Modern World Civilization
Fall 2009
The World of George Orwell
He was a child of Empire.
But he was opposed to
imperialism.
He was a socialist, but not a
communist.
He fought in Spain and was
linked to the anarchists.
But they were crushed by the
Communists.
After that he became committed
to anti-communism and all forms of totalitarianism.
Animal Farm
He was pleased by Animal
Farm.
It was a well-balance allegory
of the Russian Revolution.
But it also can be read as an
animal story.
T.S. Elliot thought it was a
distinguished piece of writing but it feels that the effect is simply one of
negation. The book ought to excite sympathy with what the author wants, as well
as with his objections. Your positive point of view, which I take to be
generally Trotskyite, is not convincing.
Another Point of Argument
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Orwell was not to predict the
future, but warn of the dangers of totalitarianism.
The title comes from 1948
backwards, hence 1984.
The book is effective because
most readers believe it to be possible.
Orwell was worried that the Cold
War would force people to give up their freedom during periods of perpetual war.
He is portraying the illusion of
freedom in a totalitarian society.
An escape from freedom.
The Illusion is Freedom was not
New
The Analysis of Orwells Work
Doublethink
is the capacity to believe that Poland is a Peoples Democracy and that South
Africa is part of the Free World.
Goldstein is Trotsky.
Orwell marginalized the Proles
and at times, simply left them out.
They [the proles] are helpless,
like the animals. Humanity is the Party. The others are outside and irrelevant.
The moral to be drawn from this
dangerous nightmare situation is simple:
Dont let it happen. It depends on
YOU.
How did an
Assassination in a small Balkan
Capital Change History
The Russian Revolution.
Divided Europe since 1945.
Created Yugoslavia.
Caused World War II.
Contributed to the rise of
Hitler.
Led to the First Genocide in
History.
First use of weapons of mass
destruction.
Caused the death of a
generation.
Contributed to the rise of
Fascism.
The collapse of the old order.
The
Preconditions of the War
Germanys
victory over France during the Franco-Prussian War during 1870-71.
The Treaty of
Frankfurt gave Alsace-Lorraine to Germany.
Germany became
the main economic and military power in Europe.
The Wars
Precipitants
Imperialism.
The breakdown
of the international System.
Nationalism.
Naval arms
race.
Offensive
military doctrines.
Alliance
structure.
Internal
political difficulties.
Decline of the
liberal ideal.
Archduke
Franz Ferdinand
Heir to the
Austrian throne.
Had a plan to
share power with the Czechs as well as the Germans and Hungarians.
He was also a
threat to the Serbs who wanted Bosnia as part of a greater Serbia.
The chief of
Serbian military was head of the Black Hand.
On June 28,
1914 Black Hand agents murdered the Archduke and his wife in Sarajevo.
The Big Four
Lloyd George from the UK
Woodrow Wilson from the USA
Georges Clemenceau from France
Vittorio Orlando from Italy
Woodrow Wilsons Fourteen
Points (Jan. 18, 1918)
1 Open covenants
openly arrived out.
2. Absolute
freedom of the seas alike in peace and war, except as the seas might be closed
by international covenants.
3. The removal,
as far as possible, of economic barriers.
4. Armament
reductions consistent with public safety.
5. The impartial
claim/adjustment of all colonial issues.
6. The
evacuation of Russian territory.
7. The
evacuation and restoration of Belgium.
8. The
evacuation and restoration of French territory, including Alsace-Lorraine.
9. Readjustment
of Italian borders along lines of nationality.
10. Autonomous
development of the peoples in Austria-Hungary.
11. Restoration
of Serbia, Rumania, and Montenegro.
12. Freedom for
the Turkish peoples.
13. An
Independent Poland with access to the sea.
14. A general
association of states to be created.
What Germany Lost in World War I
All gains from treaties with
Russia and Rumania.
Lost Poland and Alsace-Lorraine.
