To what extent was Franco's rule fascist? (white textbook)

Question 1

What were the Fascist features of F’s regime?

Answer 1

anti-democratic & authoritarian

Spain’s citizens had no meaningful political rights

press & all publications censored

citizens had no rights to strike or protest

F dominated gov - was dictatorial = Franco often called Caudillo (meaning leader - similar to Fuhrer)

single legal party that played a role in gov (Falange) BUT had little autonomy & had to compete w the military, church & other elites

propaganda used to influence the nation - stressing F’s role as a saviour from a revolution of communists

used terror against opponents

Question 2

What were the Non-fascist features of F’s regime?

Answer 2

Propaganda
- stressed Godless nature of communism & F’s devotion to the church
= NOT like Nazi propaganda that stressed importance of Aryan race over religion

1941
- turning point in WW2, F moved away from German & Italian model + stressed the importance of the Church & Spanish traditions

F’s regime was Authoritarian instead of Fascist

Question 3

What is Fascism?

Answer 3

Fascism:
a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government

+

although fascist parties and movements differed significantly from one another, they had many characteristics in common, including
- extreme militaristic nationalism
- contempt for electoral democracy
- political and cultural liberalism
- a belief in natural social hierarchy and the rule of elites
- the desire to create a Volksgemeinschaft (German: “people’s community”), in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation