Fascism in the Interwar Period Essay

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Fascism in the Interwar Period:

Fascism, similar to every sound political idea, is both thought and practice since it comprises of both a doctrine and an action. It's regarded as a doctrine since it originates from a given system of historical forces while it's an action in which a doctrine is imminent. Since it's a sound political conception, fascism is entrenched in the doctrine and works from within. Fascism is a spiritualized conception that could not be understood in its practical demonstrations as a party organization, a discipline, and a system of education unless it was examined with regards of its entire means of conceiving life. As a result, fascism is brought by the overall reaction of contemporary times against the floppy materialistic positivism of the 19th Century.

This concept can also be regarded as a historical conception through which man is what he is based on how he works with the spiritual process he finds himself, in the family or social group, in the country, and in history with which all countries collaborate. This is followed by the great value of tradition, language, customs, memories, and standards of social life. Therefore, fascism is divergent to every individualistic abstraction of materialistic nature similar to those of the 18th Century in addition to being opposed to every Jacobin innovation and utopia.

Appeal of Fascism in the Interwar Period:

The appeal of fascism in the interwar period can be explained through examining the fundamental ideas of this concept and the political and social doctrine. Under the fundamental ideas, the appeal of fascism is explained on the basis of its spiritualized and historical conceptions. From a spiritualized conception, the appeal of fascism is understood and explained on the basis of the fact that it's brought by the overall reaction of the modern periods against the evident materialistic positivism during the 19th Century. As a result, the appeal of the concept during the interwar period is based on its desire for an active man who is conscious of the challenges within an action and is willing to face them.

On the contrary, the appeal of fascism during the interwar period through the historical conception through which a man is considered as nothing outside history. This results in the ability of people to develop a great value for the traditions, customs, language, memories, and standards of social life. In this case, humans basically develop through the spiritual process he finds himself, in the family, in the social group, in the country, and the history of many nations. The main appeal of fascism in the interwar period through the historical conception is specifically linked to the fact that the concept contributed to the opposition of every distinctive notion of a money-oriented nature like those of the 18th Century. Moreover, fascism opposed all the theological concepts and hypothesis with which humans would attain a definitive stabilized situation at a certain point in history (Kreis, 2004).

Through the spiritual and historical conceptions of the idea, the appeal of fascism during the interwar period is mainly associated with various factors that characterized this period. The significant factors include …

Rejection of Happiness:

The aftermath of the First World War was characterized by attempts to promote happiness, especially from a materialistic nature. However, the appeal for fascism during the interwar period was brought by the consideration that happiness is impossible to achieve on earth. This is primarily because the happiness promoted after World War One was seemingly with the intention of the economic literature of the 18th Century. The rejection of happiness is also fueled by dismissal of all the theological theories that promote the idea of mankind reaching an authoritative stabilized situation at least once in history. As a result of the dismissal of the idea and the theological theories, there was an appeal of fascism during this period.

Dismissal of Socialism:

The second major factor contributing to the appeal of fascism in the interwar period is the dismissal of socialism, which was a common aspect after the First World War. Socialism basically confines the movement of history in the class struggle while dismissing the unity of classes developed in the moral and economic reality in the State. In dismissal of socialism, the appeal of fascism was fueled by the idea that everything is in the State, which implies that there can neither be individuals nor groups without the State. Through this, fascism is totalitarian, meaning that individuals create classes and syndicates based on similarity of their interests and varying economic activities respectively.

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However, the basis of the formation of these various aspects is the creation of the State, which is formed first.

The other way with which the appeal of fascism in the interwar period is linked to the dismissal of socialism is the rejection of democracy that compares the nation to the majority, which basically lowers it to the level of that majority. On the contrary, the Fascist State is a determination to government and to power since the individual is not suppressed but multiplied. While the Fascist State arranges the nation, it leaves enough scope to individuals though it cannot be the individual with the final decision, but only the State.

Rise of Fascism in Germany:

One of the major areas in which fascism rose during the interwar period is Germany, which was mainly affected by the World War I, Great Depression, and Second World War. The rise of fascism in Germany is mainly attributed to various reasons including …

The Concept of Nationalism:

This is one of the major factors or reasons for the rise of fascism in Germany during the interwar period. The concept of nationalism was basically spread by Joseph Goebbels, the propaganda chief of Adolf Hitler. In addition to sharing the same beliefs with Hitler, Goebbels believed that people are easily managed if the message directed to them was not only simple but also repetitive. As part of his tactics to help propel Adolf Hitler to national leadership, Goebbels helped in the development of the concept of nationalism, which in turn resulted in the rise of fascism in Germany.

Through this concept and propaganda, Goebbels contributed to the development of nationalism as Germany regarded the nation as the only possibility for protecting and furthering the existence of the country ("Nazi Documents," n.d.). This perspective played a major role in the rise of fascism in Germany since the State was regarded as the natural bond of a people for the protection and defense of their lives. The concept of nationalism was a major factor in the rise of fascism in Germany since individuals who were nationally-minded needed to understand the significance of the nation in protecting and defending their lives both theoretically and practically.

The main reason attributed to the role of nationalism in the rise of fascism in Germany is the fact that nationalism contributed to the dismissal of socialism. As a result, Germans increasingly believed that the state is the only way for everything because individuals and social groups cannot exist without State. Therefore, these people were constantly encouraged to not only love their country but to also demand the protection of the German national spirit through battling against its destroyers.

Anti-Semitism:

The other major factor in the rise of fascism in Germany is anti-Semitism, which is basically described as hatred for the Jewish people. Anti-Semitism played a significant role in the emergence and development of the appeal of fascism in Germany during the interwar period because it's the main concept that shaped the Nazi's political program. This concept can also be regarded as a contributing factor because it distinguished the Nazis from other totalitarian regimes. Through anti-Semitism, Germany not only declared the nation as an enemy of the Jews but also as fighters for the freedom of its people. The need to defend the nation through anti-Semitism originated from the fact that the Jews were considered responsible for the misery of Germans (Lech, n.d.).

Therefore, anti-Semitism is a major factor in the rise of fascism in Germany because it was used as a means of distinguishing the nation from other regimes. Furthermore, anti-Semitism was used as a means of protecting the nation's interest and protecting the German people and fighting people who were responsible for their misery.

Fascism as a Third Way:

One of the major aspects of fascism is that it functioned from a social Darwinist perspective of human interactions. As a result, this concept focused on promoting superior people and eliminating the weak. From an economic perspective, fascism basically implied the promotion of the interests of successful businessmen through destroying institutions of the working class. Consequently, fascist States encouraged the quest of private profit and provided numerous benefits to large business enterprises.

In promoting the concept and their agenda, fascists argued that fascism was a third way based on its economic viewpoint. These people argued that the concept and its views provided a third way because they opposed socialism and liberal capitalism. Therefore, fascists stated that….....

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