Case Study-The Rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany
World/US CP11
Mrs. McMillan
There are many similarities, as well as important differences, between the fascism that emerged
in Italy and Germany during the 1920s and 1930s. Read the following overview and
identify/define the terms that follow:
Fascism - Militant political movement that emphasized loyalty to the state and obedience to the
leader. It had no clearly defined theory or program.
1. Basic Principles - Authoritarianism a system of government in which the government
attempted to control and organize with strong discipline as many aspects of people’s lives
as possible. Fascism promoted the greatness of the state over the interests of the
individual, and depended on a Charismatic leader who was action oriented.
2. Political - Extreme Nationalism - an emphasis on building up the greatness and prestige
of the state, with the implication that one’s own nation is superior to other. Used racism
to defend claims of superiority. One-Party State - there was no place for democracy.
Fascism was particularly hostile to communism, which accounts for much of its
popularity. The fascist party members were the elite of the nation and great emphasis was
places on the cult of the leader/hero who would win mass support with thrilling speeches
and skilful propaganda.
3. Economic - believed in Self-sufficiency (autarchy) which was vitally important in
developing the greatness of the state; the government must therefore direct the economic
life of the country (though not in the Marxist sense of the government owing factories
and land) but rather, through the corporate state. The government preserved capitalism
and allowed huge corporations to form, thereby giving industrialists great control.
4. Social - Fascism was supported by the industrialists, middle class and the military.
5. Cultural - used censorship, indoctrination, propaganda, intimidation, and the secret
police to keep the population under control and supportive of Fascist policies.
Because Fascism was not a clearly developed theory it could appeal to all groups irrespective of
status. Its emphasis upon law and order was an appealing alternative to the social unrest that
ensued with the post WWI era; people were willing to turn to alternative forms of government
due to the immense economic problems that occurred during the Great Depression. Weak
governments were easy prey of the Fascist movement and Fascism was also a staunch opponent
of Communism and found a base of support in the middle and industrialist classes, who feared
loss of economic wealth if their nations moved towards Communism.
ITALY
Mussolini’s Rise to Power
The new state of Italy was far from being a great success in the years before 1914 however; the
strain of the First World War on her slumping economy and the bitter disappointment at her
treatment by the Versailles Treaty, because Italy did not receive the territorial gains it wanted
Case Study-The Rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany
World/US CP11
Mrs. McMillan
caused growing discontent. Between 1919 and 1922 there were five different governments, all of
which were incapable of taking decisive action that the situation demanded. In 1919 Benito
Mussolini founded the Fascist party promising to rescue Italy. The newly formed party won 35
seats in the 1921 elections. Mussolini was supported by the wealthy industrialists and
landowners who feared socialist changes. As Italy’s economy continued to decline and
unemployment grew Mussolini’s popularity increased. Mussolini began to openly criticize the
Italian government. At the same time there seemed to be a real danger of a left-wing seizure of
power, fascists wearing black shirts began to attack Socialists and Communists in the street. In
an atmosphere of strikes and riots, the fascists staged a ‘March on Rome’ where 30,000 fascists
demanded that Mussolini be put in charge of the government. In order to preserve his dynasty
King Emmanuel III invited Mussolini to form a government in October 1922. Mussolini took the
title Il Duce which means the leader. Mussolini remained in effective power until July 1943.
Mussolini’s Italy
1. All parties except the fascists were suppressed. Opponents of the regime were either
exiled or murdered. Socialist leaders Giacomo Matteotti and Giovanni Amendola were
both beaten to death by the fascists. After 1926, when Mussolini felt secure in power the
violence was greatly reduced. Although the parliament still met, all important decisions
were taken by the fascist Grand Council which did as Mussolini told it; in effect
Mussolini, who adopted the title Il Duce (the leader), was the dictator.
2. In local government elected town councils and mayors were abolished and towns run by
officials appointed from Rome. In practice the local fascist party bosses, known as ras,
often had as much power as the government officials.
3. A strict press censorship was enforced in which anti-fascist newspapers were either
suppressed or their editors replaced by fascist supporters. Radio, films and the theatre
were similarly controlled.
4. Education in schools and universities was closely supervised, teachers had to wear
uniforms, new textbooks were written to glorify the fascist system. Children were
encouraged to criticize teachers who seemed to lack enthusiasm for the party. Children
and young people were forced to join the government youth organizations which
indoctrinated them with the brilliance of the Duce and the glories of war.
