as possible. They demanded huge reparation sums, even when they couldn’t be afforded,
and they intruded into Germany several times to take it. It was claimed that all of it was done to
prevent any further instigation to war, and to keep the countries safe, but Germany was left
completely defenseless in these attempts, and they weren’t even allowed to join the league of
nations until years later. The Treaty of Versailles was definitely a large factor involved with the
start of World War II. There may have been other factors involved with it as well, that could be
arguably more important and pushed Germany down the path to war, but The Treaty of
Versailles was what set Germany on to that path in the first place. All of this was inevitably,
eventually leading to an uprising in an attempt for Germany to regain what they had lost, which
became The Second World War.

Economic Disaster
The aftermath after the war left all the countries involved scrambling to pick up the pieces of
their economy. The defeated countries especially, and Germany was the worst of them, having
to face the consequences brought upon by the Treaty of Versailles, and regular payments to
other countries.

Germany

The effect of the war and the treaty of Versailles caused the German economy to go into
depression. There was a large amount of inflation in the currency as well over the course of the
few years between 1914 and 1923, the prices shot up by unprecedented amounts. It first started
slowly, with the beginning of the war. Germany decided not to use any taxes, and rely
completely on loans to fund the war. They received financial backing from the banks, and the
inflation started then, with 1 or 2 % rise here and there. As the war progressed, and the situation
worsened, more money was loaned, only increasing its rates. With the end of the war, Germany
was already in a bad condition. They had a huge war debt that they couldn’t pay off, and they
were still printing more money. The prices in the markets were nearly 140% more, and the
money in circulation was 4 times that of when the war began.

The Treaty of Versailles was signed then, and the huge losses that Germany had to take
made the prices for everyday necessities jump millions and billions in price. Germany could no
longer pay reparation funds either, and had to instead use goods like coal to pay. The French,
refusing to accept that fact, invaded the Ruhr, a very valuable industrial area, and tried to take
hold of its profits. When this happened, a strike was ordered, so that they couldn’t obtain
anything from them. They then started to take their food, and imprisoned many Germans by
force, violating the policies of the League of Nations, in which the French were considered a
major country. This left the Germans with no profits as well, and increased inflation several
times again. By the end of 1923, the bank had issued almost 500 quintillion marks, and their
value was around 1 trillionth of what it was in 1914. The paper marks (marks made of paper,
because gold became too expensive) were almost worthless, and the gold marks (marks made
of gold, used before the war) were completely abandoned. With the devastating effects of the
war, combined with the treaty of Versailles, and the chaos in Germany’s government system
that followed, between all the different parties and coalitions, the economy was in tatters. Many
renowned economists then came to try and solve the problem of hyperinflation in Germany.
Hans Luther, an agricultural minister suggested to substitute gold with rye, and use a new
currency, the Rentenmark. When the currency was officially replaced, 12 zeroes were cut from
the prices, and the new prices remained relatively stable.

Italy

Italy was left in a similar, but slightly milder condition to Germany. They weren’t satisfied with
the decisions taken concerning the peace treaties, and didn’t receive much from them. There
wasn’t much industrialization, and it caused a lot of unemployment, and left the country very
weak and undeveloped. Most of the soldiers that came back from the war were also left with
nothing. They were unemployed because of injuries or inability for it. The wages were very low
as well, and the working class took to several strikes. With all the disarray within the nation,
there were many new parties and coalitions being formed in an attempt to renew, reform and
reorganize the government. They first resorted to democracy, but the votes were only barely
showing a majority, and there were frequent changes as well. With all the frustration caused by
the anarchy and disorder, people were searching for anything new that could change things,
which was easily taken advantage of by Mussolini and his fascist party.

Conclusion

The economic chaos in the countries of Germany and Italy were main factors in the causes for
The Second World War, but not the most important one. They sped them up on the way to the
war, but were it not for other, more important factors, it would have been nothing but a fall in the
economy. Without it, there would still most likely have been a war, but it may not have been as
hellish as it was. It did however play a major role in the course that the war would take, leading
the countries to the new government system of Fascism.

Political Conditions

Fascism arose mainly due to inefficient democracies used by both Germany and Italy. While the
idea of a democracy is a good one, it is meaningless without goals, and organized leadership.
The ascension of both Hitler and Mussolini were made possible because of this.

Germany

The Weimar Republic was created in such a manner that no single party could get a majority
vote, similar to the coalition government of Italy at that time. Many small parties with special
interests were given representation, which prevented the formation of a two-party system. The
coalitions were usually in disagreement, and the Government could not handle riots efficiently
due to the spread of power. Democracy was seen as weak and inefficient, and Hitler’s Nazi
Propaganda was received well by the masses. With all the disorder in the government, people
came to believe that a dictator would be able to make decisions quickly and efficiently, and bring
the nation out of its decline, especially if that man was Hitler. The Nazi party tried to seize
control forcefully, but Hitler realized that appealing to the people would help his cause more. He
took advantage of the confusion and promised a disciplined Government.

German industry was destroyed by the war, and war reparation funding made recovering from it
very hard. Widespread unemployment and low wages were the cause of discontent amongst
almost every citizen, and the worldwide economic depression worsened the condition.

The Nazi party rose to power during these years, and was backed by the capitalists, who were
afraid of a communist type of Government.

Italy

The problems seen in the German republic were very similar to the ones experienced in Italy.
The coalition Government could not help the army veterans, and the lack of industries lead to
even more unemployment. Also, the confusion from the Treaty of Versailles let Mussolini appeal
to most Italians, promising greatness, and better lives. Capitalists backed him as they saw him
as a leader of law and order, and because he announced that he was against communism. King
Emmanuel backed him as he said that he would not abolish monarchy. The king installed him
as the leader, and soon he had the whole nation at his beckoning.

