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Democracy didn’t die in Italy or Germany — it signed the forms. In Episode 2 of Caffeine & Chaos: History of Authoritarianism, Paula walks through the 1920s and ’30s, when fascism didn’t break the rules — it rewrote them. From Mussolini’s Acerbo Law to Hitler’s Enabling Act, it’s the story of how two nations voted their freedoms away and called it efficiency. It’s bureaucracy with body count potential — and the moment modern authoritarianism learned how to dress in legal language. Featuring: The collapse of Italy’s democracy and the March on Rome Germany’s “lawful” descent into dictatorship How propaganda turned compliance into pride The global playbook every strongman since has copied ☕ Lesson: Tyranny doesn’t always knock — sometimes it books an appointment and shows up on time.
By Paula DonovanDemocracy didn’t die in Italy or Germany — it signed the forms. In Episode 2 of Caffeine & Chaos: History of Authoritarianism, Paula walks through the 1920s and ’30s, when fascism didn’t break the rules — it rewrote them. From Mussolini’s Acerbo Law to Hitler’s Enabling Act, it’s the story of how two nations voted their freedoms away and called it efficiency. It’s bureaucracy with body count potential — and the moment modern authoritarianism learned how to dress in legal language. Featuring: The collapse of Italy’s democracy and the March on Rome Germany’s “lawful” descent into dictatorship How propaganda turned compliance into pride The global playbook every strongman since has copied ☕ Lesson: Tyranny doesn’t always knock — sometimes it books an appointment and shows up on time.