Fascism

Identification:

Fascism is a form of political behaviour marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion. The 20th century totalitarian sense probably came directly from this but was influenced by the historical Roman fasces, which became the party symbol. A popular example of a Fascist leader would be Benito Mussolini. A more recent fascist leader would be Adolf Hitler.

 

Historical Significance:

Fascism is historically significant, because it was the political party responsible for the

holocaust. Adolf Hitler gained power over Germany, and turned it into a fascist state. By taking these powers, Hitler’s government was able to control factors such as inflation and unemployment that had caused considerable distress in previous years. Fascism is like no other political belief, as it includes next to no freedoms. Individuals had no freedom to protest in Hitler’s Germany. All political organizations were either banned or under the control of the Nazis. Many people think of Adolf Hitler when thinking of the term fascism, because of the horrible results of his leadership. It is estimated that over six million Jews were murdered during World War Two as a result of Hitler gaining power over Germany. Because of the horrible genocide during the second world war, it is hopeful that future leaders learn from these mistakes and do not make them again. The Holocaust set an example for just the type of leader that should not be in power. This is the reason fascist leaders are not common in the twenty first century.

 

Key Historical Proponents:

As stated before, two of the most popular political actors associated with the term fascism are Benito Mussolini, who in 1919, founded the Fasci di Combattimento–the original Fascist movement, and Adolf Hitler, a man who gained power over Germany and used that power to commit a mass genocide during the second world war. A very well known example of a fascist state, Nazi Germany, occurred during the second world war in the years 1933-1945. This all came to an end when Adolf Hitler committed suicide, and the remaining Jewish slaves were rescued from concentration camps. Adolf Hitler was not the only fascist dictator with power during World War Two. Benito Mussolini was an Italian dictator, who aspired to dominate the Mediterranean area. He was in power when Italy’s Fascist War took place. This war is generally not as well know as the holocaust, because it was overlooked. This is because postwar recollections and historical writing have tended to concentrate on the events of 1943 to 1945, rather than on the preceding period.

Jaime Byers

 

Bibliography

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2017.

Harper, Douglas. “Fascism (n.).” Index, 2017, http://www.etymonline.com/word/fascism. Accessed 15 Oct. 2017.

John Simkin. “German Fascism.” Spartacus Educational, Spartacus Educational, 2016,

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Morgan, Philip. “Italy’s Fascist war: Philip Morgan explains why Italians have tended to gloss over the period 1940-43, when Mussolini fought against the Allies, preferring to remember the years of German occupation 1943-45.” History Today, vol. 57, no. 3, 2007, p. 40+. Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.dop=AONE&sw=w&u=ocul_mcmaster&v=2.1&id=GALE %7CA171657322&it=r&asid=a2907e300271fbf3f5f4261c03783908. Accessed 16 Oct.

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