The Rise or Fascism - 20.7

• • While they aimed to appeal to all social classes, fascists found the most support among middle-class people because they particularly feared the influence of socialism and communism.
• • The middle classes were drawn to fascism as they feared the influence of socialism and communism.
• • During World War I, there had been significant levels of fighting occurring within Italy. This conflict led to rising prices, high unemployment and nationalist resentment that Italy did not gain more from the peace treaties. A strong communist movement had developed in the aftermath of World War I and early fascism also began as a reaction to this movement.
• • The ‘blackshirts’ were Italian fascists who used violence against political opponents.
• • Fascists bashed their political opponents and burned the offices of newspapers that dared to criticise them. They also gained support from the middle classes and the rich by violently breaking up strikes, thus increasing profits by getting striking workers back to work. Benito Mussolini, the founder of the Italian Fascist Party, had originally been a socialist. As he gained support he began to crush any political opposition, including Italian communist groups.
• To gain power Mussolini and his fascists:

  • used violent tactics, fighting trade unionists, communists and socialists
  • gained the support of the middle class and rich Italians by breaking up strikes
  • attacked their political opponents and burned the offices of newspapers that opposed them, thus restricting public criticism
  • were supported by the king, who invited Mussolini to become prime minister because of his anti-communist, anti-socialist stance.
• • Extreme right-wing movements in Australia included the King and Empire Alliance, White Guard, the Sane Democracy League and the New Guard. The New Guard was the most well-known, organised and biggest of the Australian extreme right-wing groups.
• • As in other nations around the world, the support for the far right-wing movements in Australia came from the middle class.
• • Support for extremist right-wing groups declined in Australia when the economy began to recover from the effects of the Great Depression.
• • Supreme Court ruled that the 1923 Prohibition Act was unconstitutional. The New Guard frequently fought street battles against Labor and communist supporters. Yet the group is best remembered for their protest at the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. During this ceremony, a mounted member of the New Guard succeeded in cutting the official ribbon before Labor Premier Jack Lang. This act of defiance gained the group national attention.
• A putsch is a forcible seizure of power
• Two unsuccessful attempts to destroy the newly created German Weimar Republic:

  • Kapp Putsch of March 1920 led by Dr Wolfgang Kapp and General von Luttwitz
  • Munich Putsch of 1923 led by Adolf Hitler, then leader of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazis)
• During the Kapp Putsch, workers responded to the new government declaration by going on strike, leading to the collapse of the putsch after five days
• In 1923, Germany faced severe economic hardship due to high inflation levels, prompting Adolf Hitler's second attempted takeover of the government
• Hitler's 1923 putsch failed, resulting in his arrest and charge with treason; he was found guilty but served only nine months in jail
• Franco was supported by the Spanish fascists (Falange), the wealthy Spanish landowners, the leaders of the Catholic Church, Spanish monarchists and, most importantly, by forces from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The Spanish Civil War brought Hitler and Mussolini together. They decided to intervene on the side of General Franco by supplying the Falange with arms and men in an attack on Spain’s democratically elected Republican government. The Soviet Union opposed Franco and came to the aid of the Republican government.
• • In ancient Rome, the elected leader carried a bundle of sticks wrapped around an axe. It was called the fasces. This became the symbol of Italian fascism because it connected Mussolini’s Italy with the power and strength of the mighty Roman Empire.
• Reasons people were attracted to fascism during the Great Depression:

  • Unemployment and social problems
  • Unstable governments
  • Fear of socialism
• The socioeconomic conditions during the Great Depression provided the perfect conditions for fascism to develop
• In Europe and America, unemployment rates soared during the Great Depression, leading people to seek radical change through membership of fascist groups
• In Germany, the Weimar Republic was not yet accepted by the public and was blamed for Germany's war defeat and humiliation, intensifying feelings of political uncertainty
• The victory of the Communist Party in Russia added further anxiety to the politics of Europe, pushing people towards more militaristic and conservative governments for security and strength