American President Roosevelt and German leader Hitler faced political and economic problems during the 1930s and dealt with them in similar and dissimilar ways.

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American President Roosevelt and German leader Hitler faced political and economic problems during the 1930s and dealt with them in similar and dissimilar ways. Faced with severe unemployment and depression both Hitler and Roosevelt had to develop strategies to deal with these economic crises. Amongst the economic problems, Hitler and Roosevelt also faced opposition but, Hitler being a totalitarian leader and Roosevelt being democratic, their strategies to overcome them were very different.

Hitler and Roosevelt had different styles of government but had similar opposition. Because of the differing governing styles, the opposition were dealt with in very dissimilar ways. The term often used to describe Hitler’s rule is Totalitarianism. “Totalitarianism is a system of government in which power and all aspects of state affairs are in the hands of one party that tolerates no opposition” (Mason, 1996:126). Because Hitler was a totalitarian leader, this meant that opposition was minimal. If opposition presented itself, such as when the Social Democratic party led resistance groups, the Nazi police had no trouble in crushing those who opposed. Roosevelt, on the other hand, was a Democratic leader in a liberal country. This meant that, because the people had a right to vote, other parties were opposing Roosevelt and the Democratic Party. The opposing Republican party were resisting the ideas and mechanisms Roosevelt used to assist economic problems. Many republican judges had accused Roosevelt of being extravagant with his economic strategies and destroyed his plans. People described Roosevelt as being “wishy-washy and because he seemed to have no firm opinions ‘the cork screw candidate’ ” (White, 1986: 56). Therefore, it is clear that because Hitler was a totalitarian leader, opposition did not stand a chance yet because Roosevelt was a democratic leader, opposition was effective.

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With both countries in severe economic depression and with unemployment rising, they both saw the need to reinflate the economy and to create jobs for the unemployed. Although Hitler and Roosevelt faced similar economic crises, their motivations were both very different. Hitler’s main priority was to make Germany a self-sufficient country (also known as “Autarchy”) to prepare for war. Roosevelt’s motivation was a more sincere one of which that wanted an overall well-off country. Roosevelt not only tried his very best to improve the countries economic status but he also tried desperately to bring hope back into the lives ...

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