Tyrone Schiff

His 270
Fascism and Nazism
Fascism and Nazism were two predominant political schools of thought during
the earlier part of the 20th century, specifically localized around Hitlers Germany and
Mussolinis Italy. Fascism and Nazism, though similar in many regards, have many
aspects to them that make them different from one another. These primarily include each
political ideology when it comes to society, economics, and gender issues. Furthermore,
an outlook on the status of the state and nation makes Fascism and Nazism slightly
different from one another. In order to gain a further understanding of these two political
ideologies, I will explain and compare the two using references from the course pack.
Following the tragedy of World War I, Germany came out of the mix tattered and
bruised on a World stage. Germany was blamed for the war and was ordered to pay
massive reparations to various countries, which terribly hurt their economy and
embarrassed their people. This created a perfect stage for Adolf Hitler to enter into the
political realm with his ideas of Nazism fueled by his book, Mein Kampf. The concept of
Nazism was broadened by The National Socialist German Workers Party. This party,
with whom Hitler associated and eventually came to lead, published a list of grievances
in response to the Versailles Treaty. This list, which was published originally in 1920,
became known as the Twenty-Five points. This was the beginning of the Nazism
mentality and political ideology. Many of the points touched on anti-Semitism, demanded
more land, and espoused superiority of the German Race.
From the beginning of Hitlers control, he ruled over Germany like a watch dog.
For instance, Hitler issued an Emergency Decree suspending civil liberties and

proceeded to arrest communists or alleged communists (CP, 100). This speaks volumes
about the type of societal control that the Nazi regime commanded. It would ruthlessly
hunt you down and try to eradicate everything and everyone that did not agree with it.
Beyond this, the Nazis were also exceptional at using political propaganda to fuel their
cause against the enemy. One of the chief methods of propaganda use was the radio, and
according to Josef Goebbels, head of Nazi propaganda, The radio must subordinate itself
to the goals which the Government of the national revolution has set itself (CP, 101).
This is a scary thought to consider. If all media is pumping out information that furthers
the interest of the Government, then people are literally becoming brainwashed by
corruption and lies.
The Nazis were also staunchly against the Jews, and used them as a scapegoat for
many of their own failings post-World War I. In 1935, the Nazi party established Racial
Legislation, in which they established rules regarding marriage and divorce, extramarital
relations, employment, and display of Nazi symbols. Jews were treated especially harshly
in this legislation; most of their equitable rights to regular German citizens were taken
away.
Economically, the Nazis were able to hoist the German people out of the trenches
of their Great Depression, but it came at a significant price. The Nazi economic
experiment proved that by sacrificing all political and civil liberty, destroying a free
trade-union movement, preventing the private exercise of capital, and ignoring consumer
satisfaction, full employment to prepare for war and aggression could be achieved (CP,
104). All work was devoted towards the state and the development of the army as they
were soon to embark in war.

For women, Nazism meant a place in the home taking care of children and
supporting the actions of her husband. Hitler believed that women and men belonged in
different worlds from one another. Women who tried to further their rights were
considered symptoms of cultural decline (CP, 105). One of the reasons that child
rearing was so important to the Nazi ideology was because they were attempting to create
an entire pure race of Aryans. Therefore, populating the nation was critical.
Fascism was the major political and national ideology that was accepted by the
Italians under the control of Mussolini. Fascism came about as an effort to stabilize both
the Italian social and economic life. Fascism was a move towards isolationism in a sense,
because during Mussolinis efforts, he attempted to make Italy completely self-reliant,
where they wouldnt have to seek help from outsiders in order for their own country to
thrive. One instance of this can be seen in the battle of wheat in which Mussolini
attempted to prevent foreign grain from entering the country. As a result, Italian farming
grew tremendously.
To further detail the economic endeavors of Fascism, we learn that fascists
engaged in a policy known as corporatism, which is a middle-ground between socialism
and a market system. Fascists established this plan because they assumed that, class
conflict would be avoided if both labor and management looked to the greater goal of
productivity for the nation (CP, 109). However, the corporatism system did not work as
ideally as the Fascists planned. It ended up creating more bureaucracy and corruption in
the system.
Above all else, Fascism was a nationalistic idea in which the nation was the most
essential component. Mussolini tried to infuse an idea of continual service and pride in

