Fascism and Nazism: Origins and Rise in Italy

Fascism and Nazism: Origins

• Fascism is a political ideology prioritizing a nation or race above individual rights, led by a dictator with absolute power.
• Fascism arose from post-WWI conditions, marked by terror tactics and extreme control.
• Fascism embraces extreme nationalism, racism, and dictatorship while rejecting democracy. Key examples are Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

Rise of Fascism in Italy

• Benito Mussolini, advocating ultranationalism and anti-socialism, gained followers known as "black shirts."
• In 1922, Fascists demanded Mussolini's presidency, leading to a totalitarian regime where the government controlled all aspects of life.
• Italy became a one-party state, outlawing trade unions and abolishing free speech.
• Mussolini valued war and empire expansion, dismissing peace as cowardice and rejecting equality in favor of a hierarchical society.

The Rising Tide of Aggression

• WWI's aftermath caused economic devastation and unstable democracies in Europe.
• Germany faced major inflation.
• Major peace treaties occurred in 1925 and 1928, with Germany joining the League of Nations.

Hitler's Ideology

• Hitler had a racial hierarchy, glorifying Aryans (Germans with blonde hair and blue eyes) at the expense of Slavs, Blacks, Roma (gypsies), and especially Jews.
• Nazism in Germany fixated on racial purity, particularly demonizing Jews
• Northern Europeans were considered superior, while Slavs were fit only for slave labor.
• Black people were inferior - mixed-race children underwent forced sterilization.
• Hitler sought "lebensraum" (living space) by eliminating Jews.

WWII and the Holocaust: Escalation

• In 1935, Hitler renounced the Treaty of Versailles, which had imposed strict measures on Germany.
• The Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of their citizenship.
• In 1936, German troops occupied Rhineland in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. The Rome-Berlin axis, an alliance between Germany and Italy, was formed.
• 1937 saw the publishing of Guernica, an anti-war painting by Picasso.
• In 1938, Germany annexed Austria and Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia) via the Munich Agreement. Kristellnacht happened in November.
• In August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union agreed to a non-aggression pact.
• On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, starting WWII.

Beginning of WWII

• September 1, 1939: Germany invaded Poland.
• September 3: Britain and France declared war on Germany.
• September 17: The Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east.
• Germany defeated and occupied Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Yugoslavia, and Greece.
• In May-June 1940, the Rescue at Dunkirk saved over 350,000 French soldiers. Winston Churchill then delivered his "Finest Hour" speech.

Winston Churchill's "Finest Hour" Speech

• Churchill aimed to persuade the public to protect democracy and the world from Hitler.
• Protecting individual rights and equality through institutions as well as defending Christian civilization and the freedom of the entire world was critical.

Blitzkrieg and Operation Barbarossa

• Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”) was a German military tactic using the Luftwaffe (air force).
• The Luftwaffe launched surprise attacks on Britain during July-October 1940, resulting in a defensive victory for the Royal Air Force and major damage to cities.
• On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked Russia in Operation Barbarossa, breaking the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact.
• The USSR burned its own land and supplies.
• Nazis conducted a siege in Leningrad which lasted over a year, and a million Russians died.
• Nazis had a policy shift from deporting Jews from Germany to outright murder, resulting in the order to kill 1.5 million Jews in Eastern Europe. Nazi death squads rounded up Jewish communities and shot them.

The War in the Pacific

• Japan seized European colonies in Asia, committing atrocities like the Nanjing Massacre
• The Lend-Lease Act (1941) enabled the US to supply war materials to countries for defense.
• The US cut off oil to Japan, leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, resulting in 2,300 deaths and prompting the US to declare war on Japan.
• Germany then declared war on the US.
• The Battle of Midway (1942) and the Battle of Guadalcanal (1942-3) helped the US defeat Japan.

Turning Points

• In 1943, the German army was dislodged from North Africa by General Dwight Eisenhower.
• In the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet Union defeated Nazi Germany, marking the beginning of Allied victory and weakening Germany’s military.
• In 1942 and 1943, Jewish killings peaked, with deportations to death and concentration camps.
• News about these atrocities began to leak out.
• January 1945 saw the liberation of Auschwitz.
• Italy and Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945 ("V-E Day").
• Hitler and Mussolini committed suicide in April 1945.

Atomic Bombs

Throughout the summer of 1945, war in Japan continued.

• Kamikazes were Japanese pilots who crashed their planes into enemy ships.
• The Battle of Iwo Jima, captured by the US Navy and Marine Corps, provided a base to bomb Japan.
• The Manhattan Project developed the atomic bomb, leading to Japan's surrender after its deployment.
• September 2, 1945, marked V-J Day, the official Japanese surrender.

Jewish Persecution and the Holocaust

• April 1933 marked the beginning of singling out Jews.
• 1933-1938: Expropriation (economic/political ruin and theft) began along with the Nuremberg Laws and Kristallnacht.
• October 1939: Concentration (ghettoization) of Jews began.
• 1941: Annihilation began with Operation Barbarossa and the construction of death camps.
• 1942: The Wannsee Conference planned the "final solution" to the Jewish problem through organized camps.

Anti-Jewish Legislation (1933)

• Included boycotts of Jewish businesses, barring Jews from civil service, restricting Jewish children from public schools, and book burning.
• People with physical and mental disabilities were forcibly sterilized starting July 14th.
• Jews initially believed they were returning to pre-emancipation segregation rather than mass murder.

