The Police Transit Camps in Fossoli and Bolzano

1999

Ill: Ideology and action: a puzzling relation IV: The plan of the study CHAPTER 1 24 Expansionism in post -unification Italy and Germany until the First World War: on the ideological and political origins of fascist expansionism I: Introduction Il. National unification and boundaries: the symbolic significance of territory Ill. The radicalisation of the Liberal and Wilhelminian expansionist policies: the emergence of radical nationalist organisations IV: The radicalisation of expansionist arguments: irredentism, continental expansion versus colonial expansion, conquest versus economic infiltration a. Irredentism b. What expansion? Continental versus colonial expansion, formal versus informal imperialism V: Conclusions CHAPTER 2 52 Fascist ideology and expansion I: Introduction II. Fascist ideology and the analysis of the past: the "self -historicisation" of fascism b. Fascisa: in post-unification national history: a syncretic ideology 65 c. The fascist myth of national unification: the "mission" of completing the creating the nation -state a. Fascist ideology and the liberal past 72 III. Beyond national unification: justifying the right to expand 76 CHAPTER 3 1181 CHAPTER 4 1921 a. Fascist expansionism, "constant struggle" and the ideology of "violence" b. Fascism and elitism: élite "leaders", élite "nations ", élite "civilisations ", and fascism 's "mission " of expansion c. Civilisations and races as "élites": racialism, anti -Semitism and fascist ideology IV: Choosing targets: fascist expansionism and the notion of living space a. Italy: the idea of spazio vitale and the Mediterranean project b. Germany: the quest for Lebensraum in the east V. Expansionist ideology in practice: the unity of thought and action in fascism 111 VI: Conclusions Towards a `fascist state ": fascist leaders, traditional groups, fascist parties and foreign policy decision-making The concept of "minimum consensus" III. Foreign policy decision-making, fascist leaderships and traditional élites a. Italy: an authoritative, etatist model Long -term features of the system and Mussolini's early foreign policy (1922)(1923)(1924) The "decade of good behaviour" (1925 -1935) 133 The Ethiopian campaign (1935 -36) Towards war : 1936 -39 b. Germany: a "parallel" state Long -term features of the German system (1933 -5) Growing autonomy and self -confident (1936 -37) 161 The triumph of the Nazi leadership (1938 -39) IV. Fascist parties and leaderships: totalitarianism versus authoritarianism 171 a. Italy: mussolinismo and the de-politicisation of the PNF b. Germany: Hitler's authoritarianism and the NSDAP V: Conclusions 188 Ideology in practice? Fascist foreign policies from revisionism to large - scale expansion (1922 -1939) I: Introduction 192 Il. Revisionism: the legacy of the Peace Treaties and the juridical argument for territorial expansion a. Italy: Revisionist policies b. Germany: revisionism III. Irredentism: the distortion of an argument 216 IV. From border to space policy: towards large -scale fascist expansion 227 a. Colonialism The Ethiopian campaign 232 Nazi foreign policy and colonialism: a half-hearted affair 241 h. Expansion on the continent: beyond traditional justifications of expansion 245 3 CHAPTER 6 2951 CONCLUSIONS 3641 BIBLIOGRAPHY 3831 V: Conclusions CHAPTER 5 2571 Between co-operation and rivalry: Italian and German expansionism and the radicalisation of fascist foreign policies (1933 -1939) I: Introduction Il. Internationalisation of fascism: the difficult course of the Italo-German rapprochement 262 a. Mussolini as "the Duce of Fascism" and the emergence of Nazism b. Cawing up "international fascism ": Ethiopia and Rhineland 269 c. The international "crusade" of fascism: the Spanish civil war 272 Ill. The evolution of the Italian-German relations and the radicalisation of fascist expansionist policies (1938 -1939) a. The "next victim " syndrome and the impact of the Nazi successes upon Mussolini 282 b. S tnuggle for initiative: Italo-German antagonism within the Axis c.D ropping diplomacy: the shift towards aggressive expansion 287 d. Ideology versus short -term developments IV: Conclusions Fascist expansionism and war: the triumph of the fascists and the collapse of fascism (1939 -1945) I: Introduction Il. Germany's decision to launch the war Ill. Italy's decision to enter the war IV. Towards the guerra fascista: Mussolini's parallel war in the Mediterranean V. Launching the Nazi "ideological" war: "Operation Barbarossa" VI. The path to defeat: the end of the fascist war (1941 -45) a. Leaders and the monopoly offoreign policy-making in war 346 b. International co-operation: an uncoordinated war IV: Conclusions I. The study of fascist expansionism: ideology and other factors II. "National" traditions and "fascist" innovations: the continuity debate III. Leaders, "fascist" values and "national" interest 371 IV. Dealing with differences: the limits of a generic definition of fascist expansionism

