An Analysis Of 20th Century Fascism
 The
previous chapter examined the cultural roots of fascism, how the ideology
was a re-awakening of pagan ideas reinforced by Darwinism. These facts
are most important for understanding the roots of the fascism and fascist
movements which sprung up in the 20th century. However, we
must also consider how these movements were able to come to power in so
many countries in the 20th century, what methods they employed
once they had done so, and the nightmare that resulted.
Right after the end of the First World War, the first fascist regime
of the 20th century was established in Italy by Benito Mussolini.
Hitler's Germany and Franco's Spain followed. In the 1930s, fascism became
a popular political ideology, fascist parties both great and small were
set up in many countries, and fascists came to power in Austria and Poland,
thus the whole of Europe was affected by it.
There are numerous similarities between fascism in Europe, where the
clearest examples of fascism were seen, and Latin America and Japan, where
the movement also took root and flourished. Generally speaking, fascism
made use of chaos and instability within a country to impose itself on
its inhabitants, by presenting itself as an ideology of salvation. Once
fascist governments were established, the people were kept under control
by a mixture of fear, oppression, and brainwashing techniques.
SOCIAL CRISES: FERTILE GROUND FOR FASCISM
There were great similarities in the social and psychological backgrounds
of those countries where fascist states came to be established. Most of
the countries concerned had been defeated and heavily damaged in the First
World War, and thus its people were worn-out and weary, having lost their
husbands, wives, children, and loved ones in the war. As well, these countries
suffered from a shattered economy, political instability, and a general
feeling that the nation was in a state of collapse. People were suffering
materially; the various political parties were incapable of rectifying
the nations' problems, in addition to fighting amongst themselves.
After World War I, much of the population
were either widowed or orphaned. People were dealing with the sorrow
of having lost loved ones and people close to them, and were also
suffering the psychological and economic problems brought on by
high unemployment. As a result, there emerged a longing for the
old days of glory.
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Essentially, the poverty Italy was faced with as a result of the First
World War was the most important factor in the rise to power of Italian
fascism. More than 600,000 Italians had died as a result of the war, and
up to half a million people were crippled. The greater part of the population
was made up of widows and orphans. The country was beleaguered by an economic
recession and high unemployment. Although the Italians had suffered great
losses in the war, they had achieved very few of their aims. Like many
other nations exhausted by the war, the Italian people longed to recapture
their honor and former glory.
Actually, this was a feeling that had been gathering increasing strength
since the end of the 19th century. Modern Italy looked back
with nostalgia at the greatness of the Roman Empire, and felt it had a
right to former Roman territory. Furthermore, there was a feeling of rivalry
with the major powers of the world, and Italy hoped to raise itself to
their rank, or, to rise to "the position it deserved." Affected by these
aspirations, the Italians hoped to become as powerful as Great Britain,
France and Germany.

THE SADDENING RESULTS OF WORLD WAR I
The "Great War" of 1914-1918 ruined Europe. 10
million people died, and many more millions suffered the emotional
and economic crises that resulted from it. Germany, in particular,
was eager for a way out. Fascism made use of the situation.
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Social, political and economic crises also played the major role in the
establishment of Nazism in Germany, which had been defeated in the First
World War. Unemployment and a financial crisis added to the disappointment
of defeat. Inflation rose to levels that had seldom been equaled. Small
children played with banknotes worth millions of marks, because money,
which lost value by the hour, had come to be worth no more than pieces
of paper. The Germans wanted to restore their lost honor and return to
a better standard of living. It was with the promise of fulfilling such
wishes that Nazism would emerge and win support.
Pre-fascist Spain also demonstrated close similarities to these counties.
The loss of its colonies on both sides of the American continent at the
beginning of the 19th century had led to a serious diminishment
of self-esteem. By the beginning of the 20th century, Spain
was in a state of semi-collapse. Its economy was failing, and the privileges
accorded to the aristocracy opened the way to great injustices. The Spanish
looked back to the days of a great and powerful Spain with great longing.
Another country where fascism came to have enormous influence was Japan.
In pre-fascist Japan, the higher strata of society were very concerned
about the spread of Marxist ideas among the young. But they were unable
to determine how to rid themselves from that pernicious ideology. In addition,
such social changes were very disconcerting for a society so tightly bound
to its traditions. Family bonds loosened, the divorce rate rose, respect
for the elderly diminished, customs and traditions were abandoned, an
individualist tendency began to emerge, degeneracy among the young reached
grievous proportions and there was an alarming increase in the suicide
rate. In these conditions, the future stability of the Japanese society
was regarded as in jeopardy. All of the above led to a backward-gazing
nostalgia. Longing for the glory days of the past, and attempts to revive
them, was the first trap the people fell into leading to their becoming
fully ensnared by a fascist regime.
Neither must we ignore the menace of communism, which at that time was
threatening to overtake the whole world. It may be that a number of nations
submitted themselves to fascist regimes in order not to fall victim to
that brutal, ruthless and oppressive ideology, escaping one evil only
to be trapped by another, believing fascism to be the "lesser of two evils."
THE VICIOUS CIRCLE OF THE DARWINIAN IDEOLOGIES:COMMUNISM
VS. FASCISM
People gathered in front of
the German Communist Party building in an anti-communist protest
in 1933, with SA units in the foreground. The slogan on the building
reads, "Forward with the struggle against the threat of war, fascism,
hunger and cold, in the name of work, bread and freedom." When the
fascist movement began to gain momentum, communism had already been
an emerging threat. In hopes of avoiding the brutality and oppressiveness
of communism, many countries turned to fascism as the answer, jumping
out of the frying pan and into the fire.
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THE UNEDUCATED: FASCISM'S HAPLESS PREY
Another
factor that opened the way to fascism was the ignorance and lack of education
of many communities. Education had suffered heavily during the chaos of
the First World War. A great number of young educated people had lost
their lives on the battlefield. In general, this led to a lowering of
the level of culture in society. It was largely the ignorant who supported
fascism, fought in its name, and became pawns of its chauvinistic policies.
Because the fundamental ideas on which fascism were based (in other words,
racism, romantic nationalism, chauvinism and fantasy) could only be widely
accepted by the uneducated, susceptible as they were to crude, facile
slogans.
Such people, seeing themselves as trapped, looked for easy way out. They
embraced fascist leaders, as if they were a kind of lifebelt, as Eric
Hoffer says in his book The True Believer:
For men to plunge headlong into an undertaking of vast change, they must
be intensely discontented yet not destitute, and they must have the feeling
that by the possession of some potent doctrine, infallible leader or some
new technique they have access to a source of irresistible power. They
must also have an extravagant conception of the prospects and potentialities
of the future. Finally, they must be wholly ignorant of the difficulties
involved in their vast undertaking.34
An examination of the societal conditions that preceded fascism makes
light of the fact that many people had just such a psychology.
THE METHODS BY WHICH FASCISM CAME TO POWER

