Introduction

Between the two world wars, most countries in continental Europe experienced dictatorial rule, either of the left (communism) or of the right (fascism). This course analyses why the inter-war years were a period of such political extremism. It will investigate the distinctive features of Soviet communist ideology and the impact of Stalin on the USSR. The course will also analyse the so-called fascist regimes of Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany and assess how far they established complete control over their countries, and why their policies led to the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe.

All three governments shared the following basic features:

a single-party dictatorship which encouraged obedience to a single leader;
state control of the economy;
use of police, spies and terror to enforce the will of the state;
government control of the media to indoctrinate and mobilise citizens through propaganda;
use of schools and youth organizations to spread ideology to children;
strict censorship of artists and intellectuals with dissenting opinions.

This topic will introduce this course, and some of its key concepts. It also makes use of resources from each of the three password-protected websites to which Wolsey Hall has subscriptions for A Level History: ActiveHistory, the Historical Association and MASSOLIT.

Top Tip

Please note that you can find the login details to ActiveHistory, the Historical Association and MASSOLIT in General Resources.

Read

For a general overview of the rule of three dictators you will be analysing, read the following document:

READ – Paper 4 Background Task (Digital History)

Read Chapter 2 in European Dictatorships 1918-1945 (pages 23 to 35) following the guidance provided in Topic 0.1 for Chapter 1.

Tasks

Answer questions 1 and 2 in document Paper 4 background task:
What do you understand by the following terms:

1. dictatorship?
2. communism?
3. fascism?
4. totalitarianism?
5. nationalism?
6. militarism?

Read the following:

READ - Overview of Ideologies: Communism, Fascism and Nazism (ActiveHistory)

Complete this worksheet:

COMPLETE - Communism and Fascism: What's the Difference? (ActiveHistory)

What were Mussolini’s main beliefs? The following PDF will help you:

READ – Mussolini: Ideology and Nature (PDF)

Use this resource to consider Hitler’s ideology:

READ – Hitler’s Ideology (PDF)

How does it compare with Mussolini’s version of fascism? Read the following:

READ – Fascism and Mussolini (Khan Academy)

This covers the similarities between Italian Fascism and German National Socialism:

READ – The Rise of Fascism (Lumen Learning)

Use the following resource to answer the questions below:

READ – Stalin’s Ideology (PDF)

1. How was Stalin’s ideology different?
2. How was it similar?

Use Chapter 9 (pages 405 to 423) in European Dictatorships 1918-1945 to make a table comparing the three regimes, using the sub-headings in the chapter.

Reflect

Read the following:

READ – Fascism in Europe 1919-1945 (Historical Association)

Given its restrictions on individual freedom, why did fascism appeal to many?

Stretch Activity

Watch these lectures and see how far you can identify the same features in Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia:

WATCH – The Rise of Italian Fascism, 1911-39 (MASSOLIT)

Terminology

Make sure you understand all the key terms covered in this topic. You may like to make flashcards of key terms now, to help you with revision later on.