Introduction

Many causes exist that led to the rise of

dictatorships after WWI. After the war, Russia,
Italy, and Germany found themselves in situations
that allowed dictators to rise to power. The
countries were all in extreme situations, both
economically and politically, that became a fertile
ground for future dictators to seize control. After
WWI, much of Europe was still in chaos. The dictators
promised social order even though they destroyed many
peoples' lives and took away personal freedom.

In Italy, Mussolini, called, the ‘Duce’ (The Leader),

rose to power creating a Fascist regime. He was the
son of a humble blacksmith, and he rose to power by
organizing unemployed war veterans, called Black
Shirts, to terrorize his political opponents. He
controlled the media and convinced the people he was
truly a perfect leader from 1922-1943.

Lastly, Hitler rose to power after Germany faced many

sanctions after WWI, including Article 231, the "War
Guilt Clause" in the Treaty of Versailles, forcing
Germany to pay reparations for the war. His father
had been a state worker, yet Hitler's ambition was
limitless. He found the period of unrest in Germany
to be a perfect time to rise to power, using
propaganda to establish the Nazi Party and an
absolute dictatorship from 1933-1945.

Thus, these leaders rose to absolute power creating

dictatorships that greatly influenced history using
political, economic, and social unrest as their
stepping stones.

Factors for the rise of Fascism and

Nazism
Many factors exist that led to the rise of
dictatorships after WWI. The countries were all in
extreme situations, both economically and
politically, that became a fertile ground for future
dictators to seize control. Factors like
dissatisfaction with the treaty of Versailles,
economic and financial crisis, political instability
and inefficient government and rise of charismatic
leaders like Hitler and Mussolini were major factors
for the rise of fascism and in Nazism in Italy and
Germany respectively.

 Treaty of Versailles
even though Italy had joined the war on the side
of the allies among the Italians the feeling was
that they had won the war but lost the peace.
Italy hard much to contribute to the success of
the allies in the war but Italy could have no
valuable addition to her territory. when it came
to dividing the spoils of war, her allies
deserted her.

Germany was forced to cede large chunks of her

territory to France, Belgium, Poland and Denmark.
Her overseas possessions (colonies) were divided
by the Allies in the War among themselves.
Germany was forced to pay heavy reparations to
the tune of 33 billion dollars and the total
strength of the German army was fixed at one
lakh. The terms of this treaty were greatly
resented by the Germans who eagerly looked for an
opportunity to avenge the same. These sentiments
were exploited by Hitler who openly encouraged
the Germans to consign the Treaty of Versailles
into the waste – paper basket, to rebuild the
empire of Germany, and to recapture the lost
colonies

 Economic Factors
economic condition in Italy after the war were
very bad war debts and budget deficits caused
lots of difficulty. the salaried employees the
 farmers and industrial workers felt The Pinch of
post war inflation the young men found all
channels of employment closed to them. There were
agrarian riots and strikes in the factories
Germany had to pay a huge sum of nearly 33
billion dollars as war indemnity. The financial
crisis forced Germany to borrow recklessly.
German economy combined a high rate of inflation
with a high level of unemployment. Hitler assured
the Germans that if they would abide by the Nazi
ideology their economic misery would come to an
end. It was owing to this factor that the nazi
party had its ranks swollen by new recruits
especially youths.

 Political Instability And Inefficient

Governments

the post war democratic governments were weak

they could not respond properly to the needs and
aspirations of the people the governments under
Nitti and Giolitti in Italy was unable to control
the industrial and agrarian disorders popular
discontentment took the form of strikes and
riots. In Germany the constituent assembly which
made at Weimar in 1919 established a liberal
democratic government but from the very beginning
Germany was faced with a problem of of unstable
governments between 1919 and 1933 there were as
many as 21 ministers headed by 12 chancellors
(Prime Ministers). The people therefore were
looking for a strong government with a firmer
economic program.

 Charismatic leaders Hitler and

Mussolini
Mussolini and Hitler were able to attract
influence and inspire people by their personnel
qualities. In Italy, Benito Mussolini was called
the duce which means leader. he formed the facist
party in March 1919 which attracted people from
all sections of the society which slowly gained
 power. Benito Mussolini formed the government on
30th October 1922 . They wore Black uniform and
hence came to be known as Black-Shirts.

The germans adored Hitler as their saviour. He

adopted the designation of ‘fuehrer’, i.e., the
leader. He formed the nationalist social
party(Nazi party) in 1919. Its members wore
brown shirts.the first nazi government was formed
on 30th January 1933. Hitler, a shrewd politician
and a brave soldier, was a gifted orator who
captivated the Germans by his emotional speeches.
The Germans nourished a feeling of resentment
against the humiliating and insulting behaviour
meted out to them by the Allies and wanted to
avenge the same. Hitler fully exploited the
sentiments of the Germans and openly encouraged
them to consign the Treaty of Versailles into the
waste – paper basket, rebuild the German Empire
and to recapture the lost colonies. Hitler
assured the Germans that if they would abide by
the Nazi ideology their economic misery would
come to an end. This greatly appealed to the
German people and they extended full support to
Hitler and his Nazi party