Mussolini's quasi-paramilitary Black Shirts.
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Fascism had its first successes in Italy. Mussolini took advantage of
the social tensions and longing for change among the Italians, and after
the war, mobilized former soldiers, the unemployed and university students,
with slogans calling for a return of the glory days of ancient Rome. Mussolini
organized his supporters, known as "Black Shirts," in a quasi-military
format, and whose methods were founded on violence. They began to carry
out attacks in the streets against groups they identified as their rivals.
With their Roman greetings, songs, uniforms and official parades, they
aroused the emotions of the uneducated and the disenfranchised.
On October 29, 1922, 50,000 fascist militants under the command of six
generals marched on Rome. Because the king knew what the force that opposed
him was capable of, and that there was no way he could oppose them, he
called on Mussolini to form a government. As a result of the developments
that followed, the Italian fascists finally came to power. A while later,
Mussolini banned all other political parties. Some of the opposition leaders
were sent into exile abroad, and others were imprisoned.
THE COUP PERPETRATED BY MUSSOLINI'S
BLACK SHIRTS
Opposite. On October 29, 1922,
50,000 fascist militia, led by Mussolini, and under the command
of six generals, marched on Rome. The placards they carried read
"Rome or Death."
The picture on the left shows
the fascist militia entering the gates of Rome at the end of the
march. The march, with so many men, shouting slogans calling for
the return of the glory-days of ancient Rome, had a profound emotional
effect on an ignorant and despairing public, leading to ultimately
in perceiving fascism as a means to salvation.
 
The King of Italy, was unable to resist the
fascist gang who had occupied Rome, and called on Mussolini to establish
a government.
Italia Balbo, the general of the Black
Shirts.
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The Nazi movement, which began in the 1920s, carried out its first
act of violence in the Munich Beer Hall putsch. The picture below
shows a good number of the accused in the trial following the Beer
Hall putsch.
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Hitler came to power by similar methods. The Nazi movement was born in
the early 1920s, and carried out its first violent act in the Munich Beer
Hall putsch. On November 8, 1923, Hitler raided a meeting at the Munich
City Beer hall where Bavarian State Commissioner Gustav von Kahr was speaking
with military units, no different from an organized gang, and 600 SA troopers.
Hitler entered the meeting in a great rage and occupied the premises.
Firing at the ceiling, he said that he was announcing a national revolution.
But this coup was a failure. Hitler was arrested and lived as an exile
for nine months. Nonetheless, in later years, the Nazis grew stronger
by terrorizing their opponents and inciting anti-Semitic hatreds. Eventually,
the Nazi Party became an important party in parliament. Throughout all
this, of course, the Nazis frequently resorted to illegal methods, much
like the Italian Fascist party. On January 30, 1933, Hitler was made chancellor.
The post was conferred upon him by the elderly President Hindenburg, who
was aware that the growing power of the national Socialist Movement was
increasingly menacing, and therefore, made Hitler chancellor in order
to avert a civil war.

On January 30, 1933, Hitler was made Chancellor by President Paul
von Hindenburg.
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When Hitler again ran for election in March, like all fascist administrations,
the Nazis employed terror, intimidation, and deception. After the elections,
the German parliament immediately passed the Enabling Act, which made
Hitler dictator of Germany for four years.
In this manner, the administrative and law-making power came into Hitler's
hands. But, shortly thereafter, the extent of his powers were increased
still further. In August 1934, at the death of Hindenburg, the offices
of president and chancellor were joined together, with Hitler assuming
them both. Hitler followed policies much like those of Mussolini. In addition
to brute force, Hitler also made use of various types of anti-democratic
methods. For instance, he banned all opposition parties, and outlawed
trade unions, thereby completely eliminating personal freedoms. Nazi influence
was felt in all walks of life. Even university professors were required
to take an oath of loyalty to Hitler.
In Spain, Franco came to power in the aftermath of a bloody civil war.
Supported by Hitler and Mussolini, Franco's army defeated the communists
after a long and fierce war, and took power over the entire country. Franco
then set up a particularly oppressive regime, and ruled the country with
an "iron fist" until 1975.
BRAINWASHING TECHNIQUES OF FASCISM

Crowded Nazi rallies were held with rousing anthems and pomp, and
were specifically intended to awaken a feeling of awe and fear,
thus enthralling the ignorant public. Effectively, fascism was an
ideology based on emotion, not reason.
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There was one particularly egregious feature of Italian fascism and Nazi
Germany: its attempt to brainwash its citizens. This program was founded
on two basic components, education and propaganda.
In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote, "Propaganda is a means and must therefore
be judged with regard to its end... Propaganda in the War was a means
to an end, and the end was the struggle for the existence of the German
people; consequently, propaganda could only be considered in accordance
with the principles that were valid for this struggle. In this case the
most cruel weapons were humane if they brought about a quicker victory...
All propaganda must be popular and its intellectual level must be adjusted
to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to. Consequently,
the greater the mass it is intended to reach, the lower is purely intellectual
level will have to be."35
Hitler was certainly effective in his use of propaganda. For instance,
the well-known director Leni Riefenstahl was requested to produce a Nazi
propaganda film, Olympia. In Triumph of Will, another film by Riefenstahl,
Hitler was shown as an almost divine being. Pagan Nazi ideology was praised
in all these films, and ultimately imposed upon society. Olympia was one
of the old centers of ancient Greek pagan culture. The city, with its
famous statue of the Greek god Zeus, was a fitting symbol of the pagan
ideology of Nazism.
All fascist regimes, not just Hitler's, used propaganda in a most effective
way in order to impose their will on the public. Mussolini openly stated
this:
For me the masses are nothing but a herd of sheep as long as they are
unorganized... The Roman greeting, songs and formulas...all are essential
to fan the flames of the enthusiasm that keeps a movement in being...Everything
turns upon one's ability to control the masses like an artist.36
THE TOOLS OF FASCIST PROPAGANDA:INCITEMENT
AND ROMANTICISM
  
"I have no other desire than to be the
first soldier of the German Reich."
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"The German student fights for the Führer
and the people"
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"Victory for Germany means freedom for
Europe."
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The Nazis were highly effective
in their use of propaganda. In propaganda publications, Hitler was
portrayed as a divine being, while society as a whole was inspired
to war and violence. Above are examples of Nazi propaganda magazines
and newspapers, printed in various parts of Germany. Nostalgic and
emotionally laden messages are typified on the propaganda posters
below. The public were incited against an imaginary enemy, and ideas
such as "The German people," and "The German Army" became false
ideals honored by the public.
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Propaganda methods were also employed by Mussolini. Above are some
examples of publications reflecting Italian fascism and its pagan
roots. Below is a slogan employed by Mussolini which reveals the
thinking adopted by the educational system. It reads, "Believe,
obey, fight," which even primary schoolchildren were forced to learn
by heart.
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"THE DUCE, THE PERFECT MAN" PROPAGANDA IN ITALY
Images and publications trying to portray Mussolini as the perfect
man were widespread in fascist Italy. Images of him with farmers
in their fields, or with children in schools, were everywhere.
The picture above typifies Mussolini propaganda.
Propaganda posters (left) were also used for the purpose of inculcating
fascist ideals into society.
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THE USE OF PRESSURE TO ELIMINATE OPPOSED IDEAS

Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels (center)
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One interesting example of fascism's efforts to brainwash society were
the book burning ceremonies in Nazi Germany.
The first of these took place on May 10, 1933. Students from German universities,
which had previously been recognized as the best in the world, gathered
in Berlin and other German cities, and burned books which contained "un-German"
ideas. Thousands of books were burned, to the accompaniment of Nazi salutes,
songs and military music.
In Berlin, Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels gave a speech to
the students stating:

A call in a German youth magazine to celebrate a book burning.
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The breakthrough of the German revolution has again cleared the way on
the German path... The future German man will not just be a man of books,
but a man of character. It is to this end that we want to educate you.
As a young person, to already have the courage to face the pitiless glare,
to overcome the fear of death, and to regain respect for death-this is
the task of this young generation. And thus you do well in this midnight
hour to commit to the flames the evil spirit of the past. This is a strong.
great and symbolic deed-a deed which should document the following for
a world to know-Here the intellectual foundation of the November (Democratic)
Republic is sinking to the ground, but from this wreckage the phoenix
of a new spirit will triumphantly rise...37
The fascist state permits only its own ideology to be taught. Outside
of that, nobody must be allowed to think anything else, or else, he will
be punished, have his books burned, or be silenced in some other way.
Each individual is seen as a tool at the service of the ideology of the
state. Those who do not agree with the ideology are intimidated into doing
so.
Therefore, the educational system was rendered to the complete service
of the fascist state. The complete transformation of the educational system
was outlined in the 20th article of the basic principles of
National Socialism. Right from primary school, children were raised without
any ethical values or human feeling, and in a way devoid of affection
or compassion. They were educated under the principle that the strong
are most right, and that it is essential to employ force to achieve one's
aims. The organization created for German children between the ages of
10-18 was known as the Hitlerjugend, or Hitler Youth. All those who joined
the Hitler Youth were warned that they must be highly vigilant in their
daily lives, and should spy on all those opposed to the Nazis. Some of
them even denounced their own parents. The Hitler Youth grew steadily,
and by 1935, 60 percent of youth were enrolled in it.
NAZI BOOK BURNINGS
 
The fascist state allows only its own ideology to be read and taught,
being why book burnings are a distinctive feature of their methods.
These scenes are from a book burning ceremony carried out by German
university students in Berlin on May 10, 1933.
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Another tactic used by all fascist regimes has been to conceal the true
history from society, and in its place, to teach a fictitious version,
written by themselves. The purpose to this has been to build a culture
in which the fascists' ideals could thrive, enabling them to become both
more popular and more firmly rooted in society. The understanding of history,
as well as philosophy, throughout the educational process were entirely
monitored by the fascist state. As they were educated by the system, people
were entirely unaware that they were being brainwashed in fascist ideology,
and that all other ideas were completely censored.

Fascist propaganda was also aimed at young children. The above poster
reads, "Benito Mussolini loves children. And the children of Italy
love the Duce. Long live the Duce!" These and similar posters were
found in all schools in Mussolini's Italy.
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THE IDOLS OF FASCISM: THE SACRED LEADER

Although fascist propaganda tried to portray him as divine and infallible,
in actuality, Mussolini was psychologically ill and unbalanced. His
psychological problems could sometimes be discerned in his face. |
The most important element of fascism is the leader, whose name is given
prominence in every aspect of society. The Hitler, Mussolini and Franco
regimes were clear examples of this. The titles used by these dictators,
"Der Führer," "Il Duce" or "El Caudillo" all signify the same thing- "The
all-knowing leader." And, indeed, the three ran their respective states
totally according to their own desires, while their closest colleagues
and most senior officers were left out of the decision-making process.
Fascism ascribes an almost sacred power to the leader, in order that
he can maintain his appeal and increase his acceptance among the people.
The leader is the ruler of the whole country and of its people, portrayed
as being part of him. A Nationalist Socialist leader, Herr Spaniol, speaking
at Saarbruecken in January, 1935, said:
I do not believe that the Churches will continue to exist in their present
form. In the future religion will be called National Socialism. Its prophet,
its pope, its Jesus Christ, will be called Adolf Hitler.38
In a similar way, Mussolini was seen in Italy as someone with special
abilities, a superior being, chosen and formed especially for the task
in hand. The commandments and pronouncements issued by Mussolini were
called the "Fascist Decalogue," and the eighth of these, "The Duce is
always right," became a slogan that was heard all over Italy in the 1920s
and 30s.39 By 1935, membership of the fascist youth
organization, the Opera Nationale Balilla, became compulsory for all Italian
youth. Young Italians who became a member of Balilla swore to "...believe
in Rome the eternal... in the genius of Mussolini, in our Holy Father
Fascism."40
Another method employed to portray the fascist leader as sacred was the
putting up of his picture and statues all over the country. This had a
profound psychological effect on the public, who constantly felt themselves
within the leader's power and under his control, and even, that he was
always watching them.
THE FEELING THAT "HITLER IS ALWAYS
WATCHING YOU"

The reason why posters of the leader are displayed in all parts of
the country in fascist regimes is to make people feel he is always
watching them. In this manner, a "society of fear" is maintained. |
Mussolini's official propaganda service used to advise the press how,
when and which of his pictures was to be printed, on which page, in what
arrangement, and in what size. In these photographs, "Il Duce" appeared
before his people in pompous poses: brandishing a sword, stressing economic
development in a harvest area, addressing young fascists, as a tireless
worker or sportsman.
In each case, Mussolini was presented as the hero of the people. Newspaper
pages were adorned with pictures of him flying planes, jumping hurdles
on horseback, swimming, skiing in the Alps, fencing, in parachutist costume
etc.
So effective was this propaganda that even his oldest friends used to
stand to attention whenever they saw him. Thus Mussolini was able to satisfy
his enormous ego, not even allowing his oldest friends to sit down, but
keeping them on their feet for hours.
 
PORTRAITS OF A PSYCHOPATH
According to psychiatrists, Hitler suffered a number of complexes
and was psychologically unbalanced. But Nazi propaganda portrayed
him as the infallible leader of Germany.
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The methods employed to portray the fascist leader as superhuman, during
the eras of Hitler and Mussolini, are also used by modern fascists in
our own time. The fascist dictator in Iraq, Saddam Hussein, is such an
example. For years, the streets of fascist Iraq have been covered with
huge pictures of him. And, in them, he is shown in different roles as
leader of the people: as a farmer in the country, a worker in a factory,
as a soldier in the barracks. He makes his presence felt everywhere, in
an attempt to give the impression of being "one who sees and knows all,"
in other words, a sacred being.
FASCIST ROMANTICISM
A PEOPLE HYPNOTIZED BY NAZI PROPAGANDA
COULD NOT SEE THE TRUTH

Filled with awe for Hitler, the German people were capable of ignoring
the above evidence of massacres and torture. |
However, fascism certainly does not consist merely of the leader and
the fascist party around him. In both Nazi Germany and Italy, there was
tremendous popular support for the regime. This was produced in a number
of ways. Fascist regimes are not simply "authoritarian," crushing their
people into silence; they are also "totalitarian."
The particular feature that attracts people to a fascist ideology in
a totalitarian system is "extreme romanticism." People who have irrational
and romantic or emotional attachments to ideals and movements in their
own time or in history are easily led and manipulated, and can even be
provoked to commit crimes. If such people can be convinced that the cruelties
required of them are carried out for a sacred cause, such as the "superiority
of their own race," there is no limit to the injustices they can be deluded
into committing. Fascist regimes recognize this, and do their utmost to
keep their people in a state of irrational emotional exuberance and agitation.
They present what appear to be sacred values to the people and encourage
them in self-sacrifice for the sake of the state, to despise other nations
or races, and even to torture and kill.
For this reason, fascist regimes have always tended to attach great importance
to mass rallies, marches, meetings and ceremonies. Their aim is to form
a sheep-like sense of unity in the people. The people are first diverted
from religion with symbols, statues, days of remembrance, flags, torches,
and uniforms. Grand moving ceremonies are designed to replace the experience
of religious ones. These indoctrinated crowds conform to the fascist ideals,
in false joy and excitement, as if carrying out an act of divine worship.
The frequent repetition of written and shouted slogans, cries, martial
music and salutes are a vital part of fascist ceremonies.

