Fascism originated in Italy in 1919 when Benito Mussolini founded the fascist movement. Fascism was anti-communist, anti-democratic, and anti-liberal. It glorified violence and wanted a powerful state to control all aspects of citizens' lives. Nazism originated in Germany in 1920 when Adolf Hitler joined the German Workers' Party and transformed it into the Nazi party. Nazism was influenced by German nationalism and anti-communism. It believed in racial purity and the superiority of the Aryan race. While both were totalitarian ideologies, Nazism emphasized racism more strongly than fascism.

1. Nazism and Fascism
By: Prabhleen Arora

2. Birth and Origin of Fascism
In March 1919 Benito Mussolini, a
socialist turned nationalist, founded a new
movement in Milan, Italy; that became
known as ‘fascism’. The fasces—a bound
bundle of sticks—had been a symbol of
republican unity in ancient Rome. For
Mussolini they signified the unity of the
nation, and in particular the incorporation
into Italy of all Italian-speaking
territories under Austrian rule, for which
Italy had entered the Great War.

3. Symbol of Fascism
Mussolini's Fascist movement (roughly
1919-1945, with Fascism officially in
power from 1922 to 1943) made use of
Roman symbols. One of the most
significant was the Fascio Littorio (the
bundled sheaves of wheat, with
protruding axe, symbolizing power over
life and death), first used as a Fascist
symbol in 1919.

4. Fasci

5. Fascism
Fascism was anti-communist, anti-
democratic and anti-liberal. It was also
strongly collectivist and glorified violence.
It wanted to create a close national
community in Italy, where an all-powerful
state could intervene everywhere in
peoples’ lives. After the “March on Rome”
in 1922 and the murder of the leader of
the Italian Socialist Party, Giacomo
Matteotti in 1924, Mussolini ruled Italy
as a dictator until 1943

6. Fascism
Fascists believed in one leader, one party
and one state. Fascists believe that liberal
democracy is obsolete and they regard the
complete mobilization of society under a
totalitarian one-party state as necessary to
prepare a nation for armed conflict and to
respond effectively to economic difficulties.
Such a state is led by a strong leader—such
as a dictator and a martial government
composed of the members of the governing
fascist party—to forge national unity and
maintain a stable and orderly society.

7. Fascism
Unlike other parties, Fascism rejects
assertions that violence is automatically
negative in nature and views political
violence, war and imperialism as means that
can achieve national rejuvenation. They
believed in “Action First and Theory Later”.
The Catholic Church had renounced Fascism
in the Encyclical Non Abbiamo Bisogno as a
"pagan idoltry of the state" which teaches
"hatred, violence and irreverence".

8. Birth and Origin of Nazism
In September 1919, Adolf Hitler, a German
corporal of Austrian birth had joined the
tiny German Workers’ Party, which had been
founded in January in his adopted city,
Munich, one of many nationalist groups
opposing the democratic and socialist
revolutions that swept Germany after the
war. He rapidly became the party’s leading
figure and in late 1920 modified its name to
the National Socialist German Workers (or
Nazi) Party.

9. Symbol of Nazism
The 20th century German Nazi Party
made extensive use of graphic symbolism,
especially the Hakenkreuz (swastika),
which was used as its principal symbol and
in the form of the swastika flag became
the state flag of Nazi Germany.
Hitler believed himself to be the
descendant of “Aryan” race of Central
Asia, hence his main motive was the
growth of “Aryanism”.

10. Symbol of Nazism

11. Nazism
Nazism was influenced by German
nationalism the Bolsheviks movement, and
the anti-Communist paramilitary groups that
emerged during the Weimar Republic after
Germany's defeat in the First World War.
Like Fascism, it was also anti-democratic and
anti-liberal. They also believed in one leader
but unlike Fascism there main focus was on
Aryanism and not on the development of
organic state. Although it was established
long before but it truly came into power in
1933, when Hitler became the Chancellor of
Germany.

12. Nazism
Nazism subscribed to theories of racial
hierarchy and Social Darwinism, identifying
the Germans as a part of what the Nazis
regarded as an Aryan race. It aimed to
overcome social divisions and create a
German homogeneous society based on racial
purity which represented a people's
community. The Nazis aimed to unite all
Germans living in historically German
territory, as well as gain additional lands for
German expansion under the doctrine of
Lebensraum and exclude those who they
deemed either community aliens or "inferior"
races.

13. Nazism
The term "National Socialism" arose out of
attempts to create a nationalist redefinition
of "socialism", as an alternative to both
international socialism and free market
capitalism. Nazism rejected the Marxist
concept of class conflict, opposed
cosmopolitan internationalism and sought to
convince all parts of the new German society
to subordinate their personal interests to
the "common good" and accept political
interests as the main priority of economic
organization.

14. Fascism v/s Nazism
Nazism is considered to be one form of
fascism. Though both Nazism and Fascism
reject the ideologies of liberalism, Marxism
and democracy, these two are different in
many aspects.
Nazism and Fascism have their origin in the
20th century. While fascism was in vogue
between 1919 and 1945, Nazism became
popular from 1933 to 1945.
Facsists believed in “Corporatism” of all
elements in society to form an ‘Organic
State’. They were not racial and had no
strong opinion of any race.

15. Fascism v/s Nazism
For Fascists, the state was the most
important element. The Doctrine of
Fascism, which is the authoritative
document of the fascism, emphasis on
nationalism, corporatism, totalitarianism
and militarism. According to this Doctrine
the State is all embracing and no human
or spiritual value exists beyond it.
But Nazism emphasized on racism. While
fascism considered state as important,
Nazism considered ‘Aryanism’ as more
important. The Nazism doctrine believed in
the superiority of the Aryan race.

16. Fascism v/s Nazism
While Fascism was based on certain political
ideologies, Nazism was blindly based on racial
hatred.
Nazism considered class based society as enemy
and stood for unifying the racial element. But
fascism wanted to preserve the class system. The
fascists almost accepted the concept of social
mobility, while Nazism was against it.
While fascism considered state as important,
Nazism considered ‘Aryanism’ as more important.