Difference Between Fascism and Nazism

We can briefly say that fascism and Nazism are nationalist political movements that were characterized by being categorically opposed to liberal democracy, therefore, they are considered totalitarian and extremist movements. Both militarist movements were raised as authoritarian movements where the figure of a leader predominated to whom his followers swore allegiance and defended until the last instances.

Thus, in this article we will present the most important differences between Fascism and Nazism, as well as their main characteristics.

Definition of Fascism

Basically, fascism was a totalitarian and nationalist political and social movement founded in Italy by Benito Mussolini from 1922 to 1943, after the First World War. Fascism maintained the doctrine of the Supremacy of the State over the individual, practically eliminating all social rights, except those recognized by the fascist party.

Features of Fascism

Now, among the main characteristics of fascism we have to:

• It is a system based on the principle of a single party with a military structure.
• There is total control of the sources of information.
• It exercises its authority through violence, repression and propaganda.
• There is a manipulation of the educational system to achieve assimilation to the system.
• Leadership is exercised unilaterally and without any kind of consultation.
• Racial laws are enacted with discrimination and persecution measures against all those who were or were in relation to Italian Jews.
• It eliminated the freedom of the market and the freedom of association and worship was controlled, allowing minimal associations.

Finally, with fascism, the State is considered all-powerful and claims to embody the spirit of the people, therefore, the people should not seek anything outside the State. Furthermore, the concept of nation is exalted in fascism, which gives a supreme value to national unity.

Definition of Nazism

Nazism was a nationalist, racist and totalitarian political doctrine that was promoted in Germany by Adolf Hitler between 1933 and 1945 that defended the absolute power of the State and the superiority of the German people over the whole world. Likewise, the main characteristic of this movement was the segregationist policy against the Jewish people, which led to an almost total extermination of the aforementioned community.

Features of Nazism

Among other characteristics that defined Nazism we can mention:

• Abolition of freedom of expression and group.
• Total control of the state of all the media that could shape public opinion, be it press, theater, cinema, radio, schools and universities.
• The use of propaganda as a form of psychological manipulation.
• Dissolution of all political parties, unions and unions.
• Total control and supervision of cultural and social life.
• The Nazi party was endorsed by law as the one in charge of protecting the ideals of the German State.

To conclude, Nazism initially aimed to establish a totalitarian dictatorship in Germany, with Hitler as the supreme leader. In order to achieve this, the opposition had to be eliminated and people had to freely attend to its indications. In addition, the Nazi Party created concentration camps, controlled by the state to contain and exterminate prisoners considered enemies (national minorities, Jews, communists and traitors).

Fascism vs Nazism: Differences

According to the above, the main differences between fascism and Nazism are: