Communism Vs. Fascism

Communism vs. Fascism

20th century totalitarianism had two forms. In the Soviet Union it was communism ruled by Joseph Stalin. In Germany it was fascism ruled by Adolf Hitler. They appealed to the people in both the same and different ways.

In documents 5 and 6 it shows that communism and fascism both used propaganda to appeal to the people. Hitler used propaganda to promote anti-Semitism by depicting the Jews as poisonous mushrooms. Stalin used propaganda to promote collectivization and showed that people who didn't want join collective farms were like spiders and will hurt the people who are collective farmers. Both these documents show that Hitler and Stalin used propaganda to show the people who their enemies were.

In Hitler's Nazi Germany, fascism appealed to the people in a positive manner. Document 1 shows that Hitler cared about the youth. For him to get thousands of teenage girls in one place to listen to him speak and to spell out," we belong to you", shows that they had a sense of community and pride in him. The picture in Document 3 shows that Stalin appealed to people in a more negative way. It shows his use of propaganda during the five years plan. He wanted people to see him as a god. He brainwashed people into thinking he was everything, even their source for happiness.

Communism and Fascism also had different tones when giving speeches to people. Communism in the Soviet Union spoke to the people in an abrupt and straight forward way. Stalin's speech in Document 4 refers to the people as weak and backward. He said that to become 'mighty' and 'right', the factory managers must interfere in all the affairs of the factory. Fascism talked to people the people in a more encouraging way. German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels Nazi revolution as becoming a, "happy reality". He refers to it as the most wonderful and exciting event of the past year.

Communism and Fascism used many different ways to appeal to the people. Some of the ways were similar and some were different, but in the end they both found their own ways to get their messages to the people.