Opposition

In both cases of Mussolini and Hitler, the opposition was weak, and could not deal with the
support that Hitler and Mussolini had gathered. In the case of Hitler, there were many groups
that worked to dethrone or murder him, but it was to no avail, as any resistance was completely
disorganized, and there was no coordination among the separate groups. The communist
parties were against Mussolini, but being backed by the capitalists and the king, they weren’t
very difficult for him to deal with.

Conclusion

The main cause for the success of Fascism and Nazism was the confusion in both countries,
paired with the conflicting coalition governments. This lead to inefficiency that very nearly pulled
apart the economies, so the promises from the two men, Hitler and Mussolini, came across as
salvation for the people, and the combination between socialism and nationalism was very new
and unlike that of a democracy, which people were very frustrated with.
Start of The Second World War

When Hitler came to power as the new Führer of Germany, he immediately put in place several
new policies to improve the country. He started working the promises that he vowed to fulfill for
the people, and finally set the country towards greatness, and away from the dark times that it
fell into for the years before. His new achievements and policies were:

- To destroy the Treaty of Versailles imposed on Germany. This was one of the biggest
sources of discontent for the Germans so it was natural that he would do so.

- To unite all Germans together in one country. After World War I the Germans were split
up, living in many different countries around Europe, e.g. Austria, Czechoslovakia,
Poland. Hitler hoped that by uniting them all together in one country he would create a
powerful Germany or ‘Grossdeutschland’.

- To expand eastwards into Poland and Russia to gain more land and territories.
In 1934, he proposed a 10-year truce with Poland, which was agreed upon, and was
quite surprising to the other European nations.

- In 1935, the Rhineland was voted back to Germany, as over 90% of the workers voted to
go back. This was a boost for Hitler’s propaganda, as it showed that people were happy
with his rule, and it would increase the number of people that agree with his view.

- Hitler formed an alliance with Mussolini when they both sent aid to General Franco who
was trying to overthrow the Spanish Government. This also led to Franco being indebted
to Hitler and Mussolini.

- Hitler succeeded in adding Austria to his empire, by replacing the Prime Minister
Schuschnigg with a high rank Nazi officer.

Hitler made many tactical advances, and it can be easily seen how he amassed so much power
throughout Europe in his endeavors and within such a short time too. The people had no
problems with his rule either. They were promised greatness, and they could see that they were
well on the way to achieving it. At this point of time, he was gaining the trust of everyone around
him, and he gave no hint to starting the oppressive rule that would soon come.

Other Factors of World War II

Besides the main ones that have been spoken of earlier, there were several minor factors that
led to the start of the Second World War. These factors weren’t pivotal for the war, but it can be
agreed that they played some role in its happening, however controversial they may be. They
are:
 - The failure of the League of Nations to promote peace. The League of Nations had
many shortcomings throughout. They were able to prevent conflict to some extent, but
they were essentially powerless against a mobilized enemy. Add some more detailed
explanation to this cause
- The other nations of the League of Nations neglected to take actions, and allowed
Germany to break off from the Treaty, and create a powerful army.
- The non-aggression pact between Germany and Russia. The Nazis attacked Poland,
and Russia didn’t intervene, even though it was allied with many anti-Hitler nations.
- A strong sense of nationalism in most nations is another major cause of the war. With
new forms of Government such as Nazism and Fascism, and thirst for more land and
superiority among the other nations led to nations such as Germany and Italy declaring
war.
- Japan was growing as well at the time, and invaded China few times to increase its
growth.
- The Great Depression caused the Axis powers (Germany, Japan, Italy) to take more
aggressive actions, as their economies were already struggling due to war damages,
and in the case of Germany, reparation funds.
- Appeasement policy?

Final Conclusion

It is clear that there have and most likely always will be problems in the systems that compose a
nation. There will never be a perfect system, a perfect leader, or a perfect outcome. There is no
point in debunking a system because it has problems. The only thing that can be done is to
bring it as close to perfection as possible. Then again, there is no absolute perfection. Who’s to
say what’s right really is right? Usually, these things are decided by our consciences, and most
humans believe in similar concepts, which is why they are accepted to be right. Sometimes of
course, there are people who think differently. People like Mussolini and Hitler, who do things
that would be so far from what our consciences accept that they seem evil to us, but in the end
no one can say that for sure. A war cannot be won only because you feel your opponent is
wrong, which is coincidentally where the League of Nations’ failure lay.

Though all this may be true, when you think of the purpose of nation, things are seen from a
different perspective. A nation exists for its people. If the people all believe in the same thing,
then that is right, and what they don’t believe in is wrong. This is obviously an extremely simple
way of viewing it, but it ultimately comes down to this. To that end, a government for the people
is the best solution that is known to us at this point. Though it may have several holes, and allow
for the ‘wrong people to acquire power’, these are the problems that define it, which need to e
solved. To make it as close as can be to the perfection that the people believe in.

A well thought out conclusion—but it needs a somewhat more historical argument—with a focus
on some of the historical factors and events that led to WW2.

Ms. Datta
7/6/16

Bibliography
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic
- Indian Certificate History and Civics by Kaeley and Bhandari (Please use the
correct bibliography format)
- http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/treaty-of-versailles
- http://www.history.co.uk/biographies/adolf-hitler
- http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/Germany/mussolini.htm
- http://www.historyonthenet.com/ww2/causes.htm
- http://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/post-war_economies_italy
- http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/Germany/mussolini.htm
-

Did you not use the Ben Walsh as reference?