>>2570930The German fascist National Socialist Party arose in 1919 (the official name — National Socialist German Workers’ Party — reflected the desire of its organizers to exploit the influence of socialist ideas among German workers in the interests of extreme reaction). Amid a deepening political crisis, relying on support from major monopolies and forming an alliance with influential circles in the Reichswehr leadership, the leader (“Führer”) of German fascists, Adolf Hitler, received a mandate to form a government in late January 1933. By staging the Reichstag fire and blaming the communists (see Leipzig Trial, 1933), the German fascists within a few months completely “synchronized” the country, unleashing bloody terror on all democratic and liberal currents, imprisoning and physically eliminating all real and potential opponents of the Nazi regime. After the Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party and all traditional bourgeois parties were banned. All public organizations—especially trade unions—were dissolved; parliament was stripped of its prerogatives; all forms of public oversight over the state administration were abolished. The dictatorship mechanism created by National Socialism included a terror apparatus marked by extreme brutality (SA, SS, the Gestapo, the “People’s Court,” and other organs of fascist justice), an apparatus for organizing influence on the population (the National Socialist Party, the National Socialist Women’s League, the Hitler Youth, the German Labor Front, the “Strength Through Joy” organization, etc.), which controlled all forms of public activity, as well as an apparatus for propaganda control of the masses (headed by the Ministry of Propaganda). In close alliance with the military leadership, Hitler's government carried out a rapid militarization of Germany. A course was immediately taken toward militarizing the economy, accompanied by the implementation of various forms of state-monopolistic regulation (state investments, primarily for military purposes; tax policy; credit policy and planned inflation; administrative control over economic development; forced syndicalization or cartelization of industry; creation of new associations of monopolists, etc.). International agreements limiting Germany’s armaments were broken, and a series of aggressive acts were carried out to strengthen the military-strategic positions of German imperialism in its struggle for world domination. In 1936–39 Germany, together with Italy, participated in the intervention against Republican Spain. In 1938 it carried out the forced annexation (Anschluss) of Austria; in 1938–39 it seized and partitioned Czechoslovakia. By attacking Poland in September 1939, fascist Germany unleashed World War II.
Having come to power in Italy and Germany, the fascists placed numerous foreign fascist and pro-fascist organizations under their influence. In some countries these organizations became a serious danger to bourgeois-democratic regimes. Between the two world wars, fascist-type regimes were established in several East and Central European states: Hungary (Horthy regime), Austria, Poland (“sanation regime”), Romania, the Baltic states, etc. Under the influence of Italy and Germany, the fascist movement developed in Spain, where after a bloody civil war (1936–39; see Spanish Revolution 1931–39) a fascist dictatorship under Franco was established in March 1939 with military and political support from Italian and German interventionists. Even earlier, a fascist dictatorship under Salazar had been established in Portugal.
By the mid-1930s fascism had become a mortal threat not only to the workers’ and democratic movements of individual countries but also to all humanity, calling into question the existence of many nations. Awareness of this threat led to the rise of a broad anti-fascist movement based on the unity of all political forces ready to resist fascism. The leading role in organizing this resistance was played by communist parties following the decisions of the 7th Congress of the Comintern on a united workers’ and popular front (1935; see Communist International), taking into account the specific circumstances of each country. In countries where fascism was in power, communists led the underground anti-fascist movement (see Anti-fascist movement). During World War II the fascist occupiers implemented a carefully developed system of mass extermination of people in occupied territories. According to some estimates, approximately 18 million people of all European nationalities passed through the concentration camps and death camps organized by the National Socialists (see German fascist concentration camps). Of these, 11 million people were brutally murdered. Fascist terror in the occupied territories, genocide, and the deliberate destruction of millions fully revealed the inhuman essence of fascism, which earned the hatred of the peoples of the world. In the fascist rear, in the occupied territories, and in the fascist countries themselves, a Resistance Movement arose, undermining the military strength of the fascist army and the stability of fascist regimes.
The defeat in 1945 of Germany and its allies by the forces of the anti-Hitler coalition, with the decisive participation of the USSR, dealt a heavy blow to fascism. However, in some capitalist countries (Spain, Portugal) the ruling classes managed to prolong the existence of fascist-type dictatorial regimes in the postwar years. In the countries that led the fascist bloc, the roots of fascism were not completely eliminated. The onset of the Cold War after World War II led to a revival of the most reactionary, including fascist, elements even in those capitalist states that had been part of the anti-Hitler coalition. Equally important is the fact that the social and political processes that gave rise to fascism and at a certain historical stage turned it into a powerful force (the development of state-monopoly capitalism and the deepening of the general crisis of capitalism, economic and political upheavals in capitalist countries) continue in contemporary capitalist society. In capitalist states whose ruling circles adhere to traditional methods of governance, a more or less influential far-right opposition has formed, in many cases openly fascist or semi-fascist in character. The strength and influence of this opposition fluctuate depending on economic conditions and the international situation, often increasing with the intensification of crises domestically and internationally, and weakening when tensions subside.
In some cases fascist and semi-fascist elements, allied with militarist forces, attempt to seize power through military coups. In April 1967 a coup occurred in Greece, and in September 1973 in Chile. In these countries a terrorist military-fascist dictatorship was established. Earlier (in 1954) a terrorist dictatorship had been established in Paraguay. Reactionary military forces also exercise significant influence on the domestic and foreign policies of several other Latin American countries.
Under new conditions fascist forces naturally take on new forms, often trying to distance themselves from the discredited fascist movements of the past. Therefore, when speaking of contemporary fascism, the term “neo-fascism” is most often used. Under conditions of intensifying general crisis of capitalism, neo-fascist forces widely employ the so-called strategy of tension, organizing terrorist and other subversive actions. The main goal of this strategy is to create among politically unstable segments of the public the impression that parliamentary governments are completely incapable of ensuring public order, thus pushing moderately conservative voters into the arms of “legal” neo-fascists. Overall, however, the position of fascism after World War II is much weaker than before it. The overthrow of fascism in Portugal (April 1974) and Greece (July 1974), as well as the collapse of Francoism in Spain, convincingly demonstrates the weakness of fascist regimes under modern conditions. The balance of class forces in industrially developed capitalist countries in many cases limits the arbitrariness of monopolistic bourgeoisie. The rightward shift promoted by those in power is countered by a shift to the left — the expansion of democracy, which is the result of the persistent struggle of the masses and above all of the working class. Under growing anti-fascist sentiment and the increasing attractiveness of socialism, the ruling classes of capitalist countries often consider a transition from bourgeois-democratic forms of rule to openly fascist methods dangerous.
The most important barrier to fascism is the creation of a united front of democratic forces.
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