• People dissatisfied with the Paris Peace Treaties and distrustful of their administration established governments that tried to keep complete control of human activities in their own hands.

• Such governments are known as totalitarian.

• Present-day totalitarian forms of government were seen in Italy and Germany in Europe.

• Dictators in these countries took advantage of people’s discontent and adopted a new system of government based on new principles, philosophy of life, and ideas.

• In the 1920s, Mussolini started revolts combining fascist elements like uniformed militia and a powerful leader with earlier nationalist ideas and anti-liberal principles.

• These revolts condemned communism and promised national regeneration and territorial expansion.

• Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany used the vocabulary of a collective state but were practically based on economic grounds aiming to fulfill the ambitions of their leaders.

• The chief exponents of Fascism and National Socialism distinguished their revolutions from ordinary political movements by making universal claims.

• Mussolini said, “Fascism is a holy concept” that elevates man to a conscious membership of the spiritual world.

• In Germany, Alfred Rosenberg claimed the new century intended to create a new man out of the myth of life.

• These universal claims made Fascism and Nazism difficult to counter.

• The Church became both an object of apprehension and an instrument of control.

• In 1929, a pact was signed with the Catholic Church in Italy, giving it a very high place in the state and control over all education.

• In Germany, the Church was warned to keep within bounds or face being banned.

• Mussolini considered Fascism’s ideology, principles, and experiences as universal, showing the right path to the civilized people and essential for maintaining world peace.

• Fascism claimed to create and foster a new civilization.

• Fascism is used for a wide variety of political and social systems.

• The ideology of Fascism was hollow and conceited; Mussolini concocted it after grabbing power to give it academic status.

• The Fascist movement and the Fascist State shared several similarities that distinguished them from other tendencies in Europe at that time.

• Fascism flourished in Italy and Germany amid economic instability, fear, revolution, and frustrated nationalism.

• Fascism and Nazism attracted both reactionaries and revolutionaries due to their charm.

Establishment of Fascist Dictatorship in Italy

Rise of Fascism

• After World War I, workers in Italy took possession of factories.

• Due to lack of experience and inability to procure raw materials, they gave up their hold on the factories.

• At this time, some groups called themselves ‘fascists’ and proclaimed to save Italy from communism.

• The word ‘Fascist’ comes from an ancient Roman symbol of power and authority.

• This symbol was a war axe surrounded by a bundle of rods.