1 Introduction
In this essay, I will focus on the political system of the German Democratic Republic where I am particularly trying to examine if it was a totalitarian state. Since the emergence of the theory of totalitarianism, the concept passed through constant fluctuations. Its meaning changed depending on which side or at what time the term was used. And again today, after the collapse of socialism in the GDR and Eastern Europe, the concept of totalitarianism is a focal point of scientific but also of public discussion. Especially in the case of the GDR, regarding to the point of view if it was a totalitarian system, the different opinions of scientists diverge (cf. Jesse 1996, 11). I personally, apart from the immediate postwar period until the death of Stalin, would not classify the GDR as a totalitarian state. You could definitely argue that the German Democratic Republic was a dictatorship but I would rather describe it as an illiberal system with some totalitarian elements which appeared especially in the early years of its foundation. However, to answer this question it is necessary to explain the term totalitarianism. Political scientists describe totalitarianism as a political system which is fully controlled by the state. The centralized government holds total authority over the society. Furthermore the state tries to control and regulate all aspects of private and public life (cf. Conquest 2000, 74). In the first part of my essay I will explain the development of totalitarianism, secondly I will go in more detail about the model on totalitarianism of Carl Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski which I will also use to characterize the regime in the GDR and in addition of course, I will highlight the totalitarian element...
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... East and West Germany and unsatisfactory production levels of the Eastern Bloc compelled the SED to implement the so called NÖSPL/NES in 1963. The New Economic System of Planning and Management was a government program to reform the centrally planned economy. With the aim of creating an economy which runs as efficient as possible, elements like performance bonuses for workers and a greater autonomy for enterprises were introduced. As a result, labor productivity grew by seven percent the following year. The introduction of capitalist methods lead to a increasingly business dominated and liberal society which furthermore positioned social and economic issues above ideology. Opening itself to privatization and liberalizing its economy is a clear sign against totalitarianism and yet another reason why this system can not be defined as a totalitarian political system.
The Development of Totalitarianism Under Stalin By 1928, Stalin had become the undisputed successor to Lenin, and leader of the CPSU. Stalin’s power of appointment had filled the aisles of the Party Congress and Politburo with Stalinist supporters. Political discussion slowly faded away from the Party, and this led to the development of the totalitarian state of the USSR. Stalin, through.
dimensions. The Soviet and Nazi regimes “turned people into numbers” the author attempts to avoid the reader from doing the same (408). Snyder not only describes how the Soviet and Nazi regimes operated similarly, and details how they (before imperialism caused them to turn on each other in 1941) assisted each other. Both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany attempted to achieve their vision of utopia implemented through mass killings.
Gottfried, Ted, and Stephen Alcorn. Nazi Germany: The Face of Tyranny. Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century, 2000. Print.
1984 was written as a warning to the western countries about having a totalitarianism government which is refers to a system of government in which lawfully electes representatives maintain the integrity of a nation state whose citizens, while granted the right to vote, have little to no participation in the decision-making process of the government. The author felt like these countries were not able to find tactics to withstand the communism that was being taken placed. When the book was written in 1949 the Cold War had not yet broke out, and most people supported the diplomacy with the democratic communism. The author found the cruelty that was committed in the communist countries very disturbing, and the technologies that were used to help these countries control the citizens intriguing. This book tells how a complete government controlled country could be. Warning those who lived during this time to that if they did not want this to happen then they better vote against totalitarianism.
2001. OUTLINE The government of Nazi Germany greatly resembled the Party, the government in 1984, as both were very power-hungry governments. I. System of government A. A. Nazi and Party ideology B. B. Propaganda and control of media II. Children A. Education of children B. Youth organizations III.