THE VIOLENCE HIDDEN BEHIND THE SHOW
Overleaf. Nazi Germany attached great importance to superficial show.
The aim was to make people oblivious to its cruelty, and cast a spell
over society.
Above. A horrifying look at a mass grave, proof of Nazi atrocities. |
These fascist crowds are devoid of any kind of intelligent thought or
behavior. All that remains is a group of people whipped up by slogans,
songs and poems, but deaf to all reason. These masses, who identify themselves
and their leaders with heroes from mythology or legends from the past,
carry out their atrocities with an artificially induced sense of "heroism."
If the day comes when they are called to account for their actions, they
say they did it for the nation, and that they are actually its heroes.
Those who followed Hitler and Mussolini did so under the effects of such
hypnosis, perpetrating their atrocities in this state of false excitement.
Under fascism, a person's natural love for his people and country is
turned into a dangerous sentimentality and a mindless loss of self-control,
whereby whole societies are driven to kill by exploiting these emotions.
(see Romanticism: A Weapon of Satan, Harun Yahya)
FASCISM'S FALSE SACRED VALUES
 
Hitler with a blood flag, the most sacred symbol in nazi ceremonies.
The blood flag was the most sacred symbol in Nazi ceremonies. Tens
of thousands of other Nazi Party flags were touched with it, in the
belief that they would be effected by its "sacred" power. |
Fascism is a faulted creed which sets out to do away with divine religions
and to replace them with pagan beliefs. And, it is to be expected that,
if false, those values which it holds as sacred must also be false. For
instance, the Nazis repeatedly used the slogan "Blut and Boden" (Blood
and Soil), and made symbols out of both concepts. For instance, during
Hitler's unsuccessful putsch in 1923, one of the swastika flags, wet from
the blood of wounded Nazis, was turned into a sacred relic. Called "Blutfahne,"
(Blood Flag) it was conserved just as it was, and was the most sacred
symbol at all Nazi ceremonies. Other, new flags were touched to it, so
that it might transmit something of its own "sacred" quality.41
War and violence, two more fundamental elements of fascism, are pagan
concepts that it attempts to portray as sacred values. In divine religions,
the aim is to create a society and world free of violence and war, whereas
under fascism, war is a virtue by itself. Fascism believes that a people
gain honor and strength from the wars it wages and from its slain. Naturally,
this belief leads to further wars and the shedding of more blood. Fascism
continually prepares new atrocities and a river of bloodshed.
THE IMAGINARY ENEMIES OF THE FASCIST STATE
IMAGINARY ENEMIES, IMAGINARY PLOTS

A publication reflecting the paranoia of Nazi Germany, portraying
the French as an enemy.

An over-exaggerated message in a fascist poster, showing Italy chained
to the Mediterranean.
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Fascism is a completely hollow ideology, and needs to be in a constant
state of agitation in order to survive. The factor that most strengthens
the fascist state in the eyes of its people is the myth of "internal and
external enemies." All fascist states create imaginary enemies, and declare
all out war on them. The dictatorship seeks to strengthen by repeated
daily media coverage of glorious victories over the enemy. And this inspires
the belief that, "in order to protect the people from these great dangers,
it is necessary to be harsh and ruthless to the opposition." The fascist
regime clings to power with the ever-prevalent idea of "us and them,"
and of imaginary enemies of the people. A justification is thus provided
for the erosion of the force of law, violations of human rights, and state
terrorism. Those who criticize fascism are automatically accused of cooperating
with the imaginary enemy.
Hitler chose the Jews and communists, Mussolini the communists, and in
our own time, fascists such as Saddam Hussein the United States, and Slobodan
Milosevic the Muslims, as enemies, and all creating an artificial unity
with this imagined threat. This fictitious danger is fascism's most important
propaganda weapon, by which a grievous menace is said to exist, and the
fascist leader is portrayed as a "hero" who will save his people from
it. In this illusory scenario, the artificial enemy is always brought
under attack, and the fascist leader heroically repels him and defends
his people. That is why the people of Iraq are still so attached to Saddam
Hussein, despite all his oppression. Saddam has expertly managed to use
his own ruthlessness in the media to denounce other countries as enemies.
FASCIST PARANOIA
STATE TERROR AGAINST THE PEOPLE

A characteristic of the fascist state is its distrust of its own people.
Because fascists know they can only instill obedience and loyalty
by policies of fear and coercion, they established secret police and
intelligence units targeted against their own populations. The hundreds
of thousands of murders carried out by the Gestapo are testimony of
the extent of the paranoia of the fascist state. |
One of the most blatant features of the fascist state is its distrust
of its own people, and the way by which it attempts to eliminate everybody
it has doubts about through ruthless methods, even to the extent of murder.
Nearly all fascist regimes institute "secret police" forces to keep their
own populations under control and weed out the opposition. The infamous
Gestapo is a proof of the scale of the torture and savagery that the paranoia
of fascist regimes leads to. In his book The True Believer, Eric Hoffer
describes the policy of fear implemented by the Nazis to keep the public
under control.
The ran-and-file within the Nazi party were made to feel that they were
continually under observation and were kept in a permanent state of uneasy
conscience and fear. Fear of one's neighbors, one's friends and even one's
relatives seems to be the rule within all mass movements. Now and then
innocent people are deliberately accused and sacrificed in order to keep
suspicion alive.42
Fascism believes that if people are left to their own devices they will
both betray the regime and become decadent. The way to bring the people
to heel is by the use of repression. The French philosopher George Sorel
(1847-1922), one of the ideologues of fascism, and who was a particular
influence on Mussolini, heads the list of those who believed in the idea.
Sorel maintained that societies naturally became decadent and disordered.
In his view, this decay had to be prevented by the use of force, through
the establishment of a totalitarian order.
Fascist paranoia still continues today. It is this suspiciousness that
lies behind Saddam Hussein's having his closest relatives killed on possibility
of "betrayal." After ousting President Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr in 1979, Saddam
had more than half the Baath Party, of which he was a member, killed.
The criteria for eliminating people were their intentions, he said, to
avoid the harm they might cause the family in the future. His son Uday
is in charge of the terror machine of liquidating the "traitors" in the
family. Saddam's gang of assasins-all thugs, psycopaths and killers from
his own clan-became the core of a special security apparatus that he moulded
in 1960's on the Nazi SS style. It is known that Saddam showed them the
video of the Romanian dictator Nicolai Ceausescu's fall and execution
reminding them that they could meet an end similar to that of the securitate
if the regime was to fall.43
THE FASCIST LOVE OF VIOLENCE
In a report titled "British in Africa Lack Killer Urge" published in
The New York Times of June 24, 1942, James Aldridge describes the Nazi
view of war and killing in these words:
The German commanders are scientists, who are continually experimenting
with and improving the hard, mathematical formula of killing. They are
trained as mathematicians, engineers and chemists facing complicated problems.
There is no art in it, there is no imagination. War is pure physics to
them. The German soldier is trained with a psychology of the daredevil
track rider. He is a professional killer, with no distractions. He believes
he is the toughest man on earth.44
FASCISM'S SHOCK TROOPERS

