Aim: What led to the rise of
Fascism?
Title: Fascist Dictatorships in Italy and Germany
Do Now:
1. Work with your neighbor(s) to fill out the
graphic organizer pertaining to totalitarianism
throughout the post war era… work quietly, or
“constructive talk.”

Identify/recall
some
of
nonchalant/mundane
choices
make every day
- i.e., music, movies, clothes,
transportation, food, drink, etc.
the
you
Now, how would you feel about a
government that decided most or all of the
above choices in which you made daily?
Such governments are called totalitarian
(TOTAL (all) I TARIAN (power or form of
government in power) = dictatorship,
autocrat (AUTO = self control – think of
Wall-E [yes, I am referring to the movie – I
did say I was corny]; CRAT = government),
selfish, greedy ruler.
Confused? Think in terms of the central
themes stemming from George Orwell’s
1984.
“ Big Brother” = government is
watching your every movement…
- Think of all of the surveillance cameras
practically everywhere… Stores, banks,
places of business, TRCS!!!!!
Look at how quick the government was able
to locate the two “Boston Marathon
Bombers” Think about that.

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Other forms of
leadership/government you ought to
know:
Theocracy: THEO (God/deity) + CRACY
(form of government/authority) =
Government orchestrated/ruled by
religious leaders/clerics. Ex: think in terms
of Persepolis or the Pope and the

Oligarchy (OLI = few/small group) +
GARCHY (form of government/authority)
= form of government where are
strong/influential/wealthy few or group
have all or most of the power.


Plutocracy (PLUTO = wealthy/elite
group)
+
CRACY
(form
of
government/authority) = government by
wealthy/elite group.
What
is it?
Describe its
characteristics…
Extreme
Nationalism
Total Control
of State by a
Dictator
Deny
Individual
Rights
-
Supremacy of
The
State
Increasing influence of new
political parties that emphasize
state control
-For example: Communism,
Nazism, Fascism

Government establishes complete control of all aspects of the
state
(political, military, economy, social, cultural)

Highly nationalistic (flags, salutes, rallies, uniforms)

Strict controls and laws

Military state (secret police, army, military)

Censorship (to examine printed materials to ban or delete
information)
Propaganda (media – radio, newspapers, posters)

One leader (dictator); charismatic

Authoritarian (requiring absolute loyalty and obedience to the
state

Terror and Fear

What is Totalitarianism?

Totalitarianism: a system of government in
which a leader (dictator) has complete control
over his country and the lives of his people

Key Traits of Totalitarianism
Dictator: strong leader with total power
 One party: ruling party is the only legal political party
 Strict government control of all aspects of life



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business, religion, the arts, education, etc.
use of propaganda, censorship, terror, and secret
police to control people
Individuals have very few freedoms

No freedom of speech, religion, press, etc.
Why Europe in the 1920’s and
1930’s?


Countries had no tradition of selfgovernment before WWI – the new selfgovernment was forced upon nations not
ready for it
1930’s saw a world wide depression,
making struggling democracies face more
problems
Slide 11
Totalitarian Leaders

Why did they come to power?


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People wanted strong leaders to get them out of
the Great Depression
Nationalism—they promised to make their
countries big and powerful
What did they want?



Total control over country and people
Strong military and economy
More land—they were willing to go to war for it!
Compare & Contrast the
two: Fascism vs. Nazism
1. What is Fascism?
Fascism
Fascism—a system of government based on extreme
Nationalism.
Nazism—a version of fascism that developed in Germany.
Hitler added racism.
Characteristics of Fascism/Nazism;
1. The state is more important that the people.
2. Individuals have no rights. Opposition
suppressed by force.
3. Nation should have strong leaders with
absolute
power.
4. Reactionary (act first think later), irrational.
5. Not an economic theory. Private property is
protected. Property owners have to do
what the state orders. Communism is a
hated enemy.
6. Have tended to be extremely militaristic.
Shown by
building up armies, leaders appearing in
Uniform,
favor military virtues of loyalty,
obedience, order.
Fascist ideology & Mussolini