Establishment of fascist government in

Italy in 1922
Benito Mussolini a former socialist and journalist by
profession, stopped calling himself a formed the
facist party in march 1919 which attracted people
from all sections of the society. They wore a black
uniform and hence came to be known as black shirts.
They adopted the ‘fasces’ as their symbol. Violence
was the creed of these volunteers. They took over
factories municipalities and police Stations where
were they could In 1922, Benito Mussolini and the
Fascist Party rose to power in Italy. On 28 October
1922 the
fascist bands marched on Rome. The very next day the
king invited to Mussolini to form the government
which needed on 30th October within a short time
Mussolini became the absolute master of Italy. Victor
was still the king but Mussolini became the real
ruler of Italy. By 1935, Mussolini was able to make
himself the dictator of Italy and transformed the
country into a police state.

Establishment of Nazi government in

Germany in 1933
In Germany, Fascism was embraced by the National
Socialist German Workers Party, also known as the
Nazis. The party formed in 1919 and its members came
to be known as Brown Shirts. Swiftly rising to power
in the late 1920s, the Nazis and their charismatic
leader, Adolf Hitler, followed the central tenets of
Fascism while also advocating for the racial purity
of the German people and additional
German Lebensraum (living space). Playing on the
economic distress in Weimar Germany and backed by
their "Brown Shirts" militia, the Nazis became a
political force. On January 30, 1933, Hitler was
placed in a position to take power when he was
appointed Reich Chancellor by President Paul von
Hindenburg as the previous government headed by von
Papen could not continue for long. A month after
Hitler assumed the Chancellorship, the Reichstag
building burned. Blaming the fire on the Communist
Party of Germany, Hitler used the incident as an
excuse to ban those political parties that opposed
Nazi policies. On March 23, 1933, the Nazis
essentially took control of the government by passing
the Enabling Acts. Meant to be an emergency measure,
the acts gave the cabinet (and Hitler) the power to
pass legislation without the approval of the
Reichstag. Hitler next moved to consolidate his power
and executed a purge of the party (The Night of the
Long Knives) to eliminate those who could threaten
his position. With his internal foes in check, on the
death of President Hindenburg on 2nd August 1934,
Hitler combined in his person the two offices of
president and chancellor. He now adopted the
designation of ‘fuehrer’.

Similarity between Fascism and

Nazism.
Similarity between the Aims and Methods
of Fascism and Nazism
. i) To have faith in the totalitarian rule.

ii) To despise democratic political systems.

iii) To hold that the state is supreme and it could

suppress the fundamental rights and freedoms of
individuals.

iv) To uphold One – Party and one leader who is

always right and his command is the law.

v) To believe in aggressive nationalism and

imperialism.

vi) To regard war as an instrument for furthering

national interests.

vii) To uphold intensely nationalistic, anti –

communist, anti – democratic, rule.

viii) anti intellectualist in nature i.e. they

wanted to create a society based on myth.

ix) Imperialism is the internal law of life and

international piece is a cowards dream.

Similarity between the causes for the rise of Fascism

and Nazism.

i) Discontent after the Treaty of Versailles.

ii) Economic crisis – unemployment and decline in

production in agriculture and trade.
iii) Hatred for democratic principles and preference
for totalitarian system and one party rule.

iv) Fear of the spread of Communism.

v) Political instability and class conflict between

the aristocrats and the common people.

vii) Charismatic personality Mussolini and Hitler and

the stable leadership provided by them.

the similarities between the two fascism an Nazism

lead to the signing of the Pact of Steel On May 22,
1939 by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed the,
which allied the two countries politically and
militarily, to form the Axis powers.

Conclusion
Thus we conclude that the rise of dictatorship in
Europe had a devastating effect on the economic,
social and political affairs of the land. The
dictators possessed absolute power and control over
the country. The rise of dictatorships caused the
violation of many terms of the treaty of Versailles.
The dictators believed in that the world could not be
trusted with its freedom and has to be lead with by
people belonging to a superior race, where the rulers
command was the law. Both the movements did not
believe in democracy i.e., were anti democratic in
nature. They also were intensly nationalistic anti
communist in nature too. They believed in having a
powerful dictator both total in character and ruling
for unlimited time. Both the movements were anti
intellectualist in nature i.e., they sought to create
a society based on ‘myth’. The dictators believed in
that the world could not be trusted with its freedom
and has to be lead with by people belonging to a
superior race, where the rulers command was the law
and the leader is always right. too We also come to
know what an important role the opposition plays in
the parliamentary system as it helps in checking over
the executive. In a dictatorship, the opposition is
crushed, thus protesting against the dictator and
keeping check on him becomes impossible. Hitler and
Mussolini assured the people that if they would abide
by Hitler assured the Germans that if they would
abide by the Nazi and fascist ideology their economic
misery would come to an end. The weak corrupt and
inefficient governments ruling at that time also lead
to the rise of dictatorship.

Thus, these leaders rose to absolute power creating

dictatorships that greatly influenced history using
political, economic, and social unrest as their
stepping stones.