“The breakdown of the European party system occurred in a spectacular way with Hitler's rise to power. It is now often conveniently forgotten that at the moment of the outbreak of the second World War, the majority of European countries has already adopted some form of dictatorship and discarded the party system, and that this revolutionary change in government has been effected in most countries without revolutionary upheaval. Revolutionary action more often than not was a theatrical concession to the desires of violently discontented masses rather than an actual battle for power. After all, it did not make much difference if a few thousand almost unarmed people staged a march on Rome and took over the government of Italy, or whether in Poland (in 1934) a so-called "partyless bloc," with a program of support for a semifascist government and a membership drawn from the nobility and the poorest peasantry, workers and businessmen, Catholics and orthodox Jews, legally won two-thirds of the seats in Parliament.”
Quote by Hannah Arendt
Work
The Origins of Totalitarianism
Browse quotes and source details for this work. more
Author
You May Also Like
Source: The Mass Psychology of Fascism
Source: The Mass Psychology of Fascism
Source: The Mass Psychology of Fascism
Source: The Heart of Scotland
Source: Kirkcudbright, a Royal Burgh
Source: Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography
Source: Stella Maris
Source: The Forty Rules of Love
Source: On Fire : The Burning Case for a Green New Deal