Journal of Contemporary History, 1968

Between the end of 1916 and beginning of 1917 in Italy, as in all the other countrk of warring Europe, the situation underwent a decisive change. The check in military operations after the Austrian Victory in the Trentino, the difiiculties which sprang from the prolongation of the war beyond alI expectations and from its unexpected dimensions, created widespread concern and rising tensions. These were manifested at the mass level in popular dis

The Historical Journal, 2009

This is a controversial reappraisal of the Italian occupation of the Mediterranean during the Second World War, which Davide Rodogno examines for the first time within the framework of Fascist imperial ambitions. He focuses on the European territories annexed and occupied by Italy between 1940 and 1943: metropolitan France,

There is a dirty little secret that has received little attention. It is the untold narrative about the historical and socioeconomic context behind Italian Fascism and the German National Socialism. It is not what most people have heard before. It is not what many want to hear. But it is not something that can be ignored. As it turns out, the horrendous ideologies of fascism and national socialist are not merely pejorative terms to dish out in flippant responses. They have historical significance. They have consequences. And their ideological underpinnings are still widely accepted in today's world. In fact, many government administrations and agencies take the attitude that-It's not fascism when WE do it!" To understand those underpinnings, it is vital to comprehend what these collective ideologies represent from a historical perspective. History does repeat itself, and usually to the detriment of the ignorant. Near the end of World War II, George Orwell, author of 1984 and Animal Farm, attempted to define fascism. He found it difficult. He wrote that the word-Fascism‖ is almost entirely meaningless, arguing that it is recklessly flung around in every direction. 1 Orwell had been disappointed that nobody seriously wanted to come up with a clear and generally accepted definition of fascism. He knew why most were reluctant. If they did examine the core of fascism, they would have to gaze into a mirror and see an unsavory reflection. Italian-style Fascism So what is Italian-style fascism? One of the best descriptions came from author Lew Rockwell, who wrote:-Fascism is the system of government that cartelizes the private sector, centrally plans the economy to subsidize producers, exalts the police state as the source of order, denies fundamental rights and liberties to individuals, and makes the executive state the unlimited master of society.‖ 2 This seems cut and dried, and not an uncommon type of government today or in the past. So, why did fascism become a universal swearword, especially since so many governments actively pursue its policies? Many blame fascism's low status on Soviet Union propaganda. After Nazi Germany terminated the 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact by invading its Soviet Union partner, the two military titans engaged in bitter war of epic proportions. Like a jilted lover, communists not only went after Nazi Germany with vengeance on the battlefield, but cranked up their propaganda machine to identify anyone opposed to communism as-fascist.‖ This is a curious anomaly given that the German National Socialists had masterminded the initial military strikes against the Soviet Union, not Mussolini's Fascist Italy. This is an historical oddity, because Benito Mussolini had warm relations with the Soviet Union and Lenin. Mussolini wasn't a monarchist, capitalist or a rightwing churchgoer. He was fervently anticlerical, an avowed atheist and a well-known Marxist during the early years of his life. Where's the proof? In 1924 Fascist Italy became the first western country to recognize the Soviet Union. That should not be surprising. Calling himself the-Lenin of Italy,‖ Mussolini had earlier launched a theoretical Marxist journal, Utopia. Two of his collaborators on Utopia went on to found the Italian Communist Party. Another helped found the German Communist Party. 3 As socialist and labor agitator, he led strikes and riots against Italy's invasion of Ottoman Libya in the 1911-1912. He supported the violent labor strikes during-Red Week, until it failed to topple the government. During the 1920s and 1930s, he often boasted that fascism was the same as communism. Mussolini rose quickly as an influential leader in the Italian Socialist Party. Author David Ramsey Steele painted Mussolini as-the Che Guevara of his day, a living saint of leftism. Handsome, courageous, charismatic, an erudite Marxist, a riveting speaker and writer, a dedicated class warrior to the core, he was the peerless duce of the Italian Left. He looked like the head of any future Italian socialist government, elected or revolutionary.‖ 4 Mussolini's friendship with the Russian Bolsheviks was substantial. Fascist Italy's official recognition of the Soviet Union opened the flood gates to tremendous trade, making Italy a major supplier of arms to the Soviet Union, especially after the signing of the 1933 Russo-Italian-Treaty of Friendship, Nonaggression, and Neutrality.‖ Fascist Italy had forged an alliance with the Soviet Union, a commercial accord that provided technical help to Moscow in the aviation, automobile and naval industries. 5 A number of scholars contend that Italy's industry and banks were responsible for the military industrialization of the Soviet Union, greatly contributing to Russia's development of its oil and armament industries. The bustling trade between Fascist Italy and Soviet Russia lasted until 1941. But how did fascism become anchored to Marxism? Historically, fascism arose in the 1890s out of a crisis in Marxist theory which was making Marxism archaic, obsolete and irrelevant. One of its major crises dealt with class conflict. The problem was, few workers were interested in class struggle. Instead, the populace was drawn to the flags of nationalism, especially with the unification of Italy in 1861 and of Germany in 1871. In an attempt to save Marxism, a number of notable Marxist intellectuals attempted to replace class struggle with revolutionary nationalism. In a well-documented article,-The Mysteries of Fascism,‖ David Ramsay Steele explained:-Fascism began as a revision of Marxism by Marxists…‖ 6 That changed slightly in 1914, when Mussolini joined a splinter group of revolutionary syndicalists who supported Italy's entrance into World War I. This laborunion movement metamorphosed in 1914 into the Marxist-inspired Fasci d'Azione Rivoluzionaria Internazionalista-known as the Fascists-causing the infamous split between pro-war socialists and anti-war socialists. 7 Similar breaks occurred within communist and socialist communities across Europe.

