Primary Sources for Chapter 13
Rejections of Democracy: The Interwar Years and World War II,
1917 to 1945
Study Guide| Art History | Links
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 ?
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?
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?
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 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
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
