Rise of Italian Fascism and German Weimar Republic
– Rise of Fascism in Italy
Benito Mussolini led the radical wing of the Italian Socialist Party and was the editor of Il Popolo d’Italia. An ultranationalist, he broke with the Socialist Party due to his opposition to World War I. In 1919, he founded the Italian Fasci of Combat in Milan, ultranationalist paramilitary groups known as Blackshirts. They had varied origins and advocated nationalist claims and a revolutionary socialist program.
Until 1920, the fascist movement was minor, but the prestige of the parliamentary system increased their social support from the middle classes, employers, landlords, and peasants, with the complicity of the military and police. To consolidate these new supporters, Mussolini changed tactics and founded the National Fascist Party, eliminating labor and peasant organizations, even using violence.
In August 1922, the Socialists promoted a general strike that failed, and Mussolini managed to destroy the socialist threat in a single day. In October 1922, the “March on Rome” was decided in Naples, a massive demonstration on the capital to demand the inclusion of at least six fascist ministers in the government. King Victor Emmanuel III did not support his prime minister’s request to implement a state of emergency and called Mussolini to form a government.
– The Parliamentary Stage
Initially, Mussolini’s regime respected the liberal establishment of a coalition government in Parliament and obtained extraordinary powers. With the new electoral law, fascism and its allies won 64% of the votes and 404 of the 553 deputies. In 1924, after the murder of Socialist deputy Matteotti by fascist gangs, Mussolini prevented the Socialists from taking their seats in Parliament by force.
– A Fascist Dictatorship
From 1925, Mussolini developed fascist laws that created a tribunal for political crimes and a new secret police: the OVRA (Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism), the elimination of other political parties and unions, and the introduction of press censorship. Mussolini had limited powers and was only answerable to the king.
A one-party totalitarian regime was established, but the party became a bureaucratic body responsible for framing and propaganda for the masses. All real power resided in Mussolini, assisted by the Fascist Grand Council. In 1938, the Chamber of Deputies was abolished and replaced by the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations.
The signing of the Lateran Treaty with the Catholic Church in 1929 consolidated the regime, ending a dispute that the Italian government had been dragging since its foundation and creating the Vatican State. Marriage was recognized civilly, and Catholicism became the sole state religion. Religious education became compulsory in schools. The Holy See recognized the Italian state and the capital of Rome.
Social Indoctrination and Control
Fascism had a strong interest in indoctrinating young people and gave great importance to education. Teachers had to wear a black shirt, and university professors had to swear loyalty to the regime. Children and young people aged 4 to 18 had to be part of youth organizations that provided military training, discipline, and obedience.
The Ministry of Popular Culture controlled culture and the media through propaganda. The regime encouraged women to join the workforce and improve their academic and intellectual standing, but without forgetting their roles as wives and mothers.
Economic Corporatism
Fascism opted for corporatism in labor and economic policy, aiming to organize the economy by eliminating class conflict through collaboration. The regime controlled employers and trade unions through the ministry and the National Council of Corporations. In 1927, the Labor Charter was promulgated, allowing only fascist trade unions and declaring strikes illegal.
From 1925, a policy of intervention was pursued with high doses of propaganda, such as the “Battle for Grain” and the draining of the Po Valley. From 1929, self-sufficiency was promoted, encouraging industrial concentration and creating the Institute for Industrial Reconstruction. After 1936, a war economy was established.
Nazi Germany
In November 1918, the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) proclaimed the republic and appointed its leader, Fritz Ebert, as Chancellor (Prime Minister). An armistice was signed with the Allies. The Great Depression was a devastating blow to the new German regime.
– The Weimar Republic
In 1919, the Social Democrats, with the help of the military and veterans, violently crushed the Spartacist uprising, which aimed to impose a Bolshevik regime. Its leaders, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, were killed. The Constituent Assembly met in Weimar and established a federal republic based on democratic principles and universal suffrage for men and women. The president of the republic was elected every seven years and had extraordinary powers, appointing the chancellor with the support of the Reichstag (Parliament). The first president was Fritz Ebert.