This book analyses the relationship between Fascist Italy and the League of Nations in the interwar years. By uncovering the traces of those Italians working in the organization, this volume investigates Fascist Italy’s membership of the League, and explores the dynamics between nationalism and internationalism in Geneva. The relationship between Fascist Italy and the League of Nations was contradictory, shifting from active collaboration to open disagreement. Previous literature has not reflected this oscillation in policy, focusing disproportionally on the problems Italy caused for the League, such as the Ethiopian crisis. Yet Fascist Italy remained in the League for more than fifteen years, and was the third largest power within the institution. How did a Fascist dictatorship fit into an organization espousing principles of liberal internationalism? By using archival sources from four countries, Elisabetta Tollardo shows that Fascist Italy was much more concerned with, and involved in, the League than currently believed.

This piece seeks to contextualise the rise of Fascism in Italy after the First World War. From the Treaty of Versailles to the personal character of Mussolini, all key issues contributing to the rise of fascism are analysed vigorously.

Fascism: Journal of Comparative Fascist Studies, 2017

Racism, especially anti-Semitism, is typically seen as a crucial point of distinction between Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Based on a range of new materials, this article shows that Nazi policies of social exclusion were inspired by Mussolini’s regime. The main thesis is that racist thought and action were intrinsic elements of both regimes and constituted a unifying element between them. The paper looks at the way the National Socialists used Fascist Italy as a foil for their own dreams of racial regeneration before Hitler’s rise to power. It also examines the cooperation between the two regimes following the 1936 Axis alliance, especially in terms of policing and the exchange of information about ‘Aryanisation’. Conceptually speaking, the article argues that the methods of cultural history are highly useful for shedding new light on Axis relations.