Fascism

Defining the essence of fascism has caused no few problems for historians and political scientists. The reasons for this have been many. The use of the concept of “fascism” as a tool in a political conflict, especially by the communists, did not encourage calm discussion. Nor were these tasks abetted by the diversity of movements drawing from the Italian model and operating in various countries, especially since each of them tried to convince the public that they were not merely a copy of Mussolini’s movement. Ultimately, extreme nationalism that copied solutions from abroad could not pretend to be serious—this is why most local fascists tried to coin their own name: Falange/Falanga (Spain and Poland), Rexism (Belgium), the Iron Guard (Romania), and the Arrow Cross Party (Hungary).

Many years of comparative study and the lowering of the political/ideological temperature after the fall of the USSR permitted a certain consensus to emerge—despite their difference in the details, most right-wing and left-wing scholars subscribe to these theses.

Unlike liberalism, or socialism, it is hard to point to a single idea behind fascism. This ideology is more a mixture of certain elements, both negative and positive (in the sense of its goals, of course: what it rejects and what it aims toward). These elements come from various intellectual traditions—despite being traditionally associated with the right wing, fascism parts with other conservative groups with its call for modernity, embrace of mass society, and leftist concepts of social justice (but only for members of the nation). One American sociologist has even spoken of a “totalitarian center,”³ though many conservatives’ tendency to ally themselves with fascists more indicates the right-wing nature of this phenomenon.

The outlines of the future ideology appeared before 1914,⁴ but it was only the war with its mobilization and violence that gave it its full shape.⁵ This gave it the doctrines and, more importantly, the tools to bring it to life: paramilitary squads that did not shy from torturing and killing their opponents.

Fascism strove to create a totalitarian state and a new person. This was to be the warrior envisioned by Friedrich Nietzsche, ensuring the survival of his nation. Women were assigned the roles of mothers and child rearers. War and imperialism became aims in themselves.

This ideology rejected liberalism, communism, and socialism, as well as conservatism and capitalism. These last two were discarded only to a degree, however—private property was absolutely accepted, as long as its use did not interfere with the interests of the nation, and conservatives had their place in a fascist nation, as long as they put no special emphasis on such values as Christian mercy and striving for international peace.

The idea of social or political pluralism was denied. “The anti-fascist cannot be an Italian,” Farinacci declared,⁶ while Mussolini’s famous definition read: “All within the state, none outside the state, none against the state.”⁷

Apart from creating the right social conditions, fascists cemented national unity—the main aim of this extremely nationalist movement—with the “liturgies” of mass events and modern aesthetics.

“‘Religions as often conquer souls and spirits,’ [Giuseppe Bottai, a hierarch of the Italian regime] ran on portentously, ‘with the solemnity of their ceremonies as with the prayers of their priests, and it is through these ceremonies that the mystical afflatus often enters their hearts. That is how it was for Fascism’.”⁸

Fascists gained full power in only two European countries (Germany and Italy), but this sufficed to unleash a world war. Before 1939, they had also gained a lot of influence in General Francisco Franco’s New State. World War Two brought an apogee of these movements that offered themselves up as collaborators with the New Order of Adolf Hitler, yet this apogee failed to satisfy most local fascists. The Führer generally put conservative nationalists in charge, such as Philippe Pétain or Ion Antonescu, instead of rough-and-ready local squads, who were great for pogroms, but worse when it came to making shipments of industrial materials for the Reich’s needs.