Hitler Mussolini Essay
Compare and Contrast
-Hitler and Mussolini-
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini both attempted their rises to power during interwar years in fascist parties. In many ways their attempts at state control were similar; large portions of society were unsatisfied by existing governments who were weak and dysfunctional, a war that made life very difficult, and a perceived threat from the Left led to support for the Fascists. Additionally, the similar ideologies of the soon-to-be dictators as well as mistakes made by individuals in power further added to their attempts at control. However, it is common that there are differences in the manner in which similar results came to be.
In Germany and Italy the formation of the country itself played a great role in weakening the current government, however, this occurred in different ways. After having been a strong monarchy under Bismarck, the democracy of the Weimar Republic was not met well. William Shirer argues that Germany was “[politically backward]” and how the German people worshipped authoritarian power.
In some contrast, Italy was formed by a Piedmontese ruler who wanted to expand his territory, in both cases however, there was severe distrust in the governments. This meant that the state formed did not attempt to satisfy the needs of the majority. In fact, during the Risorgimento, the unification of Italy, many soldiers fighting did not even know what the word ‘Italy’ was. Additionally, the unification was only completed with the aid of foreign troops and this led to a national inferiority complex and a desire to show that Italy was a great power. Unfortunately, the liberal government of Italy had no desire to do so whereas Mussolini did, he used the appeal of becoming a great power very often. Additionally, the dichotomy of privilege of the north of Italy compared to the extreme poverty of the south combined with the biased political agenda of the government meant that a very large portion of the population was
-Hitler and Mussolini-
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini both attempted their rises to power during interwar years in fascist parties. In many ways their attempts at state control were similar; large portions of society were unsatisfied by existing governments who were weak and dysfunctional, a war that made life very difficult, and a perceived threat from the Left led to support for the Fascists. Additionally, the similar ideologies of the soon-to-be dictators as well as mistakes made by individuals in power further added to their attempts at control. However, it is common that there are differences in the manner in which similar results came to be.
In Germany and Italy the formation of the country itself played a great role in weakening the current government, however, this occurred in different ways. After having been a strong monarchy under Bismarck, the democracy of the Weimar Republic was not met well. William Shirer argues that Germany was “[politically backward]” and how the German people worshipped authoritarian power.
In some contrast, Italy was formed by a Piedmontese ruler who wanted to expand his territory, in both cases however, there was severe distrust in the governments. This meant that the state formed did not attempt to satisfy the needs of the majority. In fact, during the Risorgimento, the unification of Italy, many soldiers fighting did not even know what the word ‘Italy’ was. Additionally, the unification was only completed with the aid of foreign troops and this led to a national inferiority complex and a desire to show that Italy was a great power. Unfortunately, the liberal government of Italy had no desire to do so whereas Mussolini did, he used the appeal of becoming a great power very often. Additionally, the dichotomy of privilege of the north of Italy compared to the extreme poverty of the south combined with the biased political agenda of the government meant that a very large portion of the population was