TWENTIETH CENTURY HISTORY
ESSAY 5: Please read over these FIVE pages for instructions pertaining to Essay 5…..(C block missed the lecture so here are some notes….may be redundant for F block)
Mussolini in Rome in 1935 announcing ‘victory’ in Africa (Italy attacked and occupied Ethiopia). The League of Nations condemned the action but did nothing to reverse the actions of the Italian government.
Benito Mussolini was the ‘father’ of fascism. He believed that the state should be the primary basis of Italian identity. The state comes before and above the individual. In the state “the masses” must “believe, obey, and fight.” The state as led by a single leader (‘il Duce’) would organize the whole society and including the economy, education, and all civic groups, and, of course, all politics.
Below, Italian children in an organization to teach military virtues, 1934.
And this image to the right from an Italian textbook in 1929 leaves little to the imagination!
And here is a timeline of the major events pertaining to Italy at this time:
1915- Italy enters World War I on side of Allies (against Austria).
1919- Gains Trentino, South Tyrol, and Trieste from old Austro-Hungarian Empire under peace treaties.
1922- Fascist leader Mussolini forms government after three years of political and economic unrest.
1926- Suppression of opposition parties.
1929- Lateran Treaty creates state of Vatican City.
1935- Italy invades Ethiopia.
1936- Mussolini forms Axis military treaty with Nazi Germany.
1939- Albania annexed by Italy
1940- Italy enters World War II on German side. Italian forces occupy British Somaliland in East Africa.
1941- Italy declares war on USSR. Italians fail to conquer Yugoslavia and Greece, and so German troops intervene to win these areas.
1943- Sicily invaded by Allies. King Victor Emmanuel III imprisons Mussolini. Armistice signed with Allies. Italy declares war on Germany.
1944- Allied armies liberate Rome.
1945- Mussolini, who had been rescued from prison by Germans, is captured and executed by Italian partisans.
(Brown color indicates fascist period…cheapBrown and Blackshirts of Germany were favored by fascists—sorry Park School:)).
Fascism as Mussolini defined it, then, is a kind of total system (in theory), or “totalitarian system.”
It has several attributes. (There’s a list below…)
The top three and those copied by all fascist movements around the world at this time are probably militarism, extreme (or racist) nationalism, and an attempt to totally control thought and information in a state. But there are other attributes….see list of twelve below.
One big debate is whether fascism was killed off and discredited in/by WII, or whether fascism survived WWII….i.e. “Was fascism historically bound?”
Certainly there is no dispute that Hitler self-consciously took up the ideas of Mussolini and incorporated them into the NSDAP in the 1920s. By the outbreak of war in 1939 (photo is in 1940 after Hitler has sidelined the USSR, and taken over western Europe), Hitler and Mussolini have signed an official Pact (or military agreement) and will be called the Axis Powers. Later Tokyo will join them in a three-way anti-Comintern (anti communism) Pact. To the right, Mussolini shows off Rome to Hitler whose new Wehrmacht (‘war maker’ Army) has just finished conquering France.
So some historians have considered fascist tendencies around the world and made a list of attributes. Certainly true that there were American fascists, and French and British fascists. Some think within China and some other Asian nations there were fascist movements too. But it really was in Italy and Germany and Japan that the fascists took over the reigns of governmental power. We tend to conflate fascism with Nazis wholly, but should remember there were different shades or kinds of fascism. In America the “America First” movement was somewhat fascist (which is why that phrase used by Trump campaign was so startling to older educated Americans in 2016/17). Remember that the list below are attributes you wouldn’t ascribe necessarily to all fascist states or movements.
Fascism is against democracy and democratic governments; but it is also against communist regimes too. Not because they are authoritarian but because they represent a clear ideological challenge to fascist thinking. Communism is international and universal in its approach and challenge to capitalism, (“Workers of the world Unite!”). Fascism is ultimately about a sense of nationalism built on race or ethnicity and definitively notinternationalist. Also, in the case of Hitler the eastern portion of Europe. he believed, was the natural homeland of the Aryan peoples and therefore that is the direction a greater Germany should go in; his ‘lebensraum” policy first articulated in print in 1924 Mein Kampf states this essential conflict with the communist USSR over control of central Europe. (Lebensraum means living room).
