Intro ► What do you think of this painting?

Intro ► What about this one?

Intro ► And this one?

Congratulations! You just enjoyed the art of Adolf Hitler. You monster.

Fascism & Nazism Glorification of Power

Fascism ► An ideology opposed to liberalism, socialism, conservatism, and communism, because they brought economic depression, political betrayal, national weakness, and moral decline. ► Aggressively nationalistic ideology.

Roots of fascist thinking ► The work of Friedrich Nietzsche influenced fascists, particularly the view expressed here: Man does not search for happiness. Only the English liberal does that.

Fascism & totalitarianism Fascist ideology is totalitarian, which means a political system that controls every aspect of life, so that there is no private sphere or independent organizations. Fascism promotes aggressive nationalism and dominion of the totalistic state over the individual.

Fascist ideology & Mussolini ► Italian dictator Benito Mussolini coined the term in 1919, referring to the Roman symbol for “power through unity” – a bundle of reeds called “fasces,” individually weak but collectively strong.

Ideas of Mussolini Mussolini argued that citizens were empowered when they were subordinated to the state. By blindly obeying the state, they helped the state thrive, which benefited them. To Mussolini, this distinguished the fascist state from repressive authoritarian governments, which sought to crush people, & not empower them.

Fascist Principles ► Anti-individualistic ► Anti-democratic ► Anti-egalitarian ► Anti-capitalist ► Anti-pacifist ► Anti-internationalist ► Anti-conservative ► Anti-intellectual

Nazism Fascism taken to its extreme form. Racist and anti-Semitic elements that did not appear in Italian fascism.

Adolf Hitler ► Hitler considered himself superior, even though he was a drifter & failed artist during his youth. ► A corporal during WWI, he was devastated by Germany’s loss & blamed it on the Jews. ► He started his political career at age 30, joining the German Workers Party. He had exceptional speaking skills & came to be revered by others in the party. He was chosen its leader in 1921, and renamed it the National Socialist German Workers Party.

Adolf Hitler ► He mounted a coup attempt against the Weimer Republic in 1923; it failed. He broke from the right wing establishment when they didn’t back him. ► It was at this point that he became convinced that he should become dictator of Germany, even though he lacked education and social status. ► By 1933, Hitler’s party was the largest in the country and he was Reich Chancellor.

Mein Kampf (1924) Hitler wrote this while serving a 9-month prison sentence after the unsuccessful coup attempt. He had been sentenced to 5 years but authorities sympathized with his extreme ethnic nationalism. Hitler wrote this while serving a 9-month prison sentence after the unsuccessful coup attempt. He had been sentenced to 5 years but authorities sympathized with his extreme ethnic nationalism.

Mein Kampf (1924) The title means My Struggle, and it expounds on Hitler’s anti ‑ Semitism, worship of power, scorn for morality, and plan for world domination.

Nazi racial theory Three races: ► Aryans (Germanic) – culture creating ► Jews – culture destroying ► Middle – culture maintaining  At various levels of hierarchy between Aryans and Jews.

Nazi racial theory ► The belief that Germans were threatened the most from an internal enemy led to the Holocaust, the extermination of 6 million Jewish people in Europe. ► Everything was sublimated to the need to purify the German race. In fact, it even drove Nazi policies that worked against the war effort.

Nazi racial theory Hitler wrote, “The Jew has always been a people with definite racial characteristics and never a religion.” To him, the Jewish religion is not the problem. If their religious faith is not a threat, why should Non-Jews worry about Jews?

Glorification of racial superiority Nazi soldiers going to Poland. Sign reads: “We are going to Poland to strike out the Jews.”

Hitler and communism ► Nothing socialist in NAZI policies. Very elitist. ► Communism was part of the Jewish conspiracy to destroy the Aryans.  Marx was a Jew who extracted “the most essential poisons ”from the slowly decomposing world and brewed them into a concentrated solution to swiftly annihilate the independent existence of free nations... all in the service of his race.”

Nazism FascismCommunism *These theories, specifically Communism and Fascism, are completely different theories that are bitterly opposed; however they exhibit the same behaviour Totalitarianism

Hitler and capitalism ► Hitler did not like the bourgeoisie either. In fact, he scorned them for being only concerned with material comfort. He referred to middle class Germans as the “miserable army of our present-day shopkeepers.”

So why did the German’s Try This? ► Let’s run an experiment

Contestant #1 I am a womanizer, have self-interested policies and unfortunately suffer from ailing health. I married my fifth cousin; she Has the same last name as Me. But it was for politics. Contestant #2 I’m a great speaker, but crass. I have a drinking habit and a defiant tongue or attitude. I do a lot of my work while drunk. I offend most people I meet. Contestant #3 I am a decorated war hero, do not drink and want to create a stable economy. I don’t eat meat because I want to live my life well. Who would you vote for?

Contestant #3 Contestant #2 Contestant #1 Results:

Treaty of Versailles Black Tuesday stock market crashes Great Depression during 1930s Increasing influence of new political parties that emphasize state control - For example: Communism, Nazism, Fascism Total Control of State by a Dictator

How in the heck did madmen with these crazy beliefs get so powerful? How did Hitler and Mussolini become masters of Europe?

Policy of Appeasement Appeasement  willingness to surrender to an aggressors’ demands to avoid war How was it used prior to World War II?  Acceptance that Hitler could not be stopped and needed to be negotiated with (even at the expense of the smaller independent countries)  Accepted because of sympathy and guilt felt by Britain and USA of unjust Treaty of Versailles Reality  Blindness to true nature of Hitler’s agenda program for Eastern Europe  Irony= policy used to avoid war but empowered Hitler to continue his aggressive campaign. The only way to stop Hitler was to declare war.

How did World War II begin? How did appeasement contribute to World War II? STEPS TO WAR