5. Corporate State - The government tried to promote co-operation between employers and
workers and to end class warfare in what was known as the Corporate State. Fascist
controlled unions had the sole right to negotiate for the workers and both unions and
employers’ associations were organized into corporations and were expected to cooperate to settle disputes over pay and working conditions. Strikes and lockouts were not
allowed. By 1934 there were 22 corporations each dealing with a separate industry, and
in this way Mussolini hoped to control the workers and direct production. To compensate
for their loss of freedom, workers were assured of such benefits as free Sundays, annual
holidays with pay, social security, sports and theatre facilities and cheap tours and
holidays.
Case Study-The Rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany
World/US CP11
Mrs. McMillan
6. Catholic Church - Mussolini passed laws to make swearing in public a crime and
allowed crosses to be hung in public buildings. He made religious education compulsory
in Italy. In 1929 he signed a treaty with Gasparri. The Lateran Treaty gave the Pope 750
million lire in compensation for the land taken from him when Italy was united in 1870.
It made the Vatican City an independent state with its own army, police force, law courts,
and post office. The ending of the long lasting breech between the church and Italian
government was Mussolini’s most lasting and worthwhile achievement.
GERMANY
Conditions and Hitler’s Rise to Power
The Treaty of Versailles that officially ended WWI was extremely harsh on Germany.
The treaty’s conditions left Germany excluded from participating on the League of Nations, it
forced Germany to give back the territories of Alsace-Lorraine that it seized from France in the
Franco-Prussian War, and forced Germany to give up all of its overseas colonies in Africa and
the Pacific. Further, it limited the size of the German army and forbid them from manufacturing
weapons and war materials, but by far the most extreme condition of the Treaty of Versailles was
the War Guilt Clause which stated that Germany had to take sole responsibility for starting
WWI and pay $33 billion (in American Dollars) for war damages, or reparations to Britain and
France. Germany made the first payment of the reparations in 1921 and in 1922 Germany failed
to pay the second installment to France and Belgium. The French refused to believe that
Germany did not have the money and decided to take what they were owed by force. They
invaded the Ruhr valley, Germany’s richest industrial area. Within days the French had taken
over coal mines, railways, factories and steelworks. The German government called on the
Germans to passively resist the French. The shut down of the richest industrial region of
Germany brought an economic crisis to Germany by bringing about hyperinflation. In 1918 a
loaf of bread cost just over half a mark. By 1922 the cost had risen to 163 marks for a loaf of
bread. By November of 1923 a loaf of bread cost 201,000 million marks.
Millions of people faced starvation as a result of the hyperinflation. People such as pensioners
who were living on fixed incomes found that prices rose so much faster than their earnings. Even
if they could afford to buy food they could not afford the gas to cook it.
Adolf Hitler was a little known politician prior to WWI. In 1919 he joined a small right
wing political group as the propaganda chief. This group believed that Germany had to overturn
the Treaty of Versailles and combat communism. This group became called the Nationalist
Socialist German Workers Party (NAZI). The Nazi’s set up a private militia called the Storm
Troopers or the Brown Shirts (S.A.). In August of 1921, Hitler became the leader (de Fuhrer)
and introduced a more centralized system with all branches of the Nazi party subject to the
original branch in Munich. Inspired by Mussolini’s March on Rome Hitler and the Nazis plotted
to seize power in Munich in 1923. Munich Putsch (putsch is an attempt to take power by force)
Hitler, supported by the World War One hero General Ludendorff attempted to overthrow the
German government. Hitler was able to gain the support of a large number of people and the
Putsch started at a Beer Hall in Munich. The government of Bavaria (Munich Area) had Hitler
arrested. He was charged with treason and sentenced to 5 years in jail. He only served 9 months
Case Study-The Rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany
World/US CP11
Mrs. McMillan
and during this time he wrote the book Mein Kampf (My Struggle) which outlined his beliefs
and hopes for Germany. Even though the Putsch was a failure the event had made Hitler a
national figure.
After leaving prison in 1924 Hitler revived the Nazi party. The majority of Germans considered
too radical until the onslaught of the Great Depression. Once American loans from the Dawes
Plan stopped the German economy collapsed and civil unrest ensued. The Weimer Republic
which was a liberal democratic regime constructed after the German empire was defeated in
WWI was weak and suffered collapse under the pressure of economic failure. This collapse left
people searching for security and a strong leader. Hitler and the Nazi party offered what seemed
to be an attractive alternative just when the republic was at its most incapable. The fortunes of
the Nazi party were closely linked to the economic situation; the more unstable the economy, the
more seats the Nazis won in the Reichstag (German Parliament).
