Kids biography of fascism

Benito Mussolini, February 1939  ©Mussolini was the founder of Fascism and leader of Italy from 1922 to 1943. He allied Italy with Nazi Germany and Japan in World War Two.

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born on 29 July 1883 in Predappio in northern central Italy. His father was a blacksmith. Employment prospects in the area were poor so in 1902 Mussolini moved to Switzerland, where he became involved in socialist politics. He returned to Italy in 1904, and worked as a journalist in the socialist press, but his support for Italy's entry into World War One led to his break with socialism. He was drafted into the Italian army in September 1915.

In March 1919, Mussolini formed the Fascist Party, galvanising the support of many unemployed war veterans. He organised them into armed squads known as Black Shirts, who terrorised their political opponents. In 1921, the Fascist Party was invited to join the coalition government.

By October 1922, Italy seemed to be slipping into political chaos. The Black Shirts marched on Rome and Mussolini presented himself as the only man capable of restoring order. King Victor Emmanuel invited Mussolini to form a government. Mussolini gradually dismantled the institutions of democratic government and in 1925 made himself dictator, taking the title 'Il Duce'. He set about attempting to re-establish Italy as a great European power. The regime was held together by strong state control and Mussolini's cult of personality.

In 1935, Mussolini invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) and incorporated it into his new Italian Empire. He provided military support to Franco in the Spanish Civil War. Increasing co-operation with Nazi Germany culminated in the 1939 Pact of Steel. Influenced by Hitler, Mussolini began to introduce anti-Jewish legislation in Italy. His declaration of war on Britain and France in June 1940 exposed Italian military weakness and was followed by a series of defeats in North and East

Fascism is a form of government in which most of the country's power is held by one ruler. Fascist governments are usually totalitarian and authoritarianone-party states. Under fascism, the economy and other parts of society are heavily and closely controlled by the government. The government uses violence to arrest, kill, or otherwise stop anyone it does not like.

Three large fascist countries were Italy under Benito Mussolini, NaziGermany under Adolf Hitler, and Spain under Francisco Franco.

Mussolini invented fascism in Italy in the late 1910s and developed it fully in the 1930s. When Hitler came to power in Germany in the 1930s, he copied Mussolini.

Main ideas

Not all scholars agree on what fascism is. Philosopher Jason Stanley of Yale University says it is "a cult of the leader who promises national restoration in the face of humiliation brought on by supposed communists, Marxists and minorities and immigrantts who are supposedly posing a threat to the character and the history of a nation." This means:

• Fascism focuses on one person as a leader.
• Fascism says communism is bad.
• Fascism says that at least one group of people is bad and has caused the nation's problems. This group could be people from other countries or groups of people within the country.
• Fascism promises to fix those problems by getting rid of the group of people it sees as bad.

Under Hitler's fascist Germany, the government blamed Jews, communists, homosexuals, the disabled, Roma and other people for Germany's problems. They arrested those people, and took them to camps to be killed.

In 2003, Dr. Lawrence Britt wrote "14 Defining Characteristics of Fascism:"

1. Nationalism: saying one's own country is better than other countries
2. Hate for human rights
3. Scapegoating: blaming someone else for the country's problems
4. Putting the military first
5. Sexism: saying men are better than women
6. Control of mass media: telling newspapers and other sources of news what t

The Young Person’s Illustrated Guide to American Fascism
by Sue Coe and Stephen Eisenman
OR Books, £17.99

IT may seem somewhat contradictory to admire a book and be critical at the same time.

This book is undoubtedly praiseworthy, simply on the basis of its aim in exposing creeping fascism in the US and for the powerful series of linocuts and drawings by Sue Coe that visualise the danger.

In his introduction Profesor Stephan Eisenman provides an excellent and succinct history of fascism and also provides a running commentary on Sue Coe’s art and the role of a political artist today. It is an ideal handbook for teachers and students seeking to discuss fascism.

I wonder, though, whether those who would really profit from such a book will actually encounter it? This is a key problem that faces left-wing cultural workers: how can we effectively promote our ideas in the face of the mainstream, hegemonic steamroller of ruling-class culture and ideology?

Artist Sue Coe is an animal rights activist and anti-fascist. She has depicted the struggles of women, children, queers, animals, refugees, and political dissidents. Her art has also exposed the horrors of factory farms, zoos, prisons, and refugee camps.

Her prints, drawings and paintings are found in many major art museums, and her illustrations have been published in The New York Times, The Nation and elsewhere. The New York Times itself is quoted in praise of this “Prescient... searing social-political art.”

Her co-author Stephen F Eisenman is professor emeritus of art history, as well as an art critic and columnist for Counterpunch and co-founder of the environmental justice organisation, Anthropocene Alliance.

Their book is certainly a powerful and impactful interweaving of punchy art and precise words that together lay bare the authoritarianism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and misogyny that characterises much of the political landscape of the US today. And its message

Fascism describes a type of far right government which emerged in the early 20th century.

The word fascism comes from the Latin word fasces - a group of sticks tied together. While it is easy to break one stick, it is much harder to break a bunch of sticks. In the same way, fascists believe a country is stronger if everyone rigidly follows the same political ideals.

A fascist state is usually ruled by one party led by a dictator, who seizes power forcefully or achieves power by eroding democratic institutions.

The dictator creates an authoritarian regime in which many aspects of life are tightly controlled in the name of national unity.

In many fascist regimes, violence and oppression are used to crack down on opposition.

Extreme nationalism is often a feature too, with the idea of a master race and the demonisation of minorities.

The aim is to create a country that is strong, both economically and militarily.

Fascism first appeared in Italy in the early 1920s under the first of the fascist dictators, Benito Mussolini.

Mussolini's supporters were disillusioned by the economic and political difficulties in Italy after World War One, and saw fascism as a strong alternative to what they believed was the weakness of democracy.

But, the most notorious fascist regime of the 20th century, was in Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler.

The Nazi Party's success was due in part to the German people's resentment of the terms imposed on them after World War One in the Treaty of Versailles, and to the economic crisis of the time.

Nazi policies included the idolisation of the German Aryan race and the demonisation of other racial groups, which led eventually to the Holocaust.

Under the Nazi Party, Germany's military power grew and its nationalistic and expansionist ambitions eventually lead to World War Two.

After World War Two, fascism was mostly discredited, though fascist dictatorships continued until the 1970s in Spain and Portugal.

In recent