Brycen Waters Professor Jones-Sneed Historiography April 6, 2011 Historigraphical Essay

The Rise of Fascism in Germany and Italy: Post World War I

Page 1 of 20

Before World War II, the rise of fascism was the result of the Treaty of Versailles, which caused economic instability, political unrest, and numerous other outcomes. Two examples of countries where this situation prevailed were Italy and Germany. The Treaty of Versailles left countries like these two with feelings of resentment and hatred for the Allied Forces. The Treaty reduced the power and influence of these countries and virtually left them humiliated in the face of the looming Allied powers. Punishing the defeated countries and forcing reparations to be paid was soon set into action. Unequal support after the war caused political maneuvering and widespread violence to rise, giving way to underground rebel forces to cause riots, thus setting the stage for the rise of authoritarian regimes such as Fascism. Individuals such as Adolf Hitler in Germany and Benito Mussolini in Italy were able to lead popular revolts over the government, creating their own versions of Fascist dictatorships in their respective countries. These dictatorships not only ruthlessly ruled over these countries, they also destroyed civil liberties, by outlawing freedoms including other political parties operating rights and by imposing a totalitarian reign over the people by means of terror and fear. Fascism, or simply put a fascist, is an Italian term meaning, a person who is dictatorial or has extreme right-wing views.1Originating in Italy, the Fascist movement was an authoritarian nationalist movement that sought to organize a state by corporatist or structured principles and perspectives through the political system and the economy. Fascism is thought to reside; one could argue, on the far left of the political spectrum. The far right is generally characterized by recognition of the superiority and inferiority of the classes of distinction in society. Far right ideologies including Fascism, Nazism, and Authoritarianism, as a whole, generally support some

Dictionary.com

Page 2 of 20

form of intense racial segregation. This group is commonly known as one of the extremes of the political world.2 Despite the fact that these prime examples of Fascism differ slightly; there are certain features that they maintain in common. First, both existed as a violent nationalist forms of government, exciting feelings of pride in ones country among the common people by means of violence, fear, and terror. This form of nationalism was shockingly different from that of the nineteenth century conservative or liberal groups and thus earned the title of far right or new right as mentioned. 3Second, they were strongly Anti-Semitic,4 as was the case with Germany. Jews were the convenient scapegoat for the ills of their former capitalist society and faced extreme brutality through what came to be known as the Holocaust. Finally, they were both appealing to middle and lower classes, trying to force influences of non-socialist and noninternationalism on them to provide as a basis for the new movement towards Fascism that was to occur.5 This time period in history witnessed the rise of powerful yet horrifying regimes. There is no doubt that the fallacies of the Treaty of Versailles directly caused the emergence of underground rebel groups imposing a new Fascist style of government on their nations and the masses. According to historian F.L. Carsten, This was not yet the era of mass democracy, but the leaders clearly recognized that such a mass basis was essential if the ideas of liberalism and democracy, of socialism and syndicalism, were to be opposed with any chance of success.6

Martin Blinkhorn, Fascism and the Right in Europe 1919-1945 (Harlow, England: Pearson Education, 2000), 15. 3 F.L. Carsten, The Rise of Fascism(Los Angeles, California: University of California Press), 10. 4 F.L. Carsten, 11. 5 F.L. Carsten, 11. 6 F.L. Carsten, 9.

