Totalitarianism = suppressed on one hand, demonstrated mad chaos on the other. Lenin created the apparatus of a totalitarian state that Stalin inherited - the nation was already on it's way to totalitarianism under Lenin. This is what I have so far. Please feel free to add or ask questions.James Bridgman. The Origins of Totalitarianism begins with the rise of anti-Semitism in central and western Europe in the 1800s and continues with an examination of European colonial imperialism from 1884 to the outbreak of World War I. Arendt explores the institutions and operations of totalitarian movements, focusing on the two genuine forms of totalitarian government in our time—Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia—which she adroitly recognizes were two sides of the same coin, rather than opposing. It was here that she wrote her fascinating book, The Origins of Totalitarianism, in which she attempted to understand and come to terms with the horrors of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. Arendt’s thought-provoking work on totalitarianism stimulated a wide ranging debate on the factors that led to the Nazi and Stalinist regimes, and earned. Totalitarianism: STALIN’S RUSSIA ross Johnson Stalin Becomes Dictator, From 1922 to 1927, Stalin began his ruthless climb to the head of the government. In 1922, as general secretary of the Communist Party, he worked behind the scenes. He shrewdly moved his followers into strategic government offices.
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Rise of the Totalitarian States
With the onset of the age of anxiety, political dictatorships grew as people searched for stability and solution to the economic difficulties of the Great Depression. The end result was a combination of the resurgence of authoritarian rule coupled with a new type of ruthless and dynamic tyranny which reached its zenith in Nazi Germany and the Stalinist Soviet Union. It was Hitler’s aggression toward Poland that triggered World War II. The horrors of this time period are a disturbing chapter in history, which many would like to believe were an aberration and will not happen again. One would do well to learn the lessons of history, lest they be repeated in our own day.
The typical form of anti-democratic government in Europe was conservative authoritarianism. Leaders of these governments, like Metternich and Catherine the Great who preceded them, attempted to prevent major changes which might undermine the existing social order. They did so by relying on an obedient bureaucracy, secret police, and armies who were loyal to them. Popular participation in government was either forbidden or severely limited to natural allies. Liberals, democrats, and socialists were persecuted, jailed, or exiled, if not executed.
Such authoritarian governments did not have modern technology or means of communication, and as a result did not have the capacity to control many aspects of the lives of their citizens; however they apparently had no desire to do so, as they were preoccupied with their own survival. Their demands upon their own people largely consisted of taxes, army recruits and passive acceptance of government policy. As long as people did not attempt to change the system, they enjoyed a great degree of personal independence.
After the First World War, the parliamentary governments of Eastern Europe founded on the wreckage of the war foundered and collapsed one at a time. By early 1938, only Czechoslovakia remained loyal to democratic liberal ideals. Germany, Italy, the Soviet Union, as well as Portugal, and Spain all fell to conservative dictators. There were several reasons for this:
The affected countries did not have a strong tradition of self government, in which compromise and restraint are necessities.
Many, such as Yugoslavia, were subject to ethnic conflict which threatened their existence. Dictatorships appealed to nationalists and military leaders as a way to repress resistance and restore order.
Large landowners and the church often looked to dictators to save them from progressive land reform or communist upheaval. The small Middle Class of Eastern Europe also hoped for salvation from communism.
The Great Depression itself was the coup de grace which forced many Eastern countries in the direction of totalitarianism.
Totalitarian regimes, with the possible exception of Nazi Germany, which was concerned with territorial expansion, largely sought to preserve the status quo, rather than forcing rapid change on society. War was certainly not on their card. Examples include:
- Hungary, where a totalitarian regime controlled parliamentary elections carefully. Peasants were not allowed to vote, and there was no land reform or major social change.
- Poland, where democracy was overturned in 1928 by General Joseph Pilsudski who established a military dictatorship. He was supported by the army, major industrialists, and nationalists. Opposition to the government was silenced.
- Portugal. In 1932, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar became dictator. A devout Catholic, he gave the church the strongest possible position in the country while controlling the press and outlawing most political activity. Traditional society was maintained.
