The term ‘fascism’ / ‘fascist’ is used appropriately and perhaps even more inappropriately for regimes characterized by authoritarian conservatism or anti-left activities. In any case, the term fits the regime of Benito Mussol ini (1883-1945), which was in power in Italy from 1922-1943. We can even say that it originated in Italy. Fascism should also not be equated with National Socialism as we know it especially from Hitler’s Germany; However, it increasingly ended up in the wake of Hitler’s ‘Third Reich’. There are different forms of fascism: radical fascism, proto-fascism, philofascism, clericofascism, autofascism, semi-fascism, left-wing fascism and modern fascism after 1945. The term ‘fascistoide’ is often used – rather too easily – . In any case, fascism is characterized by the pursuit of a strong state, nationalism, racism, terror, totalitarianism and the führer principle. The First World War had weakened parliamentary democracy. In general, belief in bourgeois ideologies had weakened after 1918. The socialist Benito Mussolini (see introduction photo) took advantage of this situation. In 1919 he formed the Fasci di Cobattimento, groups that consisted of, among others, war veterans who were frustrated and wanted to restore order in their own way and give Italy back what it was entitled to. They are also known as Blackshirts because they wore black uniforms. After the Second World War, the term fascism and its derivatives were and are certainly used inappropriately by the left. Too inappropriate if, for example, the user essentially means racism or anti-left activity.
Radical nationalism, outspoken militarism, extreme racism (usually in the form of anti-Semitism), the use of terror, totalitarianism and the authoritarian führer principle were the forces that fueled fascism.
Fascis
The word fascism is taken from the Latin ‘fascis’ which means bundle. To the Romans it appeared as a bundle of arrows or branches with an ax in between, a symbol of solidarity, strength and power. Mussolini acted as a dictator, he was also called the ‘Duce’, he had all the power in his hands. He went from socialist to fascist. In any case, he believed he personally represented the will of the people.
Multiple forms of fascism
Fascism and National Socialism are not the same. National Socialism started in Germany and was more radical and has become more powerful than fascism that originated in Italy. However, Italian fascism increasingly ended up in the wake of Hitler’s Third Reich. Thus it lost its original character. Besides, ‘fascism’ doesn’t exist anyway. There are differences between ‘the’ fascisms. Several of these are mild forms, such as the regime of Prime Minister Salazar of Portugal from 1932-1968. There are also all kinds of varieties such as radical fascism, proto-fascism (for example the rule of Daladier in France 1938), philofascism, clericofascism, autrofascism, semi-fascism, left-fascism and modern fascism after 1945; in any case, the word was often misused after the Second World War. And then there is the concept of fascist.
The origins of fascism
Just as it is very difficult to pinpoint the exact origins of National Socialism, this is the case with the exact origins of fascism. The German writer Wilhelm Heinse (1746-1803) may qualify . He traveled a lot in Italy. Machiavelli was his great example. He lived in Florence from 1469-1527; his most important book was Il Principe , the monarch/the ruler. Heinse passionately longs for the new, the perfect. To this end there must also be an destruction of things. He compares humanity to a forest that must be thinned from time to time if it wants to remain healthy and vital. That must be done rigorously, ruthlessly. Only men with a decisive mentality are capable of this, men who can muster a certain degree of cruelty, the end justifies the means. War is a natural means to drive people towards perfection and that war is waged in the group, man as an individual is worthless.
So we see a lot in Heise that is also reminiscent of the ideology of the Nazis. This also applies to extreme nationalists. We must not only look for the roots of European fascism in conservative and reactionary circles, but also in revolutionary circles. And of course Mussolini revered the Roman Empire. Likewise the Roman Catholic Church not because of religion but because of power.
Fasci di Cobattimento
The gangs (‘Fasci di Cobattimento’) mentioned in the first paragraph included not only war veterans (and more especially the Arditi who had belonged to the Italian elite troops) but also ultraconservatives, anarcho-syndicalists, and several other such small groups of disaffected people. . The movement started with 51 members and by May 1920 there were 2 to 3000 men divided into 118 fascis. Despite being a socialist, Mussolini was forced by his followers to turn against the socialists and communists and to destroy socialist achievements and assets. The highlight of the actions of Mussolini and his followers was the march on Rome in 1922. This led to the establishment of the fascist dictatorship in just a few years, which was completed at the end of 1926.
