#611 The Authoritarian Alternative: Fascism

Today’s key questions:

• What do we mean when we use the term “fascism” in the context of the 1930s?
• What might have students at Hotchkiss in the 1930s learned about fascism?

Part 1: What do we mean when we use the term “fascism” in the context of the 1930s?

Begin by dividing into three groups, each tasked with identifying actions, policies, or rhetoric that might be considered "fascism" in Italy (group 1), Germany (group 2), and Japan (group 3).

Next, members of groups 1, 2, and 3 will be mixed together into new groups (A, B, and C) and be tasked with identifying a list of essential characteristics of 1930s fascism that apply to all three (or at least two) of the nations identified above.

We will compare our responses on the board to develop a class definition of fascism.

Part 2: What might have students at Hotchkiss in the 1930s learned about fascism?

Finally we will read an article from the 31 October 1933 edition of The Record reporting on visiting lecturer 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?
• What lessons might you draw from this today?