Ww1 And The Effects Of Fascism

After the drastic effects of WWI, nations were left in economical, political, and even social distress. The Treaty of Versailles brought hope to many of these distraught nations. While most countries reclaimed their land and losses, countries such as Italy and Germany were left in economic shambles. Germany, being the main focus of blame for the war, was stripped of her military benefits. The effects of this national distress would come to light with the development of the fascist movement and the political leaders that rose to power with fascist ideals. This movement initially began in Italy and soon appealed to distressed nations all throughout Europe. The most prominent of these nations that followed Italy’s lead was Germany, under the leadership

Hitler placed nearly all the fault of Germany’s economic strife on the Jews and used Nazi propaganda to channel the feeling of hatred towards the Jewish culture. Their presence was to blame for the worsening economy. These anti-Semitic views appealed to the public because it seemed to be the only answer to their economic problems. Shopkeepers and small business owners who suffered from competition of big industry and department stores were attracted to anti-Semitism because the Jews were typically the ones that owned these larger stores and took away their business (Kettenacker 19). In addition, farmers began to favor Hitler and the Nazis because they too were suffering from lack of land, business, and even living space. Farmers were threatened by the existence of big industry and needed a source of salvation and leadership. Moreover, the Nazi’s economic plan favored independent businessmen over commercial corporation (Woolf 67). Thus, this platform greatly appealed to the middle classes and farmers. With this economic plan in full effect, Hitler decreased unemployment rates from 6.2 million to 500,000 in merely 6 years (Blum

This Jewish influence sparked the beginnings of anti-Semitism within Hungary, long before the influence of Nazi Germany. In the 1930’s, Hungary’s government had developed into two dominant spheres – the democratic, and the National Socialist. This development was also independent of Nazi influence (174). However, while their formation was independent of the Nazis, the National Socialist Hungary also wanted to gain German support. Thus, Hungary further implemented their anti-Semitic ideals in an effort to gain support from the Nazis. Many anti-Jewish laws were set forth in Hungary due to German influence. Before long, Hungary and Germany had formed a political collaboration, and an official alliance against Yugoslavia and Soviet Russia in 1941 (179). From this alliance, we can conclude that the effects of Nazism and their propaganda efforts reached past their own nation and into Hungary. Furthermore, Hungary’s economic state due to the resources put into war was fragile. The anti-Semitism present in Nazi propaganda appealed to Hungary’s diminished middle class due to its promise of redemption from Jewish presence, just as in the middle classes of