Dreyfus Affair Of 1894

European History 1112, (WEB)
Second Exam, Spring 2017
10 points
Dr. Drakatos

Name: James Oiler

I. Answer the following 2 questions in essay form (5 points each)
1. Discuss Herzl’s argument for the need to form a Jewish State.

Theodor Herzl was born in Budapest, Hungary on May 2nd, 1860, and was one of the world’s most prominent Jewish activists. Herzl’s position on anti-Semitism was that it was a social issue, and if Jewish people organized counter efforts to anti-Semitism, then Jews would be able to gain acceptance among society. The Dreyfus Affair of 1894 was an important event for Herzl, where Captain Alfred Dreyfus, who was Jewish, was falsely convicted of treason and sent to prison for almost five years. Because of the Dreyfus Affair,
there was mass outrage and increased anti-Semitism feelings throughout the nation. Herzl was noted as saying the Dreyfus Affair is what drove him to converting to Zionism, which is the movement for the development for a Jewish homeland in what is now Israel.

In February of 1896, Herzl published the Zionist book, The Jewish State, where he explains the best way the Jewish people to gain acceptance on an international level and combat anti-Semitism is to establish a Jewish nation. Herzl believed that the Jewish people needed to immigrate to a state of their own as assimilation into other societies would not be likely. Herzl attempted several times to organize Jewish leaders in support of his program, before finally organizing the first world congress of Zionists, which was attended by around 200 delegates. As a result of this congress, the World Zionist Organization was established, with Herzl as its first president. Unfortunately Theodor Herzl died more than 40 years before the establishment before the State of Israel. Herzl would become known as one of the world’s greatest figureheads for the Jewish people.
Ben-Gurion, David. "Theodor Herzl." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc, 9 Mar. 2015. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.
Frankforter, A. Daniel., and W. M. Spellman. The West: A Narrative History. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2013. Print.

2. Describe the emergence of Benito Mussolini. Explain who Mussolini was, discuss his political beliefs, and trace the emergence of the fascist movement in Italy. Discuss why Hitler was supported by the German people. Compare and contrast National Socialism and fascism.

Benito Mussolini was born in Predappio, Italy on July, 29th, 1883, and was born into a family of passionately active socialists.
Mussolini’s father, Alessandro, was a part-time socialist journalist who raised his son to follow socialist values, and even took Mussolini to socialist party meetings. Mussolini was seemingly raised to get into politics, and would eventually become an active socialist himself. In 1912, Mussolini became an editor for a newspaper called “Avanti!”, and used his position and influence to further spread socialist principles. Mussolini quickly gained popularity among his readers, and circulation for the newspaper doubled. Initially opposed to Italy’s intervention in World War One, Mussolini changed his mind when he was influenced by Karl Marx’s decree that social revolution usually follows war. Due to being publicly in favor of the war, he was expelled from the Socialist Party, and would shortly after volunteer to fight in the war. As a sharpshooter, Mussolini was quickly promoted to Corporal, however was forced to resign after suffering an injury in battle. At the end of his military career, Mussolini quickly entered politics; however had different ideologies then previously. Mussolini advocated the placement of a dictator, someone with the power to resolve the economic and political issues that was impacting Italy at the
time.

In March of 1919, Mussolini founded the fascist party, with the intention of establishing a new force in Italian politics.
At political rallies, Mussolini had the charisma and stature to win over crowds, despite the content of his speeches being filled with contradictions, incorrect facts, and outright malicious in intent. Fascist squads and militias referred to as “black shirts”, often terrorized political enemies in the name of Mussolini, although were not officially organized by him initially. With the government weakened from the war, and Fascist black shirts attacking local governments, Mussolini rose to power. In October 1922, around 30,000 black shirts gathered in the “March on Rome” to demand the resignation of the Prime Minister. On October 29, 1922, the king named Mussolini as the the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history. Once Mussolini and the Fascist party gained power, they used their majority to pass new laws giving Mussolini the right to rule by decree, giving him total and complete
control.
Adolf Hitler gained support from the German people through propaganda tactics, public speaking and organizing ability. Before publically announcing his goals, he gained support though charisma, leadership and seemingly good spirited intentions. Germany’s economic depression also played a large part in Hitler’s rise to power. Originally, the Nazis were unable to obtain political power due to having no support in Germany’s middle class, however once the depression hit, it eliminated the middle class and resulted in the Nazis doing much better in elections.
Fascism and National Socialism, also known as Nazism, is often compared as both reject liberalism, and democracy. The main contrast between between Fascism and National Socialism is Fascism is not based on racism, and has no strong opinion on any race, where National Socialism is based on anti-Semitism, as National Socialism believes many of the world’s social problems are the result of Jews. There are also economical differences between the ideologies. Fascists believe in traditional socialism where economic decisions are not based on demographics, as opposed to National Socialists base economic decisions on demographic factors such as race, age, ect.
Hibbert, Christopher. "Benito Mussolini." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 6 May 2013. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.
Frankforter, A. Daniel., and W. M. Spellman. The West: A Narrative History. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2013. Print.