One of the most defining features of fascist regimes was authoritarianism. These governments rejected liberal democracy and instead concentrated power in the hands of a single ruler or party. In Italy, Mussolini established a dictatorship after the 1922 March on Rome, gradually dismantling parliamentary structures and banning political opposition. By 1925, he held total power as "Il Duce." Similarly, in Germany, Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 and quickly used the Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act to destroy democratic institutions and establish a one-party Nazi state. The common goal was to eliminate checks on executive power and replace democratic pluralism with centralized, unchallenged rule.
Closely tied to authoritarianism was the development of a cult of personality around the fascist leader. Leaders were portrayed as infallible saviours of the nation, embodying the will and destiny of their people. Mussolini was often shown in heroic poses, leading workers, farmers, or soldiers, and was praised as the genius guiding Italy’s rebirth. Hitler was similarly presented as the Führer who alone could restore Germany’s former greatness, overcome the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles, and purify the nation. Such portrayals were reinforced through state-controlled media and education, which taught children loyalty to the leader from a young age.
Another core characteristic was extreme nationalism, often rooted in historical grievances, myths of racial or cultural superiority, and dreams of territorial expansion. Fascist regimes promoted a strong sense of national identity that often depended on the exclusion or demonisation of outsiders or minorities. In Germany, Hitler’s ideology of Volksgemeinschaft (people’s community) was based on racial purity, with Aryans at the top and Jews, Slavs, Roma, and others targeted as threats to national unity. This nationalism was not merely cultural but aggressive and expansionist. Hitler’s desire for Lebensraum (living space) led to the invasion of Eastern Europe, while Mussolini dreamt of reviving the Roman Empire through conquest in Africa and the Balkans.
Militarism and violence were also central to fascism. War and conflict were not seen as evils to be avoided, but as natural and even desirable ways to strengthen the nation and eliminate weakness. Fascist regimes glorified war, discipline, and obedience, often forming paramilitary organisations like Mussolini’s Blackshirts or Hitler’s SA and SS. These groups used intimidation, violence, and assassination to silence opposition. In Nazi Germany, violence escalated into systemic genocide, with the state machinery used to murder six million Jews in the Holocaust, along with millions of other victims. Fascist regimes idolised the soldier as the ideal citizen and viewed military conquest as proof of national strength.
Another defining element was anti-communism and the suppression of left-wing ideologies. Fascist regimes emerged partly in reaction to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, which terrified many European conservatives and capitalists. In both Italy and Germany, fascists used fear of communism to gain support from the middle class, industrialists, and landowners. Once in power, they banned socialist and communist parties, destroyed trade unions, and arrested leftist leaders. In Nazi Germany, communists were among the first targets of concentration camps. Fascists portrayed communism as a foreign, Jewish-dominated ideology that aimed to destroy the nation, family, and religion.
State control of information and propaganda played a critical role in maintaining fascist rule. Ministries of propaganda, such as Goebbels’ Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment in Germany, ensured that all newspapers, films, radio broadcasts, and cultural output aligned with fascist ideology. Education was similarly transformed into a tool of indoctrination. History was rewritten to glorify the nation, science was bent to support racist theories, and children were taught to worship the leader and prepare for military service. Dissenting views were not tolerated, and censorship was extensive. Propaganda celebrated national myths, heroic wars, and the idea of a unified, obedient people under a single will.
Although fascist regimes were not fully totalitarian in the way the Soviet Union was, they heavily intervened in the economy, especially through corporatism and rearmament. In Italy, Mussolini established a corporatist system where employers and workers were grouped into syndicates controlled by the state, supposedly to avoid class conflict. In practice, it allowed the government to suppress strikes and dictate wages. In Germany, Hitler’s government spent massively on public works like the Autobahn and, more significantly, on rearmament, which reduced unemployment and revitalised heavy industry. The Nazis also created state programmes like the Labour Front and Strength Through Joy to control workers’ lives and maintain loyalty. However, despite this intervention, private property was largely preserved, and big business profited from cooperation with the state.
Fascism also promoted traditional social values, particularly regarding gender roles and family. Women were typically encouraged to stay at home, bear children, and serve the nation as mothers. The Nazis even awarded medals to women who had large families, emphasising their role in preserving the Aryan race. Fascist regimes often attacked modern art, feminism, and liberal ideas as degenerate or foreign. Instead, they promoted conservative ideals—discipline, obedience, male dominance, and religious or racial purity.
It is important to note that while Italy and Germany are the best-known fascist regimes, other European countries adopted fascist elements during this period. In Spain, Francisco Franco’s regime (emerging from the Spanish Civil War in 1939) shared many fascist features, such as authoritarianism, militarism, and anti-communism, although it retained a strong emphasis on Catholicism and lacked the racial ideology of the Nazis. In Hungary, Admiral Horthy's regime, and later the Arrow Cross Party, similarly mirrored aspects of fascism. Romania’s Iron Guard also combined fascist nationalism with religious mysticism and anti-Semitism. These examples show that fascism could adapt to local contexts while maintaining core themes of power, nationalism, and violence.
By the end of World War II in 1945, fascist regimes had left Europe in ruins. The ideology had plunged the continent into the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in the deaths of over 60 million people, including victims of genocide. The complete collapse of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy discredited fascism as a legitimate political ideology in Europe for decades to come. However, the characteristics of fascism—its authoritarianism, use of propaganda, nationalism, and scapegoating—remain relevant to understanding threats to democracy in any era.
In summary, the main characteristics of fascist regimes in Europe between 1920 and 1945 included authoritarian rule, intense and exclusive nationalism, militarism, anti-communism, suppression of individual rights, use of propaganda, economic control, and rigid traditionalism. While each fascist regime adapted these features to its national context, the overall pattern was remarkably consistent. These regimes promised national rebirth and unity but delivered oppression, war, and human catastrophe. The study of fascism remains essential to safeguarding democratic values today.