Fascism in Germany: Origins and Significance for Modern Civilization

Fascism in Germany brought to life the most significant processes of world development in the 20th century. The unfolding of the misanthropic policy of Adolf Hitler, the existence of concentration camps, the Holocaust, the most significant and horrific war in the history of mankind - all this made a sharp turn of modern civilization, rethink existing values and ideas about future development.

It is interesting that it was fascism in Germany that caused such a significant echo in the minds of the world community. Radical in their And the conservative political wing that existed in the first half of the 20th century in the overwhelming majority of European countries has acquired such an ugly form precisely in Germany, a country that for centuries has been, if not the main, one of the main cultural centers of European culture. The country that gave the world Humboldt, Gutenberg, Schiller, Nietzsche and many other stars of the first magnitude. The reasons for this attention lie far not only in the fact that the Third Reich was the most powerful rival of the Allies. In the end, their rivals were also fascist Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria. This was another important reason. It is possible to enumerate for a long time the features of fascism in Germany in the field of economy, state structure. List his differences from, for example, the Italian model. However, the most important factor that fascism identified in Germany was the absolutization in state policy of concentrated and to the limit of fanatical ideas of racism, nationalism and anti-Semitism.

The same Fratsisko Franco, pursuing a totalitarian policy in his state , but not showing aggression in foreign policy and not passing over the marginal borders in repressions and harassment inside the state (even though they happened to be with opposition-minded citizens and national minorities - especially the Basques), safely Died his death already in 1975. Until the 1970s, Salazar's regime existed in Portugal. But fascism in Germany has shown that it is impossible to get along with it. The Third Reich had either to realize its principled idea of capturing vast living spaces, or to be destroyed. Calling so much reflection on the part of the whole world civilization, even more profound processes of National Socialism caused in Germany itself.

The first postwar decades have become for the country the hardest stage in the cultural and psychological terms. The history of fascism in Germany has become an important topic. Something similar to what the history of the CPSU was for the Soviet Union. But if in our country the history of the party became more of a state religion, the main topic of German historiography was the question of why it happened. After all, the National Socialists came to power not only in the wake of the economic crisis of the Weimar Republic. Their ideas have, to some extent, found a response in the hearts of the Germans. And the ideas of Adolf Hitler about the world around were formed not just so, but in many respects under
The influence of society's moods: the same anti-Semitism, nationalism, romanticism of Prussia, popular theories about anti-German plots, the main role in which, of course, the Jews played, and so on.

Judeophobic and militaristic political forces were commonplace both for Austria-Hungary before 1918, and for Weimar Germany. And even more common was the desire of almost all politically active social forces to destroy the brainchild of Philippe Scheidemann and Friedrich Ebert. About why it all happened, why it led to such terrible results, hundreds of volumes are written. The origins of German fascism have not been found anywhere: in the ideology laid down by the "iron" Prussia of Bismarck, in the excessive humiliation of the Germans by the Treaty of Versailles, medieval Christianity, in the reformation of Martin Luther, at last in the mentality and natural character of the Germans, with their craving for discipline, marches and Strong leader.