HIST 5335 Historical Movements of 20th Century Europe

This work traces the changes in classical Marxism (the Marxism of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels) that took place after the death of its founders. It outlines the variants that appeared around the turn of the twentieth century—one of which was to be of influence among the followers of Adolf Hitler, another of which was to shape the ideology of Benito Mussolini, and still another of which provided the doctrinal rationale for V. I. Lenin's Bolshevism and Joseph Stalin's communism. This account differs from many others by rejecting a traditional left/right distinction—a distinction that makes it difficult to understand how totalitarian political institutions could arise out of presumably diametrically opposed political ideologies.Marxism, Fascism, and Totalitarianismthus helps to explain the common features of "left-wing" and "right-wing" regimes in the twentieth century.

In this fascinating text, thirteen leading authorities on the European right examine the complex relationship between the 'radical' and the 'conservative' in twentieth-century Europe, exploring the theme across a broad range of European countries.

The harsh Armistice terms of 1918, the short-lived Weimar Republic, Hindenburg's senile vacillations, and behind-the-scene power plays form the backbone of this excellent study covering German history during the first three-and-a-half decades of the century.