Rise of Fascism

The years between 1919 and 1945 have sometimes been called the age of fascism. We have all heard of the Nazis and fascists, but our perception of these people is usually a German soldier wearing a grey or black uniform with a swastika on their left arm, whilst holding their right arm high toward the sky. However whilst this image maybe the most famous symbol of fascism, it is not the whole story.

The word NAZI was the acronym for the National Socialist German Worker's Party. It was a fascist movement that had its roots in the European nationalist and socialist movements, and had developed a biological view of so-called superiority, with the "Aryan" race being at the top of the warped biological ladder. See: Timeline of Nazi Persecution and Genocide.

Fascists were characterised by elements such as their opposition to communism, extreme right wing and racist views, belief in the superiority of their own nation or race, use of violence and/or force to quell any opposition and total control of the state by a single dictator.

All fascist movements, racialist or not, share this last element. In the most basic sense, it is the ideology of political opportunism in a drive to attain and hold total state power. On that road to power, fascists are willing to abandon any principle to adopt any issue more popular and more likely to gain converts.

Italy is considered to be the birthplace of fascist ideology. Benito Mussolini, a former socialist journalist, organized the first fascist movement in 1919 at Milan. The movement was called the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento (Italian Fighting League), and consisted of 200 members. The group, led by one of Mussolini's close confidants, Dino Grandi, formed armed squads of war veterans called Blackshirts (or squadristi) to terrorize socialists, anarchists, and communists. The group grew so rapidly that within two years, it transformed itself into the National Fascist Party at a congress in Rome. In October 1922 Mussolini led a march on Rome and ousted the then Prime Minister Luigi Facta. Once in power he began transforming the Italian political system into a fascist state.

Like other fascist groups of the time, they took advantage of the social and political crisis affecting their country after Word War I and the 1929 stock market crash. In 1938 Mussolini forced the last vestige of democracy, the Council of Deputies, to vote themselves out of existence, leaving Mussolini to become the fascist dictator of Italy.

In the 1930’s both France and Britain hoped to gain support from Italy with regards to opposing Germany’s ever-increasing aggressiveness in the European area. However Mussolini was not interested as he had ambitions to expand his own empire and as a result in 1935 Italy invaded Abyssinia, a North African state. Mussolini aligned himself with Germany and in 1936 formed the Rome-Berlin Axis.

Also in 1936 a Spanish General, Francisco Franco, claimed state power in Spain by leading a military revolt against the Republican government. Both Mussolini and Hitler and supported Franco’s take over by supplying him with troops, bombers and transport aircraft. Many people from other countries came to the aid of the Spanish government by volunteering to fight the fascists in an effort to stop the spread of fascism through Europe. They were unsuccessful.

Exercises:

On a new page in your books put the Heading “Rise of Fascism”. Under the heading write a 1/2 page summary based upon the information above. After you have completed the summary, write the following sub-heading and the questions in your books and answer them in full sentences using the link to the websites listed below.

Fascism in Europe

1. What countries were part of the Axis (fascists states) in 1933?
2. What did Germany do in 1934?
3. What did Italy do in 1935?
4. What did Spain do in 1939?
5. What did Germany do in 1939?
6. What did Italy do in 1939?
7. What countries did Germany invade in 1940?