Fascism - Coming To America?
A Brief History of Fascism
Fascism has a long and complicated history that starts with Benito Mussolini. A natural born leader, Mussolini debuted the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento on March 23, 1919. Although he hadn’t invented the idea of authoritarianism, he had put a name on a new type of it. Once he assumed leadership in Italy, his tyranny began with militant attacks on fellow Italians as well as brutality in Ethiopia and an alliance with Hitler where he persecuted Italy’s Jewish population. Even more than a century later, his ideas remain prevalent and influential for certain groups.
What is Fascism?
Fascism is a complex ideology with many definitions. Some people describe it as a set of political actions, a political philosophy or a mass movement. Most definitions can agree that fascism is an authoritarian ideology that promotes nationalism no matter the cost. The very core of the idea was the belief that anything that may interfere with national unity had to be eliminated, and often violently. Violence was even viewed as beneficial to society. The society that fascism protected was very strictly defined, Mussolini had specific ideas about who was apart of the nation and those who did not fit in were subject to violence.
How Did the People React?
Fascism was a direct attack on the socialist regimes that were gaining power in Italy between 1918 and 1920. The political culture and social order had been changed significantly, citizens felt that socialists had taken over and their liberal state had lost control over law and order. These tensions came to a boil when Fascist violence was used to destroy the socialist hold on local administration and labor organizations. Socialist were so intimidated, threatened and beaten that they started to resign, and the Fascists successfully destroyed the socialist party within a few months. This effort was replicated across the country until Fascism infiltrated major cities as well as small towns. As Fascism made its way to small rural communities, it slowly became an unprecedented mass movement in Italian history.
Across the globe people had started to lose confidence in the political regimes of their country. After a major economic depression and social dislocation, many people were left wondering if their political structure was effective. People also feared the rise of communism, so they decided to embrace Fascism instead as it seemed to be the lesser of two evils. After seeing the economic and military success of Nazi Germany many people became more interested in Fascism. Germany had a significant economic expansion and managed to eradicate unemployment; in fact, they had a labor deficit of nearly 2 million people. This enormous success drew the attention of many people who wanted the same success for their country.
Hitler's Involvement
Mussolini had been in power for 11 years before Hitler. He had already laid the groundwork for a Fascist regime by the time Hitler ascended to power. When Germany collapsed in World War I there was major political instability as the new government, the Weimar Republic, tried to establish its power. Many groups including Fascist ones emerged in an attempt to challenge the new political power and one of those groups was the German Worker’ Party which Hitler had been a part of. He soon became head of the party and rebranded it the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), or the Nazi party. Although socialist is mention in the party’s name, Hitler implemented many Fascist ideologies and based the Nazi platform on nationalism, antisemitism and expansion. The Nazi party planned to overthrow the Weimar Republic by staging a coup which ultimately failed and left Hitler in prison for 8 months.
Shortly after his release in 1924, he began to pursue power through elections. His goal was to completely dismantle the Weimar republic and build a Fascist single party known as Third Reich. After gaining full control of Germany, Hitler began to implement his Fascist agenda by uniting all Germans and excluding any minorities, especially Jews. Germany was focused on expanding their territories and “cleansing” the population by imprisoning political adversaries, criminals, minorities, disabled and any other demographic that did not meet Hitler’s standards.
The Rise of Anti-Fascism
Anti-Fascism is the opposition to Fascist ideologies or groups. This movement began in a few European countries during the 1920s and gradually spread to other countries across the globe. It was the strongest shortly before World War II and during the war as Axis powers were opposed by countries who were known as Allies.
Anti-Fascists movements first emerged in Italy during the rise of Mussolini. The movement slowly began to reach other countries as Fascism also began to spread. The rise of Anti-Fascism and Anti-Fascist organizations can be directly linked to the rise of Fascism. Beginning in Italy during the 1920s, Anti-Fascism began reaching countries like Slovenia and Croatia from 1920 to 1947. It reached Germany in 1924 followed by Spain in the 1930s, France in the 1920s and the Untied Kingdom and United States in the 1930s.
What Was The Response?
Anti-Fascism was not met with the same support that Fascist leaders like Mussolini and Hitler received. Those who supported Anti-Fascism were often exiled or attacked by the Fascist regimes and forced to leave their homes and retreat into the countryside. Some Anti-Fascist uprisings were successful in freeing major cities, but the movement wasn’t fully supported until World War II ensued. Even after the end of the war, the Anti-Fascist movement remained.
Anti-Fascist Leaders
Leaders of the Anti-Fascism movement are not as well known as those who headed Fascist movements because Ant-Fascists often acted as a group. Liberal revolutionary Piero Gobetti was an anti-fascist leader who died under fascist rule. Carlo Rosselli and Emilio Lussu were two members who had been held captive by the Fascist regime. They vehemently opposed the regime in Italy that had began to spread to more European countries.