A postcard printed to mark German Police Day
|

An SS march-past. |
Not only do fascists motivate their populations
by brainwashing, but also intimidate by means of terror. Special
units are set up to implement this policy of terror. The Nazis'
SA, SS and Gestapo are typical examples.
 
Above. The SS Deaths Head Division (SS-Totenkopf) was famous for
its ruthlessness. The above version of the Prussian-style death's
head was worn by the SS until 1934.Left. General Sepp Dietrich,
the commander of the Waffen-SS panzer corps.
|
This model of "professional killer" employed by the
Nazis is a common feature of fascism. Fascists regard the use of force
and violence as an end in itself. The influence of Darwinism plays a major
role here. The Darwinist superstitions that human beings are nothing but
developed animals, and that only the strong can survive, did away with
the ethical values. Love and compassion were replaced by feelings of aggression,
revenge and struggle, sentiments that were presented to people as a scientific
necessity.
Mussolini created concentration camps similar to those of the Nazis.
18,000 of the 35,000 people Mussolini incarcerated were killed. |
Fascists see conflict as a law of nature, and believe that peace, security
and comfort impede the progress of mankind. Mussolini's words, when opening
the Fascist Culture and Propaganda School in Milan in 1921, are an indication
of this, where he identified action as the force that would lead fascism
to victory.45
Acts of violence, destruction, assaults and fighting are what keep fascists'
morale at a high level. These are the exact opposite of peace, brotherhood,
peace and tranquility.

As the allied forces liberated Nazi-occupied lands, the brutal genocide
the Nazis carried out in the concentration camps came to light. 11
million people had been murdered with horrible mass extermination
methods, and those few who were still alive were half-dead. This form
of barbarity shows the extent of the catastrophes that Darwinist racism
has led to. |
The ignorance of the fascists also plays a pivotal role in their tendency
towards violence. That is why Hitler felt the need for fighters in his
racist regime, not intellectuals.
The Nazis' acts of violence were carried to that end by specially formed
organizations. The first of these, the SA (Sturmabteilung, or Storm Troopers)
were formed in 1920, and in 1921 they took on a paramilitary quality.
There were a great many street thugs in the ranks of the SA. The group
was also known as the "Brown Shirts," and was led by Ernst Röhm, known
for his psychopathic nature (and his homosexual tendencies). The SA carried
out countless acts of terrorism throughout the 1920s in order to strengthen
the Nazi Party. SA units carried out sudden attacks on opponents of the
Nazis, spilt blood in street fights, and tortured those opponents they
took as "prisoners of war." Hitler took pride in the violence of the SA.
In Mein Kampf, he described one "successful" attack that was carried out
on opponents of the Nazis:
When I entered the vestibule of the Hofbräuhaus [beer hall] at a quarter
of eight, there could indeed be no doubt with regard to the existing intention.
The room was overcrowded and had therefore been closed by the police...
The small S.A. awaited me in the vestibule. I had the doors to the large
hall closed and then ordered the forty-five or forty-six men to line up...
My storm troopers - for so they were called from this day on - attacked.
Like wolves they flung themselves in packs of eight or ten again and again
on their enemies, and little by little actually begun to thrash them out
of the hall. After only five minutes I hardly saw a one of them who was
not covered with blood.46
FRANCO AND HITLER'S BRUTAL ALLIANCE
The fascist General Francisco Franco led his country of Spain into
a bloody civil war in 1936, throughout which an average of 500 people
lost their lives every day. By the time it ended, some 600,000 had
died.
Franco's
greatest supporters were Hitler and Mussolini.
In return for Hitler's help, Franco gave to him the village of
Guernica as a gift, where he tested the giant bombers that had been
produced by Nazi technology. Left. Hitler and Franco shaking hands.
|
The SA began to fall from grace when the Nazis came to power, and the
star of the more professional SS (Schutzstaffel, or Guard Detachments),
with their military discipline, began to rise. This corp wore black shirts.
Young people were selected according to "racial criteria" for membership
in the SS. They had to possess Aryan racial features. The Waffen-SS was
the military wing of the SS. The Totenkopf, or Deaths Head, Division within
the Waffen-SS was particularly renowned for its cruelty, and was brought
in to man the concentration camps.
Similar camps had also been set up by Mussolini, and 18,000 of the 35,000
placed in these "extermination camps" were killed. There were a great
many other deaths, murders, and unsolved killings throughout the fascist
period in Italy. Mussolini admitted to the cruelty of fascism in one of
his speeches: "Fascism is no longer liberation but tyranny, no longer
the safeguard of the nation but the defense of private interests."47
It was also possible to see such examples of violence in Franco's Spain.
Even at the very outset of the civil war, Franco's ruthless methods had
attracted attention. For instance, in a small mountain village north of
Madrid, 18 people were arrested for voting for the Popular Front. After
questioning, 13 of these were taken out of the village by lorry and killed
by the side of the road. When the fascists entered the small town of Loro
del Rio with its population of 11,000 near Seville, they killed more than
300 people. Oppression took on a particularly violent form in the cities.
To such an extent that the number of those killed is even today not known
for certain.48 Franco had hundreds of thousands of his
own people killed, even including the elderly, women and children. The
words of a member of the anti-Franco resistance in June 1936 describes
the situation:
Thousands of people have been tortured, women who refused to turn in
their loved ones have been hung upside down, children have been shot,
and the mothers who witnessed the torture of their children have gone
mad…49
Franco dragged Spain into a terrible civil war. Brother fought against
brother, and father against son. An average of 500 people died every day.
Acts of violence, slaughter, mass torture, and killings went on without
end. The Spanish Civil War left some 600,000 dead in its wake.
Hitler and Mussolini used Spain as a laboratory, a testing-ground for
new troops and weapons.50 The most terrible example
of this was a village that Franco presented to Hitler as a gift in return
for his assistance. On the morning of May 5, 1937, the people of the village
of Guernica were wiped out by the huge bomber planes manufactured by Nazi
technology. Franco had left the little village as an experiment for Nazi
planes.51
FASCISM'S POLICY OF CONQUEST

