Chapters

  1. History’s Story
  2. Wanderers and Settlers: The Ancient Middle East to 400 B.C.
  3. The Chosen People: Hebrews and Jews, 2000 B.C. to A.D. 135
  4. Trial of the Hellenes: The Ancient Greeks, 1200 B.C. to A.D. 146
  5. Imperium Romanum: The Romans, 753 B.C. to A.D. 300
  6. The Revolutionary Rabbi: Christianity, the Roman Empire, and Islam, 4 B.C. to A.D. 1453
  7. From Old Rome to the New West: The Early Middle Ages, A.D. 500 to 1000
  8. The Medieval Mêlée: The High and Later Middle Ages, 1000 to 1500
  9. Making the Modern World: The Renaissance and Reformation, 1400 to 1648
  10. Liberation of Mind and Body: Early Modern Europe, 1543 to 1815
  11. Mastery of the Machine: The Industrial Revolution, 1764 to 1914
  12. The Westerner’s Burden: Imperialism and Nationalism, 1810 to 1918
  13. Rejections of Democracy: The InterWar Years and World War II, 1917 to 1945
  14. A World Divided: The Cold War, 1945 to 1993
  15. Into the Future: The Contemporary Era, 1991 to the Present
home www.ConciseWesternCiv.com
to Top of Page

Primary Sources for Chapter 13
Rejections of Democracy: The Interwar Years and World War II, 1917 to 1945

Study Guide| Art History | Links

Decline of the West?

Freud on Civilization, excerpt (Wayback Machine): The founder of psychiatry discusses the appeal of primitivism to many in modern civilization.
Content Questions: How does Freud explain the attitude that many blame civilization for their misery?
Analysis Question: What role does the desire for happiness play in his analysis?
Evaluative Question: How does this piece reflect the worries common at the time about the future of civilization ?

Russians in Revolt

Letter from Gorky to Stalin:  The Russian author writes to the Soviet dictator about the how international press reports atheism and religion in the USSR.
Content Question: What Gorky’s concerns and suggestions about the problem of religion?
Analysis Question: In what context does Gorky place “progress”?
Evaluative Questions: Would more knowledge about religious history help the atheist argument or the believer’s faith?

Losing Their Grip

On The Eve Of Historic Dandi March:  The spiritual leader explains how his call for "Swaraj" (self-rule for India) can continue even after his predicted arrest for the march to protest the British monopoly on salt production and commerce.
Content Question: What measures does Gandhi suggest Indians undertake to resist British colonial rule in India?
Analysis Question: How does Gandhi place his suggestions in a religious context?
Evaluative Question: How realistic were his suggestions to his fellow Indians?

Fascist Fury

What is Fascism:  The leader of Italy and founder of fascism presents his own definition.
Content Question: What are the key components of fascist ideology and practice?
Analysis Questions: How does fascism relate to humanity, class, and the state?
Evaluative Question: How does fascism compare to socialism or liberal democracy?

A fuller version of “What is Fascism” is available here and some other interesting materials here.

Hitler’s Hatreds

Hitler’s speech of 18 September 1922:  The Führer of the Nazis and future Chancellor of Germany speaks out against the leaders of Weimar Germany during the inflation crisis.
Content Questions: Whom does Hitler blame for the current problems? What are his recommendations to solve them?
Analysis Question: How realistic are his accusations and solutions?
Evaluative Questions: How did people ignore his extreme statements in favor of his more moderate ones given elsewhere?

The full text of his autobiography and party program, Mein Kampf, is available here or here.

Other Sources:

More primary sources on the Third Reich

The Roads to Global War

War Speech (Wayback Machine):  A member of the new British government, although not yet Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, offers his explanation for going to war.
Content Question: For what does Churchill say the British are fighting?
Analysis Question: How does Churchill explain British readiness for the conflict?
Evaluative Questions: How does society balance striving for peace and going to war?

Many documents on World War II are at the Avalon Project.

 

Primary Source Project Links

13. Hitler versus Franklin D. Roosevelt about the Just Society

 

Last Updated: 2023 June 2