Lost Eupen and Malmedy to
Belgium.
Lost Memel to Lithuania.
Lost the Polish Corridor to
Poland.
Danzig became a free city.
The Saar would be administered
by the League of Nations for 15 years.
A plebiscite would determine the
fate of Schleswig.
German war criminals would be
tried.
Germany would have to pay
reparations.
Military Provision of
Versailles
The Army limited to 100,000 men.
No aircraft.
No cadet schools, academies, or
General Staff.
No submarines.
No warships larger than 10,000
tons.
The End of the Romanovs
Nicholas II (1894-1917) and the
Russian government was in serious trouble since 1905.
What they didnt need was an war
that demonstrated the weakness of Russia.
The war demonstrated the general
incompetence of all facets of the tsarist regime.
As the Russian situation
deteriorated, Nicholas II went to the Front and left his wife in charge of the
government.
This was compounded by her
relationship with Rasputin.
Prince Yusupov decided to rid
Russian of the dirty monk.
The March Revolution
On March 8, 1917, Food Riots
broke out in Petrograd.
The riots were led by women and
was occurring in conjunction with International Womans Day and a major
lock-out.
The tsar ordered the riots
suppressed.
On March 11, the troops fired
into the crowd.
But on the following day, the
soldiers refused to obey orders.
Soon the soldiers refused to
obey their orders.
The Revolution was on.
Problems with the New Democratic
Regime in Russia
A Provisional Government was
established.
The Tsar abdicated for himself
and his son, Alexei.
The workers and soldiers then
established the Petrograd Soviet.
The new, democratic government
had to end the war, something they refused to do.
Earlier there was a split within
the Russian Socialist Party.
One faction, the Bolsheviks, led
by Lenin called for Peace and Bread.
Political Parties in Russia in 1917
Bolsheviks.
Mensheviks.
Social Revolutionaries (SRs)
Constitutional Democrats (Kadets)
Octobrists
The Bolshevik Coup
Lenin, living in Switzerland in
exile, returned in April.
He issued his famous April
Thesis and called for an end to the war with the cry of Peace, Land, and
Bread.
He encouraged an uprising.
In July, an abortive revolt of
the Bolsheviks failed.
Lenin still called for an
uprising in November 6-7, 1917.
When it came, the Provisional
Government suddenly collapsed.
Political Parties in Russia in 1917
The AlliesBritain, France,
U.S.A., and Japanoccupied keys areas in Russia.
A Civil War broke out between
anti-Bolshevik forces and the Bolsheviks.
This included an attempt on
Lenins live too.
As well as an invasion of Russia
by the Poles in 1920.
To mobilize the state, Lenin
introduced War Communism.
And unleashed Cheka on the
Bolsheviks enemies.
Depictions of Lenins Near
Assassination
Coming of NEP
War Communism caused
considerable unrest in Russia.
One result was the Kronstadt
Mutiny in 1921.
The mutiny was crushed.
But Lenin introduced NEP.
But not everyone was happy with
NEP, but it did revive the economy.
It provided limited private
enterprise.
Revived Agriculture.
Stalin vs. Trotsky
As long as Lenin lived there was
no problem.
But Lenin had two strokes.
In light that he would die, he
prepared a last will and testament.
Where he argued that none of his
disciples were worthy to succeed him.
Especially Stalin who was too
rude.
But Stalin, who controlled the
Party Secretariat.
Plus when Lenin died, Trotsky
was away from Moscow.
Stalin arranged the funeral as
well as the Mausoleum.
Overtime, Stalin drove Trotsky
from the Party and from Russia.
And even arranged for his
assassination in 1940.
Stalins Vision
Stalin wanted to make Russia
strong and less vulnerable to the West.
He sought to eliminate the last
vestiges of capitalism in Russia as seen by NEP.
So in 1928, Stalin introduced
the Five-Year Plans, the first in 1928.