Nazi General Erwin Rommel during the occupation of northern Africa
in 1942. |
Another feature without which fascism cannot survive is its policy of
expansion by conquering other countries. The basis of this policy of conquest
is racism, and the concept of "the struggle for survival between the races,"
a legacy of Darwinism. Fascist states believe that in order to develop
as a nation, they have to conquer weaker nations, and grow by absorbing
them.
According to fascist thinking, man can only progress by engaging in war.
Therefore, "militarism" is fascism's most defining characteristic. In
order to encourage this martial spirit, fascist parties attempt to impress
their citizens with their uniforms and pompous ceremonies. In Mussolini's
words, "Fascism... believes neither in the possibility nor the utility
of perpetual peace. War alone brings up to its highest tension all human
energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have courage
to meet it."52
Mussolini expressed his opposition to peace in another speech, saying,
"I do not believe in peace, but I find it depressing and a negation of
all human virtues of man."53
Mussolini inflicted great suffering, both on his own people and on those
in the countries he occupied, in the name of his ideology. He occupied
Ethiopia(Abyssinia) in 1935, and 15,000 innocent Muslims were killed towards
his dreams of "reviving the Roman Empire." He had no compunction about
ordering civilians who tried to fight the occupation to be shot. He was
also responsible for terrible atrocities through the use of poison gas
against civilians.
The most grievous example of fascism's politics of occupation is, of
course, Nazi Germany. The Nazis claimed that the Germans, "the master
race," needed "room to live" beyond the frontiers of Germany, and for
that reason sparked World War II. Within a very short time, the German
Army had occupied Poland, Belgium, the Baltic countries, France, the Balkan
peninsula and Northern Africa, invaded Russia as far as Moscow, and headed
from there to the Caspian Sea. This murder, which ultimately culminated
in a disaster for the German people as well as for those of other countries,
left 55 million dead, and was the bloodiest legacy of fascism in the 20th
century.
FASCIST ITALY'S OCCUPATION OF ETHIOPIA
  
Mussolini occupied Ethiopia
in 1935 with dreams of "restoring the Roman Empire." 15,000 innocent
Muslims were killed by the Italians. Mussolini gave the order that
any civilian who opposed the occupation should be shot, and carried
out massacres with the use of poison gas.
Left. Six Muslim Ethiopian resistance
fighters hanged by the Italian forces of occupation.
Fascist propaganda: The Italian occupation
was portrayed as bringing the "advanced" civilization of Rome to
Ethiopia.
|
 
Nazi Germany is the worst example of fascism's policy of occupation.
The map shows those countries under Nazi occupation at the end of
1942.
|
THE FASCIST SYSTEM'S ATTACK ON ART

Statue by Ferruccio Vecchi: "The Empire Emerging from the Duce's Head." |
Another disturbing aspect of fascism is that people living under such
a regime are unable to develop their artistic talents, and that their
scientific research fails to produce any productive results.
FASCISM'S ERRANT INTERPRETATION OF
ART 
Fascist ideology removes any aesthetic value from art and turns it
instead into a propaganda tool, as in this picture called "Friendship"
by the Nazi artist Helmut Ullrich. The themes in this picture are
"The heroic German warrior" and "A child representing the Aryan race." |
In order to determine the reason for this, we must first define what
art is. Art is found in people taking pleasure in beauty and wanting to
express it. Therefore, it first of all requires a soul capable of appreciating
beauty. For instance, an artist who possesses feelings such as love and
affection can see beauty in an animal, a landscape, or a plant. He experiences
a feeling of joy, which he then tries to depict. A composer, in the presence
of such beauty produces beautiful music, because his soul, feeling that
beauty, longs to express it. The same applies to every other type of art,
from literature to music.
However, it is impossible for those with a dark and cold soul, who are
used to oppression and cruelty, and who have lost all semblance of humanity,
to produce art. It is impossible for a person who believes in aggression
and the superiority of force, who considers that bloodshed is necessary,
who sees the world as a battleground, a kind of arena where only the strong
have the right to live, to be affected by the beauties of nature or human
beings, and influenced by their intricacies.
Those are the characteristics of fascists, and therefore, it is impossible
for a fascist to possess any artistic feeling. The fascist soul is utterly
debilitated and ignorant, and lacks all understanding, and considers art
"unnecessary."
Actually, the fascists' hostility to art goes back to ancient Sparta,
that ancient city which they took as a model. At a period when art was
greatly prized in Athens, Sparta saw art as unnecessary, and raised its
citizens instead to become warriors from an early age. It was virtually
forbidden for Spartan children to take an interest in subjects such as
reading and writing or art in their education.

A publicity poster for an exhibition held by the Nazi administration
in 1938. The aim of the exhibition was to display and denigrate works
that did not conform to Nazi cultural policies. |
In 20th century fascist states, works of art, if any, were
prepared and controlled by the state to serve as propaganda. These were
the products of a soulless and mechanical "art to order." No real works
of art emerged. For instance, only those subjects that the state allowed
could be painted, such as war. Subjects disliked by the state were forbidden.
The same applied to the written word, only those things the fascist state
permitted could be written about, and nothing else. As a result, art totally
unrelated to true art emerged, that, aesthetically, rendered art, architecture
and literature rigid, soulless and dull.

IN FASCISM, "ART EQUALS WAR"
The artistic themes most frequently employed in Nazi Germany were
"heroism" and "war." This is evident in Franz Eichhorst's The Warrior
in Poland. |
The most obvious examples of this were seen in Hitler's Germany. Because
of his racist views, Hitler boycotted certain art forms. For example,
because he looked on Africans as an "inferior race," the playing of jazz
was forbidden in Germany, for it was regarded as "black man's music."
In 1935, Eugen Hadamowski, the head of German radio, announced that by
order of Hitler, he prohibited the playing of Negro jazz on German radio.
At the beginning of the 1940s, at the height of Hitler's power, jazz
began to be used as a propaganda tool in radio broadcasts directed at
Great Britain and America. At that time, and in most countries, jazz was
one of the most popular forms of music. Europe's greatest jazz musicians
were brought together. The first thing done was to translate all the English
names of the famous jazz songs into German. The lyrics of these songs
were altered to conform with Nazi propaganda, and was played only on programs
aimed at the West, and completely forbidden on domestic German radio.
The lyrics of the songs were entirely fascist in content. Here is one
example.

A 1940 wall painting by Massimo Campigli, one of the Italian artists
employed by the fascist administration, at the entrance to Padua University. |
You're the greatest… You're a German pilot… You're machine gun fire…
You're a heroic submariner… You're the greatest… You're a German bomber…54
That was the Nazis' idea of art and music. Paintings, song lyrics, music
and literature were all expected to include subjects approved of by the
state. Painters could only paint subjects that encouraged the spirit of
war.

