Fascist Histories, Part II:

Exercising Authoritarianism
By Amy Elizabeth Robinson

Leadership looks different in various times and places. During a frightening and
unstable time, fascist leaders saw an opportunity to experiment with the extremes
of authoritarianism. A few people might have realized that these experiments
were shaping horrors to come, but most people barely recognized the danger.

750L
Fascist Histories, Part II: Exercising Authoritarianism
Amy Elizabeth Robinson

Introduction
When we look back on history, we often find patterns. We see them just before terrible events occurred. The rise
of authoritarianism, including fascism, paved the way for leaders in many countries to command the obedience of
whole populations. In some ways, their actions were like experiments. They pushed the boundaries of authoritarian
rule to see what they could get away with. When nobody stopped them, they became bolder and more aggressive.
This article details some of those experiments.

Italian East Africa

Mussolini was the founder of the Italian National
Fascist Party. He was among the first to
experiment in this way. Mussolini promoted the
ideas of la razza and la stirpe (“the race” and “the
lineage”). Italians were members of both. But
outsiders and immigrants were not. His
government also argued that Italians needed
colonies. They would provide national Spazio Vitale,
or “vital space.” This policy had deadly
consequences for Africans in Libya and Ethiopia.

In the 1920s, Mussolini pursued an aggressive

foreign policy. First, he attacked the Greek island
of Corfu. He had plans to expand into the Balkans.
He also supported the brutal suppression of anti-
colonial resistance in Libya. His military leaders
used chemical weapons, forced starvation,
concentration camps, and mass resettlement of
African Libyans. They did so to make space for
Italian settlers. In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia. It
used similar tactics.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Mia Fuller are historians.

They argue that the Italian colonies provided
“testing grounds for strategies of governance
and repression.” In 1938, Mussolini published
a “Manifesto of Fascist Racism.” It declared
state policy of discrimination against Africans, A postage stamp from Italian-ruled Libya. The modern Italian soldier on
Arabs, and Jews. These groups, he claimed, the stamp is dressed like a Roman legionnaire. The Fascists argued that
were biologically different from “western in invading Libya, they were creating a new Roman Empire, thus playing
Mediterranean” and European people. They were to Italian nationalism. Public domain.
to be excluded.

2
Fascist Histories, Part II: Exercising Authoritarianism
Amy Elizabeth Robinson

German Lebensraum
German imperialism was long based on a theory of colonial growth. It was called Lebensraum. This means “living
space”. Lebensraum was popular before and during Nazi rule. In the 1890s and 1900s, Germany expanded its
colonies. They were in South West Africa (modern-day Namibia) and the Pacific. The Germans did so to provide
wealth and “habitat” for German settlers. Between 1904 and 1908 the German military used concentration camps
and slave labor in South West Africa.

Under Adolf Hitler, Lebensraum became clearly connected to race and antisemitism. The Nazis tried to define who
belonged in the German “nation.” They tried to expel and discriminate against those who they believed did not.
Hitler’s eugenic forced sterilization program began in 1933.1 Before World War II even began Nazi doctors sterilized
over 350,000 people. These were people they judged to be exhibiting “social deviance,” or disability.

In 1935, the Nazis passed the Nuremberg Laws. These laws defined who had “German” blood and who did not. They
stripped citizenship from both Jews and Roma.

The Soviet Union

Josef Stalin ruled the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. Stalin used violence and propaganda
to maintain order and power. However, he was not a fascist leader. Communist ideology was internationalist and
anti-racist. It was committed to regarding all people (both men and women) as workers. But in practice, communism
did not always match its ideology. In the 1930s, the Soviet Union was a place of intense violence and fear.

In 1931-32, a poor harvest was made worse by Soviet economic policies. This created famine conditions. The
government blamed the situation on kulaks. Kulaks were better-off peasants. It is estimated that between 3.3 million
and 7.5 million people died in Ukraine during this famine. Another 2 million died in Kazakhstan. This catastrophic
man-made famine is known as the Holodomor.

