Totalitarian Themes

Global history has seen many different totalitarian regimes from the Fascist Nazis to the Bolshevist Soviet Union. These regimes have distinct histories and leaders but they all fit under the totalitarian umbrella. The totalitarian umbrella includes any dictatorial system of government that requires a complete subservience to the state. For this paper the focus will be totalitarian sports and how the common totalitarian themes in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany were displayed throughout athletics. Common totalitarian themes between both states include the suppression of the individual, degradation, public parades, state control, propaganda, and discrimination. These themes shaped the development and preservation of athletics in the
During this time urban cities were growing which led to the increase in spectators, popularity, leagues, and competitions in large cities. Major cities began to establish sport teams that held the name of their cities in the 30’s. By 1938 twenty-six football clubs were representing cities in the Russian Premier Football League. In 1935 the Soviet government established sports societies among specific trade unions such as “Lokomotiv” for railway workers and “Torpedo” for car workers. The primary goal of these trade union sport societies was to act as a catalyst to raise working standards through competition. The rise of Fascism in Germany and Italy during the 30’s rebirthed the idea and purpose of sports in the Soviet Union to be a means of developing strong, capable citizens for national security purposes. With the preponderant threat of the rise of Fascism the Gotov k trudu i oborone or GTO was established which was a national fitness program focused on preparing the people for labor as well as self-defense. When WWII ended, however, sports in the Soviet Union developed a new goal other than the development of a strong people for national defense purposes
Sports became an indicator of a nation’s strength as well as the strength of the Communist cause. Citizens began to take a sense of pride and nationalism in their athletic pursuits which united the country under one collective team. Post WWII, second place was not an option for the Soviets and anything but first place was deemed as unacceptable. Leaders in the Soviet Union saw sport as “one of the best and most comprehensible means of explaining to the people of the world the advantages of the socialist system over capitalism.” Because of this belief Soviet sports received backing from the government and close to forty sports boarding schools received funding from the government’s limited resources. The allocation of these limited resources to athletics further reinforced the importance of success on the national scale for sports in the Soviet Union. Soviet sports had come a long way since the Tsarist regime prior to 1917 and by the 1952 Helsinki Olympics the Soviet Union was a dominant force to be reckoned with on the global scale (Riordan). After taking second to the United States at the Helsinki Olympics the Soviet Union attended the Olympics 18 more times. Out of these 18 appearances the Soviet team received the most medals 13 times and the second most metals 4 times (Evans). The Soviet Union had developed into a national athletic