state, argued Carl Schmitt, transcends diversity: every atom of its existence is ruled
and permeated by the principle of leadership (Griffin, 1995: 147, 134–5, 138–9).
The Nazis, of course, espoused an explicit and militant patriarchy. Paula Siber,
acting head of the German Association of Women, argued that ‘to be a woman
means to be a mother’. The woman belongs wherever care is required and she
manages 75 per cent of the nation’s income by running the home. Hitler disliked
women who were interested in politics. By introducing measures that would
encourage women to leave the labour market, the level of unemployment could be
further lowered. Women in certain professions such as doctors and civil servants
were dismissed, while other married women were paid a lump sum of 1,000 marks
to stay at home.
Hitler argued that the slogan ‘emancipation of women’ had been invented by
Jewish intellectuals. The woman’s world is her husband, her family, her children
and her home. The distinction between the two worlds was natural and necessary.
‘The woman’, he declared, ‘has her own battlefield. With every child that she brings
into the world, she fights her battle for the nation’.
A mystical belief in the state went hand in hand with a contempt for democracy
and a belief in colonialism. The pursuit of colonies was defended as a source of
raw materials and as an activity that was vital for Germany’s living space. It was
not, Ritter argued in 1937, ‘an expression of imperialism’ but a ‘vital natural
necessity’ (Griffin, 1995: 137, 145).Nazism and fascism compared
A fiercely debated question relates to the relationship between Nazism and Italian
fascism. Is there a general fascism of which Nazism is an example, or is the Nazism
so unique and particular that it cannot be categorised in this way? As Griffin has
pointed out (1995: 93), a number of scholars have argued that Nazism is sui generis,
unique to the history of Germany. Allardyce, an American scholar, took the view
that a generic fascism does not exist (Griffin, 1995: 302).
Not only do we have the profound influence exercised over Hitler and the Nazis
by the success of Mussolini in Italy, but the conditions that contributed to the rise
of fascism in Italy exercised their influence in Germany as well. The table shows
that Kershaw is right to argue that the similarities between Nazism and other brands
of fascism are ‘profound’ (cited by Griffin, 1995: 93).Chapter 13 Fascism 293Similarities Differences
Impact of the First World War Attitude to organised religion
Hatred of liberalism and Marxism Degree of anti-Semitism
Rejection of parliamentary democracy Global aspirations
Belief in leadership principle Use of socialism to describe party
Commitment to colonialism
Admiration for the state