Blog #27 - Fascism Can't Happen Here, Can It?

Could something like Japan, Germany and Italy's descent into fascism happen in America today?
If you remember the circumstances when these three countries fell under fascism's spell, the following was happening in these 3 countries:


1. A major economic depression (1929-1933) put amazing stress upon these three countries' economic systems, causing massive unemployment, inflation, and extreme stress upon their banking systems;


2. Weak democracies were unable to meet the demands upon its organization, whether through the rising violence in the streets, the internal threats from revolutions on both the left (Communists and Socialists) and the right (fascists), or the overwhelming poverty of the Depression or other economic crises (like Germany's hyperinflation crisis of 1922-23);


3. Strong nationalist feelings helped make the people in their country ready for a leader (Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito) who would exploit the country for his own personal sake;


4. In each country, a strong military presence - either with generals taking over the gov't. in Japan or the rebuilding of Germany's industry through an increase in military forces or the desire to spread out for resources and recapture old glory like Italy - allowed each country to channel their aggression and spread their imperialist demands;


5. In each country, the conservative business interests sided with the fascists in the hopes of postponing or preventing a socialist or communist revolution like what had occurred in Russia.  That was the greatest fear and these industrialists would rather ally themselves w/ a devil who is on their side (who they also thought they could control) then risk free elections.  What you end up seeing are corporations receiving favoritism or outright support over the working class of a nation. 


6. Free elections became tampered with or voters were intimidated at the polls before they stopped altogether or just gave up the pretense of being free and open (hmmm.... should I vote for this Nazi or that Nazi?).  So, whether the elections are national, state or local, they have been tampered with through stuffed ballots or detroyed or lost votes or large numbers of opposition voters being kept from voting;


7. Create an internal threat that could scare the country and allow the government greater powers to pursue this threat.  When the Reichstag (Germany's legislature) was burned down, the Communists were blamed and Hitler gained more power to pursue enemies of the state.  Two years later, Jews legally lost their rights.  It ends up that these internal enemies can become scapegoats for the problems that the nation encounters. 


Your questions:
1. Could these things occur in America? Why or why not?
2. Where do you see similar already occuring in America right now? Explain w/ examples. 


200 words minimum (not per question but total). Due Tuesday, March 30
(I gave you an extra day to do this b/c I didn't post this until Saturday afternoon). 



Author Sinclair Lewis wrote about this exact scenario in his novel in It Can't Happen Here in 1935.
 
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0301001h.html
Here's a link to the novel online.

Nagging questions about World War 2

We've finished our unit on World War 2 but that doesn't mean that we've answered all of the questions out there. After the test this week, you guys came up with some very interesting thoughts and questions that showed some deeper thinking. Here are some of the best questions (you're responsible for answering at least one by Pie Day 3/14 Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.):

1. What happened in Detroit in 1943 that created all the tension for the race riot? - Shayna

2. To what degree did Hitler's service in World War I influence his later politics? - Martin

3. Holocaust deniers claim that the Holocaust never occurred, yet how can they deny it with so much visual, actual proof? - Martin

4. I know that the U.S. had a great military back during the war, but it's hard for me to understand how in some of the battles there was such a huge difference in the number of casualties. For instance, at Iwo Jima, 6,000 Americans vs. 20,500 Japanese. Okinawa was much worse: 12,600 (7,600 soldiers + 5,000 sailors) Americans vs. 110,000 Japanese. What do you think accounts for the difference in the numbers? - Colleen

5. According to the textbooks, we saw Stalin as an ally during the war but he was responsible for killing more of his own people than Hitler. Everyone knows about Hitler and the Holocaust but we hear little about Stalin and these deaths. Why is that? - Allison and Colleen

6. Since there were so many more Jews in the concentration camps than Nazis, why didn't they try to band together and fight back? - Shayla, Andy R.

7. In every war there are P.O.W.s. Did the United States have any enemy P.O.W.s during WW2 like we do now with the Iraq War at Guantanamo Bay? Do you think we treated them as badly?
- Alex S.

8. What if the U.S. didn't enter the war, how would the U.S./the world be different today? - Ashley, Jill, Lori, Kaitlyn,

9. Do you think that Oppenheimer and those other scientists really thought that they were "saving lives" when they built the atomic bomb? - Alex L.

10. Why would anyone be a kamikaze pilot? What must it be like? Did his family receive anything in return? - Ryan, Crystal, Ciara, Andrew W., Larry, Brittany, Adam

11. Have we really learned from the Holocaust when we look at Rwanda and Darfur? - Crystal

12. How would you have survived the concentration camps? Would you have struggled on and lived through the horror or would you have rather died and been spared the agony? - Megan

13. What made Hitler the way he was? How did he become so popular and influential? - Hannah, Larry, Erin, Samantha, Adam, Ryan, Jasmine, Imani, Shayna, Martin, Claire, Trevor, Leah, Shayla,

14. How are relations between the U.S. and Japan today? Do the atomic bombs play any role in these relations? - Alice

15. Where was Superman during all this time? - Thomas



Editor's Note: I think I found the answer, Thomas. Unfortunately, the action in the comics never matched reality.



Detroit News account of 1943 race riot: http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=185&category=events



Also, I've checked Ebay and ration books are selling for between $1 and $10 if you're interested in having your own set.



When looking for info on Hitler, take care to make sure your source is very credible. Like with most historical figures, legends have been repeated so often that they have become fact. That makes it difficult to find accurate info.

Please post just your first name and last initial.