Page 3 of 20

Coming into countries torn by a bloody conflict and unresolved agreements, men such as Hitler and Benito Mussolini were able to lead their countries into a time of destroyed civil liberties, violent nationalism, and totalitarian rule. This time period has been referenced by stating that, If there were clouds on the European horizon, they did not seem very threatening.7Many different historians have researched and explored this very difficult and troubling time in world history. Each historian has brought different sets of information to the table; all depicting what they believe to be the leading causes for these ruthless regimes and horrible dictatorships. However, most historians commonly agree that the results of the Treaty of Versailles were the leading causes of the rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany. Taking this study a step further, many historians commonly disagree on how these dictatorships became so popular and were able to gain the support of the masses. In this historigraphical essay on the Rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany, the work of great historians on these topics will be explored through these four chronological steps; the creation of The Treaty of Versailles, the outcomes of the treaty, the collection of Fascist power, and the Fascist rule of Germany and Italy. Chronologically, the first and possibly the most important cause of the rise of Fascism, is arguably the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles set the foundation for Fascism to rise in popularity in Germany and Italy because of the unsettling nature of the treaty. The major players of the Paris Peace Conference, where the treaty was created and ratified, all had different aims and hopes with the conclusion of World War I and compromise was a long and grueling process. However; despite the troubles of compromise, the Axis powers, such as Germany, were to be punished very harshly for the war. Also, Allied countries, such as Italy, were not to fare well from this treaty. Ferdinand Czernin takes a deeper look at the outcome of the Versailles

F.L. Carsten, 9.

Page 4 of 20

Treaty by exploring the early steps towards creation of this very controversial document. Starting with a breakdown of the phases of the Paris Peace Conference, Czernin hopes to understand exactly why the treaty was drafted in the manner that it was. During the first phase, various committees were set up to wrestle with the various problems that had arisen due to the resolution of the war and the beginning steps that had been made in order to achieve peace in a peaceful manner with the treaty. Also in this phase, Woodrow Wilson concentrated his energy on hammering out a Covenant of the League of Nations and working it through the committee.8 Wilsons highly active role in this phase was underminded by the second phase however The second phase is characterized as the time period of Woodrow Wilsons absence in the United States. This period (February 15 to March 15 1919) was when an assassins bullet laid low Georges Clemenceau. Woodrow Wilson sailed for America and Lloyd George departed for England to mend his political fences. With the absence of the Big Four, the fate of the conference was in the hands of second echelon, Colonel Edward of the United States, Arthur Balfour and Robert Cecil of the United Kingdom, and Andre Tardieu and Louis Loucheur for France. The French saw this as an opportunity to take control of the general course of the conference. With Woodrow Wilsons absence as the natural leader of the conference, the French hoped to push the treaty more in favor of French terms. Due to the fact that the French and British were in agreement with each other at the conference, the United States came into an awkward position upon voting on delegation and backed off more and more from compromise to compromise.9 The third phase (March 15th to 18th), is marked with Wilsons attempt to gain back his lost ground and gain more control of the conference. He encountered not only stubborn

8 9

Ferdinand Czernin, Versailles 1919 (New York: Capricorn Books), 8. Ferdinand Czernin, 9.

Page 5 of 20

French resistance, but also many difficulties with other allies including the British, Japanese and Italian representatives. As Wilson attempted to reconcile the problems that had arisen in his absence the conference came to an abrupt end when Clemenceau in a rage calling Wilson proBoche. stalked out of the conference very displeased with its results.10 The fourth phase, which Ray S. Baker has referred to as the dark period of the Conference was the most pressing time of all. The Conference almost came to a complete and utter halt as the French and American positions on the major questions and stances seemed immovable and irreconcilable. With Woodrow Wilsons health a major issue and becoming worse and worse as the days raged on, Colonel House was once again in charge of conducting American policy in the Paris Peace Conference. This worried many, but despite urges for him to stay and conduct the hearings, Wilson ordered that the S.S. George Washington be readied to take him back to Washington to recover.11 During the fifth phase, on April 12th, after two weeks of deadlock uncompromising uncertainty, a compromise was reached on the very crucial problem of the Saar. From this point on compromise, followed compromise until the treaty with Germany was finally ready for presentation in front of the German delegation, which took place on May 7th.12 The very last phase of the conference consisted of an exchange of innumerable notes between the president of the Peace Conference, who at this time still was Georges Clemenceau due to Woodrow Wilson having not returned, and the German delegation. The Germans, as ordered by the Treaty of Versailles, were to first, correct the wrong done to France by Prussia in 1871, by granting self determination to the people of Alsace-Lorraine, an area to the east of
10 11

Ferdinand Czernin, Versailles 1919 (New York: Capricorn Books), 9. Ferdinand Czernin, 10. 12 Ferdinand Czernin, 10.

