Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany

1. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany Chapter 29-2

2. Causes for the rise of fascism in Italy • In the early 20th century Italy was a liberal state with civil rights and a liberal constitution • Then: • Italia Irrendenta: Orlando left the Paris Peace Conference early and angry because Italy did not get the territory promised to her after the war • 1919 depression in Italy = many strikes and class tension

3. Fascism in Italy • Causes continued: • Wealthy classes wanted a strong anti-communist leader • By 1921 socialists, conservatives and property owners were opposed to a parliamentary government • In Italy, Fascism was a combination of authoritarian conservatism & nationalism (but never as extreme as Russia or Germany)

4. Benito Mussolini (Il Duce) • Originally a nationalist and newspaper editor • Organized the Fascist party in Italy • Combined socialism and nationalism • Promoted • territorial expansion • Benefits for workers • Land reform for peasants

5. Fascism • Party was named after Fasces: rods carried by Imperial Roman officials as symbols of power • By 1920 Mussolini gained the support of the conservative classes and frightened middle class using anti-socialist rhetoric • He had abandoned his socialist programs

6. The Black Shirts (Squadristi) • Paramilitary forces that attacked Communists, Socialists, and other enemies of the fascists. • Hitler will later have his own Brown Shirts

7. March on Rome • October 1922 • Mussolini led a large group of fascists who marched on Rome to threaten the king • The Government collapsed and Mussolini was given the right to organize a new government • King Victor Emmanuel III gave Mussolini dictatorial powers for one year to solve Italy’s social unrest

8. The Corporate State • Aka the syndicalist-corporate system • The economic basis for Mussolini’s fascism • By 1928 all independent labor unions were organized into government-controlled syndicates • Organizations of workers and employers were created • Strikes and walkouts were banned

9. The Corporate State • Corporations were created to coordinate activities between the worker-employer syndicates • Authority came from the top • NOT like socialist corporate states where workers made decisions

10. Mussolini’s dictatorship • The right to vote was big-time limited • All candidates for the Italian parliament were chosen by the fascist party • Government ruled by decree • Dedicated fascists were put in charge of the schools

11. Government tried to control leisure time of the people (not successfully) • Balilla Fascist youth movement • Labor unions • The Dopolavoro (After Work) social activities for the working class

12. Italy never a true totalitarian regime • Mussolini never became all-powerful • Failed to control citizens’ leisure time • The old power structure (conservatives, military, Church) remained • Mussolini never tried to purge the conservative classes • He controlled labor but business was self-regulating

13. Mussolini’s Italy • No land reform • No ruthless police state (only 23 political prisoners were executed 1926-1944) • Racial laws not passed until 1938 • Jews not persecuted until Italy was occupied by Nazis

14. Women • Traditional role was emphasized • Divorce was abolished • Women told to stay home and procreate • By 1938 women were limited by law to a maximum of 10% of better-paying jobs in industry and government

15. Mussolini’s accomplishments • Many internal improvements: road-building and electrification • More efficient government (mostly at municipal level) • Suppression of the Mafia (was especially strong in southern Italy and Sicily) • Improvements in the justice system (except for “enemies of the state”

16. The Church • The Lateran Pact 1929 reconciled the state with the papacy • The Vatican received $92 million for Church lands and was reduced to a tiny independent state • In return the Pope recognized the legitimacy of the Italian state.

17. Results • Italian democracy was destroyed • Terrorism was a state policy • Poor industrial growth due partly to militarism and colonialism • Disastrous wars resulted from the attempt to recapture the glory of ancient Rome

18. Nazi Germany • Extreme nationalism and racism is Nazism • Hyper-nationalism fed the impulse to conquer other nations • The Diktat caused massive frustration • Racial beliefs: in the superiority of the Aryan race (Germanic peoples) • Belief in the inferiority of the Jews and Slavs

19. Hitler • Became the leader of a very small (7-member) National Socialist German Workers Party (NAZI) after WWI • Grew dramatically and quickly • The S.A. (Brown Shirts) were a Nazi paramilitary group that terrorized political opponents on the streets • Became the private army of the Nazis and were very loyal to Hitler

