Monday, March 18, 2013

Key elements to a dictatorship

As you are reading, consider the following elements that embody most dictatorships, and comment on one that stands out to you the most based on the reading.


·         Ideology
·         Single-party
·         System of Terror
·         Monopoly of the Media – the press, radio, movies, etc.
·         Monopoly of all weapons
·         Central control and direction of entire economy

14 comments:

  1. System of Terror is one that strikes me most since fear and paranoia are often the most common ways for the wrong people to gain power because it is the most affective in many ways to do so and the right leaders or the better ones would never stoop to that level. HItler created fear for the jews which translated quite easily into hatred. the reading says, "HIs speeches combined crude accusations, a messianic tone, and simple themes repeated in a spiraling frenzy." and his tone and way of speaking worked in creating fear in the people that replaced the fear they had for the economic downturn. People were also afraid not to follow; Hitler was talking about purifying the German people and once people realized the lengths he was willing to go to fear for their own lives also developed and caused many to get behind him.

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  2. the single-party(ness) of Hitler's regime (as well as a little ideology) stood out to be during the reading, and due to a multitude of reasons. For example: "It[Hitler's regime]established concentration camps, first on private and then in larger more permanent institutions. The new order appeared to enjoy all but unanimous support." This quote caught my attention because it demonstrates how corruptible and how amazingly efficient the indoctrination of Hitler ideology was. The article also alludes to night of the Long Knives which is a perfect example of single-party authoritarianism.

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  3. The ideologies of Hitler's dictatorship stood out to me because they pertain so heavily to race. I find it practically unbelievable that he could rally an entire nation with the ideologies of believing such horrible things about groups that he labeled "inferior". He used the justification that they were behind "war profits, reparations, inflation and depression" in order to sell his ideologies. resulting from a combination of these ideologies and other factors such as propaganda, militarism, etc, Hitler became very successful in subjugating and almost eradicating entire minority groups. For example, the reading talks about how after the Nuremberg laws, Jews were "declared to be mere subjects but no longer citizens". After this a great amount of prejudice continued to amount towards these people, prohibiting their rights and often times leading to death.

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  4. What stood out most to me was the overall ideology, the glorification of Germany, the nationalism and how all this was spread out under the people. When I saw the picture of the parade with all those "Germany awakes" banners, that was kind of creepy. Of course there are a lot of countries that do parades but when every single person wears a banner, it gets not only kind of agressive. The saying "Germany awakes" sounds threatening, as if Germany would accuse the world of opressing it and now the german people would arise against everybody. And also everything else the reading is about are things the nazis justified with their ideology, like the expansion westwards, annexing "habitat" and the destinction of the Jews.

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  5. Monopoly of all weapons really stood out to me. This is extremely dangerous. When a single leader and single party has complete control of the military and military decisions, corruption and greed is bound to follow. In the United States, while the president is the highest rank of the military CONSTITUTIONALLY he must go through the house of congress with any large decision or a declaration of war. Then it must be passed and approved. I use constitutionally because we have seen it not always is the case. Hitler controlled the German military and used it however he wanted. When a military which has access to extremely dangerous weapons bow downs and praises a certain person, good can never be the final outcome.

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  6. In my opinion, it is very difficult to choose just one element that stands out the most; they all connect to one another. However, I believe the dominant, umbrella term is “central control and direction of the entire economy”. Along with all dictatorships, Hitler’s rule demonstrated absolute power and control of the people; “In a few months Hitler had achieved fuller power than Mussolini had managed in years”. The other elements mentioned above such as “system of terror” and “monopoly of the media” fall directly underneath a dictatorship’s central control mechanisms. By producing propaganda, threatening the people, and establishing new laws, central control is ultimately achieved. These concepts are also demonstrated in the rise of Stalin, whose dictatorship’s size grew at a rapid rate.

