Suchergebnisse

Though communism & fascism are commonly seen as bitter rivals, the relationship between the two has received little attention. This article deals briefly with their common characteristics & then surveys the history of the Soviet Union's policy toward fascism. It treats theory, in terms of the changing Soviet interpretations & definitions of fascism, & practice, through the history of Soviet & Comintern policy toward fascist movements, Fascist Italy & Nazi Germany. Differences between the years of the Third Period, the Popular Front & the Nazi-Soviet Pact are treated in detail, concluding with the strangely ambivalent Soviet policy during WWII. Adapted from the source document.

Though there has been a great deal of discussion of communism & fascism, much less attention has been devoted to their mutual relations. Early relations of the two movements & the possible influence of communism on fascism are discussed, together with their early polemics against, & interpretations of, each other. After an examination of the relations between fascist Italy & the Soviet Union, the differences between communism's "first" & "second" anti-fascisms are analyzed. The Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939 produced major temporary changes, but the Nazi-Soviet war of 1941-1945 proved decisive for both movements. Maintenance of the antifascist banner remained a major feature of Soviet policy & propaganda throughout the post-WWII era, But the eventual Sinn-Soviet split produced recurrent mutual charges of "fascism" by each of the two major communist powers against each other. The article concludes with discussion of the dialectic between fascism & communism & of the extent of their common characteristics. Adapted from the source document.

A review article on books by: Roger Griffin, The Nature of Fascism (London: Pinter Press, 1991); Paul Brooker, The Faces of Fraternalism: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991); Stein Ugelvik Larsen & Beatrice Sandberg (Eds), Fascism and European Literature (Bern: Peter Lang, 1991); Jill Lewis, Fascism and the Working Class in Austria, 1918-1934 (Oxford: Berg, 1991); & Luciano Cheles, et al (Eds), Neo-Fascism in Europe (London: Longman, 1991 [see listings in IRPS No. 68]). Griffin's book is praised for its attempt to define generic fascism as an ideal type in the Weberian sense, & for its categorization of several neofascist groups. Also exemplary is Brooker's analysis of the various mechanisms & organizations used to promote political & social solidarity among the Tripartite allies of WWII. Larsen's & Sandberg's bilingual (English/German) edition offers a general overview of the impact of fascism on European literature. Lewis offers a case study of Austrian labor problems under the First Republic, focusing on Heimwehr fascism. Cheles et al offer political analyses of the radical Right in several contemporary European countries.