Page 6 of 20

France and west of Germany that was captured by the Germans from the French in 1871.13 This land taken from the German people will be under strict international protection, along with any other territorial gains that are not to be abandoned by the Germans. The treaty also demanded that the Germans seed a large quantity of their land to the formation of a new Polish state and also pay heavy war reparations for the immense destruction created by the German military. 14 The whole of the treaty remained very much as written in its originally written form. It was signed on June 28, 1919; exactly five years after the first most fatal shots of the war. 15 Ferdinand Czernin explores the back story to the rise of Fascism by looking at the creation of the Treaty of Versailles. He clearly makes no reference as to if the treaty was just or unjust, he merely makes point that due to this very treaty, Fascisms emergence occurred. By understanding his claims as to the steps of how the treaty was created through the Paris Peace Conference, one can better understand the building turmoil in the German delegation that would set the stage for radicals, such as Adolf Hitler, to gain popular support in his assertion of Nazi power. With regard to the second step, the outcomes of the Treaty of Versailles, Ernst Nolte explores the immediate impact on Germany and Italy. The Treaty of Versailles had a very lasting political impact; however, it also had a very strong emotional impact. The political impact, according to Nolte, resided on the German home front. The Germans, very much enraged by the brutal demands of the treaty, was sent into an immediate economic disaster. Nolte argues that the major reason for this was because the treaties harsh economic reperational demands, along with

13 14

Ferdinand Czernin, Versailles 1919 (New York: Capricorn Books), 340. Ferdinand Czernin, 341. 15 Ferdinand Czernin, 11.

Page 7 of 20

their loss of overseas colonies and industrial might from the war.16 The Allied countries surrounded the German country in order to prevent them from remobilizing their military and possibly attempting to create another world conflict. With the German citizens morale down, the people turned to Adolf Hitler as a leader through these very turbulent times. The emotional impact relates more to the Italian story in Noltes opinion. Nolte makes note that after World War I, when the Allied forces convened on what was to be done with the Axis countries, Italy was promised the territories of Dalmatia and Albania along with any other acquisitions achieved through the Paris Peace Conference.17As the treaty was made and reparations were assigned to the Allied Countries, Italy did not achieve what it was initially expecting. The territories of Dalmatia and Albania were not seeded to the Italian people, and when it came to the matter of dispersing the Imperial possessions of Germany, Italy was blatantly ignored. Nolte sees this event as a stimulus for the rise of fascism because the Italian government and citizens were enraged by the outcome of the treaty. Civil unrest ensued in Italy between nationalists who supported the war effort and the Treaty of Versailles and leftists who were opposed to the war and its treaty. This split paved the way for Benito Mussolini to gain popular support. Another historian on the subject, Alexander De Grand, also makes note of an event of this same topic. During the time of the Treaty of Versailles, Giovanni Giolitti, an Italian statesman was one of the Italian representatives at the Paris Peace Conference. As mentioned, the Italians did not receive reparations that they were promised, but nor did the Italian government fight back in order to gain these promises. The lack of seemingly national interests and citizen interests by the

16 17

Ernst Nolte, Three Faces of Fascism (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston), 308. Ernst Nolte, 15.

Page 8 of 20

government furthered the hatred that fueled the divide in the country. For Fascists, Giolittis rule had separated the real people from its government, thereby destroying the unity, greatness, and strength of the Italian nation. 18 Following the treaty, another major event occurred that, according to Royal J. Schmidt furthered the tension between the Germans and Allied countries. One of the demands outlined by the treaty stated that the Germans had to pay reparations for the devastation they left with World War I. In 1923 however, the German government ordered that they did not have the capital to pay off such heavy war debts. This was largely in part to the economic crisis that the German government was sent into with the loss of some their overseas colonies as mentioned. With this, the Ruhr, the area between the German, French, and Belgian borders went under occupation by the French and Belgian governments. This area was the most industrialized and modern area of Germany and this occupation was a devastating blow to the already fragile economy argues Schmidt.19 The Ruhr imbroglio was pre-ordained by the Versailles Treaty however, it furthered the rift creating more and more tension between the Allies and Germany. 20 The twenty years armistices which obtained between the Peace Conference of 1919 and the renewal of war in 1939 were years during which the bitter memories of the German invasion and occupation of large parts of France and Belgium were still vivid to many.21 The clear rift that has been mentioned was evident to all leaders after the Versailles Treaty. The seedbed of problems that eventually lead to the devastation known as World War II was set into place. Lloyd E. Ambrosius explores this rift by stating what he understood as the
18