Stalin and his supporters identified their enemies in political and social ways. They did not use race. Stalin
was obsessively focused on getting rid of enemies. This resulted in the Great Purge of 1936-38. During this
time, about one-third of the Communist Party’s three million members were killed. Another million were sent to
prisons called Gulags.

Japan
In the 1930s, the Japanese government increasingly came under the control of authoritarian governments. Although
not really fascist, these governments were heavily influenced by military and industrial leaders. Both sectors
wanted Japan to take over territories in Asia. Japan had a problem. It had too few natural resources. They needed
minerals, timber, and oil from abroad. Japan already had some colonies. They had one in Korea. But many military
and business leaders argued that Japan deserved to rule most of Asia. They believed Japan could rule other Asians
better than the Europeans.

In 1931, Japanese forces invaded Manchuria, in China. Five years later they conquered Inner Mongolia as well. A
year later they pushed into northern China. Resistance was unnoticed at first. However, it grew rapidly as Japanese
forces attacked the Chinese capital of Nanjing. Japanese troops killed as many as 300,000 civilians.

1 Eugenics is a set of beliefs that the human species can be improved through selective breeding. It is widely regarded as fake science. It is seen as
an excuse for “scientific” racism.
3
Fascist Histories, Part II: Exercising Authoritarianism
Amy Elizabeth Robinson

An etching of refugees fleeing Manchuria after the Japanese invasion.

By Albert Lloyd Tarter, Wellcome Collection gallery, CC BY 4.0.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government pushed down any opposition to their war effort. It became dangerous to
question the government or the military.

Conclusion
The Italian, German, Japanese, and Soviet authoritarian efforts in the 1920s and 1930s had their differences. But
we can also see similarities in the ways that they emerged. For example, all of them embraced nationalism. They all
justified violence against civilians. They also happened in a similar time period. This suggests that there was some
global pattern making them all possible. By the early twentieth century, events in one place could have widespread
consequences. And indeed, rising instability, aggression, racism, and fear sparked the Second World War.

4
Fascist Histories, Part II: Exercising Authoritarianism
Amy Elizabeth Robinson

Amy Elizabeth Robinson

Amy Elizabeth Robinson is a freelance writer, editor, and historian with a Ph.D. in the History of Britain and the British Empire
from Stanford University. She has taught at Sonoma State University and Stanford.

Image credits
Cover: 4th Anniversary of Italian Republic parade, with Italian troops and visiting Nazi dignitaries in the Piazza Venezia, as seen
from the steps of the Victor Emmanuel II Monument. © Thomas D. Mcavoy/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
A postage stamp from Italian-ruled Libya. The modern Italian soldier on the stamp is dressed like a Roman legionnaire. The
Fascists argued that in invading Libya, they were creating a new Roman Empire, thus playing to Italian nationalism. Public
domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stamp_Italian_Libya_1921_1c.jpg
An etching of refugees fleeing Manchuria after the Japanese invasion. By Albert Lloyd Tarter, Wellcome Collection gallery, CC
BY 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:People_deserting_their_homes,_in_Manchuria,_as_a_result_of_b_Wellcome_
V0010672.jpg

The Lexile® Framework for Reading

Articles leveled by Newsela have been adjusted along several
dimensions of text complexity including sentence structure,
vocabulary and organization. The number followed by L indicates
the Lexile measure of the article. For more information on Lexile
measures and how they correspond to grade levels: www.lexile.
com/educators/understanding-lexile-measures/
To learn more about Newsela, visit www.newsela.com/about.
The Lexile® Framework for Reading evaluates reading ability and
text complexity on the same developmental scale. Unlike other
measurement systems, the Lexile Framework determines reading
ability based on actual assessments, rather than generalized
age or grade levels. Recognized as the standard for matching
readers with texts, tens of millions of students worldwide receive
a Lexile measure that helps them find targeted readings from
the more than 100 million articles, books and websites that have
been measured. Lexile measures connect learners of all ages
with resources at the right level of challenge and monitors their
progress toward state and national proficiency standards. More
information about the Lexile® Framework can be found at
www.Lexile.com.