The Rise of Totalitarianism, 1929-1939

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The Rise of Totalitarianism, 1929-1939
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• 1929
• The start of the Great Depression
• The start of collectivization in the USSR
• In both cases crisis and heavy statist response
  to the failures of the market economy
• The rise of Stalin General Secretary since 1923,
  concentration of power in the 1920s, the growth
  of personality cult in the 1930s
• The rise of Hitler leadership of the Nazis since
  1923, increasing political influence in the
  1920s, appointment as Reichskanzler in 1933
• 2 forms of totalitarianism
• Similarities
• Exchange of experience

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• Differences
• Germany
• to prevent a revolution
• to overcome the Depression
• to reverse the results of WWI
• racism as the core of Nazi ideology
• USSR
• to preserve Communist Party rule
• to defend the country from hostile environment
• to foster world revolution
• class struggle as the core of Soviet ideology

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• Has Stalin succeeded?
• Totalitarianism modernized the country by means
  of extraordinary expansion of state power but
  the costs were enormous
• The human toll
• 1927-38 10 mln. excess deaths famine,
  executions, labour camps
• Incarceration a camp population of 2 mln.
  throughout the 1930s
• The destruction of civil society
• Terrorization of the ruling class especially
  the military purge of 1938-39
• The policy failures of personal dictatorship
• The ideological impact of Stalinism undermined
  resistance to the rise of fascism democracy was
  crushed from both sides
• The USSR came close to defeat in World War II
• ______________________________
• Chris Ward. Stalins Russia. L. Arnold, 1999,
  p.135-136

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• Fascism and Communism as sworn enemies
• Both sides tried to win allies
• Hitler I am crushing communism and protecting
  Western civilization (ideological)
• Stalin I am trying to stop Hitlers aggression
  (geopolitical)
• Both succeeded to some extent
• Hitler managed to overthrow the Versailles
  constraints and expand Germanys borders
• Stalin gained US recognition and a degree of
  respectability in the West with his policy of
  collective security

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• Stalins choice
• Continued policies of collective security
  (alliance with democracies to stop Hitler), OR
• An alliance with Hitler to stay out of the coming
  war
• Why was the Hitler option chosen?
• Why did the enemies interests converge?

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Stalin and Ribbentrop sign on the division of
Eastern Europe, Aug.1939