Fascist Regimes

In the 1920s and 1930s, fascism altered the political landscape of Europe. (The word fascism stems from the Latin word fascis, a bundle of rods bound together which symbolized power in the Roman Empire.)

Most consequentially, in 1933 the Nazi (National Socialist) party, led by Adolf Hitler, gained power in Germany. In 1922, the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy, while another fascist government, headed by Generalissimo Francisco Franco, gained power in Spain. Fascist regimes were predicated on building the power and prestige of the nation-state, consolidating power under the rule of a dictator, state control of many aspects of economic life, and open hostility to those who disagreed with the government's policies.