Agricultural was to pay for the
Partys goal of industrial expansion.
Of course this required
Collectivization.
The peasants responded by
killing their animals and destroying their crops.
Crimes of Stalin
The Hunger Famine.
The murder of Sergei Kirov in
1934.
The Great Purges between
1936-1938.
Which eliminated the Old
Bolsheviks.
And in time, the High Command of
the Red Army, Navy, and Air Force.
Establishment of Soviet
Intelligence Networks in the
USA
CP
USA and Espionage
Target the Main Enemy
Every Nation was a potential
enemy of the USSR.
The Soviets sought industrial
secrets.
Economic data.
Foreign Policy information.
Military Secrets.
In Foreign Affairs the Party
Fought Fascism
The
Party supported Popular
Fronts against Fascists and Nazis.
The Party organized
International Brigades
to fight the Loyalists.
Many Americans, including some
Kansans, fought and died in Spain.
It seemed that the Communists
were the only ones willing to stand up to Hitler.
Communist Party Infiltration of
the U.S. Government
Party operatives left the
Party and joined the
Partys Underground apparatus.
Some were run by the
NKVD or the GRU.
Here they collected all sorts of
information for Moscow Center.
Economic, Industrial,
Diplomatic, and Military intelligence.
All agencies of government were
targeted from the Agricultural Department to the FBI.
Soviet Penetration of US
Government
Soviet Penetration of All
Governments
What Then is Fascism?
Ideology and Goals of Fascism
Espousal of an idealist,
vitalist, and voluntaristic philosophy, normally involving the attempt to
realize a new modern, self-determined, and secular culture.
Creation of a new nationalist
authoritarian state not based on traditional principles.
Organization of a new highly
regulated, multiclass, integrated national economic structure called either
national corporatist, national
socialist, or national syndicalist.
Positive evaluation and use of,
or willingness to use, violence or war.
The goal of empire, expansion,
or radical change in the nations relationship with other powers.
Fascist Negations
Antiliberalism.
Anticommunism.
Anticonservativism (with the
understanding that fascists were willing to undertake temporary alliances with
other sectors on the right).
Fascist Styles and Organizations
Attempted mass mobilization with
militarization of political relationships and style with goal of a mass party
militia.
Emphasis on aesthetic structure
of meetings, symbols, and political liturgy, stressing emotional and mystic
aspects.
Extreme stress on the masculine
principle and male dominance, while espousing a strongly organic view of
society.
Exaltation of youth above other
phases of life, emphasizing the conflict of generations.
Tendency toward an
authoritarian, charismatic leader.
Faces of Fascism
Fascism as Totalitarianism
Fascists emphasis that society
must be organized according to Totalitarian guidelines.
This can only happen when the
nation is totally controlled by the state.
Parliaments are tolerated if
they can be controlled.
Put repression is evident by
censorship, repression, and excessive police control.
Yet it is a right-wing phenomena
since it grossly defends private property.
Enemies on the Right
The Weimar government needed
friends.
She needed time to iron out the
difficulties found in postwar Germany.
Germany needed to be free of
crises.
Germany needed dedicated
republicans in the Reichstag, loyal civil servants, and the general public.
1923 was the critical year.
Fascism as a Mass Movement
To accomplish their ideals,
Fascists needed a mass movement.
Mass followings that mobilize
the national will.
This includes youth moments,
womens movements, co-opting labor organizations.
Emphasizing the young.
The role of the leader.
And the Cult of violence.
Who Supported the Fascist?
Mussolinis Role in the Government
He served as Premier.
Held seven departmental posts
all at the same time.
He also chief of the Fascist
Party.
Chief of the armed forces as
well as the militia.
He kept potential rivals from
power.
He used propaganda to give the
impression that Fascism was the wave of the future.
Perception is everything.
The Fascist Qualification
All vital industries were under
state control.
With the promise of a better
economic order.
But at what price?
The Liberals then supported
Mussolinis system.
Including censorship,
termination of all political parties, followed the evolution of the police
state.
Which was totally ruthless.
As seen in the murder of
Socialist leader, Giacomo Matteotti in 1924.
The German Revolution
The German Revolution was not
the result of planning but confusion.
The public was shocked by the
news of the armistice.
War weariness, hunger, fear,
disillusionment, and increased social antagonisms spread throughout Germany.
The situation spread from Kiel
to Berlin.
A Red Republic was established
in Munich.
With the Kaisers abdication,
Prince Max of Baden
passed the control of the government to
Ebert.
The Socialist Party is Divided
The majority of Socialist
accepted the democratic principle of popular sovereignty.
The exception were elements of
the Spartacists, who supported Lenin and the Bolsheviks.
The leaders of this faction
included Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg.
They were few in number so they
could count on the Independent Socialists.
Ebert realized that
revolutionary excesses could be counter productive.
The National Assembly
Ebert called for elections to
the National Assembly on Jan. 19, 1919 with the delegates meeting in Weimar on
Feb. 6.
The more conservative elements
had regained their former position.
Mission of the National Assembly
Establish a legal government for
Germany.
Conclude a peace with the
Allies.
Write a constitution for Germany
The National Assembly selected
Ebert as president.
The composition of the National
Assembly indicated that it would be a coalition government.
The Allies made it impossible
for the Germans ever not accept the results of Versailles.
Since the Germans had no option
it played into the hands of the Right, ie., The
Dolchstoss.
Key Elements of the Weimar
Constitution
Article 48 Allowed the President
to rule by decree.
Proportional voting allowed
voters to vote for party.
60,000 votes translated to one
representative in the Reichstag.
This allowed for minor parties
to enter the Reichstag and this would cause problems in the future.
Allowed for Universal suffrage,
including women.
Organization of the Government
Some Additional Thoughts
The drafters would have been
pushed centralization further, but for the feelings of South Germany.
Local governments were left
considerable authority.
Coalition governments were the
fate of the framers.
Always pushing for popular
sovereignty initiative
and referendum were often abused.
The president could appoint and
dismiss the chancellor, command the army, and call for a
national plebiscite.
Failure of the Bureaucracy
There were those opposed to the
Weimar government working as part of the establishment.
They included:
Adolf Hitler: The Early
Years
Born in Austria in 1889.
Came to Munich in 1913.
Served during the Great War and
reached the rank of CPL.
Was one of the earliest members
of Anton Drexlers German Workers Party.
There he discovered his talents
as an orator.
In 1920, the party changed its
name to the NSDAP.
In 1921, Hitler became Fuhrer.
The Growth of the NSDAP
By 1921, Hitler created a
private Army known as the Sturmabteilung (SA)
or Sturm troopers, to protect his meetings and disrupt the meetings of his
opponents.
They often wore brown shirts,
hence they were called Brown shirts by their enemies.
They often came from stocks used
for German troops sent to Africa during World War I.
The Beerhall Putsch
The situation was saved by
Hitler.
On the evening of November 8,
1923, when Kahr was holding a meeting of his supporters in the
Burgerbraufeller,
Hitler stormed the meeting.
Hitler proclaimed the Reich and
Bavarian governments were deposed and the National Revolution had begun.
He forced Representatives of the
Bavarian Government and Army to pledge their support.
During the evening, those
officials renounced their earlier pledge.
Hitlers New Germany
Without Hitler, World War II
would not have happened in Europe.
This does not excuse the
British, the French, the Russians or the Americans.
From the materials captured at
the end of the war, it appears that Hitler had no clear plan.
It seems that Hitler gambled.
Of the Allies, he knew the
French the best.
The British he hardly
understood.
Hitlers Goals
Hitler let it be known that he
thought Germany needed living space.
Even when he was successful, he
still would not shrink from war.
It is more than fair to say that
one other foreign leader was such a natural born bully as Hitler.