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  7. System of Terror stands out to me the most. The Night of the Long Knives demonstrated the new tone of Germany, and this must have been extremely scary. People were killed because of false accusations. Propaganda played a large role in the system of terror. It was like a warning to Germans to follow Hitler and not disobey his orders. I find it very interesting that one person could be so powerful and put so much fear into the people. Fear is one of the main reasons Hitler was so powerful. He made everryone fear Jews, which caused hatred towards them. Germans feared that their own lives would be taken away if they did not hate Jews. This shows how fear was not only used to make people follow rules, but also as a wasy to brainwash Germans.

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  8. To me the aspect which stands out the most is 'central control and direction of entire economy'. In order to be a successful dictator, you must have complete control of almost very aspect of the government. Everyone must know that you are in charge and everyone else with power must somewhat support your ideologies.
    With this power, you are able to control and steer an economy in a certain path. Hitler, for example, did this effectively by creating new jobs for the masses. The first Autobahns were built to give many German people jobs during the Great Depression time period.

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  9. I think the Monopoly of the media is a key component in a dictatorship. When the ruling Person has won the minds and captivated the souls of the majority of the people, then victory will follow shortly after that moment. Even if there are some people that aren't persuaded, the peer pressure to conform would be to great not to join. If there is a strong military presence then the stragglers will either conform or be taken "away". When an idea wants to be spread by the government, why not pound it into every form of media. people would be more willing to listen to ideas when on the radio broadcast or when they have heard stories of great leader who will bring the people back up to power. its like when a legend would be passed down in order to motivate people to become like the legend, people want to become part of the story and contribute where they can the most. Like with women in the third reich. HItler used them in a way they hadn't been used before. they were used to breed his perfect race. when wouldn't you want your sons to become part of the master race where they will live like kings!!

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  10. System of terror was the idea that struck me the most. To fear something is to have a sort of respect for it. The things that scare us do so because they have some part of power over. In the case of normal fears like spiders or heights, they aren't actively trying to scare you. With Hitler he was using the fear to make sure there would be no rebellions because people knew if they disobeyed they would be killed and those they loved would also be killed if the plot was big enough. The other side of this is that some really sick individuals wanted the power that came through the fear they were spreading and had unwavering support for him allowing him to consolidate his power base and make sure that his highest generals and members of his forces were completely loyal to him because they were terrified of him, in awe of him, or both.

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  11. To me, I think that system of terror is the most striking. Though it is awful and wrong to use this as a dictator it is a very easy and undoubtably effective way to gain control. If you enforce your rules with consequences such as injury or even death, people will do what they are told, no questions asked. It's almost like in school on a much smaller scale. If a teacher was to say that if you talk or take your phone out during a test you will automatically fail, chances are, you will sit down, shut up, and take the test.
    However, there is another element that stuck me. This is central control and direction of entire economy. I think that this is an incredibly useful tool to gain control. Just the fact alone that basically you control the fate of millions of people is overwhelming. He has the ability to let a person succeed or fall into poverty with the snap of a finger.

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  12. Something that always interested me when reading about the Nazi regime, was Hitler's profoundly amazing use of propoganda. Even though he was imprisoning and killing millions of people, he was able to display Jewish ghettos as nice places to live, through "documentaries" and the like. He set a standard for manipulation of television and radio broadcasts. He was so charismatic, that he rallied the German people against the Jews, with no reason for them to do so, under the guise of "rebuilding Germany."

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  13. The thing that fascinates me is how Hitler is able to gather a pack of followers who are ridiculously addicted to him and help him to put into the force the entire stunning Nazi system. The system of terror that eliminate their foes cold-bloodedly, and i think what's more is that the system really kept the team together just because what could the aftermath would be, their family,friends could get implicated since they made a unplausible decision. Corresponding with the single party and the control of media and all the weapons that manipulate civilian's mindset and turn them into people who surround their new lord and guard the Nazi system cause they do not have a option.

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  14. Monopoly of the media is the most frightening facet of a dictatorship because for most, that's all they are exposed to. Their worldview is wholly defined by what this man at the top thinks is most beneficial to his cause. That's why it's imperative to have the right message and the right vehicle to convey that arouses the people and always is working and furthering your cause whether it was explicit or implicit. With a brutally efficient propaganda machine, almost anyone can rise to power.

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