March
December
1924 - 32 seats
1924 - 14 seats
1928 - 12 seats
1930 - 107 seats
July
1932 - 230 seats
(economy still unstable after 1923 inflation)
(economy recovering under Dawes Plan)
(comparatively prosperity)
(unemployment mounting)
Nazis second largest party
(massive unemployment)
Nazis single largest party
In 1930 conservative leaders mistakenly believed that they could control Hitler and use him for
their own purposes. In January 1933, they advised President Hindenburg to name Hitler
Chancellor. Hitler came to power legally. Six days after the elections a fire destroyed the
Reichstag building. The Reichstag Fire: Feb. 27th 1933 was blamed on a communist (Although it
was most likely the Nazis). The Nazis claimed it was a beginning of a communist takeover. This
resulted in the banning of the Communists from the Reichstag and the Nazis in coalition with the
Nationalists obtained a majority. Hindenburg passed the ‘Decree of the Reich President for the
Protection of People and State’. Hitler could ignore restrictions on police power and take over
the power of the German states. Using this, the Nazis arrested communists and other political
opponents. Hitler was then able to pass the enabling laws through the Reichstag. The Enabling
Laws gave Hitler the right to make laws and not have them approved by the Reichstag. They
effectively set him up as a dictator. The Night of the Long Knives - On the Night of June
30th/July 1st: arrest of the main S.A. leaders by the SS (Gestapo- or secret police which was an
elite unit loyal only to Hitler) the SS killed the SA leaders and others that Hitler considered his
enemies. This event shocked most Germans into total obedience. On Aug. 2nd 1934 Hindenburg
dies and Hitler replaces him without an election and is now referred to as the Fuhrer.
Hitler’s Germany
 Professions are ‘synchronized’ with Nazi beliefs. Disseminated a Nazi Ideology (i.e.:
teachers / judges )
Case Study-The Rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany
World/US CP11
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Mrs. McMillan
Purges of Gov. workers of communist sympathizers, Jews and replacement by party
members.
Nazis tried to restrict the influence of the Church and the application of the 1933 concordat
(allowing the Catholic Church to have its own school & property but to keep out of politics)
Nazis took more direct control over the Protestant churches…soon swastikas were displayed
alongside the Christian Cross.
Membership of one Nazi youth group was obligatory for all Germans until age 18.
Toward workers: labor unions abolished, establishment of ‘Strength Through Joy’
movement which provided subsidized holidays, sporting activities, etc.
Creation of Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda — bringing under control
the mass media and using them towards Nazi propaganda. Books that did not conform to
Nazi beliefs were burned in huge bonfires.
Rapid expansion of the SS (w/ Himmler) In 1934 the SS became an independent org.
answerable to Hitler and Himmler only. Gestapo was placed under its control.
In 1933, the Nazi’s began passing laws depriving Jews of their rights. In 1935 Hitler passed
the Nuremberg Laws which denied Jews of their citizenship and forbade the intermarriage of
Jews and non-Jews. Violence against Jews mounted on the Night of November 9 1938.
After a Jewish youth that was visiting a family member in Paris learned of his father’s
deportation from Germany to Poland the youth shot and killed a German diplomat in Paris.
After hearing of the incident Nazi mobs attacked Jews in their homes and on the streets.
They systematically destroyed thousands of Jewish owned businesses. This rampage
became known as Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass). This event signaled the start of
the process of eliminating Jews from Germany.
Case Study-The Rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany
World/US CP11
FascismMussoliniBlack Shirts-
March on Rome-
Il Duce-
Versailles Treaty-
War Guilt ClauseNazi-
Storm Troopers/Brown ShirtsDe FuhrerMunich PutschMein KampfReichstag FireEnabling LawsThe Night of the Long KnivesSS/GestapoNuremberg LawsKristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)-
Mrs. McMillan
Case Study-The Rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany
World/US CP11
Mrs. McMillan
Creating a Case Study:
In this exercise you will compare and contrast the rise of fascism in the two countries. Be sure to
include the following in your Case Study:
1. What is Fascism and what are its characteristics?
2. Describe the conditions that led to the rise of Fascism in each nation. In what ways were they
the same and in what ways were they different?
3. Describe the rise to power of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. Include similarities and
differences.
4. What characteristics of Fascism did Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany portray? How
were they similar and how were they different? Describe examples.