Fascism Dbq Essay

In Europe after WWI, many borders changed, nations broke apart and new governments rose. Many changes occurred, however, different countries handled these changes in different ways. Some European countries turned toward fascism while other European countries stayed democratic. Following the war, the economies of some countries remained strong enough for democracy to persist, however, countries such as Germany and Italy turned to fascism as a result of the poor economic state that WWI left these nations in and, as a result of the rise of extreme nationalism.

In the years following WWI, a few countries remained under the control of democratic governments. Stronger economies present in these countries contributed to the persistence of democracy.

The poor economic state of these nations represented the one major cause for these new governments. The German nation following WWI depicted this perfectly. Document D, John Keynes, The Economic Consequences of Peace written in 1920 described the economic fallout associated with the Treaty of Versailles. Economic fallout that directly led to the rise of Fascist regimes in European countries such as Germany. After WWI, the allied powers forced Germany to pay significant reparations, destroying the German economy. This economic destruction allowed for the rise of a Fascist movement led by Adolf Hitler. Document E, a speech by Von Papen, the Chancellor of Germany in 1932 detailed the desperate economic situation in Germany which gave rise to the Fascist Nazi regime. Document G gave another perspective. Document G, Pie Charts of German Reichstag elections in 1928, 1930 and 1933 showed a breakdown of the votes. Surprisingly, the Nazi party made up a minority of the vote, even in the 1933 election, the Nazis did not possess a majority. This indicated that if a democratic government ruled Germany the Nazis would not possess the same power. However, as a product of the dire economic situation in Germany, The Nazi party found its way to power. Following WWI, throughout Europe, authoritarian and fascist governments came to power in suffering nations as a direct result of their

The people of many nations felt intense pride in their country and the people they identified with. Document I, an excerpt from the textbook depicted a German individual with intense nationalist pride. Intense national pride and nationalism represented one major factor that led to the rise of Fascist regimes. Document L provided evidence of nationalist advocacy for the rise of truly German people above others. Document L, an antisemetic political cartoon entitled Where Something is Rotten, the Jew is the Cause from 1931 that depicted a Jewish worm torn out of an apple by a Nazi knife. The cartoon displayed the nationalist ideology of Germany and their desire to pin the blame on the people they deemed inferior or outsiders such as Jewish people. Document A, Benito Mussolini’s The Definition of Fascism written in 1932 described Fascism from the eyes of a Fascist leader. The document laid out the positives of Fascism explained that Fascism was the best government for the people. Mussolini wanted to make the Mediterranean an Italian lake and unite all Italian people. These nationalist sentiments garnered him significant support and gave rise to his fascist regime. The rise of fascism relied on both the nationalist sentiments of the people as well as the charismatic leaders who espoused these sentiments. Document B,