The Rise of Fascism in Europe and its Characteristics

ITEM 10: The Origin of Fascism

Created in 1919 in Italy as the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, it was a party formed to combat the Marxist left. Later led by Benito Mussolini, Fascist ideology is characterized by:

• Opposition to democracy and Marxism, with persecution and killing of Marxists.
• Advocacy for a single-party state.
• Rejection of the bourgeois world, looking back to more hierarchical times like the Middle Ages, defending corporatism and creating unions.
• Defense of nationalism for national unity and patriotism, persecuting minorities, foreigners, and immigrants.
• Defense of militarism, with party militants uniformed and acting as an army.
• Use of symbols.
• Use of propaganda to attract the masses with charismatic leaders and personalities.

Fascist Regimes

Nazi Germany

After World War I, Germany was declared a republic, dethroning Wilhelm II. The nation was broken and eager for revenge after the Treaty of Versailles. This discontent was exploited by Hitler to create the Nazi Party, which came to power in 1933. His ideas are contained in Mein Kampf. Once in power, he dissolved the Reichstag and other parties, persecuted opponents, including some within his own party during the Night of the Long Knives. Hitler proclaimed himself Führer and created the assault troops, the SS and Gestapo, to prosecute and punish his opponents. His key aides were Goebbels, Göring, and Himmler.

Fascist Italy

In 1919, the first Fasci Italiani di Combattimento organization was founded by veterans of World War I and anti-socialists. The international crisis, fear of social revolution, and the expansion of communism led to the creation of the National Fascist Party in 1921. Italy was divided into numerous parties, making the political regime very unstable, requiring complicated coalitions to govern.

In 1922, Mussolini organized a March on Rome, a demonstration that occupied main public buildings and demanded power from Victor Emmanuel III. The king refused to suppress the demonstration and gave Mussolini the government, consolidating the Fascist regime. Between 1922 and 1940, its characteristics were:

• Violence against political opponents.
• Mussolini adopted the title of Duce.
• Political parties were banned.
• It supported autarky.

Great Britain

Like all of Europe, Great Britain suffered severe economic problems after World War I. This led to high unemployment rates and labor unrest, exacerbated by the Great Depression in 1929. However, Britain had the advantage of a strong parliamentary tradition with established political parties: the Conservative Party and the Labour Party.

In 1931, it created the Commonwealth of Nations, replacing the empire and uniting economically, albeit with political autonomy, the former white-population dominions.

France

The French Republic suffered the impact of World War I more than any other European country, enduring hard times until 1924. The Great Depression of 1929 affected France less than other countries due to state protection of the economy after the war.

United States

The U.S. experienced a period of prosperity until the Great Depression of 1929. Unlike the British and French democracies, the U.S. emerged from World War I as the greatest world power, both economically and militarily. Stability was possible thanks to: