Fascism had its first successes in Italy.
Mussolini took advantage of the social tensions and longing for change
among the Italians, and after the war, mobilized former soldiers, the
unemployed and university students, with slogans calling for a return of
the glory days of ancient Rome. Mussolini organized his supporters, known
as "Black Shirts," in a quasi-military format, and whose methods
were founded on violence. They began to carry out attacks in the streets
against groups they identified as their rivals. With their Roman
greetings, songs, uniforms and official parades, they aroused the emotions
of the uneducated and the disenfranchised.
On October 29, 1922, 50,000 fascist
militants marched on Rome. Because the king knew what the force that
opposed him was capable of, and that there was no way he could oppose
them, he called on Mussolini to form a government. As a result of the
developments that followed, the Italian fascists finally came to power. A
while later, Mussolini banned all other political parties. Some of the
opposition leaders were sent into exile abroad, and others were
imprisoned.
Hitler came to power by similar methods.
The Nazi movement was born in the early 1920s, and carried out its first
violent act in the Munich Beer Hall putsch. On November 8, 1923, Hitler
raided a meeting at the Munich City Beer hall where Bavarian State
Commissioner Gustav von Kahr was speaking with military units, no
different from an organized gang, and 600 SA troopers. Hitler entered the
meeting in a great rage and occupied the premises. Firing at the ceiling,
he said that he was announcing a national revolution. But this coup was a
failure. Hitler was arrested and lived as an exile for nine months.
Nonetheless, in later years, the Nazis grew stronger by terrorizing their
opponents and inciting anti-Semitic hatreds. Eventually, the Nazi Party
became an important party in parliament. Throughout all this, of course,
the Nazis frequently resorted to illegal methods, much like the Italian
Fascist party. On January 30, 1933, Hitler was made chancellor. The post
was conferred upon him by the elderly President Hindenburg, who was aware
that the growing power of the national Socialist Movement was increasingly
menacing, and therefore, made Hitler chancellor in order to avert a civil
war. When Hitler again ran for election in March, like all fascist
administrations, the Nazis employed terror, intimidation, and deception.
After the elections, the German parliament immediately passed the Enabling
Act, which made Hitler dictator of Germany for four years.
In this manner, the administrative and
law-making power came into Hitler's hands. But, shortly thereafter, the
extent of his powers were increased still further. In August 1934, at the
death of Hindenburg, the offices of president and chancellor were joined
together, with Hitler assuming them both. Hitler followed policies much
like those of Mussolini. In addition to brute force, Hitler also made use
of various types of anti-democratic methods. For instance, he banned all
opposition parties, and outlawed trade unions, thereby completely
eliminating personal freedoms. Nazi influence was felt in all walks of
life. Even university professors were required to take an oath of loyalty
to Hitler.
In Spain, Franco came to power in the
aftermath of a bloody civil war. Supported by Hitler and Mussolini,
Franco's army defeated the communists after a long and fierce war, and
took power over the entire country. Franco then set up a particularly
oppressive regime, and ruled the country with an "iron fist" until 1975.
Brainwashing Techniques of Fascism
There was one particularly egregious
feature of Italian fascism and Nazi Germany: its attempt to brainwash its
citizens. This program was founded on two basic components, education and
propaganda.
In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote,
"Propaganda is a means and must therefore be judged with regard to its
end... Propaganda in the War was a means to an end, and the end was the
struggle for the existence of the German people; consequently, propaganda
could only be considered in accordance with the principles that were valid
for this struggle. In this case the most cruel weapons were humane if they
brought about a quicker victory...
Hitler was certainly effective in his use
of propaganda. For instance, the well-known director Leni Riefenstahl was
requested to produce a Nazi propaganda film, Olympia. In Triumph
of Will, another film by Riefenstahl, Hitler was shown as an almost
divine being. Pagan Nazi ideology was praised in all these films, and
ultimately imposed upon society.
All fascist regimes, not just Hitler's,
used propaganda in a most effective way in order to impose their will on
the public. Mussolini openly stated this:
For me the masses are nothing but
a herd of sheep as long as they are unorganized... The Roman greeting,
songs and formulas...all are essential to fan the flames of the
enthusiasm that keeps a movement in being..
The Use of Pressure To Eliminate Opposed
Ideas
One interesting example of fascism's
efforts to brainwash society were the book burning ceremonies in Nazi
Germany.
The first of these took place on May 10,
1933. Students from German universities, which had previously been
recognized as the best in the world, gathered in Berlin and other German
cities, and burned books which contained "un-German" ideas.
Thousands of books were burned, to the accompaniment of Nazi salutes,
songs and military music.
The fascist state permits only its own
ideology to be taught. Outside of that, nobody
must be allowed to think anything else, or else, he will be punished, have
his books burned, or be silenced in some other way. Each individual is
seen as a tool at the service of the ideology of the state. Those who do
not agree with the ideology are intimidated into doing so.
Therefore, the educational system was
rendered to the complete service of the fascist state. The complete
transformation of the educational system was outlined in the 20th article
of the basic principles of National Socialism. Right from primary school,
children were raised without any ethical values or human feeling, and in a
way devoid of affection or compassion. They were educated under the
principle that the strong are most right, and that it is essential to
employ force to achieve one's aims.
Another tactic used by all fascist regimes
has been to conceal the true history from society, and in its place, to
teach a fictitious version, written by themselves. The purpose to this
has been to build a culture in which the fascists' ideals could thrive,
enabling them to become both more popular and more firmly rooted in
society. The understanding of history, as well as philosophy, throughout
the educational process were entirely monitored by the fascist state. As
they were educated by the system, people were entirely unaware that they
were being brainwashed in fascist ideology, and that all other ideas were
completely censored.