Alexander De Grand, The Huntchbacks Tailor: Giovanni Giolitti and Liberal Italy from the Challenge of Mass Politics to the Rise of Fascism, 1882-1922 The American Historical Review (2003): 282. 19 Royal J. Schmidt, Versailles and the Ruhr: Seedbed of World War II (The Hague, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff), 8. 20 Royal J. Schmidt, 9. 21 Royal J. Schmidt, 3.

Page 9 of 20

possible remedy for this situation back in the 1920s. Recognizing that Germany was enraged after the demands had been set into motion after the war, he believes the only reasonable and viable solution to stabilize Europe is to appease Germany.22Realizing that the restoration of the old balance of power between the nations was virtually impossible after what had just occurred, he did however feel that something must be done in order to possibly bring back the former status quo. Ambrosius main argument resets with the occupation of the Ruhr area after the Germans inability to pay war reparations. He views these conditions of the French and Belgian occupations as unnecessarily harsh.23Ambrosius felt the best thing to be done to, in a sense, regain the Germans favor, was to create a new treaty that would amend the German harshness and create more sensible punishments. However, nothing followed into affect with this and thus the rift grew even more. The next step in the rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany is through the collection of Fascist power. During the early 1920s, the German and Italian people were in very desperate times. With World War I just ending and both countries, including their people, not faring as well as planned, Fascism was able to take root in governments and control of the masses quite easily. The times were meek; people were eager to believe anything if it meant a better life than what they were living now. Karla Poewe describes this phenomenon of Fascist leaders brainwashing their people as a new religious order. While trying to understand how Fascist; more particularly in this case the Nazis, were able to gain the support of the average person, Poewe raises a very interesting perspective on the collection of Fascist power. She states that in order to understand Nazism as the force that it was, one must not only recognize it as the

22

Patrick O. Cohrs, The Unfinished Peace after World War II America, Britain and the Stablization of Europe, 1919-1932, The American Historical Revue (2007): 2. 23 Patrick O. Cohrs, 2.

Page 10 of 20

Political force that it was, but more importantly (and perhaps fundamentally) as a religious force.24 According to Poewe, the Nazis were successful in the ability to supplant traditional Christian beliefs with their Fascist propaganda and supply the German people with their own politico-religious faith.25 This is what made the Nazis so successful; according to Poewe in the assertion to power, their ability to provide the average German citizen with something to believe in. When German moral and spirit were low, the Nazis gave everyone a common thing to be proud of and supportive towards. Poewe sums up the time period after World War I by referring to it as the era when, The anger and bitterness of defeat mixed with long smoldering antagonism to liberalism and was finally ignited by the spark of democracy and other punishments found in the Treaty of Versailles. [] the immediate response to Germanys humiliation was first to crave a new beginning and then to prepare the intellectual seed for national rebirth.26 This quasi-religious sentiment that made Nazism so appealing in the first place was merely a trick according to Poewe, because latter on during their reign, the Nazis would remove all sentiments of religion from the government and daily life of the people. The collection of fascist power for the Italian story can be described in a different manner by historian F. L. Carsten. Carsten starts by explaining that in the years following World War I, the Fascist following was a very tiny minority that did not have the influence necessary for a massive turn in events of the Italian government.27 Italy, still a fairly new industrial nation at this time in history, with a small urban setting mainly in the north, the Fascists focused their attention on spreading to the countryside and the small towns to gain the support they needed to start a
24 25

Karla Poewe, New Religions and the Nazis, The American Historical Revue (2007): 608. Karla Poewe, 1. 26 Karla Poewe, 608. 27 F.L. Carsten, The Rise of Fascism(Los Angeles, California: University of California Press), 55.

