NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
... bat party, named fact di combattimento. He had a paramilitary group dressed in black shirts who fought against anyone accused of undermining the strength of the nation. Italian Fascism was the veneration of war and combat as the true test of a man and of a nation.
Mussolini's party was chiefly another way to bring war into politics with his violent seizure of power. Most of Mussolini's supporters were war veterans and nationalists and Italian businessmen against the rise of revolutionary social protest financially backed his party. In October of 1922, Mussolini had his people overthrow the government on what has been called march on Rome. Before the overthrow occurred, however, the king appointed Mussolini as Prime Minister, and Mussolini began his rule as the legal head of government. He supported and represented the people, fooling everyone. In the time span of four years, Mussolini took over the government.
By 1926 he became an unrivaled dictator who was very popular to the masses. Mussolini's promise to create an empire comparable to that of the Romans was never fulfilled, however he did keep the country clear of depression by military spending. The Nazi party in Germany was the most destructive of all fascist movements. Headed by Adolph Hitler, it was run on the concept of Social Darwinism. Racism and Anti- Semitism was incorporated, his objective being conquest. He believed that some races were superior to others, especially those who were German and most northern white European people.
Jews were the antithesis of perfection. Racism was the central feature of the Nazi nationalist ideology. All fascist parties more or less glorified an ethnic nation, particularly that of a glorious ancestry, condemning present-day enemies of their people but the Nazi party took it a step further. For Nazi Germany, nationalism meant the restoration of German might in Europe... Nazism combined despotic nationalism and racism into a brutal and destructive message of repression and war.
Hitler became head of the NSDAP, otherwise known as the National Socialist German Workers party. He had a street party, the brown shirts of the Nazi party, also known as the storm party or the SA. The SA created a climate of fear around Hitlers enemies. He then came up with the SS, otherwise known as the protection forces; eventually the SS was used to destroy the SA. The SS became the dominant force of the Nazi party, and ultimately was entrusted with the most sacred task, the task being the termination of Jews. Hitlers word was law in Nazi Germany.
He had three main goals. His first was to repeal the military restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, then he planned to annex all German-speaking territories to a greater Germany and then conquer Lebensraum at the expense of Poland and the USSR. His final goal was to eliminate all Jews from Europe. For a while, Hitlers followers were few and far between, but once the Depression hit, the Nazis gained supporters among the unemployed who believed Nazi promises of jobs for all and among property owners frightened by the growing popularity of Communists.
By 1936, business was booming, unemployment was at its lowest level, and living standards were rising. Hitlers popularity soared because most Germans believed their economic well-being outweighed the loss of liberty. Japanese prosperity ended when the world depression hit. Economic success fell 50 percent, with workers living conditions worsening as each year passed. Grim economic trends brought out the old weakness of civilian government and revealed new opposition to democratic rule old class antagonism between rural and urban poor and the wealthy revealed itself in popular support for the army, a traditional escape from poverty. Once again, the military gained influence and policies of expansion began to surface as the Japanese began to look for answers to their economic crisis.
The condemnation of democratic leaders and the glorification of war and imperial conquest calling for discipline and national unity emerged, comparable to fascist ideology. The Japanese began to demand for the country to be led by men of spirit who possessed the ability to enforce nationalistic ideas and the strength to hold up Japans overseas empire. Assassination campaigns were launched to assassinate and rid political leaders suspected to have betrayed Japanese honor and renown. This extremist nationalist ideology became the inspiration of the new militarist leadership of the 1930 s. New mass support for authoritarian leadership and Imperialism began to draw strength in the 1930 s swinging towards military domination, also representative of Fascist ideology. Militarism eventually overtook Japans political life.
Imperialist policies prevailed although civilian government never completely disappeared, political violence present for a few years before its suppression. By 1936, Japans regime was overtaken by the concept of militarism. Militarism was the dominance of military leaders, policy of military expansion and warrior culture. Japans militaristic regime did indeed reflect Italian fascism, yet two key ideas of Italian Fascism were not present in Japanese fascism, being a dictator and one-party rule.
