Popular Opinion in Totalitarian Regimes : Fascism, Nazism, Communism

Fascism, Nazism, and Communism dominated the history of much of the twentieth century, yet comparatively little attention has focused on popular reactions to the regimes that sprang from these ideologies. Popular Opinion in Totalitarian Regimes is the first volume to investigate popular reactions to totalitarian rule in the Soviet Union, Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and the communist regimes in Poland and East Germany after 1945. The contributions, written for this volume by internationally acknowledged experts in their fields, move beyond the rather static vision provided by traditional themes of consent and coercion to construct a more nuanced picture of everyday life in the various regimes. The book provides many new insights into the ways totalitarian regimes functioned and the reasons for their decline, encouraging comparisons between the different regimes and stimulating re-evaluation of long-established positions. Fascism, Nazism, And Communism Dominated The History Of Much Of The Twentieth Century, Yet Comparatively Little Attention Has Focused On Popular Reactions To The Regimes That Sprang From These Ideologies. Popular Opinion In Totalitarian Regimes Is The First Volume To Investigate How Ordinary People Reacted To Totalitarian Rule In The Soviet Union, Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, And The Communist Regimes In Poland And East Germany After 1945.--book Jacket. Popular Opinion In Russia Under Pre-war Stalinism / Sheila Fitzpatrick -- Consensus, Coercion And Popular Opinion In The Third Reich: Some Reflections / Ian Kershaw -- Liberation From Autonomy: Mapping Self-understandings In Stalin's Time / Jochen Hellbeck -- Beyond Binaries: Popular Opinion In Stalinism / Jan Plamper -- Popular Opinion In Nazi Germany As A Factor In The Policy Of The 'solution Of The Jewish Question': The Nuremberg Laws And The Reichskristallnacht / Otto Dov Kulka -- Popular Opinion In Nazi Germany: Mobilization, Experience, Perceptions: The View From The Württemberg Countryside / Jill Stephenson -- Fascist Italy In The 1930s: Popular Opinion In The Provinces / Paul Corner -- Poland: The Silence Of Those Deprived Of Voice / Marcin Kula -- Consent In The Communist Gdr Or How To Interpret Lion Feuchtwanger's Blindness In Moscow 1937 / Martin Sabrow -- Demography, Opportunity Or Ideological Conversion? Reflections On The Role Of The 'second Hitler Youth Generation', Or '1929ers', In The Gdr / Mary Fulbrook -- Tacit Minimal Consensus: The Always Precarious East German Dictatorship / Thomas Lindenberger. Edited By Paul Corner. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents......Page 8 Notes on the Contributors......Page 10 Abbreviations......Page 11 1. Introduction......Page 14 PART 1. TWO OVERVIEWS......Page 28 2. Popular Opinion in Russia Under Pre-war Stalinism......Page 30 3. Consensus, Coercion and Popular Opinion in the Third Reich: Some Reflections......Page 46 PART 2. THE FIRST DICTATORSHIPS......Page 60 4. Liberation from Autonomy: Mapping Self-Understandings in Stalin’s Time......Page 62 5. Beyond Binaries: Popular Opinion in Stalinism......Page 77 6. Popular Opinion in Nazi Germany as a Factor in the Policy of the ‘Solution of the Jewish Question’: The Nuremberg Laws and the Reichskristallnacht......Page 94 7. Popular Opinion in Nazi Germany: Mobilization, Experience, Perceptions: The View from the Württemberg Countryside......Page 120 8. Fascist Italy in the 1930s: Popular Opinion in the Provinces......Page 135 PART 3. DICTATORSHIP AFTER 1945......Page 160 9. Poland: The Silence of Those Deprived of Voice......Page 162 10. Consent in the Communist GDR or How to Interpret Lion Feuchtwanger’s Blindness in Moscow 1937......Page 181 11. Demography, Opportunity or Ideological Conversion? Reflections on the Role of the ‘Second Hitler Youth Generation’, or ‘1929ers’, in the GDR......Page 197 12. Tacit Minimal Consensus: The Always Precarious East German Dictatorship......Page 221 Select Bibiliography......Page 236 F......Page 240 G......Page 241 I......Page 242 N......Page 243 P......Page 244 S......Page 245 T......Page 246 Z......Page 247 A team of internationally acknowledged experts examines the question of popular opinion in totalitarian regimes, looking at the ways in which ordinary people experienced everyday life in the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and Fascist Italy, with consideration also of Poland and East Germany between 1945 and 1989.