Hitler was very clever in regards to his approach to come to power. He used the German great depression to swiftly win over the German people. Using the concept of deficit financing Hitler decreased unemployment drastically and gained great support. Next, Hitler uses the burning of the German parliment to convinvce the government that there was a communist uprising on the horizon. They then pass the enabling act which allowed Hitler to pass laws without consulting the Reichstag. This was the start of his power. He then introduced his secret police called the SS to enforce the laws he passed. After that he has an "election" where he uses intimidation to win over 99% of the votes. Hitler manipulated many people to come to power and used the fear of economic down turn and communism as a segway to convince people.
The Weimar Republic was challenged from the start: the German people were disappointed with the government and the fact that they obeyed the terms of The Treaty of Versailles. They also faced challenges faced by the Spartacus . The Spartacus were a German communist party that tried to take over the government by marching on Berlin in 1919. Another group that challenged the Weimar Republic were the Kapp Putsch. The Kapp Putsch were a group that again tried to take over the government by marching on Berlin in 1920.
Mussolini is said to be the founder of Fascism. To assist his rise to power he created a secret police called the blackshirts. In 1923 he marched on Rome and after King Emmanuel III refused to sign emergency legislation he took power. After that he was sanctioned by the Pope in exchange for the Vatican to become a private state. Life is Beautiful is an Italian movie from 1997 set in Italy during the 1930s/40s. This was of course the time that the Nazis began the prosecution of Jews all over Europe. The main character is a Jewish waiter named Guido. Guido is a clever and positive character. These two attributes were crucial in his sons survival of the Nazi work camp. His young son Joshua as well as his wife Nora both survive their encounter with the Nazis; however, Guido does not. Guido hides his son from the officers by telling him that the camp is all a big game and that by behaving and staying hidden his son will win points. The final prize for the "winner" would be a tank. The ending gave me mixed feelings: it is tragic that Guido is killed however it was enjoyable to see that Joshua survives and gets to ride out of the camp on his tank only to be reunited with his mother further down the road. This movie, although being in Italian, it was a great story.
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