War is a horrific experience made worse by those who try to control it for their own advantage. In Famous Last Words, Timothy Findley creates a world of intrigue as he describes the tales of conspiracy and corruption for world domination. That made World War II far worse than it otherwise would have been. This is shown through the relationships of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Benito Mussolini.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor are prominent people in society, who want more power. The people in the Duke’s alliance invited Mr. Coty to join the alliance because, in the Duke’s words, "From time to time, Monsieur Coty and his friends are useful to us." (141) Although the Duke dislikes this man, he pretends to like him because he needs this man in order for his own selfish schemes to work. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor use their own alliance to gain leadership over the people in Europe, and truly believing they are the right leaders. The Duke says Europe needs, "…a new kind of leader--someone like a flag, whose very presence makes us rise. Not a Mussolini, of who we are afraid. Not a Hitler who drives us to our feet. But an emblem whose magnetism pulls us upward." (180) The Duke sees himself as being more powerful and influential, more of a leader, than either Hitler or Mussolini. He compares his potential leadership to that of a country’s flag- someone people will respect and admire. He truly believes he can be their new leader and puts himself on a pedestal. The Duke and Duchess posses many secrets. Findley explains how, "…an agent of Churchill’s [was]-- playing on David’s [Duke’s] drunkenness to discover how deep his treason ran." (198) The Duke has become very manipulative in his schemes and people want to know what he plans to do next. Thus, the Duke of Windsor was very manipulative and created an alliance where many secrets were kept and where the only benefit of the war and alliance was all his own.
Joachim von Ribbentrop is one of Hitler’s workers and whom Hitler has much trust in. He creates his own alliance to ensure that he will dominate the world. He does not care what he has to do to get things done his way. Von Ribbentrop explains the impor...
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...eir fascist Party, who’s name was derived from the groups of workers know as fasci--brought together under the hand of Mussolini to agitate for a change in social order." (159) Mussolini’s change of social order was to rule over several nations so he could be a powerful leader. He is willing to turn everything upside down. Mussolini is a heartless man or "god" who creates his own party so that he can rise to power.
Throughout this novel the characters get themselves caught in webs of betrayal and corruption so that, at the end of the war, they may prevail and gain total world domination. Through the experiences of the characters it is learned that nobody can get ahead without causing someone else’s downfalls. Most importantly, this novel illustrates the selfishness of individuals and shows how people are willing to do whatever they need to ensure that they are solely benefited. This is clearly shown in the novel. Although the Duke, von Ribbentrop and Mussolini employed different schemes and methods, they each tried to achieve the same thing: total world domination. As a result, many peoples’ lives were lost or changed forever.
Hitler’s Last Days is yet another gem written by the mastermind of history, Bill O’Reilly. How O’Reilly wrote this book with such great detail and information will never be discovered. The details in the book are nothing short of extraordinary. O’Reilly makes the reader act like a US official reading over battle operations and reviews. He adds personal letters from various officers around the war.
to deteriorate the human spirit. Starting out leaving you're home and family and ready to fight for you country, to ending up tired and scarred both physically and mentally beyond description. At the beginning of the novel nationalist feelings are present through pride of Paul and the rest of the boys. However at the end of the war it is apparent how pointless war really is.
Fascism is one of the great political ideology in the 20th century. It is a kind of authoritarian government that, according to Wikipedia, “considers the individual subordinate to the interests of the state, party or society as a whole.” Two of the most successful and to be in the vanguard of fascism government is Italian fascism – led by Benito Mussolini, and Nazi Germany – led by Adolf Hitler. Fascism in Italy and Germany, though in many regards very similar - have the same political ideologies, still have many aspects to them that make them different from each other.
Hitler, Adolf. “Mein Kampf.” The Human Record . By Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield. Vol. 2. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2011. 2 vols. 401-404.
Many a successful wordsmith has mastered voice, Winston Churchill included. He start off his speech in a jovial way, after all, summertime has hit Britain. But Winston mainly concerns himself with the prospect of Germany hitting England, and so, as he delves deeper into his speech, his voice becomes less jovial and more ironic and grave. In his last three paragraphs, he speaks as though with a straight face, getting into the nutshell of the current events. “If Herr Hitler does not make war, there will be no war. No one else is going to make war. Britain and France are determined to shed no blood except in self-defense or in defense of their Allies…we must strive to frame some system of human relations in the future which will bring to an end this prolonged hideous uncertainty.” (Churchill, Paragraph 9; 11) So there: he has laid down the gauntlet for America. The US must come to the aid of their Allies, or only more uncertainty will abound. Using voice, a most powerful weapon, Winston Churchill successfully, eventually, helped cajole America into World War
The Versailles Treaty is the root of all evil and had to be denounced. The Jewish capitalists and the Jewish communists are the mortal enemies of the German people. The Germans are a superior race destined to rule the World; the Fuhrer is infallible in all matters of life and death and the destiny of Germany is in his hands. The message was well received, Hitler was telling the Germans what they wanted to hear. Immediately after becoming Germany's Chancellor, Hitler started an extensive process of consolidating his power, using the stick and carrot method.
