Which of the following best explains why Germans and Italians gave yo their civil liberties and embraced totalitarianism?

- they believed a variety of political parties would stimulate their economy

-they were attracted by the idea of running their own businesses

-they supported fascist leaders who promised relief from economic hardships

-they feared that their economic prosperity would vanish if they did not

The correct answer is C) they supported fascist leaders who promised relief from economic hardships.

The statement that best explains why Germans and Italians gave up their civil liberties and embraced totalitarianism is "they supported fascist leaders who promised relief from economic hardships."

The Great Depression hurt many European economies and people were living under difficult conditions. That situation was used by new totalitarian leaders that used a different discourse to convince the citizens that they represented the option needed to solve the harsh conditions. That is how totalitarian leaders such as Benito Mussolini in Italy or Adolph Hitler in Germany, got to power.

The answer is: they supported fascist leaders who promised relief from economic hardships.

After World War I, both Italy and Germany experienced heavy economic burdens. Germany felt them due to the Versailles Treaty which demanded that Germany (having lost the war) paid for damages incurred during the war. Italy, even though they aligned themselves during World War I with the Allied forces, incurred in costs during the war effort that were not compensated by the Versailles Treaty, which eventually created heavy economic hardships for the Italian population. Both countries felt that resorting to a fascist regime, like that of Hitler and Mussolini, respectively, would ensure the alleviation of these economic hardships since that was the common platform on which both dictators ran for office.