Fascism as an international movement
Fascism was primarily a national movement. Efforts were made to create an international context, but in practice little came of it, as national contradictions prevented the creation of a fascist international. In fascist circles people therefore opposed the establishment of a Greater Germanic Empire, which was what Himmler wanted. Also typical: Polish fascism was decidedly anti-German. Yet around 1925 in Italy, fascism was seen as an ‘export item’. Mussolini declared in 1932 that fascism was international in character and that a European fascism would emerge. And in 1933 he welcomed the National Socialist revolution. Another great country (Germany) had now created the ‘unitarian, authoritarian, totalitarian’, i.e. the fascist state and destroyed the demo-social-liberal forces.
Influence of the German and Italian dictatorships on each other
Germany and Italy influenced each other. Without the march on Rome of 1922, Hitler would probably not have dared to attempt his ‘Putsch’ of 1923; Had the putsch been a success, he would have marched on Berlin. Hitler (b. 1889) also recognized Mussolini (b. 1883) as his role model. And OE Schüddekopf believes that Mussolini’s transition to an imperialist course in the years 1935-1936 could never have been so successful if it had not been for the Third Reich (of Hitler) (Fascism p. 77). It should not be forgotten that the two countries needed each other as backing against France. It was not without reason that the Rome Berlin Axis was mentioned.
Yet the relationship between the German and Italian systems was almost exclusively limited to a few external appearances. Moreover, Mussolini had first been a source of inspiration for Hitler, but later he became his follower. And: Germanic was in contrast to Romanic. Anyway: fascism is not the same as national socialism. (see article in Trouw 6-7-1999).
Anti-Semitism
Initially, Mussolini was not anti-Semitic. It was not until 1938 that the Italian government passed racist anti-Jewish legislation equivalent to the Nuremburg Laws of the German Empire. Jews then had to leave Italy. When Italy entered the war in June 1940, Mussolini expanded anti-Jewish measures. But he never agreed to transport his Jews to the death camps. The situation obviously changed drastically when the Germans took power in Italy in 1942.
The outcome in Italy
After the Allied landings in Italy, Mussolini was deposed as Prime Minister by the Fascist Grand Council in July 1943. Then Germany intervened and occupied all parts of Italy that had not yet been conquered by the Allies. A government was established with Mussolini as leader, while the real power was in German hands. That was the beginning of the Holocaust for the Italian Jews. From mid-September 1943 until the end of the war in April 1945, Italian Jews were hunted by the Germans; more than 20 percent of the country’s Jewish population was imprisoned in prisons and concentration camps.
Similarities between the different national forms of fascism
Fascism took different forms in different countries. There were diverse ideas and symbols, and it kept taking different forms. Yet there are similarities that transcend national differences. So there is always a dictatorship. And it tried to please the masses and at the same time the propertied classes. So it was revolutionary on the one hand and conservative on the other. In addition, it is striking that ‘social’ issues play an important role in all European fascist movements (It is also significant that Mussolini was initially a socialist, but in 1920 he realized that he could come to power with the help of entrepreneurs, petty-bourgeois forces and nationalists. ). Besides, the Hungarian Arrow Cross demanded the abolition of large landownership. But be that as it may, fascism had nothing to do with post-1918 socialism.
Anti-movement
The fascists always proudly called themselves an opposing party. Against democracy, parliamentarism, partyism (they were a movement, not a party, see in the Netherlands the National Socialist ‘Movement’, against the bourgeoisie, Marxism, socialism, communism and Bolshevism, liberalism and capitalism. And certainly also: against all forms of internationalism. Mussolini preached the highest human values: discipline and hierarchy. And this also applies to totalitarianism: the entire society must be permeated and subordinated to the state idea (the state has complete control over daily life). .
Ideology?
One might wonder whether fascism can be called an ideology in the sense of a doctrine, a closed system. After all, Mussolini had declared in 1919: our doctrine is the action. And as late as 1932 he declared that the people did not desire an ideology but an improvement in material living conditions. Indeed, it has never been a closed system, like Marxism. But according to the English fascist Oswald Mosley (1896-1980), fascism was based on the philosophy of action. In any case, it is clear that for fascism it is not the program, the doctrine, that is decisive, but the action, the activism. The dagger between the teeth and contempt for danger. The feeling of invincibility was essential.
The mass
In the post-war situation, only a minority of the so-called white-collar proletariat turned to the left, because no matter how bad its economic position, it felt itself far above the proletariat. Most of them joined fascism. The old-timers of society also joined: opportunists, strivers, parvenus; nouveaux riches and the petty bourgeoisie, soldiers returning from the war, the unemployed and also ordinary workers, but these were not strongly represented.
