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The term "fascismo" was coined by the Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini (1883
- 1945) and the self-described "philosopher of Fascism" Giovanni Gentile (1875 -
1944). It is derived from the Latin word "fasces", an ancient Roman symbol
consisting of a bundle of rods tied around an axe, used to suggest "strength through
unity". It was originally used to refer specifically to Mussolini's political movement
that ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943, but has subsequently also been used to describe
other regimes.
Fascism usually involves some degree of some or all of the following elements:
Nazism (or National Socialism) refers to the ideology and practices of the
German Nazi Party (or National Socialist German Workers' Party) under Adolf
Hitler (1889 - 1945) between 1933 and 1945. It was a strongly nationalist ,
totalitarian , racist, anti-Semitic and anti- Communist movement, which grew up
in the aftermath of German humiliation after World War I, which was partly
blamed on Germany's Jews. Hitler published his political beliefs in "Mein Kampf"
in 1925 and, inspired by the Italian Fascism of Mussolini, assumed dictatorial
powers as Chancellor in 1933. His belief in the superiority of an Aryan race and
the possibilities of eugenics (racial purification), his fierce anti-Semitism and
anti- Communism , combined with his militaristic and expansionist ambitions
led to World War II, with its atrocities and genocide, eventual military defeat and
the subsequebt abandonment of Nazism as a viable ideology.
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