Differences And Similarities With Nazism

Benito Mussolini giving the Roman salute standing next to Adolf Hitler

Although the modern consensus sees Nazism as a type or offshoot of fascism, some scholars, such as Gilbert Allardyce and A.F.K. Organski, argue that Nazism is not fascism вЂ" either because the differences are too great, or because they believe fascism cannot be generic.[22][23] A synthesis of these two opinions, states that German Nazism was a form of racially-oriented fascism, while Italian fascism was state-oriented.

Nazism differed from Italian fascism in that it had a stronger emphasis on race, in terms of social and economic policies. Though both ideologies denied the significance of the individual, Italian fascism saw the individual as subservient to the state, whereas Nazism saw the individual, as well as the state, as ultimately subservient to the race.[24] Mussolini's Fascism held that cultural factors existed to serve the state, and that it was not necessarily in the state's interest to interfere in cultural aspects of society. The only purpose of government in Mussolini's fascism was to uphold the state as supreme above all else, a concept which can be described as statolatry. Where fascism talked of state, Nazism spoke of the Volk and of the Volksgemeinschaft.[citation needed]

The Nazi movement, at least in its overt ideology, spoke of class-based society as the enemy, and wanted to unify the racial element above established classes; however, the Italian fascist movement sought to preserve the class system and uphold it as the foundation of established and desirable culture.[citation needed] Nevertheless, the Italian fascists did not reject the concept of social mobility, and a central tenet of the fascist state was meritocracy. Yet, fascism also heavily based itself on corporatism, which was supposed to supersede class conflicts.[citation needed] Despite these differences, Kevin Passmore (2002 p.62) observes:

There are sufficient similarities between Fascism and Nazism to make it worthwhile applying the concept of fascism to both. In Italy and Germany a movement came to power that sought to create national unity through the repression of national enemies and the incorporation of all classes and both genders into a permanently mobilized nation.[25]

Mussolini and Hitler were not always allies. While Mussolini wanted the expansion of fascist ideology throughout the world, he did not initially appreciate Hitler and the Nazi party. Hitler was an early admirer of Mussolini and asked for Mussolini's guidance in how the Nazis could pull off their own March on Rome.[26] Mussolini did not respond to Hitler's requests as he did not have much interest in Hitler's movement and regarded Hitler to be somewhat crazy.[27] Mussolini did attempt to read Mein Kampf to find out what Hitler's National Socialist movement was but was immediately dissappointed, saying that Mein Kampf was "a boring tome that I have never been able to read" and claimed that Hitler's beliefs were "little more than commonplace clichÐ"©s."[28]

Mussolini had personal reasons to oppose anti-Semitism: his longtime mistress and Fascist propaganda director, Margherita Sarfatti was Jewish. She had played an important role in the foundation of the Fascist movement in Italy and promoting it to Italians and the world through supporting the arts. However within the Italian Fascist movement, there were a minority who endorsed Hitler's anti-Semitism and wanted anti-Semitism in Italy. These included Roberto Farinacci and Julius Evola, who represented the far-right wing of the Fascist party.

There were also nationalistic reasons why Germany and Italy were not immediate allies. Habsburg Austria