Abstract
In the first half of the XX century many countries were led by the authoritarian leaders with the extreme ideologies. The ideologies such as Nazism, fascism and communism contributed to the creation of the very powerful states with strong economies, but no respect of the minorities, some classes of people or countries. As the result, all of the countries with the extreme ideologies participated in the World War II and only the USSR was able to become a victor. The main purpose of this paper is to show why extreme ideologies became popular in some countries. By means of the literature I came to the conclusion that there were several reasons of their popularity. The international political order was unfair. The societies were fragmented and the labor class was exposed to the populist ideas the most. Due to the great societal transformations caused by the rapid industrialization many absolutely new political movements emerged, and the extreme radical movements turned to be the most persuasive in some countries.
Kew words: Nazism, fascism, communism, extreme ideologies, Italy, Germany, the USSR, authoritarian regime
In the first half of the XX century extreme ideologies were very popular in many countries. As the result, there were two devastating World Wars and great societal transformations in almost all regions of the world. Some of the most extreme and powerful political ideologies were Nazism, fascism and communism. These ideologies were supported by millions of people in Germany, Italy and the USSR respectively and there were also many supporters outside these countries. There were several reasons why extreme ideologies became so popular in the first half of the XX century. Firstly, the international order did not let some countries like Germany and Italy strive for dominance. Secondly, in order to unite the people inside the country the most effective strategy was a populist ideology supported by the clever use of propaganda. Thirdly, there was transition in the economic, political and societal development caused by industrialization and therefore the new ideologies and political movements appeared in all countries.
In terms of the international order, there were many tensions between the countries around the world. Because Europe was always the part of the world in which the most powerful countries were located, it was important to assure that such countries as France, the United Kingdom, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, Germany and Russia could co-exist peacefully. In the XX century the competition between the countries became greater than before and was heated by the widely spread nationalist ideologies. The Treaty of Versailles that was signed by the European countries after the World War I put too much political and economic pressure on some countries such as Germany and Italy. Therefore these countries wanted to the change the situation at the international level and reach the level of dominance that they used to have in the past. In terms of the USSR, this young country that was created on the territory of the former Russian Empire also tried to establish itself on the international arena. In order to be competitive, the governments had to unite the people inside the country at first. So the new untested ideologies were applied and brought consensus in the societies that were divided and fragmented. For example, Benito Mussolini from Italy was the founder of fascism. He criticized the popular ideologies of socialism and democracy for their weaknesses. For example, he criticized democracy for “collective irresponsibility” and “the myth of “happiness” and indefinite progress” (Mussolini, n.d.). In addition, he thought that the XIX century was a century of individualism and therefore there were such doctrines as socialism, liberalism and democracy, but the XX century was the time for collectivism and “a century of the State” based on collectivism (Mussolini, n.d.).
In order to promote communism, fascism, or Nazism the countries used very primitive propaganda that could influence the largest number of people. For example, in Germany Hitler’s supporters organized marches and used many different symbols to popularize Nazism. For example, the Blood Flag stained with blood of the fighters that had fallen protecting the Nazi movement was often used in the rallies. Undoubtedly, such symbolism grabbed the people’s attention. Moreover, there were very simple ideas that the people would support. Some of the NSDAP’ program’s items included the following: unification of all Germans in Greater Germany, citizenship only for the members of the race, prevention of immigration, breaking rent-slavery, division of profits of all heavy industries, formation of the strong central power to make sure that all the goals are achieved. Such intentions were supported by the majority of the people that suffered from the negative consequences of the World War I. The same developments took place in the USSR and Italy, in which the governments were trying to persuade the people by means of the propaganda that their political course was only the one that was right. For example, in the USSR there were many colorful posters with the messages such as “Death to World Imperialism”, “Emancipated woman – build up socialism!”, “A spectre is haunting Europe - the spectre of Communism”, etc. (Zaharov, n.d.).
Finally, extreme ideologies were not difficult to introduce in the first half of the XX century, because the societies were rapidly changing under the influence of industrialization. Even when there were the classes that were against the new ideologies, they were forced to live by the new rules. For example, in the USSR most of the resources were spent on the urban growth and therefore those people who lived in the rural areas suffered the most, because they were too individualistic and possessed the resources that were insufficient in the cities. The peasants had to give away all their grown produce for free and eventually there was the Great Famine in the 1930s that caused millions of deaths. Those people that were involved in the confiscation process believed that they were mistreating the people for the sake of the stronger country. Lev Kopelev, a dissident from Ukraine, described some of the horrible scenes in his book The Education of a True Believer. He wrote that the people responsible for confiscation were “raised as the fanatical believers of a new creed, the only true religion of scientific socialism” (Kopelev, 1980). The religion and the traditional norms of ethics became unpopular, and the people relied on the Communist party’s and Stalin’s ideas. As the result, some classes were mistreated, but some people received a chance for a better life. For example, the issue of emancipation of women was common for all countries with extreme ideologies. Women contributed to the faster economic development and were included in the society as active citizens. As the result, the new societies looked progressive and the people accepted the creation of the proactive authoritarian regimes.
In conclusion, extreme political ideologies had a very large impact on the development of some countries. Moreover, they led to some most dramatic and tragic events in the world history, breakthrough scientific discoveries, and significant changes in all spheres of life. Emergence of extreme ideologies was inevitable in the countries that suffered the most after the World War I. Italy, Germany and the USSR had to find the new ways for overcoming the economic and political crisis. The new ideologies helped to unite the people and set the new ambitious goals. At the same time, these ideologies were in many ways absolutely atrocious and sometimes were directed against the citizens who had the other political views. Strong central governments used propaganda and authoritative measures in order to reshape the society giving more freedom to the working class people and women and taking away the rights from the non-citizens, people of other races, peasants or liberal people. Led by the charismatic leaders, the majority of the people supported the extreme ideologies and believed that they would help to create the society in which everybody would prosper. Therefore, some human values were forgotten by the people and instead the people started to believe in the new principles promoted by such people as Hitler, Mussolini or Stalin.
References
Kopelev, L. (1980). The Education of a True Believer. Retrieved from
http://personal.ashland.edu/~jmoser1/kopelev.htm
Ley, Robert. (2003). Modern History Sourcebook: The 25 Points 1920: An Early Nazi
Program. Central Publishing House of the N.S.D.A.P. Retrieved from
http://fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/25points.asp
Modern History Sourcebook: Benito Mussolini: What is Fascism, 1932. Retrieved from
http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.asp
Zaharov, A. Soviet Posters. Retrieved from
http://sovietposter.blogspot.com/search/label/Twenties
Pictures of the 1937 Nuremberg Party Rally. German Propaganda Archive. n.d.
http://bytwerk.com/gpa/rpt37.htm
