Question

In a well-rounded paragraph, describe the nature of totalitarianism and the police state that existed in Russia, Germany and Italy, explain how those governments differed from authoritarian governmentsUse examples from one of the countries mentioned to support your ideas.

Answer 1

A totalitarian government is a step above an authoritarian government. While authoritarianism tries to control many aspects of the society, it only does so as long as it serves the main goal: keeping control and power.

Totalitarianism is different in the sense that it controls for the sake of control: a totalitarian government tries to shape society in a specific manner.

A specific example is Nazi Germany. In Nazi Germany, the government controlled what people read, wrote, studied, learned, and so on. They controlled how people dressed like, and what kind of art they should like. The Nazi government was totalitarian because it wanted to shape society in a specific way: the Nazi way.