Although conservative authoritarianism predominated the smaller states of central and Eastern Europe, radical dictatorships appeared in Germany, the Soviet Union, and Italy (to a somewhat lesser extent.) They exercised unprecedented control over the masses and violently rejected any form of parliamentary rule. Three approaches are helpful in understanding these radical dictatorships:
- The rise of modern totalitarianism. The concept arose in the 1920s and 1930s. It was a new kind of state which many scholars have trouble defining even today. Early writers believed that it originated with the total war efforts of World War I, and that the war called forth a tendency to subordinate all institutions and all classes to the state in order to achieve the supreme objective: Victory. This type of totalitarian control is exemplified by Lenin, who demonstrated that a dedicated minority can take over control from a less dedicated majority. He also demonstrated how human rights and institutions could be subordinated to the needs of a single group—the Communist party.
- Later historians have argued that the totalitarian state used modern means to exercise complete political power. The state took over and tried to control the economic, social, intellectual and cultural aspects of people’s lives. Deviation in art, music, even family behavior became a crime. Nothing was politically neutral, and nothing was outside the scope (or control) of the state. This was a complete break with the principles of the American and French Revolutions, which had sought to limit the power of the state and protect the rights of the individual. Totalitarians were disgusted by liberal ideals such as peaceful progress and individual freedom. They believed in willpower and preached conflict. Violence was an effective tool which they used with abandon. The individual was infinitely less valuable than the state, and there were no lasting rights, only individual rewards for loyal service to the state.
- Another approach (if one eliminates the Soviet Union) is the concept of fascism,a term which Hitler and Mussolini used with pride. Fascist government shared several characteristics, including extreme nationalism, often to the point of expansionism, antisocialism aimed at destroying working class movements, and alliances with powerful capitalists and landowners, mass parties, etc. which appealed to the middle class and peasantry. All had a dynamic and violent leader who glorified war and the military.
- A third approach often used by modern historians emphasizes the uniqueness of developments in each country which succumbed to totalitarianism. They stress that change over time indicate unique situations in each country which gave rise to a unique form of totalitarianism. The factors which gave rise to Hitler in Germany are not the same as those which allowed Stalin to control the Italian government, although Hitler and Stalin shared many characteristics and quickly allied with each other.
Antidemocratic totalitarian movements succeeded only in Italy and Germany and to a lesser extent in Spain. There may have been common elements, but there is no common explanation. The problem of Europe’s radical dictatorships is complex and there are no easy answers to explain it.
Totalitarianism: STALIN’S RUSSIAross Johnson
Stalin Becomes Dictator, From 1922 to 1927, Stalin began his ruthless climb to the head of the government. In 1922, as general secretary of the Communist Party, he worked behind the scenes . He shrewdly moved his followers into strategic government offices. By 1924, he had placed many of his supporters in key positions. By 1928, Stalin was in total command of the Communist Party. Trotsky, forced into exile in 1929, was no longer a threat. Stalin now stood poised to wield absolute power as dictator.
Stalin Builds A Totalitarian State, The term totalitarianism describes a government that takes total, centralized state control over every aspect of public and private life. Stalin appears to provide a sense of security and to give a direction for the future. Totalitarianism challenges the highest values of western democracies. By 1928 Stalin began taking great strides to build a totalitarianism state. He had achieved personal power and was ready to begin overhauling the economy.
Stalin Seizes Control of the Economy, Stalin's economic policies involved total state control. His plans called for a command economy--a system in which the government made all economic decisions. Political leaders identify the country's economic needs and determine how to fulfill them. To modernize the Soviet state, Stalin ushered in revolutions in industry and agriculture.
An Industrial Revolution, In 1928, Stalin outlined the first of several Five Year Plans for the development of the Soviet Union's economy. The government would take drastic steps to promote rapid industrial growth and strengthen national defense. The plans set impossibly high quotas to increase the output of raw materials. As a result people faced severe shortages of housing, food, clothing, and other necessary goods. The government controlled every aspect of the worker's life. Stalin's methods produced fantastic economic results. Most of the targets of the plans fell short, but made impressive gains. A second plan, launched in 1933 proved equally successful.
Agricultural Revolution, Stalin's agricultural revolution was successful and far more brutal than his industrial revolution. In 1928, the government seized over 25 million privately owned farms in the USSR. They combined the farms into large government owned farms. Hundreds of families worked on these farms, producing food for the state. Peasants resisted fiercely. Many killed livestock and destroyed crops in protest. Stalin used terror and violence to force peasants to work on collective farms. Between 5 and 10 million peasants died as a direct result of Stalin's agricultural revolution. Resistance was especially strong among kulaks, a class of wealthy peasants. The soviet government decided to eliminate them. Thousands were executed or sent to work camps. By 1938, more than 90 percent of all peasants lived on collective farms. That year the country produced almost twice the wheat than it had in 1928.