20. The Beer Hall Putsch 1923 • Hitler and his companions failed to overthrow the government of Bavaria and was sentenced to only 1 year in jail • Gave Hitler national attention • Taught Hitler that he would have to take control legally

21. Mein Kampf 1923 • Written while Hitler was in jail • Became the blueprint for Hitler’s future plans • Lebensraum (living space): Germans should expand east, remove the Jews, and turn the Slavs into slave labor • Anti-Semitism: Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany’s political and economic problems • Fuhrer (leader-dictator) would have unlimited power

22. The Fall of the Weimar Republic • Was the result of the Great Depression • By 1932 unemployment was 43% • Discontent played into Hitler’s hands • Hitler promised voters economic, political and military salvation • Promised Big Business that he would restore the economy by breaking the unions and reducing wages

23. Hitler’s promises • Assured top military officials that the Nazis would reject the Versailles Treaty and rearm Germany • Appealed to the German youth: • 40% of the party was under age 30 in 1931 • 67% under the age of 40

24. By 1930 Power struggle • The struggle for power by the communists and social democrats led to a breakdown in the government • 1933 Reichstag elections gave the Nazis the largest percentage of votes (though not a majority)

25. 1933 elections • The Nazis demanded that Hitler be given a leadership role in the government • Hitler became Chancellor January 1933 • Was appointed by President Paul von Hindenburg

26. The Third Reich 1933-1945 • The Reichstag Fire occurred during the violent electoral campaign of 1933 • The incident was used by the Nazis to crack down on the communists • The S.A. increased the terrorizing of political opponents

27. The Enabling Act March 1933 • Passed by the Reichstag • Gave Hitler absolute dictatorial power for 4 years • Only the Nazi party was legal • Hitler outlawed strikes and abolished labor unions • Publishers, universities, and writers were watched closely

28. Hitler • Blacklisted: Jewish, Socialist, Democratic literature • Students and professors “encouraged” to burn forbidden books in public squares • Modern art and architecture (degenerate art) was prohibited

29. Propaganda • Joseph Goebbels: minister of propaganda • Glorified the Nazi state and Hitler • Leni Riefenstal and Triumph of the Will did the same thing

30. June 1934 Knight of the Long Knives • Hitler was warned that the army and big business were suspicious of the S.A. • In order to please these conservatives, Hitler had his elite personal guard, the SS, arrest and kill the S.A. (about 1,000) • The SS grew dramatically in influence as Hitler’s private army and secret police • The SS were led by Himmler

31. The Gestapo • The Gestapo were the political police • They joined with the SS to expand its network of special courts and concentration camps

32. The Hitler Youth • At first; voluntary • Soon membership was mandatory • Children were encouraged to turn in their teachers or even their parents if they seemed disloyal to the state • This was true totalitarianism

33. Persecution of the Jews • By the end of 1934 most Jewish Lawyers, Doctors, professors, civil servants, and musicians had lost their jobs and the right to practice their professions • 1935 Nuremburg Laws deprived Jews of all rights of citizenship

34. Kristallnacht 1938 • Knight of the broken glass • After the assassination of a minor German diplomat in Paris by a Polish student who was upset about the “resettlement” of his family • Hitler ordered an attack on Jewish communities • A well-organized wave of violence destroyed Jewish homes, businesses, synagogues • Jews were arrested and made to pay for repairs

35. Holocaust • 6 million European Jews were eventually killed during WWII • The “Final Solution” • Other victims: Gypsies, Slavs, Jehovah’s Witnesses, communists, homosexuals, mentally handicapped and political opponents…by 1945 totaled an additional 6 million

36. Results of Nazi economic policies • Unemployment dropped from 6 million in 1933 to 1 million in 1936 • By 1938 a shortage of workers • By 1938 a modest improvement in the standard of living • Business profits rose sharply

37. Hitler’s popularity • Largely due to economic recovery • He delivered on his promise of work and bread • Large public works program helped to get Germany out of the depression: roads, offices, huge sports stadiums (Berlin Olympics) and public housing • 1936 Began to rearm in a big way • Government spending focused on the military

38. Society in Nazi Germany • Most of those who were in good shape before Hitler rose to power were still in good shape (educated classes) • Very little social leveling occurred • Women encouraged to maintain traditional roles like in Italy • Went into the factories during wartime