Jewish Emigration

• After Kristellnacht, emigration increased with associated costs like flight tax, loss of community, and social status.
• Although the Nazis encouraged Jewish emigration, many countries restricted entry.
• The Haavara agreement allowed Jews to move to Israel with some assets in exchange for supporting German manufactured goods.
• The Kindertransport brought 10,000 children to the United Kingdom.
• 30,000 Jews emigrated to neighboring European countries in 1933.

Main Obstacles for Emigration

• Included quotas on refugees and the economic impact of the Great Depression.
• The Arab Revolt in 1936 led Britain to limit Jewish emigration to Palestine.
• The British 1939 White Paper agreed to the establishment of a Jewish national home in Israel by 1949.
• The Evian Conference of 1938 saw most countries refusing to admit more refugees.

Nazi Invasion of Poland

• WWII began on September 1, 1939.
• On September 21, 1939, SS official Reinhard Heydrich outlined the policy for Jews living in Poland: concentration in urban areas, establishment of Judenrate (Jewish councils), and Aryanization of Jewish factories.
• Jews were forced into ghettos, with the largest established in 1940 (Warsaw and Lodz).

Life in the Ghettos

• Jews risked their lives preserving religious traditions, education, music, and theater.
• They helped each other, like smuggling food for the children.
• The ghettos aided the Nazis in concentrating, supervising, providing forced labor, depriving property, and isolating Jews.

Transition to Mass Killing

• Mass shootings began in June 1941, conducted by Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing squads).
• Construction of killing centers (poison gas) began in November 1941 due to the slow death rate in ghettos, the end of Jewish emigration, and the trauma inflicted on German soldiers by shootings not being able to remain a secret.

Wannsee Conference

• The Wannsee Conference (1942) was a secret meeting to implement the "Final Solution" for the physical destruction of all Jews.
• The plan called for 11 million deaths.
• It was convened by SS general Reinhard Heydrich.

Ordinary People and the Holocaust

• Europeans contributed to persecution for various reasons, including Nazi ideology, fear, manipulation, and indifference.
• In Eastern Europe, locals forced Jews into ghettos, worked them as forced labor, served as guards and killers in mass shootings, and attacked and robbed Jews.
• Motives included antisemitism, income opportunities, proving loyalty, and hoping for independent states under German rule.
• In other parts of Europe, leaders and officials enacted discriminatory laws
• Non-German leaders supported persecution due to antisemitism, racism, and nationalism.
• By 1943, as Germany's defeat became evident after their loss during the German and Soviet fight in Stalingrad, cooperation lessened and resistance efforts increased.

Rescue Efforts

• Denmark organized a rescue operation, hiding Jews and transporting them to Sweden.
• In Poland, an underground organization provided social welfare.
• Jewish fighters attacked German positions in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. 20,000 other Jews lived in hiding with Polish civilians.
• Rescuers came from various religious backgrounds, with churches and orphanages providing hiding places.
• Le-Chambon-sur-Lignon in France hid 3,000 to 5,000 Jewish refugees.
• Underground Catholic networks saved thousands in France, Belgium, and Italy.

Nicholas Winton

• He coordinated the rescue of children from refugee camps.
• He found families willing to take the children.
• By saving the lives of 669 children, he allowed trains to leave after the Nazis occupied Prague.

Mr. and Mrs. Kraus

• They saved 50 children by bringing them to America and finding foster families.

Exam Information

• It will be on DigiExam
• The exam is closed book
• A hard copy of the timeline of events of WWII and the Holocaust will be provided.
• The study material starts with the slideshow on the rise of fascism in Italy and Germany.

Essay Example

• Thesis: The fate of Europe was caused by, the reaction of citizens, the decisions of other countries, and the prevention of Jewish emigration instead of just Hitler.
• Reactions of citizens = reactions of anti semitic people or people supporting the nazis increased death, examples being the Eisentatzgruppen.
• Decisions by other countries = Nazi soviet non agression pact, Munich agreement
• Jewish emigration = laws preventing mass emigration caused jews to be stuck in Germany.

Regarding Country Survival Rates: actions by non-Jews which led to certain survival rates per country

• Occupied by Germany: 8,000 Jews. The Danish people deported Jews on boats to Sweden to save them, allowing the majority of Jews to survive.
• Belgium: an occupied country with 90k jews. 50% jews survived as countrymen hid and safed them; some hiding, other sent to death camps and killed.
• Bulgaria: independently allied with Germany. 50k jews, majority survived. Church hid some Jews, Bulgaria familes hid some on the countryside. Protests convinced the government to not deported Jews.
• France: occupied, with a jewish population of 300-330k. 75 percent survived, after smuggling across borders and by The French Resistance helping to escape/hide, saving thousands.
• Italy: allied, with 43k jews. 40,000 jews (80%) survived, as the civilians, clergy saved the jews from deportation.
• Norway: occupied, population of 1.8k, majority survied. Smuggled to the swiss, helped in any way. Saved 8/1000.
• Slovakia: allied. 354k population. Only 20,00 survived.
• Croatia: 40k population, allied. 9,000 survived; low survival rate due to to deaths; killings, and deportations
• Romania: 34,00 population allied. Majority survived since people resisted deportation even though they did nt like jews
• Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania Ukraine: almost half did not survive by people resisted deportation
• Poland: majority did not survive due to the polish underground and the Polish resistance helpingJews escape.