Page 11 of 20

revolution.28 However; according to Carsten, these ventures and endeavors were still rather small; not until October 1922 did the Fascist take real charge. Now lead by Benito Mussolini, the Fascist turned their attention away from the countryside and took advantage of a general strike by workers in Italy. Mussolini announced that he demanded the Italian government give the Fascist Party political power or face an immediate coup. With no response, a small number of Fascists began a long trek across Italy to Rome, which was later called the March on Rome. To the Italians, this meant that finally, after all the injustices of World War I and the Paris Peace Conference, the Fascists would restore law and order to the Italian government.29 Exciting the people was the common goal of the Fascist, in hope of gaining quick and numerous support, and they achieved exactly what they were hoping for. According to Ruth Ben Ghiat, the people found in Fascism, the modern promise of change, from what they had been exposed to before, and this grabbed their attention with the promise of hope.30 The final step in the rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany comes through the assertion of Fascist power of the government and people. Benito Mussolini was a very proud and confident figure in Italian history that was seen as the answer to the prayers of the people.31 To people, including Pope Pius XI, his domineering spirit alone might be able to regenerate Italy.32With Germany; The Nazi Party, lead by Adolf Hitler, once in power was able to maintained their rule on the one hand through consensus and conformity and on the very different other hand through coercion, terror, and surveillance.33 Hitler was a political prodigy who could conquer the world.

28 29

F.L. Carsten, The Rise of Fascism(Los Angeles, California: University of California Press), 55. F.L. Carsten, 62. 30 Ruth Ben Ghiat, Fascist Modernitites: Italy, 1922-1945, The American Historical Revue (2002), 653. 31 Piers Brendon, The Dark Valley (New York: Alfred A. Knopf), 126. 32 Piers Brendon, 126. 33 Lisa Pine, National Community: Society and Culture in Nazi Germany, The American Historical Revue (2009), 2.

Page 12 of 20

He was an artist-statesman, a kind master, a beloved friend, states historian Piers Brendon.34 Every time he spoke to the German people, he seemed to reach out for the souls of the hearers.35Despite his appealing leadership qualities that were able to grab the hearts of the common German people, Hitler, along with the Nazi party as a whole, had a much darker side. As mentioned, the use of terror was crucial to both forms of Fascism. Also very instrumental in the terror aspect of the Nazi party, according to Nikolaus Wachsmann, was the German legal system.36 The Great majority of German judges, prosecutors, and other senior legal officials broadly supported the Nazi regime.37The means of mass terror through use of work camps, concentration camps, or death camps was not only accepted by the German delegation of the time, it was also carried out by them. A large portion of these German officials had joined the Nazi party by the year 1938 acting as party supports and even SS guards.38 Mark Mazower, a leading historian on the topic of German Fascism discuses a correlation uncommonly expressed by other historians. The correlation is that there are direct links in history between German and European imperialism and the Nazi empire and the Holocaust. Mazower, being one of these historians in support of this claim, argues that the real transgression or rise to power of the Nazi forces was not because of the genocide of thousands of people.39 He argues of the importance of the importation into Europe of brutal colonial rule over non Europeans. Many Holocaust Historians of this time period have argued solely that the accumulation of power over the European people rested upon the centrality of anti-Semitism in the Nazi project. Mazower rejects their statements by stating that this was for Europeans the defining experience that shaped
34 35

Piers Brendon, The Dark Valley (New York: Alfred A. Knopf), 105. Piers Brendon, 106. 36 Nikolaus Wachsmann, Hitlers Prisons: Legal Terror in Nazi Germany, The American Historical Revue (2005), 1. 37 Nikolaus Wachsmann, 1. 38 Nikolaus Wachsmann, 2. 39 Mark Mazower, Hitlers Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe, The American Historical Revue (2010), 1.