Police Terror, dictators of totalitarian states use terror and violence to force obedience and crush opposition. Stalin's secret police use tanks and armored cars to stop riots. Secret police arrested and executed millions of traitors. In 1934, Stalin turned against members of the communist party by launching the Great Purge. It was directed at eliminating anyone who threatened his power. The state had the authority to punish even the most minor acts. When the Great Purge ended in 1929, Stalin had gained total control of the Soviet government and the Communist Party.
Indoctrination and Propaganda, Totalitarian states rely on indoctrination--instruction in the government's beliefs--to mold people's minds. Totalitarian states also spread propaganda --biased or incomplete information used to sway people to accept certain beliefs or actions. Soviet newspapers and radio broadcasts glorified the achievements of communism, Stalin, and his economic programs.In 1930, an editorial in the Communist Party newspaper Pravda explained the purpose of art: 'Literature, the cinema, the arts are levers in the hands of the proletariat which must be used to show the masses positive models of initiative and heroic labor.' Socialist realism was an artistic style that praised Soviet life and Communist values.
Censorship, Many Soviet writers, composers, and other artists also fell victim to official censorship. Stalin would not tolerate individual creativity that threatened the conformity and obedience required of citizens in a totalitarian state. The government also controlled all newspapers, motion pictures, radio, and other sources of information.
Religious Persecution, Communists aimed to replace religious teachings with the ideals of communism. Under Stalin, the government and the League of the Militant Godless, an officially sponsored group of atheists, spread propaganda attacking religion. Yet many people in the Soviet Union still clung to their faiths. The police destroyed magnificent churches and synagogues; and many religious leaders were killed or sent to labor camps.
Comparing Revolutions, In its immediate and long-term effects, the Russian Revolution was more like the French Revolution than the American Revolution. The American Revolution expanded English political ideas into a constitutional government that built on many existing structures. In contrast, both the French and Russian revolutions attempted to destroy existing social and political structures. France eventually became a constitutional monarchy, but the Russian Revolution established a totalitarian state that lasted for decades.
Soviet Women, With the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, women won equal rights. Given new educational opportunities, women prepared for careers in engineering and science. Medicine, in particular, attracted many women. By 1950, they made up 75 percent of Soviet doctors. Soviet women paid a heavy price for their rising status in society. Besides their full-time jobs, they were responsible for housework and child care. Soviet women were expected to provide the state with future generations of loyal, obedient citizens.
Education, Under Stalin, the government controlled all education--from nursery schools through the universities. Schoolchildren learned the virtues of the Communist Party. College professors and students who questioned the Communist Party's interpretations of history or science risked losing their jobs or faced imprisonment. Stalin's economic plans created a high demand for many skilled workers. By the mid-1930's, Stalin had forcibly transformed the Soviet Union into a totalitarian regime and an industrial and political power. He stood unopposed as dictator and maintained his authority over the Communist Party. His network of laws and regulations guided every aspect of individual behavior.
Terms and Names
Joseph Stalin- Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition (1879-1953)
Totalitarianism- a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state
Command Economy- an economy in which production, investment, prices, and incomes are determined centrally by a government
Collective Farm- a jointly operated amalgamation of several small farms, especially one owned by the government
Kulak- a peasant in Russia wealthy enough to own a farm and hire labor. Emerging after the emancipation of serfs in the 19th century, the kulaks resisted Stalin's forced collectivization, but millions were arrested, exiled, or killed
Great Purge- a campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union which occurred from 1936 to 1938.
Socialist Realism- a style of realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in that country as well as in other socialist countries
Quotes
'A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.' -Stalin
'It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.' -Stalin
'Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas.' -Stalin
The Rise Of Totalitarian Regimes - Bildung-rp.de
Important Dates
1917- Women gain equal rights
Readingstalinist Russia Totalitarianism On The Rise Since
1928- Stalin gains total control of the communist party
1928- Five Year Plans
Readingstalinist Russia Totalitarianism On The Rise Movement
1934- Great Purge
1938- 90% of peasants worked on collective farms
Important People
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Rise Totalitarianism Russian Revolution Flashcards And Study ...