the nation. Fascism called for a devotion of oneself to the nation, in order to improve the
collective prior to the individual. Mussolini echoes these sentiment in a speech he made
in 1932, The twentieth century will be the century of fascism, the century of Italian
power, the century during which Italy will become for the first time the leader of
mankind (CP, 122). Clearly, Mussolinis words indicate that he wanted to see the nation
of Italy rise to power.
Fascism was ultimately a collective outlook on the success of a country. It is
fueled by the individuals who populate the country, and depends a great deal on those
people buying into the ideas that the government sets forth.
Both Fascism and Nazism were important political ideologies early in the 20th
century. They gave rise to World War II, and worked to implement ideas and attitudes on
entire nations of people. The world is a significantly different place due to Mussolinis
Italy and Hitlers Germany.

Extreme Views: Political, Social, & Economic Conditions

I think that this is an interesting thought to consider. After major wars, people
typically start to look for other political trains of thought, because they usually arent very
satisfied with how the country handled the war. It is hard to handle a war, so it may not be
the fault of the political ideology in place at the time, but collectively, people will move
either towards the right or left in search of something else that may better satisfy their
needs.
I think that an interesting example to walk us through this scenario is the current
situation in the United States. I realize that the war between Iraq and the United States is

still ongoing, but the reaction of the US people, especially surrounding a presidential
election, is very indicative of a move to the extreme right and left political views.
Following the attacks of 11 September, 2001, the Republican, right wing conservative
branch of US politics, decided to engage in a war with Iraq to find and remove weapons
of mass destruction, as well as, dethrone their ruler, Saddam Hussein. Since 2003,
America has attacked and occupied areas of Iraq. After five years, over 4,000 American
soldiers have died in Iraq and countless more Iraqi civilians. As a result the American
public has become quite perturbed with the situation and is looking for alternatives and
ways to end this conflict.
This creates the perfect stage for a presidential election, in which Americans can
be offered different options. Over the years, America has become disheartened with the
performance and ability of the conservative right wing and has quickly and sharply
moved to the Democratic left wing. It started about a year and a half ago when Congress
switched over from a Republican to Democratic majority. Since then, there has been a
shift from largely conservative to liberal, and this has happened in a very short time,
which is quite remarkable.
There are a lot of reasons for this happening. One of the first that comes to mind
is the fact that people are generally becoming aggravated with the current situation in
Iraq. The Republicans have pumped billions of dollars over the past couple years to fuel
this war, which many people in America and around the world believe to be unwarranted.
As a result, a large portion of the American public has changed their political alignments
because of their frustration with the way the conservative right wing have handled the
war.

Furthermore, the economic condition in America has been deteriorating over the
last couple years and currently America finds itself in a credit and housing crisis. This has
just further motivated the American public to seek something else out and some sort of
change.
In the current presidential election, America is staggeringly in favor of
Democratic president, but is having a hard time figuring out which contender to go with.
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are the frontrunners for the Democratic party, and it is
well accepted that whoever comes away from this bout as the victor will indeed be
president of the United States. At the same time, however, the Republicans have gone
with a very far right wing contender, perhaps to return to their core values.
I think that swinging too far in either direction isnt healthy for a country. Many
issues need compromise and discourse in order to be properly resolved. If a political
attitude is too extreme then they wont consider the alternatives. I think that this is
something that needs to be addressed in the current American political climate. People
have to remember that some things were in fact working during the time the right wing
was in power. To blindly follow a liberal political ideology doesnt make much sense
unless it works better. That is the toughest part about any transition; being capable of
recognizing what works and what does not. I feel optimistically about the US situation
and Im sure the outcome will be beneficial for all.