Page 13 of 20

the twentieth century. The classic struggle between civilization and barbarism that imperialism and colonialism had come face to face with had been brought to the European home front. The struggle was now being fought between civilization and civilization.40 For Mazower, the Holocaust; once thought to be the defining moment in twentieth century European history, was not the case. The struggle is argued to date back to the times which Mazower refers to as the rise and fall of Greater Germany. Starting with the fight on the Prussian-Polish borderlands in the late nineteenth century and culminating into the dream of a Central and East European empire, this struggle hoped to create an empire encompassing the millions of ethnic German and far more inferior Slavic groups.41 Adolf Hitler took this dream a step further, adding in the geopolitics and an apocalyptic world-historical perspective on the rivalry between the English, Soviet, and American empires. The envisioned continental autocracy was based on the ruthless exploitation and eventual removal or extermination of dangerous groups of enemy peoples; in this case, more particularly, the Jews. Mazower then goes on to explain that from this point forward in history, intense debate raged on among the German elites, in preparation for this vast empire and how it should be governed. With the help of Italian and Japanese allies and Pragmatic German officers, the realization that due to Hermann Gorings economic policies of plunder and Heinrich Himmlers and Reinhard Heydrichs genocidal security imperatives alienated or singled out the nationalities that were most likely to collaborate with the German occupation. 42 Mazower points out that a missed opportunity was upon the European people. All too many Europeans were prepared to cooperate with the Germans or the Nazi party officials in
40 41

Mark Mazower, Hitlers Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe, The American Historical Revue (2010), 2. Mark Mazower, 3. 42 Mark Mazower, 3.

Page 14 of 20

order to gain the desired outcome of vanquishing hated parliamentarism and the Jewish people, along with making a tremendous profit, recreating and redrawing the Versailles borders, gaining statehood for the territories of ethnic groups in Eastern Europe, and lastly, expelling unwanted minorities.43 Hitler was a firm supporter of military occupation compared to collaborative and peaceful arrangements with independent states. For the ethnocentric or ethnonationalists, people like Adolf Hitler, only the Germans mattered. Mazower makes reference to the fact that the geopolitical gains to be made in cooperating with the Germans, instead of the anti-Semitic sentiment, was the decisive factor in the inclination and obligation to yield their Jewish people over to the German death camps. During World War II, around 1942 when the war looked to be lost, these people were far less willing to yield up their Jewish people and because of this Mazower challenges the common view about the role of ideology in the unfolding of the Holocaust.
44

Before World War II, a major political change occurred in two very distinct countries; Italy and Germany. This political change referred to in this historiographic essay as the rise of Fascism was perpetuated by the Treaty of Versailles and the Paris Peace Conference. The Treaty of Versailles which caused economic instability, political unrest, and numerous other outcomes. The Treaty reduced the power and influence of these countries and virtually left them humiliated in the face of the looming Allied powers. Punishing the defeated countries and forcing reparations to be paid along with unequal support after the war caused political maneuvering and widespread violence to rise, giving way to underground rebel forces to cause riots, thus setting the stage for the rise of authoritarian regimes such as Fascism. As seen here, the four major steps

43 44

Mark Mazower, Hitlers Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe, The American Historical Revue (2010), 5. Mark Mazower, 5.

Page 15 of 20

in the rise of Fascism; the Treaty of Versailles, its outcomes, the collection of Fascist power, and the Fascist rule of Germany and Italy, depict various historians different views on what caused this very controversial event in history to occur.

