Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini Totalitarianism in the Twentieth Century

The fourth edition of Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini: Totalitarianism in the Twentieth Century presents an innovative comparison of the origins, development, and demise of the three forms of totalitarianism that emerged in twentieth-century Europe.

• Represents the only book that systematically compares all three infamous dictators of the twentieth century
• Provides the latest scholarship on the wartime goals of Hitler and Stalin as well as new information on the disintegration of the Soviet empire
• Compares the early lives of Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini, their ideologies, rise to and consolidation of power, and the organization and workings of their dictatorships
• Features topics organized by themes rather than strictly chronologically
• Includes a wealth of visual material to support the text, as well as a thorough Bibliographical Essay compiled by the author

Bruce F. Pauley, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Central Florida, is the author of six books on Nazism, anti-Semitism, totalitarianism, and the two world wars, as well as his autobiography, Pioneering History on Two Continents (2014).

List of Maps x

List of Plates xi

Preface xiii

1 The Ideological Foundations 1

Definitions of Totalitarianism 1

Marxism – Leninism – Stalinism 4

Fascism and Nazism 6

2 The Seizure of Power 12

Russia on the Eve of Revolution 13

The Establishment of the Soviet Dictatorship 16

The Failure of Liberal Italy 22

The Birth and Triumph of Fascism 26

Germany and the Impact of World War I 32

The Weimar Republic and the Rise of the Nazi Movement 38

The Great Depression and the Nazi Takeover 44

3 Personalities and Policies of the Dictators 51

Stalin’s Youth and Early Career 52

Stalin the Demigod 55

Mussolini: The Young Socialist 58

The Duce: Strengths and Weaknesses 63

The Young Hitler 65

Hitler: The Chaotic Dictator 69

Hitler’s Private Life and Relations with Women 73

4 Totalitarian Economies 77

The End of the New Economic Policy 78

Stalin’s War against the Peasants 80

The First Five-Year Plan and Industrialization 86

The Fascist Economy 89

The Economy of National Socialist Germany 94

5 Propaganda, Culture, and Education 102

The Limitations of Propaganda 103

Soviet Propaganda 105

Fascist Propaganda 107

Nazi Propaganda 109

Totalitarian Culture 114

Soviet Education 122

Education in the Fascist States 125

Youth Groups 128

6 Family Values and Health 134

The Conservative Trend in Values 135

Soviet Women: The Mixed Blessings of Emancipation 136

Fascist Italy: The Failure of Antifeminism 140

Women in Nazi Germany: Kinder, Kirche, und Küche? 144

Health and Eugenics in Nazi Germany 150

Religion: The Basic Incompatibility 153

7 Totalitarian Terror 162

The Great Purges in the Soviet Union 163

Terror and Persecution in the Fascist States 172

The Persecution of Jews 174

8 The Era of Traditional Diplomacy and War, 1933–1941 187

Hitler’s Foreign Policy Strategy 188

Hitler as “Peace Lover,” 1933–1935 193

From Ethiopia to Spain: Fascist Italy at War 195

Austria and Czechoslovakia: Hitler’s First Conquests 200

The Approach of War 206

The Blitzkrieg Campaigns 210

The Italian Intervention 216

9 Total War, 1941–1945 223

Hitler Turns East 226

Stalin’s Preparations for War 229

The Russian Campaign in 1941 235

Hitler and the Untermenschen 238

Hitler and Stalin as War Lords 242

The Fall of Fascism 249

The German Home Front 253

The War in the West 256

The End of the Third Reich 260

10 The Collapse of Soviet Totalitarianism 266

Stalin’s Last Years, 1945–1953 267

The Khrushchev Era 271

Reaction and Reform: From Brezhnev to Gorbachev 275

Problems of the Soviet Economy and Society 279

Soviet Women in the Last Years of the Regime 282

Soviet Society in the 1980s: The Balance Sheet 285

The Revolt of the Satellites and the Disintegration of the Soviet Union 286

The End of Soviet Totalitarianism 289

11 Lessons and Prospects 292

The Triumph of Dogmatism 294

The Structural Flaws of Totalitarianism 295

The Totalitarian Legacy 300

Bibliographical Essay 308

Index 338

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