It’s true Hitler cut a deal with the USSR to split Poland between them, but it was well known that this was a temporary ploy to keep the USSR off to the side while the German Army could then sweep over the western portion of Europe if Great Britain and France declared war over Poland, and of course, this is exactly what happened between Sept. 1939 and June of 1940. (It wasn’t until June of 1941 that Hitler turned his war machine against USSR. Arguably this decision was strategically disastrous for Hitler. They would now have to fight on two fronts since the USSR (barely) survived the invasion.
What produced fascism in many places around the world? The radio?!? Well certainly it was a new vehicle for piping propaganda directly into the home if controlled by the state. But the economic conditions are most often cited as the main vehicle for organizing rage against the status quo, against the liberal capitalist regimes which had failed the working classes. So, economic worldwide depression is highly correlated with the rise of fascism but it seems you also have to have fascist leaders in nations with weak democratic traditions, and a clear sense of having been betrayed or denied great power status by previous events. In this way all three fascist nations (including Japan) seem to qualify coming out of WWI, especially, of course, Germany.
Fascism according to Marxists is a kind of capitalism gone viral in the sense that enriching the oligarchy of the rich owner class—and particularly heavy war-machinery industries—became the same interest as the fascist state. And it is true that unions were reduced to subservient organizations or eliminated by the fascist state. Workers were not at all in control; party men and owners became even more powerful.
Back to cause….The sense of grievance and betrayal is strongly expressed by Hitler as early as this speech:
Hitler in 1923 (Prior to the Munich or ‘Beer Hall’ Putsch):
“With the armistice begins the humiliation of Germany. If the Republic on the day of its foundation had appealed to the country: Germans, stand together! Up and resist the foe! The Fatherland, the Republic expects of you that you fight to your last breath, then millions who are now enemies of the Republic would be fanatical Republicans.
Today they are the foes of the Republic not because it is a Republic but because this Republic was founded at the moment when Germany was humiliated, because it so discredited the new flag that men's eyes must turn regretfully toward the old flag. As its foundation our Movement formulated three demands:
1. Setting aside of the Peace Treaty.
2. Unification of all Germans.
3. Land and soil [Grund und Boden] to feed our nation.
Our movement could formulate these demands, since it was not our Movement which caused the War, it has not made the Republic, it did not sign the Peace Treaty.
There is thus one thing which is the first task of this Movement: it desires to make the German once more National, that his Fatherland shall stand for him above everything else. It desires to teach our people to understand afresh the truth of the old saying: He who will not be a hammer must be an anvil. An anvil we are today, and that anvil will be beaten until out of the anvil we fashion once more a hammer, a German sword!” Note: Text of speech from Aspects of Western Civilization, Volume II, Perry Rogers, ed.; Prentice Hall, 2000
Here are the list of 12 attributes of fascism previously alluded to:
- Developing of a myth regarding the need for rebirth: a powerful and all-encompassing Nationalismabove all other virtues.
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. - Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc. - Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. - Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. - Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. - Rampant Sexismand racism (see above items 2 and 5)
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy. - Obsession with National Security
Fear regarding threats to security of the nation is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. - Corporate Power is Protectedand Labor Power is Suppressed
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed. - Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts. - Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions. - Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. - Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
So, ESSAY 5 INSTRUCTIONS
I) Here are all sources you can/should use:
- Doc. 29 report by Tiltman in Germany 1932 (Overfield pg. 120-123)
- Scholtz-Klink on NSDAP women’s org.s (Handout)
- Intro. Remarks by Overfield pg. 126-127
- Doc. 31 Mussolini, 1932 (127-130)
- Doc. 32 Hitler, 1924 (130-135)
- Notes from scene from film Land and Freedom (Ken Loach, 1995) abt Spanish civil war.
- Class notes and this handout.
II). PROMPTS
A) Was/is fascism historically bound? It got invented as a term in the 1920s, but does it have ‘legs’ beyond the era (1920s-‘45)? Is what caused fascism to happen and its attributes particular to the historical moment and its leaders or was its authoritarian quality not all unique?
B) What was fascism? How did it happen as a phenomenon and how did it ‘change the course of history’? Is it worth studying?
C) Comparing Hitler’s writing and Mussolini’s writing what similarities and differences do you see in these two types of leaders? They both intervened in the Spanish civil war on the same side. Why?
D) Make you own prompt or focus
III). Requirements
You should write and complete by deadline (last day of semester for C and for F block that is Friday and Thursday respectively—(F)1/18 and (C)1/19).
The essay should use several (3 to 6) brief quotations from primary documents. No additional research is needed or required.
The final draft should be about 1,000 words. Double spaced please, and hard copy.
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