The strong state
The corporate estate was essential for fascism, especially with Mussolini. This as an alternative to the despised parliamentary democracy. The organic, the grown versus the artificially created, was considered of great importance. For example, mental and physical labor, industry, trade and agriculture are represented within a corporation. For example: employers and employees within the agricultural sector are not opposed to each other (no class struggle) but consult within the corporation. It should be noted that in Mussolini’s Italy little came of the corporatist principles in practice. In practice they were state organs of a centralist
dictatorship.
Nationalism
Nationalism was essential to fascism. In addition, it did have a missionary character and became imperialistic. For example, Italy under Mussolini adopted an expansive colonization policy. In 1935 he invaded Ethiopia (Abyssinia) . Behind this was the will to revive the old Roman Empire.
Militarism
For any fascist movement, the army was untouchable. In any case, the First World War was of decisive importance for the emergence of fascism. The millions of soldiers who returned home disillusioned and could not be so easily integrated into their country’s economy provided the first breeding ground for fascism. In all this, the symbolism of fascism should not be forgotten. See the use of flags, banners, marching music, uniforms, daggers, parades. This brings us to a defining feature of all fascist movements: the building of militant private armies to unleash civil war. Terror was the trump card.
Racism
Within fascism, the respect for one’s own race could go so far that not only did there have to be an absolute separation between the Herrenvolk and people of the other race, but that, where Jews were concerned, the latter even had to be annihilated (see the ‘Endlӧsung’ of the Jewish problem in the view of German nationalism of Hitler and his followers). Nowhere has racism taken such a radical form as in German fascism, nor has fascism in Italy ever aimed at the physical downfall of the Jews, but it played a more or less important role in all other fascist movements.
Terror
The fear of the European bourgeoisie for Bolshevism, the victory of which would mean a loss of its material and political position, has paved the way for the permissible use of organized violence (that is, terror). The symbolism of the dead also plays an important role in this. Several movements, especially the fascists, willingly surrendered to a certain death cult (see the skulls on the caps of the SS). In worship of death and the dead, the use of violence cannot be strange. Violence was also Mussolini’s element of life, although fascist violence in Italy cannot be compared with that of National Socialism in Germany or in the Soviet Union during Stalin.
The totalitarian element
The concept of totalitarian comes from Mussolini, but his totalitarianism cannot be compared to that of totalitarian regimes in Germany and the Soviet Union (where the entire state apparatus and the army were subjugated to one party; which means, among other things, that other parties were not were allowed.) As far as Germany was concerned, Hitler had a unique instrument of power at his disposal, namely the SS, built up by his most loyal follower: Heinrich Himmler. For the SS, it was not victory but battle that was the binding element; complete devotion (to Hitler) was essential. Essentially it was a state within a state.
Führer principle
One of the most important elements in all fascist movements, if not the most important, is the significance of the leader. OE Schüddekopf describes it in his book as follows: The unconditional, almost mystical bond with the leader almost gives these movements the character of a sect. The leader embodies the will of the people. As if by intuition, the leader knows what the people want.
Fascism after 1945
Was fascism a unique phenomenon that emerged from a historical situation that could not return after 1945? That was and is a point of discussion. It can be said that traditional fascism no longer exists, but that the term fascist is often used for nationalist and conservative movements. Whether that is justified is debatable. Parties have emerged that are referred to as neo-fascist or post-fascist. For example, the ‘National Democratic Party of Germany’ (NPD), often regarded as fascist, was founded in Germany in 1946. A similar situation has also occurred in France. Very clearly in Spain because of the Franco regime (1939-1975) and in Portugal because of the regime of Salazar (died in 1970; in 1974 the left-wing Carnation Revolution really brought an end to the regime). In Greece there was the colonel’s rule (1967-74). Fascist movements emerged in America as early as the 1930s; and movements with fascist characteristics have been around ever since (see the Ku Klux Klan and the Hells Angels). In South America, the reign of Juan Perón, president of Argentina from 1946 to 1955 and from 1973 to 1974, can be mentioned in this context.
Authoritarian conservative regimes are often also called fascist, especially by their opponents. An example of this is the reign of Augusto Pinoc , president of Chile from 1974-90. The term populist is more appropriate in many of these cases.
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- The assassination attempt on Hitler, July 20, 1944
- Uprising of the Georgians on Texel, spring 1945
- The Emsland camps during the Nazi regime