Fascist Movements In Italy And Germany example essay topic

What is Fascism? Fascism is a 20th century form of nationalistic, militaristic, totalitarian dictatorship that seeks to create a feasible society through strict regimentation of national and individual lives. Total subordination to the service of the state and unquestioning loyalty to its leader would adjust conflicting interests. It is a modern political ideology that looks to regenerate the social, economic, and cultural life of a country by basing it on a heightened sense of national belonging of ethnic identity. Fascism rejects liberal ideas of freedom and individual rights, it often presses for the destruction of elections, legislatures and other elements of democracy.

Despite fascism's idealistic goals, attempts to build fascist societies have led to wars and persecutions that have caused millions of deaths (notably WWII and the Holocaust). As a result, fascism is strongly associated with right-wing fanaticism, racism, totalitarianism and violence. Fascist movements oppose such doctrines as liberalism, individualism, materialism, communism and conservatism. In general, fascists stand against all scientific, economic, religious, academic, cultural and leisure activities that do not serve their vision of a national political life. Fascism emphasised nationalism, but its appeal was international. Fascist political parties and movements capitalized on the intense patriotism that emerged as a response to widespread social and political uncertainty after World War I (1914-1918) and the Russian Revolution of 1917.

It flourished between the so called fascist era of 1919 and 1945 in many countries mainly Italy, Germany, Spain and Japan. Even such liberal democracies as France and England had important fascist movements. Scholars disagree over how to define the basic elements of fascism, some even insist it was limited to Italy under Mussolini. When the term is capitalized as Fascism, it refers to the Italian movement. Beginning in the 1970's, some scholars began to develop a broad definition of fascism and by the 1990's many had embraced the new approach. This new approach emphasizes the way in which fascist movements attempt revolutionary change and their central focus on popularizing myths of ethnic or national renewal.

Seen from this prospective, all forms of fascism have three common features: anti conservatism, a myth of national or ethnic renewal and a conception of a nation in crisis. Fascist movements usually try to retain some supposedly healthy parts of the nations existing political and social life, but they place more emphasis on creating a new society. Fascist movements set out to create a new type of total culture in which values; politics, art, social norms and economic activity are all part of a single organic community. In this way fascism is directly opposed to conservatism. The fascist movements in Italy and Germany also represented attempts to create revolutionary new modern states. Even though fascist movements try to bring about revolutionary change, they emphasis the revival of a mythical ethnic, racial or national past.

They revise conventional history to create a vision of an idealized past. The mythical histories claim that former greatness has been destroyed by such developments as the mixing of races, the rise of powerful buisnesse groups and a loss of a shared sense of the nation. A fascist movement always asserts that the nation faces a profound crisis. The fascists present the national crisis as resolvable only through a radical political transformation.

They claim the nation has entered a dangerous age of mediocrity, weakness and decline. They are convinced that through their timely action they can save the nation from itself. Fascists promise that with their help the national crisis will end and a new age will begin that restores the people to a sense of belonging, purpose and greatness. They believe that the end result of a fascist revolution will be the emergence of a new man and woman. This new man and new woman will be fully developed human beings, uncontaminated by selfish desires for individual rights and self-expression and devoted only to an existence as part of the renewed nation's destiny. When and where did it begin?

Before World War I, several writers, among them Gabriel D'Annunzio, an Italian, and Georges Sorel, Maurice Barres, Charles Mauryas and Comte Joseph de Gobineau, all French, had expressed fascist ideas. However it took postwar economic dislocation, the threat of communism arising from the Russian Revolution and the Great Depression of the 1930's to transform fascism into a serious political force. For many people, the death and brutality of World War I showed that rationality and progress were not inherent in humanity and that a radically new direction had to be taken if society were to survive, it also helped to arouse intense patriotism that continued after the war. As a result of these feelings, people turned to national socialist movements that promised to confront the disorder in the world. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini first used the term fascism in 1919. The term comes from the Italian word fascia, which means "union" or "league".

It also refers to the fasces, the ancient Roman symbol of power, a bundle of sticks bound to an ax. It represented civic unity and the authority of Roman officials to punish wrongdoers. The first fascist movement developed in Italy after the World War I. Benito Mussolini, the founder of fascism in Italy, a journalist and war veteran, served as the guiding force behind the new movement. Mussolini began his political career as a Marxist. In 1912 as the editor of the country's leading socialist newspaper Avanti! , he opposed both capitalism and milit arianism. In 1914, however, his attitude had changed, as he aroused the anger of Socialist Party leaders by urging Italy to enter the war against Germany.