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini coined the
term in 1919, referring to the Roman
symbol for “power through unity” – a
bundle of reeds
called “fasces,”
individually weak
but collectively strong.
Fasces: Symbol of Power in Ancient Rome
Find the Fasces – Symbol of Civic Authority
In The U.S. House of Representatives
I am Benito Mussolini the leader (Il
Duce) of Italy from 1922 to 1943. First
European fascist dictator of Italy
What is Fascism?
• intense nationalism and elitism
• totalitarian control
• interests of the state more important
than individual rights
• maintain class system and private
ownership
Fascist Model
Power
State = Here
eternal,
lasting
State casts
aside all who
do not serve
its purpose
The
State
I
I
Individual =
temporary, expendable
I
I
I
Individual exists to
serve the State (a
Slide 19
Democratic Model
Power
Here
Individual
is most
important
I
I
I
The
State
I
I
State serves the
individual and may be
replaced as expendable
if it violates personal
right to life, liberty,
property
Slide 20
Fascist Principles
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Anti-individualistic
Anti-democratic
Anti-egalitarian
Anti-capitalist
Anti-pacifist
Anti-internationalist
Anti-conservative
Anti-intellectual
Anti-Socialist/Communist
How does Mussolini gain popularity in Italy?
1.
2.
3.
4.
People are disappointed over the failure to
win territorial gains in the Paris Peace
conference after WWI
Inflation is rising and people want help
Unemployment is increasing and people want
it FIXED!
The people were looking for someone to take
action
What did Mussolini do once he was in power in
Italy?
1.
2.
3.
4.
MADE BIG PROMISES to revive
the economy and rebuild the
armed forces
Founded the fascist party
Criticized the current
government
Gained the support from the
middle class, artisans and the
Industrial leaders
Results with Mussolini in Charge in Italy:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Abolished democracy
Outlawed political parties
Established his own secret police
Censored the radio, all publications,
Outlawed strikes
Allied with Industrialists and large land
owners against the “little guys”
What did Mussolini do once he was in power in
Italy?
Italians constantly threatened
violence and uprising if things
didn’t change
Mussolini had the support of the
popular vote so King Victor
Emmanuel III puts Mussolini in
charge of the government
Two Types of Totalitarianism:
Fascism & Nazism
 Fascism
nationalism – the nation
is more important than the individual
 Charismatic leader – big
personality, good public speaker,
inspires people
 Different social classes – rich,
middle class, poor
 Anti-communism
 Extreme
I am Adolf Hitler the leader (der Fuhrer)
or dictator of Germany from 1933 to
1945.
What is Nazism?
German fascism
• extremely fascist , nationalistic and
totalitarian
• based on beliefs of the National
Socialist German Workers Party
• belief in the racial superiority of the
Aryan, the “master race”
• belief that all Germans should have
“lebensraum” or living space in Europe
•Violent hatred towards Jews and
blamed Germany’s problems on them
Nazism
Fascism taken to
its extreme form.

Racist and anti-Semitic
elements that did not
appear in Italian fascism.

• GESTAPO: the Secret State Police
• SS (Schutzstaffel): Defense Corps “black shirts”,
an elite guard unit formed out of the SA
• SA (Sturmabteilung): Stormtroopers (STAR
WARS!!!!) "brown-shirts" early private Nazi army
that protected leaders and opposed rival political
parties
• Lebensraum (living space): concept that
emphasized need for territorial expansion of
Germany into east
• Wehrmacht:
German army
•
• Einstazgruppen: Nazi Death Squad; mobile killing
units
Anti-semitism: Hostility and
discrimination against the jews
Territorial integrity: Territorial
domain of a State
Armed Aggression: Military
invasion, a War of conquest
Mein Kampf (1924)
The title means My Struggle, and it
expounds on Hitler’s anti-Semitism,
worship of power, scorn for morality, and
plan for world domination. Hitler wrote it
in prison after a failed attempt to
overthrow the German government
Questions from Mein Kampf