Page 16 of 20

Bibliography Billiani, Francesca. "Culture nazionali e narrazioni straneiere: Italia, 1903-1943, The American Historical Review". 114. 4 (2009), 1185-1186, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/ahr.114.4.1185. (accessed March 24, 2011). This journal takes a closer look at the time period spanning form the emergence of Italian nationalism, to the outbreak of World War II. Looking the social impacts of the tremendous nationwide sweep of nationalistic fever, one can see a deeper side to the Italian Fascist revolution. Francesca Billiani is a professor of Italian studies at the University of Manchester. Blinkhorn,Martin. Fascism and the Right in Europe 1919-1945. 1st. ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education, 2000. Martin Blinkhorn has a PHD in History from Oxford University and focused most of his career studying the rise of Fascism in Italy and Europe following World War I. This book takes a look at the rise of Fascism following immediately after World War I and the disastrous consequences that were to ensue in Europe over the next few decades. Brendon,Piers. The Dark Valley. 1st. ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Piers Brendon, a successful British historical writer with a PHD in history from Magdalene College in Cambridge, was born in December of 1940This book describes the time in world history after the 1929 Stock Market Crash and the turmoil that was to ensue. Discussing the issues that surrounded the moody and depressed American people, the traumatized and radical Europeans and the secretive and shut out Soviets, this book takes a deeper look at the social impacts of the years leading up to World War II. Carsten,F.L.. Revolution in Central Europe 1918-1919. 1st. ed. Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 1972. This book takes a comparative approach to the study of the revolutions and anarchy that was to ensue after the First World War. Taking a close look at countries like Germany, Italy, and Russia, this book provides great evidence on the issues that were to become the seedbed of World War II. Francis Ludwig Carsten is acclaimed historian with countless numbers of books. Carsten,F.L.. The Rise of Fascism. 1st. ed. Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 1967. This book is about the period in history where the principal Fascist movements commenced in the 1920s and 1930s. This book focuses on the rise to power; not when these governments exercised power, over the individual states of Italy, Germany, and Austria. Francis Ludwig Carsten is acclaimed historian with countless numbers of books.

Page 17 of 20

Cohrs, Patrick O.. "THe Unfinished Peace after World War IL America, Britain and the Stabilization of Europe, 1919-1932, The American Historical Review". 112. 3 (2007), 821, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/ahr.112.3.821. (accessed March 25, 2011). Professor Cohrs received his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2002 and is currently working as an Assistant Professor of History at Yale University. This journal is a major reinterpretation of post World War I international history, with a focus on European history. Exploring the unsettled issues that were left after the Treaty of Versailles and the Ruhr Crisis, this journal helps to clarify questions about the revolutions of the 1920s and 1930s. Czernin,Ferdinand. Versailles, 1919. 1st. ed. New York: Capricorn Books, 1964. This book looks at the Forces, events and Personalities that shaped the Treaty of Versailles. Looking at the Treaty itself and understanding why the measures that were taken, were taken, one can understand why exactly outcomes, such as the rise of Fascism and dictatorships around Europe occurred. Ghiat, Ruth Ben. "Fascist Modernities: Italy, 1922-1945, The American Historical Review". 107. 2 (2002), 653-654, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/532463. (accessed March 25, 2011). Ruth Ben Ghiat is a Professor of Italian and History and New York University and has a Ph.D. in comparative history from the University of California at Los Angeles. This journal looks at the social side to life under a Fascist styled dictatorship in Italy from the 1920s to around 1945. Comparing both the male and female experience, one can gain valuable insight about this very confusing time period. Goeschel, Christian. "Suicide in Nazi Germany, The American Historical Review". 115. 4 (2010), 1239, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/ahr.115.4.1239. (accessed March 25, 2011). Christian Goeschel earned an M.A. in history from York University and is a Professor of History at the University of London, Birkbeck. This journal looks at the social impact of life under Nazi rule, looking at the tolls this oppressive rule took on the lives of ordinary people as well as leading officials in the Nazi party. Grand, Alexander De. "The Huntchback's Tailor: Giovanni Giolitti and Liberal Italy from the Challenge of Mass Politics to the Rise of Fascism, 1882-1922,The American Historical Review". 108. 1 (2003), 282-283, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/533200. (accessed March 25, 2011). Alexander De Grand is a Professor of History with a focus in 20th century Italian history at North Carolina State University. This journal follows the life of Giovanni Giolitti, a controversial Italian figure who rose to power before the rise of Fascism and stayed in the public eye through much of the Fascist rule. His story sheds light on how Mussolini and his followers were able to gain popular support over the masses. Page 18 of 20