When I first started reading this book I already had a certain opinion about Nazi’s and the people of Germany during WW2 times. Then, as I continued to read I started to understand that all Nazi’s were not born hateful and that they all had different lives that could have been awful or very hard. It made me also realize that all the numbers and statics that I have learned in history class about the war is more than just facts in a book. They represent a real person that had a real life. The book made me think about the indescribable position the people of Germany must have been in, because they were just blindly trusting a leader and didn’t know or couldn’t even make any decisions for themselves. The book made me think and feel the same things when I read about all the struggles the French people went through. They did not seem real to me, but now I can try to understand what they went through and appreciate everything they did to help win the war. I surprised myself at how I started to think more about how different the world would really be today if only a few unknown people had made different decisions. It gave me a better perspective on life and human nature also. Over all this book showed human nature and how no matter where you come from or what you go through we are all fighting to
Fascism is defined as, “an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.” Peter Hyland reports that throughout the 1920s and the 1930s, an economic depression was growing and becoming widespread throughout the world. People were losing faith in their democracies and in capitalism. Leaders who gained power supported powerful militarism, nationalism, and initiated the return of an authoritarian rule. J.R. Oppenheimer says that the rise of fascism and totalitarianism in Europe and Russia instigated a “critical step on the path to war.” In 1922, Benito Mussolini held leadership in Italy, promising a proficient and militaristic nationalistic state. During his control as prime minister, he gained a large group of followers, banned the disparagement of government, and used extreme violence against his enemies within the parliament.
Benito Mussolini was brought up in one the poorest regions in Northeastern Italy. When he was in school, he always kept to himself and very quiet. He wasn’t a class clown, never cried or rarely laughed. He always sat in the back of the classroom and read a book. He rather do that than play with the other children in his class. He got kicked out his first boarding school. When he was growing up he was surrounded by many political philosophies. There was anarchism, socialism, and others. Both Benito and his father Allesandro had very bad violent tempers.
Mussolini came into power in 1922 and sought to make Fascism the only party in Italy, because he believed it was superior to all other parties. Both Mussolini and Hitler wanted to create a better economy for their countries, and had big plans to change the way their countries viewed things. Mussolini abolished democracy, and would not listen and shunned any ideas or citizens who opposed his political views. Although the men were quite similar in the ways they set goals for their countries, Hitler was extreme in his plans for future Germany. According to the lecture, Hitler’s plans were to make it known the Germans were the superior race, Jews and Gypsies were subhuman, Hitler promised to take back the land taken from the after the war, and Lebensraum. Both men had their countries became a part of the Axis powers, and along with Japan became Fascist nations. Mussolini’s rise to power came through his influence on the fascists people. According to the lecture it was fascists that marched to Rome in October 1922, and the people demanded that the king put Mussolini in charge of the government. It was through fear that Mussolini gained his power. Hitler on the other hand was
The story of Winston Churchill’s upbringing and life through politics and war did not begin as one might expect. More often than not, fictional stories usually portray our main character as a man of little things who climbs the social ladder through their own achievements and intelligence. Instead, Churchill began and ended his extensive life as a privileged being, but it is in the middle where the most interesting facts lay. Winston Churchill is the most influential man in European History. Beginning as a boy who hated school to a man who could sway another with a single speech, his personal change was drastic; but so was the change that he brought to the world and Great Britain.
"The manner in which Mussolini and the Fascist Party gained possession of the government was regarded in most foreign circles as an illegal act of violence." (3) As the nation of Italy began to suffer great debts, Mussolini had been summoned by the King to form a government to aid in the economic needs. This marked the birth of the Fascist Party in Italy. In the beginning of his rise to the top, Mussolini was popular amongst his people. His popularity was high, and people began to trust in his judgment and ideas. (4) He was, in essence, saving the people from the turmoil that had ensued the nat...
...s the real Joseph Stalin wanted, Napoleon in the story want to rule and want to obtain as much power as he can. The main theme of this is corruption of absolute power as Napoleon gains full powers. This book is based upon Joseph Stalin and how he gains power, which he later abuses.
He is portrayed as whining and a believer in his own importance. Ribbentrop was considered in a far different light by his fellow contemporaries. Ribbentrop was far worldlier than his fellow Nazi’s and obtained his power through his connections with von Papen as well as being the consummate “yes man” for Hitler.
Benito Mussolini was the premier-dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. He was the founder and leader of Italian Fascism. Mussolini, along with his Facets government, was able to successfully suppress the Mafia during the time of World War II. However, after the war ended in 1945, the Mafia emerged and ruled once again. Over the next thirty years, the Sicilian Mafia was not only able to gain control Sicily, but all of Italy as well.