Fascism

1. Fascism
Benito Mussolini Hitler

3. Where?
• Italy
• Germany

4. Why?
• Economic crisis of 1929
• Crisis of the democratic system. (Unable to solve
the economic crisis).
• Radicalisation of the society: Radical left and
Radical Right.
• Fear of Communism by bourgeoisie (who
preferred and financed the radical right).
• Frustration of soldiers of WWI
– There were thousands of war amputees.
– The soldiers were used to military ways for solving the
problems.

5. • Desire of revenge by the Germans. (Because of the
humiliation caused by the Treaty of Versailles)
• Imperialism
– Italy wanted to expand and control the Adriatic
coast, including Albania.
– Germany wanted to control Central Europe.

6. Italy claimed the territories of:
-Nice, Tizzino and Dalmatia
-Malta
-Corsica
-Savoy and Corfu
-Albania

7. Extension of Germany 1935 – 1939. Author: JMPerez
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alemania_nazi#mediaviewer/Archivo:Extension_of_Germany_%281935-1939%29-es.svg

8. Crisis of 1929 in Germany
Devaluation of the Deutsche Mark
Communist Party in the elections of 1924, Germany

9. Socialist office fired by the black shirts of Mussolini.
December, 1922.

10. What?
• The term of fascism can only be applied to
political systems with specific characteristics:
• Cult of the leader
– Duce (that means Duke)
– Fuhrer (that means leader)
• Control of the propaganda
• Use of violence (special and trained forces)
• Use of symbols of the workers movement.
• Persecution and illegalisation of other political
parties.
• Racism

11. Fascism is also called a negationist movement
because the were:
•Anti-Communist
•Anti-Capitalist
•Anti-Democratic (they wanted to destroy the
democratic systems).
Example of Nazi propaganda made by Leni
Riefenstahl:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCUun_2z4dk

12. How?
ITALY
-Benito Mussolini in 1922 threatened with
a march on Rome of all the black shirts.
-The king Victor Emmanuel III named him Prime
Minister.
-By 1925 Italy was converted into a dictatorship. All
the political parties and trade unions were illegal.
-Only one political party was allowed: National Fascist
Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista)
-Repression was spread all over Italy.
-They used the violence in order to apply their ideas
and repress other political parties and ideas.

13. How?
Germany
•The Republic of Weimar was incapable of solving the
crisis.
•Society was very radicalised.
•In 1933 Hitler was named Chancellor (30th
, January,
1933)
•Hitler is going to manipulate the politic situation in
order to achieve a complete dictatorship. These are the
different steps:

14. • Reichstag fire (February 1933) => he accused the
communists of this fire and declared the “state of
emergency”. (Nowadays it is well-known that the fire was made by
the SA, the special assault division of the Nazi party).
• Hitler forced the President and new elections were
convoked.
• In the new elections Hitler had 44% of the votes
• Night of the Long Knives (30th
June – 2nd
July, 1934). In
these days a series of political murders inside the
party were committed by the SS and the Gestapo.
(Internal purge).

16. • Illegalisation of other political parties.
• Persecution and repression was carried out against
all non-nazi.
• Concentration Camps.
• Terror Policy (spies, physical aggressions, arrests,
concentration camps, censorship…)
• Kristallnacht / Night of Broken Glasses / Crystal Night
(9th
– 10th
November 1938)
Pogroms against the Jews.
91 Jews were assassinated, 30.000 Jews were arrested and
sent to concentration camps. The houses, hospitals and
synagogues were destroyed.

17. Physical Damage after Kristallnacht

18. Interior of Berlin synagogue after Kristallnacht
Broken shop windows after
Kristallnacht

19. Conclusion
THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
THEN THEY CAME for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.
THEN THEY CAME for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
Pastor Martin Niemöller
(Text wrongly attributed to Bertol Brecht).