Bringing together leading scholars from across the UK, North America and mainland Europe, this book provides a uniquely comparative exploration of daily life under dictatorship in 20th-century Europe. With coverage of well-known regimes and some that are relatively underrepresented in the literature from right across the continent, it examines the impact felt on people's lives amidst political administrations characterised by some or all of the following: a one-party state, in which opposition or multiple parties were banned; a cult surrounding the leader; the censorship of the press and other publications; the widespread use of propaganda and political persuasion; and the threat or use of force by the regime and its agents. The chapters investigate crucial questions in relation to life under dictatorships as follows: · What was the impact of censorship on access to news or entertainment? · How was leisure time conducted? · What was the impact of the regime on working life? · What was the scope for dissent and resistance? To what extent were these possible? · How much did the regime coerce the population and how much did it try to indoctrinate? · What was the difference for Party leaders, comrades and members in terms of the possibilities and opportunities that opened up, compared to everyone else in society? · With the shutting down – to a large extent – of civil society and state intrusion into private life, what restrictions were placed on ordinary and day-to-day activities? · What happened to religious life and to cultural life and the arts? · How were personal choices in aspects of life such as reproduction, education and even eating affected by these regimes? · What was the impact of different political ideologies on people's way of life – whether Fascist, Nazi or Communist? Dictatorship and Daily Life in 20th-Century Europe addresses these issues and more, striking to the heart of European life in the darkest episodes of its recent history.

How could it happen that continental Europe became a “Europe of the Dictatorships“ in the twentieth century? It requires some effort to understand such processes. It is insufficient to observe merely the dictatorships and their mechanisms, one must also incorporate the seemingly harmless history leading up to that time and, above all, the transitions that took place. The book begins with a description of the historical situation after the First World War. Europe’s brutalization through colonial wars and inter-European conflicts, carried out using means of mass extermination, led to fractures in civilized cultures. What follows in the second section is another state-by-state organized design of the transition from countries that were fascist (and countries that were made fascist) into communist states established in accordance with the Soviet model. The third part of the book is devoted to the history of the “Eastern Bloc” states from 1953 to 2013.

Bringing together leading scholars from across the UK, North America and mainland Europe, this book provides a uniquely comparative exploration of daily life under dictatorship in 20th-century Europe. With coverage of well-known regimes and some that are relatively underrepresented in the literature from right across the continent, it examines the impact felt on people's lives amidst political administrations characterised by some or all of the following: a one-party state, in which opposition or multiple parties were banned; a cult surrounding the leader; the censorship of the press and other publications; the widespread use of propaganda and political persuasion; and the threat or use of force by the regime and its agents. The chapters investigate crucial questions in relation to life under dictatorships as follows: · What was the impact of censorship on access to news or entertainment? · How was leisure time conducted? · What was the impact of the regime on working life? · What was the scope for dissent and resistance? To what extent were these possible? · How much did the regime coerce the population and how much did it try to indoctrinate? · What was the difference for Party leaders, comrades and members in terms of the possibilities and opportunities that opened up, compared to everyone else in society? · With the shutting down – to a large extent – of civil society and state intrusion into private life, what restrictions were placed on ordinary and day-to-day activities? · What happened to religious life and to cultural life and the arts? · How were personal choices in aspects of life such as reproduction, education and even eating affected by these regimes? · What was the impact of different political ideologies on people's way of life – whether Fascist, Nazi or Communist? Dictatorship and Daily Life in 20th-Century Europe addresses these issues and more, striking to the heart of European life in the darkest episodes of its recent history.

How did political power function in the communist regimes of Central and Eastern Europe after 1945? Making Sense of Dictatorship addresses this question with a particular focus on the acquiescent behavior of the majority of the population until, at the end of the 1980s, their rejection of state socialism and its authoritarian world. The authors refer to the concept of Sinnwelt, the way in which groups and individuals made sense of the world around them. The essays focus on the dynamics of everyday life and the extent to which the relationship between citizens and the state was collaborative or antagonistic. Each chapter addresses a different aspect of life in this period, including modernization, consumption and leisure, and the everyday experiences of “ordinary people,” single mothers, or those adopting alternative lifestyles. Empirically rich and conceptually original, the essays in this volume suggest new ways to understand how people make sense of everyday life under dictatorial regimes.

Oppression and violence are often cited as the pivotal aspects of modern dictatorships, but it is the collusion of large majorities that enable these regimes to function. The desire for a better life and a powerful national, if not imperial community provide the basis for the many forms of people's cooperation explored in this volume.

This text presents an introduction to the struggle between democracy and dictatorship in Eastern Europe since 1900. It is broken down into three different parts focusing on those time periods when experiments with democracy threatened to change the established order - the inter-war period, the democratic or semi democratic interlude in the wake of World War II until 1949 and the current experience with the new democracies. In discussing the struggle between democracy and dictatorship, the authors argue that the experience of Eastern Europe reveals the challenges which threaten democracy and the conditions necessary for the survival of democratic government.

Oppression and violence are often cited as the pivotal aspects of modern dictatorships, but it is the collusion of large majorities that enable these regimes to function. The desire for a better life and a powerful national, if not imperial community provide the basis for the many forms of people's cooperation explored in this volume.