What is his central point in the selection
you read?
Questions from Mein Kampf

That the blood of the highest race must
be kept pure from intermingling with other
races if human culture is to advance;
corruption of blood leads to the
destruction of culture.
Nazi racial theory
Three races:
 Aryans (Germanic) – culture creating
 Jews – culture destroying
 Middle – culture maintaining

At various levels of hierarchy between Aryans
and Jews.
Nazi racial theory


The belief that Germans were threatened
the most from an internal enemy led to
the Holocaust, the extermination of 6
million Jewish people in Europe.
Everything was sublimated to the need to
purify the German race. In fact, it even
drove Nazi policies that worked against
the war effort.
Genocide


Nazi extermination of the Jews is
considered to be Genocide - the
systematic extermination of a whole
people or race.
The U.S. government has called the killing
of Sudanese in Darfur by governmentsponsored militia a “genocide.”
Nazi racial theory
Hitler wrote, “The Jew has always been a
people with definite racial characteristics
and never a religion.” To him, the Jewish
religion is not the problem.
If their religious faith is not a threat, why
should Non-Jews worry about Jews?
The Jewish “Problem”
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Seek to pollute Aryan blood.
Cunning (not smart), with strong will to survive.
Seek to destroy higher cultures.
Not “idealistic;” no selfless or noble attitudes.
No original contributions to art or science.
In league with communists.
Betrayed German state during WWI.
Not human but subhuman.
Questions from Mein Kampf

How did Hitler make the argument about
racial superiority?
Questions from Mein Kampf



1. Natural law: “one of the most patent
principles of Nature's rule: the inner segregation
of the species of all living beings on this earth.”
2. History: historical experience offers countless
proofs, e.g., the purity of the race in North
America has led to greater achievements than in
Central & South America.
3. Religion: “sin against the will of the creator.
He refers to a sin against the will of eternal
Providence.”
Questions from Mein Kampf

What metaphors does Hitler use to refer
to the Jewish people?
Questions from Mein Kampf



a horde of rats
parasites in the body of other peoples
subhuman
MEIN KAMPF : Book written by Hitler, set his ideas and goals:
Germans were a master race, that jews , latins, black people, gypsies,
Homosexuals, were inferior and should be destroyed
LEBENSRAUM: living space for Germans
VERSAILLES TREATY : should be destroyed
Both
Totalitarian
dictatorship
– required absolute
obedience to leader
Anti-democracy
Extreme militarism –
glorification of military
Germany
Leader
Adolf Hitler (1933-1945)
Government Fascist
Political Party Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers’ Party)
Policies/goals Extreme German nationalism
Anti-Semitism (hatred of Jewish people)
Anti-communism
Fix economy
-Create jobs with public projects
Rebuild German military
Create a powerful German Empire
Italy
Leader
Benito Mussolini (1922-1943)
Government
Fascist
Political Party
Fascist Party
Policies/goals
Extreme nationalism
-Make Italy a powerful nation
-Build Italian Empire
Fix economy
Restore order
Support Catholic Church
Anti-socialism
Anti-communism
Adolph Hitler



Hitler considered himself superior, eventhough
he was a drifter & failed artist during his youth.
A corporal during WWI, he was devastated by
Germany’s loss & blamed it on the Jews.
He started his political career at age 30, joining
the German Workers Party. He had exceptional
speaking skills & came to be revered by others
in the party. He was chosen its leader in 1921,
and renamed it the National Socialist German
Workers Party.
ENABLING ACT: Act
that
Gave Hitler Absolute
Power in Germany
for four
Years-
This Nazi propaganda poster reads,
‘Behind the enemy powers: the Jew.
Nuremberg Laws: Deprived jews of
german citizenship and rights
“The Eternal Jew”
Posters like this promoted a sharp rise in antiSemitic feelings, and in some cases violence
against the Jewish community.
Kristallnocht: The beginning of the nazi
persecution of jews
kristallnacht
• Kristallnacht—
November 9,
1938—”Night of
Broken Glass”—
Jewish shops,
synagogues, homes
violently
attacked—after a
Jewish teenager
from Germany shot
a German diplomat
in Paris—beginning
of mass emigration
of Jews and the
forced removal to
Jewish ghettos