In 1920, Hitler became the head of the party. One of those organizations was the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (German Workers’ Party), which Hitler joined as a member in 1919. Multiple groups emerged to challenge the Weimar Republic, including several fascist organizations. Germany’s collapse in World War I led to significant political instability as the new government, the Weimar Republic, tried to find its footing. In Germany, Adolf Hitler looked to the March on Rome as a model for the fascist takeover he attempted in the 1923 Munich Beer Hall Putsch. In Spain, Francisco Franco received support from Italy during the Spanish Civil War. In Great Britain, Oswald Mosely met with Mussolini before he founded the British Union of Fascists in 1932. Mussolini’s success inspired other fascist movements across Europe. He established a dictatorship as il Duce (“the leader”), with no responsibility to parliament. He led 30,000 armed men through the streets to seize power as the prime minister of Italy. The following year, Mussolini staged the March on Rome. In 1919, Benito Mussolini founded the Partito Nazionale Fascista (National Fascist Party), and in 1921, he was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies.

The Italian fascist movement, however, was the first to formally organize and stand for election. Following the war, fascist movements and parties existed across Europe and the United States. However, it became more defined during the turmoil of World War I (1914–1918). often, also seeking to expand territory through armed conflictįascism 1 has its origins in the late nineteenth century.expanding the size and influence of the national state.removing obstacles to national unity and suppressing those seen as challenging it.protecting or elevating the rights of the national community above the rights of those seen as alien.Fascists define the national will as advancing the interests of the national community. Instead, fascist governments are one-party states led by an authoritarian leader who claims to embody the national will. It holds that these practices interfere with the expression of the national will. For fascists, violence often has a redemptive or purifying quality.įascism rejects the practices of representative or liberal democratic government. In fascist states, violence is accepted-even celebrated-if it serves or advances the national community. fixation with national decline (real or perceived) and threats to the existence of the national community.strident, often exclusionary nationalism.This leads to an intense interest in defining which groups belong or do not belong to the national body. The unity of the national community is prioritized above the rights of individuals.

It opposes communism, socialism, pluralism, individual rights and equality, and democratic government.įascism places the importance of the nation above all else. It combines elements of nationalism, militarism, economic self-sufficiency, and totalitarianism. Fascism is an ultranationalist, authoritarian political philosophy.

Define blitzkrieg ww2