Fascist in Italy and
Germany
18.4
Fascist in Italy

Benito Mussolini, a former socialist, organized
the Fascist Party.
 Fascism
was a doctrine that relied on dictatorship
and a totalitarian regime.

Fascism was the opposite of communism.


Communism promised a society
without social classes in which property is shared.
Fascism promised to preserve social
classes and private property.
Italy and Black Shirts

Fascists were called Black Shirts for the
color of their uniforms.
 They
conducted violent campaigns against
opponents, breaking up strikes and
intimidating voters.
 Appointed Mussolini as premier.
Once in office Mussolini destroyed democracy,
suspended basic liberties, and became dictator.
 Uniformed and secret police spied on everyone.

Corporatist State

He made Italy a corporatist state.
 Major
economic activities, such as agriculture,
transportation,manufacturing, and commerce,
were organized into corporations.
 They preserved social classes, private
property, and limited profits.
German Change

Delegates drafted a constitution in the city of
Weimar (VY·mar).
 The
government became known as the Weimar
Republic.
 Germans despised the Weimar Republic for signing
the Treaty of Versailles
 Germany faced the same economic, political, and
social problems as other European countries.
Nazi Party

The new National Socialist German Workers’
Party, or Nazi Party
 extremely
nationalistic and anticommunist.
 By 1921 Adolf Hitler was head of the party.
 He called the Germans the “master race.”
 outlined his plan for racial purity through elimination of
Jews and other “impure” races.
 Hitler promised to restore Germany’s power and its
lost lands.
Taking Over

In 1933 the president of the republic appointed
Hitler as chancellor.
 Someone
set fire to the Reichstag.
 Hitler blamed the communists

he made himself dictator.



took the title der Führer (FYOOR·ur)
He made Germany a police state, banning opposition parties
and newspapers.
He gave the Gestapo, a secret police force, wide-ranging
powers.
Jewish Question

Jews suffered persecution.
 forced
them to live in separate neighborhoods
called ghettos.
 Jews had to wear the Star of David,
 sent them to concentration camps.
Third Reich

Hitler reminded Germans of their nation’s
former glory.
called his rule the Third Reich, or “Third
Empire.”
 He

He violated the Treaty of Versailles.
Germany began secretly rebuilding its military.
 Neither France nor England reacted.