The Aims and the Results of the Attempts by the Nazi Regime to Transform German Society
Nazism possess the core features of totalitarianism, however has a few differences which distinguishes it. Totalitarianism, by the Friedrich-Brzezinski definition, is when the government establishes complete control over all aspects of the state,maintaining the complete control of laws and over what people can say, think and do. Nazi Germany satisfies most of this criteria, as they had a one party system without political opposition. Moreover, they had a single unchallenged leader, in Hitler, to whom the entire nation conformed to. Furthermore, the party had nearly complete control over the country, controlling what people thought through propaganda and censorship, as well as what people could do through fear and terror. However, there are
Ascher, Abraham. 2012. Was Hitler a Riddle? Western Democracies and National Socialism. California: Standford University Press.
In order to conclude the extent to which the Great Terror strengthened or weakened the USSR, the question is essentially whether totalitarianism strengthened or weakened the Soviet Union? Perhaps under the circumstances of the 1930s in the approach to war a dictatorship may have benefited the country in some way through strong leadership, the unifying effect of reintroducing Russian nationalism and increased party obedience. The effects of the purges on the political structure and community of the USSR can be described (as Peter Kenez asserts) as an overall change from a party led dictatorship to the dictatorship of a single individual; Stalin. Overall power was centred on Stalin, under whom an increasingly bureaucratic hierarchy of party officials worked. During the purges Stalin's personal power can be seen to increase at the cost of the party.
'Nazi Germany ' represented the period from 1933s to 1945s, which played an important role in prosperous German history and the modern European history. After Germany participated in First World War in the first half of the 20th century, the whole society was glutted with unemployment, poverty, hunger, inflation and moral corruption. The public couldn’t feel the republican democracy benefits.
It was during the 1920’s to the 1940’s that totalitarian control over the state escalated into full dictatorships, with the wills of the people being manipulated into a set of beliefs that would promote the fascist state and “doctrines”.
The Web. 6 Apr. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-totalitarian-regime.htm>. The "Nazi Propaganda" Holocaust Encyclopedia. N. p. :
For a historian, the 20th century and all the historic events that it encompasses represents a utopia with endless sources of inspiration for the analysis of political figures, events and their consequences. Political figures such as Benito Mussolini of Italy, Adolf Hitler of Germany, Mao Zedong of China and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union are all names we are familiar with due to the time period that they influenced; this time period after the trauma and atrocities of World War I and the Great Depression led to completely new forms of government in Europe and beyond. These “manifestations of political evil”, commonly known as totalitarian states, should not be considered as mere extensions of already existing political systems, but rather as completely new forms of government built upon terror and ideological fiction. Therefore, this was also a time in which political philosophers such as Hannah Arendt, the author of the standard work on totalitarianism, “Origins of Totalitarianism”, could thrive. When looking at totalitarianism as a political philosophy, two initial questions have to be dealt with: what is totalitarianism and what kind of effect it had on countries ruled by totalitarian regimes. The reasons for its occurrence have briefly been mentioned above, although there are much deeper ideological, social and economic reasons including imperialism and anti-Semitism. In order to fully understand it, we must also contrast it to other political systems like authoritarianism and dictatorship, which are similar to a certain extent, but lack crucial elements that are in the core of totalitarian ideology. Out of the many examples of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, Nazi Germany, Communist China and the Soviet Union stan...
All these sanctions against Germany created a feeling of discontent and resentment of German population to the rest of the European nations, activities, and actions that were taken by Adolf Hitler to rise to power and subsequent establishment of a Totalitarian State. We can say that the excesses committed by the Germans in the previous stages and during World War II, against the population and minorities of the cities they would occupy during the war were many, and ...
Within Nazi government, Hitler acted as the final source of authority, which serves as evidence against the notion that Hitler was ‘weak’. Having consolidated power by 1934 Hitler was, at least theoretically, omnipotent, being Chancellor, Head of State and “supreme judge of the nation”. However, the notion that Nazi government systematically pursued the clear objectives of the Fuhrer is challenged by the reality of Nazi government structure. It has been widely accepted by historians that the Nazi State was a chaotic collection of rival power blocs. Mommsen’s explanation that this was the result of Hitler’s apathy towards government a...