Mein Kampf
Hitlers Blueprint
Italy Attacks
Before the attack the French and
British attempted to buy Mussolini with the
Hoare-Laval Plan.
The League of Nations put
sanctions on Italy, but not on oil.
This drove Mussolini towards
Hitler.
The Popular Front Victory in
Spain
Seized land of the large land
holders.
Attacked and destroyed churches.
Assassinated conservative and
Falange leaders.
Strike were on the upsurge.
The Start of the Civil War
Started when the Spanish
garrison in Spanish Morocco rose in rebellion on July 17, 1936.
Franco then took charge after he
arrived from the Canary Islands.
Franco became the
Caudillo
of the Junta of National Defense.
The Internationalization of
the Conflict
Mussolini sent 75,000 troops.
Hitler sent the Condor Legion.
Stalin sent troops, tanks, and
the NKVD.
The COMINTERN organized the
International BDEs.
The Democracies did nothing.
The Anschluss
While Europe was watching Spain,
Hitler moved on Austria.
The crisis started on Feb. 12,
1938 when Hitler invited Chancellor Schuschnigg to come to Berchtesgaden.
Hitler demanded that Austrian
Nazis be pardoned and appoint a Nazi as Minister of Interior.
The result was the incorporation
of Austria into the Reich.
Mounting Crisis in Austria
On March 9, 1938,
Schuschnigg
announced that there would be a plebiscite to determine Austrias fate.
Hitler then sent an ultimatum to
rescind that declaration.
Schuschnigg resigned and
Seyss-Inquart
became the Minister of Interior.
Hitler had his easy victory.
Background to the Crisis
Hitler almost planned the next
stage against Czechoslovakia.
The weakness was the
Sudetenland.
With three million ethnic
Germans.
Edouard Benes thought that
Czechoslovakia was the next target and in May 1938 ordered the Czechs to
mobilize.
Hitler used German agents,
including Konrad Henlein, to instigate trouble in the Sudetenland.
Chamberlains Objectives
The situation went from bad to
worse.
Chamberlain thought he could
deal with Hitler and Germany that became the basis of Appeasement.
Chamberlain made three trips to
Germany 1) Berchtesgaden, 2) Bad Godesberg, and 3) Munich.
The Rationale for Appeasement
The Great Depression and the
need to cut government expenses.
The fear of war, particularly in
Eastern Europe.
Crisis in the the Dominions, ie.,
India and Palestine.
The concern the Dominions had
about a war in Central Europe.
The Situation in the Far East.
The Situation in the Fall 1938
After Chamberlains meeting with
Hitler at Bad Godesberg, he thought that war would occur.
Europe was ready to do anything
to avoid war.
Mussolini, Il Duce, proposed a
meeting of Britain, France, Italy, and Germany to solve the problem.
The meeting was to take place in
Munich on September 30, 1938.
Map of Czechoslovakia
The Munich Conference
Hitler received 3.5 million
Germans.
Czechoslovakia lost her main
defensive belt.
The Czechs were never consulted.
Neither were the Russians.
Chamberlain said, I believe we
have peace in our time.
Hitlers Great Mistake
Chamberlain then presented
Hitler with a slip of paper.
Asking that this was Hitlers
last territorial demand in Europe in the spirit of the Anglo-German Naval
Agreement.
Hitler signed it.
After Munich
In March 1939, Emil Hacha was
invited to Berlin to discuss issues concerning Slovakia.
Hitler then demanded concessions
from Hacha.
Instead, Hacha had a heart
attack.
Hacha then signed over the Czech
state to Germany.
Chamberlain would never trust
Hitler again.
But now Britain had to find
Allies.
Orwells Warning
Warns of the situation found in
1948.
Despite the view that the power
of the pen has diminished, it is still powerful.
Danger of totalitarianism.
A world that he knew well.
As the world was divided into
various armed camps.