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Rodriguez 1

Annie Rodriguez

Neubauer/Bianco

World Studies

CP

Block 2/3

12/3/12

Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism is maintained with various methods. Totalitarianism is when there is a

dictator who rules an entire empire. In history there have been totalitarians like Hitler and Stalin.

In Orwell’s book 1984 The Party is a totalitarian government as well. The governments of Hitler,

Stalin and The Party maintain their power by using violence, brainwashing the people, and

limiting the people’s freedom. These methods are effective because they scare people into

submission to do whatever the government wants.

A totalitarian’s method of keeping his position in power is by using violence. Hitler

forced the people to be striped of their clothes as prisoners and they weren’t allowed to do

anything to them. “Cutting a small path was dangerous and could be punished by severe beating

or death” (Growth: violence in Germany). The prisoners were not even allowed to cut a peace

from their clothes to put on their feet when they were cold and if they did and got caught they

would be brutally punished or even killed. The prisoners would be afraid to rebel, especially is

they knew that by just ripping a piece of cloth could get you killed. Hitler didn’t care about the

clothes, he wanted to torture them, make them feel helpless so after a while they get used to it



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and feel they don’t deserve better and will submit to whatever he says. It is also useful since it

caused fear in the prisoners and fear wouldn’t allow them to defy his orders. Another example is

the Party in a fictional book by Orwell. In 1984 Julia and Winston got caught by the thought

police, and they didn’t just take them away but instead they beat them before taking them. “One

of the men smashed his fist into Julia’s solar plexus doubling her up like a packet ruler.” (Book 2

Chapter 10). Winston and Julia would have just been captured and taken to prison immediately,

but the thought police hurt them physically and mentally. They wanted Julia to suffer because

they knocked the air out of her but not just to make her feel the agony of not being able to breath.

They also make her feel weak and inferior. They want her to feel helpless and defeated to let her

know that she and Winston were always below The Party and always had been. Violence is an

effective way to conserve power since the people fear of the abuse and are willing to do what

they are told to avoid the punishments.

Brainwashing is also a way of preserving power, and it is effective as well. In the Soviet

Union Stalin brainwashes the citizens from the time of their infancy. In the movie, “Europa

Europa”, the teacher asked the children to pray to God for candy and nothing happened but when

she told them to pray to Stalin the people from the floor above them started throwing candy to

the students. (Europa Europa). Children are being educated into believing that Stalin is more

powerful than God. The only god the children will grow up believing in would be Stalin. They

will grow worshiping Stalin. Stalin uses this brainwashing in children because they are at an

early age and will grow believing what they are being told. It is also effective because if they

believe he is almighty they will do absolutely everything he tells them to do. Another example

from Orwell’s book is where the Party uses brainwashing to uphold their power. Winston

receives a message that news is to be rectified because it contains information about the past that



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shouldn’t exist anymore. “The message he had received referred to articles or news items which

for one reason or another it was thought necessary to alter, or as the official phase had it, to

rectify” (Book 1 Chapter 4). Winston was a party member and his job was to erase information

or files of the past that had not existed. The party changed the past. They controlled it to make

the people believe anything they wanted to. This type of brainwashing is far more effective than

just brainwashing the people by telling them what to believe in but to change the past and any

proof that comes with it. If they erase any trace of evidence the people will eventually forget or

even if they do remember, nobody will believe them because they would have no substantial

evidence. Totalitarianism is well conserved with brainwashing because it manipulates the people

minds by changing their morals, and making them less intelligent. People stop questioning and

the government knows that making them believe what they want will make them less likely to

rebel.

Totalitarian governments also limit the people’s freedoms to keep them in control and

sustain their power. In Germany, when Hitler was in power he made an unfair trial, for a group

of students that had been making fliers that criticized Hitler and his ideas. “The defendants were

not given a chance to defend themselves. They didn’t get to call witnesses or speak to the court”

(The White Rose). Giving an unfair trial shows how the student’s freedoms were just simply

taken away. Hitler just wanted to mock the idea of a trial, to make propaganda out of the

student’s public humiliation, to set an example of what was to come if someone tried to defy his

authority. Orwell writes about The Party limiting freedom. They don’t fully approve of party

members having relations, “All marriages between Part members had to be approved by a

committee” (Book 1 Chapter 6). The Party didn’t want the members to be committed to someone

else that wasn’t Big Brother. This is an effective way of preserving power because taking



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people’s freedom to marry will later make them feel anger and The Party has made them believe

that Goldstein is the cause of every problem, this way the party won’t feel threatened if a person

is filled with rage because they have someone to blame. Limiting freedom is a successful way of

maintaining power for a totalitarian government because they can be treated unfairly and

stripped from their rights. Taking away the people’s freedom of desire keeps them loyal to the

government because is if the government gives the people something to blame everything on, the

people don’t try to turn their anger on the government.

Violence, brainwashing, and limiting freedoms have all been effective by terrorizing the

people to do what the totalitarian government orders them to do. Hitler, Stalin and The Party are

some examples of leaders of a totalitarian government. Totalitarianism is an important topic

because people need to know what horrible things they could be capable of doing. Orwell wrote

the book 1984 to make the message clear that once a totalitarian government comes to power and

isn’t stopped early on it will become harder to stop it. Totalitarian government are created by the

greedy nobody gets anything except the dictator, totalitarian governments should be stopped

before they get enough power to the point where there will only be the last man who won’t be

able to take the government down by himself.



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Works Cited

Neubauer Julie, “Growth: violence in Germany” Steele Canyon High School. Spring Valley,

California. Notes. Dec 3. 2012.

Neubauer Julie, “Impact of Joseph Stalin” Steele Canyon High School. Spring Valley,

California. Notes. Dec 3. 2012.

Neubauer Julie, “The White Rose” Steele Canyon High School. Spring Valley, California. Notes.

Dec 3.2012.

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: New American Library, 1961. Print.

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