The Japanese were loyal to their leaders and made personal sacrifices in order to maintain the well-being of their country. Patriotism was essential as was the respect for the military. There were differences between the fascism present in Japan, Germany, and Italy, but for the most part they shared similar ideas. Each country commanded loyalty and used political violence to attain their goals. Each movement called for the rejection of Western influence and to the return to past time. Italy called for extreme nationalism, looking at Mussolini to guide the country back to prosperity.
Germany looked at Hitler and his antiliberal nationalism whose plan was to attain national and racial power and security in a more detailed program when compared to Italy's fascism, however both had secret violence organizations known as the SA, SS, and black shirts. The creation of fear by these organizations gave the parties a stronger hold on the masses. Fear of the organizations led the people to turn to their dictator for answers. Japan differed from these two countries in that aspect. Originally, they too used political violence, but it was soon stopped. The Japanese used their military to gain power.
As their military grew, Japan gained more power for they used their military to infiltrate defenses of other countries to overtake their land, which was a main goal of their fascist ideas. Military dominance was comparable to Germany's racial dominance and Italy's quest for nationalism. Japan sought a greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere which essentially meant a greater expansion of Japanese military and economic power. Both Germany and Japan focused on strengthening their dictatorial or imperialistic regimes and homelands while Italy focused on its nationalism. According to Merriman-Webster Dictionary, a demagogue is a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power. In light of this, Fascism was a very useful ideology for demagogues.
For Italians, Fascism prospered after World War I when the government seemed to be going downhill and economic conditions were at a low. Mussolini promised the Italians return to their old ways when prosperity was everywhere and there was a stable economy. Each leader of fascism promised their country that their needs and wants would be fulfilled if they gave their support to their dictator, and as soon as they did that, change began to occur for what they thought was the better. Race and ethnicity played an important role in fascism. In some countries, it was the basis of Fascist ideologies. Italian fascism was a form of extreme nationalism, the want for Italian ethnicity.
German fascism was essentially the quest for German purity, purity in the form of a completely Aryan race. As a result of that quest for racial purity, those who were not Aryan were persecuted (the Jews). Japanese fascism took pride in their ethnicity and wished to conquer the world. All fascist parties glorified an ethnic nation, placing an importance on the return to the pure lines of ancestry.
The modern mixing of ethnicities was looked down upon and in cases such as Nazism it was condemned. The purging of ethnicities also played a key part in fascism. Fascism was received so well by the masses in the beginning because of the fact that the First World War had just ended, and the unexpected outcome and losses that followed it were overwhelming. Unemployment was rampant, the economy completely shattered, and confused citizens sought answers anywhere they could.
The search for radical answers led to the rise of fascist demagogues who gave the masses the answers they wanted to hear. The promises they made gave them the support they needed to maintain dictatorship of the country. Social protest in fascist society was so difficult because those who protested were executed for their dissent. The motto might makes right indeed applied. Germany had their SA and SS parties while Mussolini had his black shirts. These organizations maintained those who dissented in the sense that they made sure everyone followed the leader and supported his ideologies.
Political violence was key in these organizations. Unrest was controlled by violence, and the fear of violence led to the complete submission of these people. Ultimately, Fascism was the return of nations to their roots. Ideologies were reinstated to those of pre-industrial war. People had a taste of the future and in their fear of the drastic change it entailed, they opted for the security of the past. Though it cant be termed as security, the past offered the comfort of the known.
In this sense, Fascism was what made history repeat itself. The world had fought to modernize itself, yet as a result of that modernization, came the return to the past. Works Cited Fascism. Britannica. com Inc. 13 Feb 2001 < web Brower, Daniel R.
The World in the Twentieth Century: From Empires to Nations. 4 th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999. Wall, Irwin. Fascism. History 20.
Riverside, 6 February 2001. Woy, Jean L. , ed. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.
Free research essays on topics related to: extreme nationalism, political violence, nazi germany, depression hit, nazi party
Research essay sample on Socio Economic Change After World War I
