Social 30-1 McClung

The word “fascism”
comes from the latin
word fasces. The fasces
was a bundle of rods
with and axe that was a
symbol in ancient Rome
of authority.

The fasces later became
the symbol for fascism.
Nations with one party in control (prevalent in Europe and Asia prior to WWII)
-Used idea of Nationalism and Revenge to gain support
-Promised the promotion of their country at the expense of
“lesser” peoples (Germany-Jews, Japanese-Chinese)
-The greater the crisis, the greater the demand for leadership
-Provided scapegoats for the problems of their country
-Party control of everything + Dictator = False propaganda to
gain support
-Crushed all opposition
-Imperialism to increase strength and increase pride in their
country – leads to other conflicts
-Generally a very militaristic government and society
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Mussolini was deeply
involved with the
Socialist Party prior to
WWI.
Broke ties with socialists
because of their
opposition to war.
With other ex-socialists,
he formed a radical
group intent on solving
the countries problems.
Benito Mussolini
Biography

The Blackshirts were a voluntary militia group that
had the goal of violently promoting nationalism.
They fought with
socialists in the
streets.
 By the early
twenties they
controlled many
towns.


On September 20, 1922,
Mussolini called on the Italian
king to allow his fascist party to
govern Italy. The King refused.
Mussolini mobilized his action
squads and marched on Rome.
Unwilling to risk confrontation,
the government resigned. The
king called on Mussolini to
become Prime Minister and form
a new Government.
King Emanuelle III
Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini, center, hands on hips, with members of the fascist Party,
in Rome, Italy, Oct. 28, 1922, following their March on Rome. This march was an act of
intimidation, where thousands of fascist blackshirts occupied strategic positions throughout
much of Italy.

Before WWI he had already become acquainted
with anti-Semitic and racial ideas.

Following WWI, Hitler became involved in a small
nationalist group called the German Workers Party.
Hitler impressed the members with his speaking
ability and soon was put into place as propaganda
chairman.
 Clip

1923 - Hitler attempted to take control of a struggling Germany through the
“Beer Hall Putsch.” He failed and was arrested. In jail he wrote “Mein Kampf”
exposing his political ideology. He was considered harmless and was released
in 1924.
1932 – The Nazi Party won 230 seats during elections, but it was not enough to
take control. The government formed a right wing coalition government. Hitler
was given the position of the Chancellor of Germany.
Once in power he holds a new set of election that give his
party alone the ruling power.
A fire starts in the Reichstag, Hitler blamed it on the
communists. He declares a state of emergency and
suspends all civil liberties.
1934 - Hitler declares himself the “Fuhrer of Germany
taking dictatorial power.
Clip 1, 2
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What does the information from the chart
suggest about German politics from 1928 to
1933?
Use the economic chart and the political
chart to determine a cause and effect
relationship between the rise of the National
Socialists and the state of the German
economy.

Human Inequality

Cult of the Leader

Government by Elite

Extreme Nationalism

Racial Purity and Superiority

Organized Violence

War and Military Force

Almost always are governed by an elite
group of friends, family & associates who
appoint each other to gov’t positions and
use gov’t power and authority to protect
their friends from accountability.

The term totalitarian was coined
(invented) in the early 1920s by
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
It is an extreme form of
authoritarian government from
either side of the political
spectrum [communism and
fascism] that exercises absolute
and centralized control over its
citizens using violence and
intimidation: "A totalitarian
regime crushes all institutions in
its drive to seize the human soul"Arthur M.Schlesinger, Jr.

A system of highly centralized
government in which one
political party or group takes
control and grants neither
recognition nor tolerance to
other political groups. (source:
http://www.thefreedictionary.co
m)

The government is in the hands
of a minority who often rule
through military might and
extreme political repression.
(source
http://www.ilstu.edu/class/hist12
7/terms.html)

Totalitarianism is a form
of government in which
all societal resources are
monopolized by the
state in an effort to
penetrate and control all
aspects of public and
private life, through the
state's use of
propaganda, terror, and
technology. (source:
http://plaza.ufl.edu/lcur
ta/totalitarian.html)

Relating to or operating
a centralized
government system in
which a single party
without opposition rules
over political, economic,
social, and cultural life
(Source: Encarta)
Please read pp. 66 and
67 of Global Systems and
pages 167 to 168 in your
textbook.
If this diagram were a
visual representation of the
extent of government
involvement in a liberal
democracy, then using two
circles draw what a
totalitarian government
would look like.

Government
People

autocratic, a definition: a
ruler who holds unlimited
power and is answerable to no
other person
Egyptian presidential
candidate warns Brotherhood's
win will bring back autocratic
rule – Cairo April 19, 2011

autocracy, a definition: a
one-party government in
which somebody holds
unlimited power
Cairo, Apr 19 : Former Egyptian
foreign minister Amr Moussa
has warned that if the Muslim
Brotherhood's candidate wins
the upcoming presidential
elections, and if the political
wing dominates the parliament,
it may yield a one-party system
that would bring back autocratic
rule.

Fascism becomes possible when masses of people feel deeply
insecure, and was a response to the ineffectiveness of liberal
democracies after World War One. When Mussolini rose to power
Italy was beset by serious economic depression combined with
inflation and political instability. Fascists rejected many liberal
values, such as democracy and individual rights and freedoms.
Fascism is anti-communist, anti-liberal, anti-individualist, antirational, anti-parliamentarian, pro-private property (but antilaissez-faire, unregulated capitalism), and anti-egalitarian.

The term fascism itself is now used widely to embrace many
dictatorial right-wing parties and government across Europe from
the 1930s onwards. Fascists emphasized that strong leadership
and security in a time of instability and disorder was of prime
importance.