Kohn,Hans. Revolutions and Dictatorships. 1st. ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1966. This book was intended to clarify some of the issues involved in the then current world situation; the rise of Fascist styled dictatorships around Europe. By looking at the background of major historical events such as World War II, one can gain a better understanding and clarity on what allowed these radically new problems and situations to occur. Mazower, Mark. "Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe, The American Historical Review". 115. 3 (2010), 885-886, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/ahr.115.3.885. (accessed March 25, 2011). Mark Mazower is British historian who currently works as a Professor of History and Columbia University in New York. This journal explores the rise to power of Hitler and his supporters. Taking note of the tremendous power they gained in such a short amount of time through study of the military power and might along with the oppressive rule over the German subjects, one can gain valuable insight on how the government was set into place. Newman,William J.. The Balance of Power in the Interwar Years, 1919-1939. 1st. ed. New York: Random House, 1968. This book looks at the time period following the Versailles Treaty and rise of dictatorships around the Europe home front. Looking at the effects of the Treaty on different countries such as Germany and Italy, and the how the power was split between the allied and non allied countries. This book helps to also shed light on the events that directly influenced the outbreak of World War II. Nolte,Ernst. Three Faces of Fascism. 1st. ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1966. Ernst Nolte is a German historian and philosopher who spent most of his career focusing on the comparison of Communism and Fascism. This book takes a different look at Fascism, ignoring the more popular side of this radical political movement. This side looks at a more philosophical approach to Fascism to gain an understanding of the misunderstood nature of this aggressive style of government. Pine, Lisa. ""National Community":Society and Culture in Nazi Germany, The American Historical Review. 114. 1 (2009), 228-229, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/ahr.114.1.228. (accessed March 25, 2011). This journal is the second attempt to look at the social history of the Nazi German occupation. This work provides an updated synthesis of fresh insights and interpretations of the culture and social history of this radical time period. Lisa Pine is the Senior Lecturer at London South Bank University.

Page 19 of 20

Poewe, Karla. "New Religions and the Nazis, The American Historical Review". 112. 2 (2007), 608-609, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/ahr.112.2.608a. (accessed March 25, 2011). This journal takes a look at exactly why the Germans came to support the National socialist worldview. The information in this journal sheds light on Nazism as a political force along with its view as a religious force as well. How they came to power as seen through their manipulation of the Christian faith with the interjectory of Nazi beliefs over the common people. Karla Poewe is an anthropologist and historian who has written more than ten academic books. Quine, Maria Sophia. "Italy's Social Revolution: Charity and Welfare from Liberalism to Fascism, The American Historical Review. 108. 5 (2003), 1551-1552, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/530121. (accessed March 25, 2011). This journal explores a great deal of territory in considerable detail examining the evolution of charity and welfare attitudes and provisions in Italy during the period of national unification until when Fascism was in power. Maria Sophia Quine is a professor of history at the Queen Mary, University of London. Schmidt,Royal J.. Versailles and the Ruhr: Seedbed of World War II..1st. ed. The Hague, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff, 2000. This book focuses on the Treaty of Versailles and its consequences. It takes a closer look at how these outcomes lay the foundation for the problems that lead to World War II. Looking at the impact on the German people, this book helps to understand why Nazism was able to gain mass appeal and also understand the events leading up to World War II. Snyder,Louis L.. The New Nationalism. 1st. ed. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1968. The author of this work, Louis L. Snyder was an American born German scholar. This book looks at the rise of what is referred to as New Nationalism, or the rise of nationwide dictatorships. How the New Nationalism and the old compared and how the rise of the newer impacted the history of various regions; for example Germany. Wachsmann, Nikolaus. "Hitler's Prisons: Legal Terror in Nazi Germany, The American Historical Review". 110. 3 (2005), 888-889, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/ahr.110.3.888. (accessed March 25, 2011). This journal, unlike what the title implies, does not just focus on the large number of unknown prisons in the Nazi camp. However, it does explore the Nazi Judiciary as well and argues persuasively that, contrary to the long- held view of many scholars, the judiciary and penal system in Hitlers Germany played a key role in Nazi terror. Nikolaus Wachsmann is a professor of history at the University of London, Birkbeck.

Page 20 of 20