Extremist Parties And Struggle Of Democracy In Germany

To the Extreme: The Success of Extremist Parties and Struggle of Democracy after the First World War

After the First World War, Britain and Germany were both unsettled and struggled to return to their pre-war conditions. Both countries were not happy with the outcome of the war. Specifically, Germany was frustrated in how its democratic system was handling the post-war situation. Through the apparent failure of democracy in Germany, extremist parties, such as fascism and communism, began having more appealing and encouraging proposals, which started to attract the everyday citizens. In Western Counties like Britain, democracy reached a lull due to lack of immense passion and conviction behind its larger societal and cultural beliefs. Extremist governments in countries like Germany gained popularity due to their intense passion and nationalism where as liberalism in Britain did not possess this same pride and conviction. As a result of ideological difference, economic and political systems, and cultural confidence, Nazi Fascism in the 1930’s proved more successful than British Democracy during the Interwar years.

The government stayed out of economic affairs and let the capitalist business cycle correct itself. The government was composed of a Parliamentary System elected by the people through democracy. Therefore, Prime Ministers were not able to expand their militaries as this seemed like a way of promoting war. Freedom of speech and the press provoked many questions from the population about politics and culture. A welfare state was difficult to achieve because of Liberalism’s lack of belief in dictatorship. Additionally, the implementation of a welfare state would have also caused the government to face accusations of turning socialist or