As a result he was expelled from the Socialist Party in 1914. Immediately after his expulsion from the party, he founded his own newspaper, Il Popolo d'Italia (The People of Italy), which later became the organ of the fascist movement. He wrote violent editorials trying to drive Italy into the war. When Italy did enter the war, he enlisted in the army and served from 1915 until he was wounded in 1917. Influenced by the ideas of Sorel and German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, he glorified action and vitality and denounced antiwar Marxists for their lack of pragmatism.

In turbulent postwar Milan, Mussolini and other young war veterans founded the Fasc i di Combattimento in March 1919. This was the first political group to be called fascist. At first, its program was strongly nationalistic, antiliberal and anti socialist, intending to appeal to war veterans. Mussolini urged the Italian people to rebuild the glories of ancient Rome. He later drafted a program to win property owning Italians to his cause.

By 1922 his party was powerful enough to force King Victor Emmanuel to invite Mussolini to form a coalition government. This happened after 25000 militant, black shirted, fascists demonstrated in Rome and marched on the city. Three years later in 1926 Mussolini had transformed the country into a single party, totalitarian regime that ruled Italy until 1943. Which countries are / were fascist?

Italy was the first fascist country after the government came under the power of Benito Mussolini in 1922. All political parties except the Fascist party were banned, and Mussolini became Il Duce-the leader of the party. Labor unions were abolished, strikes were forbidden and political opponents were silenced. In the new "corporative state", employers and workers were organised into party controlled groups representing different sectors of the economy. Fascists crushed the labor movement but allowed big business to run with its affairs with a minimum of government interference. The only fascist movement that came to power in peacetime outside of Italy was Germany's Nationalist Socialist Workers Party-the Nazis that came to power under Adolf Hitler.

The core of the program was an ideology and policy of war against Germany's supposed moral and racial decay and a struggle to begin the country's rebirth. All of the Nazi government's actions served a dual purpose of destroying the supposed sickness of the old Germany and creating a healthy new society. The government abolished democratic freedoms and institutions because they were seen as causing national divisions. In their place the government created an authoritarian state, known as the Third Reich, that would serve as the core of the new society. There were two features specific to Nazism that combined to make it so extraordinarily destructive and barbaric once in power. The first feature was the Nazi myth of national greatness.

This myth suggested that the country was destined to become an imperial and great military power. These ideas led to international wars of unprecedented violence and inhumanity. The second important feature was that Nazism developed in the context of a modern economy and society. Even after Germany's defeat in WWI it was still one of the most advanced nations in the world in terms of infrastructure, government efficiency, industry, economic potential and standards of education. Germany also had a deep sense of national pride, belonging, roots and a civic consciousness that stressed duty and obedience. In addition, the nation had a long tradition of anti-Semitism, imperialism and a deep respect for gifted leaders.

Together the features served to make Nazism one of the most violent and destructive movements in history. Fascism saw some success in a handful of other European countries during 1919 and 1945. Many of the movements were quasi-fascist and all ultimately failed. These countries include Spain, Portugal, Austria, France, Hungary and Romania. Some authoritarian governments have also been labeled fascist by some scholars these include Argentina, Chile, Greece and South Africa. How does it affect the societies and people?

Not all fascist movements are alike and so affect the different societies in different ways. When Italy was under the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini, the standard of living was lowered and it rejected the liberal ideas of freedom and individual rights. Once in power, Mussolini had no immediate plan to solve Italy's substantial social and economic problems other than to give free reign to big business, being pragmatic and preaching the need for discipline. It resulted in the Italian workers losing the protection of the eight hour law and the government decreeing a general wage reduction.

Between 1928 and 1932 real wages in Italy were reduced by almost half, by 1930 they were already the lowest in Western Europe. Mussolini acknowledged in 1930 that the standard of living had indeed fallen under his regime, but he stated that "fortunately, the Italian people were not accustomed to eat much and therefore feel the privation less acutely than others". All political parties except the fascists, were banned and trade unions were almost made illegal. Instead workers and employers were made to join "Corporations", which were meant to sort out the differences between them. Newspapers and books were censored and all education was controlled. 1922 was renamed Year One and all school books were rewritten.

Boys were expected to become good soldiers and all students were encouraged to join organisations which taught them how to be better fascists. Mussolini began a series of schemes to improve the Italian economy, he called these the "Battles". He tried to make Italy self sufficient in food, farmers were encouraged to grow more wheat (the Battle for Grain). Families were encouraged to have more children, the Battle for Births and land for agriculture was reclaimed, the Battle for Land. Women were discouraged from working horse riding and wearing trousers Instead they were encouraged to stay at home and have as many children as possible. In 1940 Mussolini reviewed a parade of 180 married couples who had produced 1544, the mothers were given gold medals for their service to the nation.