Another intention of fascist art is to portray the leader as sacred.
This was the aim in Hubert Lanzinger's portrait of Hitler The Flag-Bearer. |
For instance, when the above-mentioned "state controlled jazz group"
produced a record that did not consist of Nazi propaganda, they were immediately
accused of being "degenerate" and warned never to try such a thing again.
And, that was not the end of Hitler's measures against artists. After
the race laws of 1933, the Reichsmusikkammer (Reich Music Chamber) required
a registry of all German musicians.
As a result, hundreds of talented composers had their work deliberately
suppressed and careers ended simply because their race or style of music
offended the Third Reich. Famous works by Mendelssohn, Mahler and Schoenberg
were used as examples of unacceptable music.55
According to Hitler, the role of art was to carry political messages
in order to shape the mind of the public. What to Hitler was true art
was that which portrayed life in the countryside, the healthy, and the
Aryan race. In one speech, he offered his views on art and artists:
We shall discover and encourage the artists who are able to impress upon
the State of the German people the cultural stamp of the Germanic race...
in their origin and in the picture which they present they are the expressions
of the soul and the ideals of the community.56
As can be discerned from all that has been mentioned, the artistic talents
and scientific endeavor of people living under fascist regimes are ultimately
fruitless. On the other hand, however, a society which lives by true religion
sees great progress and development in the arts. Since religious people
know that the universe and all living things in it were created by God,
they look at everything around them with the intention of recognizing
their beauty. They see the art in God's creation and are in awe of it.
They see people, animals, plants and everything in nature as God's creations,
and both love and appreciate them, realizing their beauty and detail.
In fact, the greatest works of art in history arose out of inspiration
artists have found in religious subjects.
FASCISM'S HATRED OF WOMEN
There is another little known but exceedingly important aspect of fascism.
It has an inimical attitude towards women, and sees them as inferior to
men.
This fact is recognizable in words and statements of 20th
century fascist leaders. For instance, Mussolini's statement to Maurice
de Valeffe, a reporter for the French publication Journal, on Nov. 12,
1922, openly belittled women:
There are those who say that I intend to limit the right to vote. No!
Every citizen will keep his right to vote for the Rome Parliament… Let
me also admit to you that I am not thinking of extending the vote to women.
There would be no point. My blood opposes all kinds of feminism when it
comes to women participating in state affairs. Naturally a woman shouldn't
be a slave, but if I conceded her the vote, I'd be laughed at. In our
state, she must not count.57
During the serious economic crisis beginning in 1930, Mussolini ordered
that women should leave their places of work. Because he saw women as
"thieves who reach out to steal men's bread, and responsible for men's
unproductiveness."58
The Duce's views on women are strikingly apparent in an interview he
granted the French journalist Hélène Gosset in 1932:

Fascism is mired by a hatred of woman, whom it regards as inferior. |
Women must submit… Even if they have an analytical power, they have no
synthetic one. Have they ever put up an architectural structure? I am
not talking about a temple: a woman could do no better than erecting a
hut. Women are strangers to architecture, the synthesis of all the arts:
and their destiny ends at this point.59
Through various measures, restrictions on women in the workplace were
also imposed in education. For instance, a decree of Jan. 30, 1927 forbade
women in high school from taking classes in literature and philosophy.
A decree passed in 1928 resorted to legal measures to oppose women's education,
and women were prevented from becoming directors of middle schools. Female
students were required to pay double the fees in schools and universities.
A decree which Mussolini put before Parliament on Nov. 28, 1933 declared,
"State bodies are empowered to impose conditions excluding women in advertisements
for exams to take on new employees.. They must impose limits against a
rise in the number of female workers in public offices…"60
According to a decree instituted by force of law on Sept. 1, 1938, women
could only make up 10 percent of the workforce in public offices.
In Nazi Germany the status of women as "second class citizens" was even
more pronounced. The German Education Ministry decided that women should
make up no more than 10 percent of high school graduates. In 1934, only
1,500 out of every 10,000 female high school graduates were allowed to
proceed to higher education. In 1929, there were 39 National Socialist
education bodies. Only two of these were for women. Laws were passed banning
women from taking Latin classes in middle school: before having even finished
high school, they were prevented from going on to university.61
These decrees did not just represent a social ideology or merely imposed
regulations to foster a division of labor, they were actually the implementation
of the biological dogma of Nazism. Maria A. Macciocchi, author of Eléments
pour une Analyse du Fascisme comments that in the eyes of the Nazis, women
were a kind of animal.62 According to such a philosophy,
women were a primitive race, at a lower level in biological terms.63
THE DARWINIST ROOTS OF THE HOSTILITY TO WOMEN
The root of this prejudice among fascists towards women was, as in so
many other matters, Darwinism. Fascists did not merely appropriate the
idea of the inequality between the races from Darwinism, they also adopted
the idea that men were superior to women.
In The Descent of Man, Darwin wrote that women some of whose "powers
of intuition, of rapid perception, and perhaps of imitation are characteristic
of the lower races, and therefore of a past and lower state of civilisation."64
According to Darwin, evolution meant "a struggle of individuals of one
sex, generally males, for the possession of the other sex."65
In the Descent, Darwin also wrote, "Man is more powerful in body and
mind than woman, and in the savage state he keeps her in a far more abject
state of bondage than does the male of any other animal; therefore it
is not surprising that he should have gained the power of selection."66
Evolution was in the hands of men, and women were basically passive. As
a result, women had evolved less and were more primitive, for which reason
women were dominated by instinct and emotions, which was their "greatest
weakness."67
Darwin maintained his views on the superiority of men and its importance
for evolution throughout his life. He had this to say about this issue
also by referring to his cousin Francis Galton's theories:
The chief distinction in the intellectual powers of the two sexes is
shewn by man's attaining to a higher eminence, in whatever he takes up,
than can woman-whether requiring deep thought, reason, or imagination,
or merely the use of the senses and hands. If two lists were made of the
most eminent men and women in poetry, painting, sculpture, music (inclusive
both of composition and performance), history, science, and philosophy,
with half-a-dozen names under each subject, the two lists would not bear
comparison. We may also infer, from the law of the deviation from averages,
so well illustrated by Mr. Galton, in his work on Hereditary Genius, that
if men are capable of a decided pre-eminence over women in many subjects,
the average of mental power in man must be above that of woman.68
Darwin's views could also be recognized in his personal outlook towards
women. He described a woman's role in marriage as "constant companion,
(friend in old age) who will feel interested in one, object to be beloved
and played with-better than a dog anyhow-Home, and someone to take care
of house ..."69 It is evident that Darwin looked at
women and the institution of the family from a materialistic standpoint.
There was not a trace of love, respect, loyalty, affection or compassion
in his outlook.
The evolutionist and materialist Carl Vogt, a contemporary of Darwin
and a Geneva scholar of the mid nineteenth century, also held disparaging
views regarding women. "We may be sure that wherever we perceive an approach
to the animal type the female is nearer to it than the male" he wrote.
"Hence we should discover a greater [apelike] resemblance if we were to
take a female as our standard."70
Many evolutionists, following Darwin, have continued to maintain that
women are inferior to men, both biologically and intellectually. Some
evolutionists have even classified men and women as two distinct psychological
species: males were homo frontalis, females homo parietalis.71
One evolutionist, Elaine Morgan, noted that Darwin had motivated men into
researching the reasons why women were "manifestly inferior and irreversibly
subordinant".72
Paul Broca (1824-1880), an evolutionist physicist and anthropologist,
was particularly interested in the differences in intelligence and brain
size between men and women, ascribing their inferior intelligence to the
smaller size of their brains.
Another follower of Darwin, the evolutionist social psychologist Gustave
Le Bon, wrote;
In the most intelligent races ... are a large number of women whose brains
are closer in size to those of gorillas than to the most developed male
brains. This inferiority is so obvious that no one can contest it for
a moment; only its degree is worth discussion. ... Women ... represent
the most inferior forms of human evolution and ... are closer to children
and savages than to an adult, civilized man. They excel in fickleness,
inconsistency, absence of thought and logic, and incapacity to reason.
Without a doubt there exist some distinguished women ... but they are
as exceptional as the birth of any monstrosity, as, for example, of a
gorilla with two heads; consequently, we may neglect them entirely.73
Therefore, at the basis of fascism's disparagement of and contempt for
women lies the theory of Darwinism. Mussolini's taking away of women's
social rights, and Hitler's building of "breeding farms" to reproduce
the superior race and obliging young girls to sleep with SS officers,
are all reflections of fascists' attitudes to women. Both Darwinists and
fascists are enemies of women. They see them as an inferior and backward
species, and both despise them, as well as employing discriminatory and
oppressive methods against them.
This fascist perspective is completely at odds with the ethics of the
Koran. God has commanded in the Koran that women should be cherished,
respected, and protected. In addition, He has shown examples of women
with superior morals, such as Mary and the wife of Pharaoh. In the eyes
of God, superiority does not lie in race, sex or rank, but in closeness
to Him and strength of belief. In a number of verses of the Koran, God
has revealed that all believers will receive their reward without discrimination
between men and women. Their Lord responds to them: "I will not let the deeds
of any doer among you go to waste, male or female-you are both the same
in that respect…" (Koran, 3:195) Anyone, male or female, who does right actions and is
a believer, will enter the Garden. They will not be wronged by so much
as the tiniest speck. (Koran, 4:124) Anyone who acts rightly, male or female, being a believer,
We will give them a good life and We will recompense them according to
the best of what they did. (Koran, 16:97)
However, as religion was abandoned, these truths were abandoned with
it, and in their place were provided superstitions such as fascism and
Darwinism, in which all forms of discrimination based on sex or race are
seen as justified.
FASCISM'S SEXUAL DEVIATIONS
The hostility to women that we have so far examined is actually the manifestation
of a dark subconscious tendency. Fascism equated feelings such as love,
compassion and affection with womanhood, and thus regarded it as despicable.
On the other hand, tendencies such as the love of war, bloodlust and ruthlessness
were seen as typically "male," and for that reason "manliness" was elevated
to the point of being sacred.

The Nazis' tendencies towards homosexuality were inspired by the prevalence
of it in ancient pagan societies, especially in ancient Greece. This
statue by Josef Thorak, called Kameradschaft (Friendship), reflects
the Nazis' idea of sexuality. |
When fascism's myth of "manliness" is examined a bit closer, however,
there we find homosexuality hidden within it. This little known but important
connection between fascism and homosexuality dates back as far as ancient
Sparta.
In earlier chapters of this book, we saw that fascism was founded on
pagan culture, and that it emerged together with claim of re-awakening
paganism. The most defining characteristic of paganism is that it lacks
the moral criteria and laws revealed by God. In the pagan world, therefore,
sexual deviance of all kinds was able to flourish. It was the city-states
of ancient Greece that brought these to their highest point. In Athens
and Sparta, homosexuality was seen as quite normal, an acceptable relationship,
and even a virtue.
In Sparta especially, the ancestor of fascism, a special importance was
attributed to the concept of "manliness," and under the name of "love
of man," homosexuality was widely accepted. Spartan soldiers believed
that they increased their strength by having sexual relations with each
other. The historian Plutarch of Chaeronea, who lived around 50-120 A.D.,
wrote of "the sacred battalion" of Thebans made up of 150 male homosexual
pairs.74 In Sparta, all healthy male children were taken
into the army at the age of 12, and were immediately raped by experienced
soldiers. It was believed that these perverted relations were the greatest
source of strength for the Spartan army, with its "warrior" culture and
passion for bloodshed.
Such a debased and deviant culture raised its head again with the neo-pagan
movement of the 19th century. And, the major center of this
deviancy was Germany. The leader of the movement, Adolf Brand, founded
the Gemeinschaft der Eigenen (Community of the Elite) in 1902, together
with Wilheml Jansen and Benedict Friedlander, both of whom were known
for their deviant sexual tendencies. Friedlander published a book called
Renaissance des Eros Uranios (Renaissance of Uranian Erotica) in 1904.
On the cover was a picture of a naked Greek youth. Friedlander explained
the aim of the book in these words:

According to the documents cited in The Pink Swastika, homosexual
tendencies among Nazis were very widespread. |
The positive goal...is the revival of Hellenic chivalry and its recognition
by society. By chivalric love we mean in particular close friendships
between youths and even more particularly the bonds between men of unequal
ages.75


There were so many homosexuals in the Nazi movement that the Nazi
Party has been compared to a "homosexual club." Above: SS Chief Heinrich
Himmler with his officers. |
The aim of the community was to transform Germany from a Judeo-Christian
society to a Greco-Uranian one.76 This deviant organization
was also known for its racism. Referring to the ideas of the Community
of the Elite, Kurt Hildebrandt, the leader of the Society for Human Rights
established in 1923, wrote in his book Norm Entartung Verfall (Ideal,
Degeneration, Ruin) that the superior race was that composed of homosexuals.
In his view, relations with women were only necessary for "reproductive
reasons," but that in order to achieve an "ultramasculine" race, sexual
"love" between men was essential.
These ideas were none other than those of the Nazi Party, which was basically
a "homosexual club."
This fact was set out by Scott Lively and Kevin Abrams in their book
The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party, a wide-ranging study.
The book examines both pre-Nazi movements and organizations, as well as
the Nazi Party leadership, and reveals that there was a large number of
homosexuals within it. It explains, with historical documentation, how
the Nazis' policy of rounding up homosexuals and sending them to concentration
camps was all for show, and that by doing so, senior Nazi leaders were
trying to cover up their own practices. Among the known Nazi homosexuals
were SA chief Ernst Röhm, Gestapo chief Reinhard Heydrich, Luftwaffe chief
Herman Goering, Rudolf Hess, leader of the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth)
organization Baldur von Schirach, Nazi Germany's Finance Minister Walther
Funk, and Hitler's land Forces commander Freiherr Werner von Fritsch.
There is also evidence to suggest that SS chief Himmler and Hitler himself
also had homosexual tendencies.77
The Pink Swastika also demonstrates that this tendency was not restricted
to Nazis in Germany, and that there are many homosexuals in neo-Nazi movements
and racist organizations active in the United States, and shows that such
deviance is a regular feature of fascism. Fascist pagans indulge in the
sin as related in the Koran, that of the people to whom the prophet Lot
was sent.
However, those who engage in these practices must not forget what happened
to the people of Lot. The disaster visited on them is described in the
Koran in this way: And Lot, when he said to his people, "Do you commit an
obscenity not perpetrated before you by anyone in all the worlds? You
come with lust to men instead of women. You are indeed a depraved people."
The only answer of his people was to say, "Expel them from your city!
They are people who keep themselves pure!" So We rescued him and his family-except
for his wife. She was one of those who stayed behind. We rained down a
rain upon them. See the final fate of the evildoers! (Koran, 7:80-84)
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