Hitler was extremely skilled and tactical in his rise to power. He used the German great depression to convince and 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 convince 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 a democratic government that Germany adopted after WWI. There were three main challenges that it faced. The first being the lack of support from the German people due to the governments compliance with the terms of the treaty of versaille. The next challenge that they faced was the Spartikists. The Spartikists were a communist group that attempted to overpower the Weimar Republic by marching on Berlin in 1919. The other group that challenged the Weimar was the Kapp Putsch. The Kapp Putsch marched on Berlin in 1920 and were stopped by the friarkorps.
Mussolini swiftly rose to power in Italy. He was the founder of fascism. He used a paramilitary force called the blackshirts as a method of intimidation to gain power. Furthermore, Mussolini signed a deal with the catholic church through Pope Puis to be recognized as a legit leader. In exchange, catholicism would be the only religion in Italy and the Pope would govern his own state called the Vatican. The film "Life Is Beautiful" is an Italian movie based in the 1930's and 40's in Italy. These were the years that the Nazis started their horrid prosecution of jews throughout Europe. The main character of this film is a jewish waiter and bookstore owner named Guido. He is a very intelligent man, who's sense of humour and positive attitude help his son and his wife through their struggle for survival in a nazi concentration camp. Thankfully, his young son and his wife Nora both survive; however, Guido does not. Nora was separated from her family when they entered the camp, which made Guido do everything he could to keep his son, Joshua alive. He made the whole camp seem as though it was a game, awarding Joshua with points for behaving and claiming that the "winners" would be awarded with a tank. The ending left me with a bittersweet feeling. It was amazing to see Joshua reunited with his mother on his big tank, but I felt like Guido should've survived as well. All in all, a great movie filled with humour that also gave a great taste into this horrible part of world history.
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