War Veterans and Fascism in Interwar Europe (Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare, Series Number 50)

"This book explores, from a transnational viewpoint, the historical relationship between war veterans and fascism in interwar Europe. Until now, historians have been roughly divided between those who assume that 'brutalization' (George L. Mosse) led veterans to join fascist movements and those who stress that most ex-soldiers of the Great War became committed pacifists and internationalists. Transcending the debates of the brutalization thesis and drawing upon a wide range of archival and published sources, this work focuses on the interrelated processes of transnationalization and the fascist permeation of veterans' politics in interwar Europe to offer a wider perspective on the history of both fascism and veterans' movements. A combination of mythical constructs, transfers, political communication, encounters and networks within a transnational space explain the relationship between veterans and fascism. Thus, this book offers new insights into the essential ties between fascism and war, and contributes to the theorization of transnational fascism."--Publisher's description Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Series information......Page 4 Title page......Page 5 Copyright information......Page 6 Epigraph......Page 7 Table of contents......Page 9 List of Figures and Tables......Page 11 Acknowledgements......Page 12 List of Abbreviations......Page 14 Introduction......Page 17 War Veterans......Page 18 Fascism......Page 24 Methodologies......Page 27 Part I Fascism and Veterans after the Great War......Page 33 1 Great War Veterans and the Origins of Fascism, 1914–1919......Page 35 The Italian Experience of the First World War......Page 36 Veterans and the Aftermath of War in Western Europe......Page 47 Germany......Page 49 France......Page 57 The Other Allies and Spain......Page 59 Veterans and the Birth of Italian Fascism......Page 61 The Anti-Bolshevik Veterans: A Symbolic Appropriation......Page 70 2 War Veterans and the Rise of Italian Fascism, 1920–1922......Page 84 From Arditismo to Squadrismo......Page 85 The Fascist Veterans: A Travelling Stereotype......Page 97 Italian War Veterans and the Fascist Seizure of Power......Page 105 Veterans and the Transnational Impact of the March on Rome......Page 111 France......Page 115 Spain......Page 118 Germany......Page 123 Part II Fascism and Veterans during the 1920s......Page 129 3 Veterans under Fascist Rule, 1923–1925......Page 131 The Beginnings of a Relationship: Veterans and Mussolini’s Government......Page 134 The Struggle for Organization: The ANC and the PNF......Page 143 The Struggle for Ideology: Combattentismo and Apoliticità......Page 149 Unleashing Fascistizzazione......Page 158 Spaces......Page 160 Discourses and Symbols......Page 163 Actors, Practices and Strategies......Page 165 Consolidating Fascist Rule......Page 170 4 Veterans and Fascism: Consolidation and European Expansion, 1925–1929......Page 175 The Myth of the Fascist Veterans in France: The Faisceau......Page 177 The Myth of the Fascist Veterans in Germany: the Stahlhelm and the NSDAP......Page 187 The Fascist Veterans and the FIDAC......Page 198 The Fascist ANC......Page 205 Part III Fascism and Veterans during the 1930s......Page 211 5 Transnational Fascism and Veterans, 1929–1935......Page 213 Fascist Veterans and the Leap into Europe......Page 214 Transnational Entanglements: Veteran Politics and Culture......Page 219 The Transforming Model of Fascist Italy......Page 229 Spain and the Falange Española......Page 233 France and the Croix de Feu......Page 237 The Third Reich......Page 241 The Veterans’ Connection in Italy, France and Germany......Page 249 6 Veterans between Fascism and Anti-Fascism, War and Peace, 1936–1940......Page 258 The Fascist Veterans and the Ethiopian War......Page 259 Veterans and the Crisis of Anti-Fascism and Pacifism......Page 263 Fascist Italy, Francoist Spain and the Culmination of the Model......Page 273 Fascist and French Veterans and the Path towards Vichy France......Page 281 Conclusion......Page 290 On-Line Libraries and Archives......Page 295 Published in Spain......Page 296 Published in Italy......Page 297 Published in Germany......Page 299 Books and Pamphlets......Page 300 Published Document Collections......Page 304 Bibliography......Page 305 Index......Page 323 "This book analyses the transnational relationship between war veterans and fascism in interwar Europe. For decades, historians have strived to explain why the European continent, only twenty years after a cataclysmic war of unprecedented murderous dimensions, became involved in a new, even more horrendous, world conflict. Although there were important democratic experiences and remarkable advances in many facets of human life, the interwar period saw the progressive demolition of the peaceful order for which many people had hoped in the wake of the Great War. While at the beginning of 1919 democracies clearly dominated Europe, by June 1940 they were the exception to the rule. This eclipse of democracy, marked by violent conflicts and civil wars, cannot be understood without placing fascism at its centre. Fascism was a product of the First World War experience, and fascism can also be considered to have triggered the Second World War. In this scenario, explaining the links between fascism and war veterans, the men who were also a direct legacy of the Great War, remains crucial"--Introduction -- Introduction Part I. Fascism and Veterans after the Great War: 1. The Great War veterans and the origins of fascism, 1914-1919 2. War veterans and the rise of Italian Fascism, 1920-1922 Part II. Fascism and Veterans during the 1920s: 3. Veterans under fascist rule, 1923-1925 4. Veterans and fascism: consolidation and European expansion, 1925-1929 Part III. Fascism and Veterans during the 1930s: 5. Transnational fascism and veterans, 1929-1935 6. Veterans between fascism and anti-fascism, war and peace, 1936-1940 -- Conclusion