#610 The Authoritarian Alternative: Fascism

Benito Mussolini salutes supporters at rally in Rome in 1925 (Source: Wikimedia).

Nazi Germany: The View from Hotchkiss

• Read this article from the 31 October 1933 edition of The Record (PDF) reporting on a talk by a visiting lecture on the nature of “Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime and the present situation in Germany.” With your partner(s), discuss:
  • Which items from Stewart’s talk might you be likely to find in a history book today?
  • With which of Stewart’s points might historians disagree? Why?
  • What might you infer about commonly-held views on campus at Hotchkiss about fascism in the 1930s?

Definition

• Question: What do we mean when we use the term “fascism” in the context of the 1930s?
• Process:
  • In groups of 3-4, temporarily divide up the reading from last night to have each team member focus on either (a) Italy, (b) Germany, or (c) Japan. Note the key characteristics of each fascist regime as it emerged by the end of the 1930s.
  • Come together as a group to find common threads, synthesizing them in a short written statement.

Wrap up

• Return to our question from homework: Some historians and political thinkers have argued that the Soviet Union was fundamentally similar to the fascist regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan. How would you respond?
• Why did the “authoritarian alternatives” appeal to some people in the wake of the Great Depression? Which path—Hoover, Roosevelt, communism, or fascism—do you think would have most appealed to you if you were living in the United States in the 1930s? Why?