Fascism      Fascism was an authoritarian political movement that developed in Italy and other European countries after 1919 as a reaction against the political and social changes brought about by World War I and the spread of socialism and communism. Its name was derived from the fasces, an ancient Roman symbol of authority consisting of a bundle of rods and an ax.      Italian fascism (or the bare roots of fascism)was founded in Milan on Mar. 23, 1919, by Benito Mussolini, a former revolutionary socialist leader. His followers, mostly war veterans, were organized along paramilitary lines and wore black shirts as uniforms. The early Fascist program was a mixture of left-and right-wing ideas. Mussolini's oratorical skills, the postwar economic crisis, a widespread lack of confidence in the traditional political system, and a growing fear of socialism, all helped the Fascist party to grow to 300,000 registered members by 1921. In that year it elected 35 members to parliament. Mussolini became prime minister in October 1922 following the "march on Rome" and 3 years of bloody violence. In 1926 he seized total power as dictator and ruled Italy until July 1943, when he was deposed. A puppet Fascist regime with Mussolini at its head nominally controlled northern Italy under the Germans until Mussolini's execution by partisans in 1945. A neo-fascist party, the Italian Social Movement, was founded after World War II, but its influence was small. The Philosophy of Fascism/Thoughts      The intellectual roots of fascism can be traced back to voluntaristic philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Henri Bergson and to Social Darwinism with its emphasis on the survival of the fittest. Its immediate roots, however, were in certain irrational, socialist, and nationalist tendencies of the turn of the century that combined in a protest against the liberal bourgeois ideas then holding sway in Western Europe.      The fascist ideology cannot be explained logically because it is inherently irrational. It justifies giving all power to a single dictator. It identifies the leader with the nation and demands total obedience. It can only be understood in terms of its emotional and psychological impact.      Fascism becomes possible when masses of people feel deeply insecure. Some of that insecurity was created by the industrial revolution, which separates people from nature, reduces them to relative insignificance as compared to the powerful institutions which govern their lives... Industrialization alone is not enough. World War 1 created great insecurity by destroying economic and political institutions that were needed for stability, by accelerating the process of change in a variety of ways, and by creating unemployment and high inflation.      Fascism also requires a certain level of industrial development because it depends upon propaganda to persuade people and to acquire mass support. That means the use of the radio and newspapers. That means a reasonably literate population which can be reached. That means having means of transportation to bring large numbers to mass rallies.      The other primary leg of fascism, besides propaganda, is terror. Here, too, a certain level of industrial development is required so that police can move quickly, can communicate readily, and can spy on people. A large prison system also requires the resources of an industrial society.      Fascism exploits nationalism by playing upon feelings of superiority over others. It also exalts militarism as the greatest way to prove superiority, and war as an acceptable, even desirable way of accomplishing national goals. People feel good about themselves if they can forget their insecurities and problems by immersing themselves in an apparently invincible nation. Totalitarianism Tidbits      Totalitarianism shares many of the characteristics of fascism, and fascist states are often also totalitarian, but not every totalitarian state is fascist. Totalitarianism is a system in which the state has almost total control over its people, through the techniques common to fascism: propaganda and terror. But a totalitarian state leadership may not necessarily approve the reactionary nature of fascist ideology.      The Nazi Germany is the most evident example of a fascist state which was also totalitarian. Italy was clearly a fascist state and had totalitarian characteristics. Stalinist Russia was clearly totalitarian but was not fascist. Though Russia's internal behavior was very similar to Nazi Germany, fascism and socialism are diametrically opposite and fiercely opposed to each other.

Vimy Ridge is a very historical place for Canada, France, and World War One. The reason for the historic recognition is because of a key battle fought, and won, by the young but proud Canada.      Vimy Ridge ran almost 12km north-east of Arras. The Germans occupied Vimy Ridge in September 1914 and their engineers immediately began to construct a network of artillery-proof trenches and bunkers. These were protected from infantry attack by concrete Machine Gun Posts.      The Canadian Corps was sent to Vimy, France in December 1916, they spent one month waiting in miserable trenches. At first, their battle was against rats, lice and cold weather. Within a few months, though, they would attack Vimy Ridge. The Ridge was one of Germany’s strongest positions in Europe.      In January 1917, the Canadian Corps prepared for the battle. They moved guns, ammunition, and medical supplies to the battle front. The Corps had to build roads, bridges and a light rail system of wooden planks. This rail system was later used to remove the dead and wounded from the battlefield. That is where the hard work in the trenches went before the initial attack on the Ridge.      On March 20th of the same year, the Canadians began firing shells at the Germans on Vimy Ridge. For three weeks shells fell on the Germans; this made them tired and nervous. The Germans knew that the Canadians would soon launch a land attack, but they did not know when.      On the evening of 8th April, 1917, 30,000 members of the Canadian Corps began to move to the front line. At 5.30 the next morning, 2,800 allied guns began pounding the German trenches and soon afterwards the Canadian infantry went over the top into "No-Man’s-Land". Supported by a "creeping-barrage", the 1st Division, led by Major-General A. W. Currie, captured the Zwolfer Graben trench system within 30 minutes. After another hour had passed, the intermediate line south-east of Thelus was also under Canadian control.      Major-General L. J. Lipsett and the 3rd Division took the huge Schwaben Tunnel. However, several concrete Machine Gun Posts had survived, and these were causing heavy casualties. The Canadian 4th Division was especially badly hit. One battalion, the 87th, incurred losses of over 50% in less than a few minutes.      In an attempt to stretch German defenses, General Hubert Gough and the British Fifth Army launched an attack further south. Even though he used tanks in the attack, it was repulsed by the Germans. The Australians, also took part in this operation and suffered its worst day's losses on the Western Front. This just goes to show how well protected Vimy Ridge really was.      Vimy was not indestructible, after all. The Canadians were still making good progress and by 12th of April, they were firmly in control of Vimy Ridge. Forced to the bottom of the hill, the Germans were unable to launch a successful counterattack. That night, under the cover of darkness, the Germans withdrew from the area. The Canadians soon took 124 machine guns and captured 4,000 German prisoners. But the cost of the victory was high. Over 7,000 Canadians were wounded and almost 3,600 were killed.      Despite the failure of other countries, the Canadians had broken through the most formidable portion of the German line (thanks to Arthur Currie). The capture of Vimy Ridge was a great tactical success. The Canadians had seized ground of great military importance, and inflicted heavy casualties on the German Army.      Canada’s efforts would not go unnoticed. In 1922, France gave a large portion of Vimy Ridge to Canada as a memorial park. Today, a 45-metre high monument sits on top of the ridge. It is there to honour all of the brave Canadian soldiers that fought at Vimy Ridge.

The 1920s were a hectic and fast paced time for all. All people, rich and poor were effected by the great changes that the 20s held. The main thing this era held for the world was the great change of lifestyle brought on by the new technologies which pumped the economic world. The dacade was doing extreamly well. The GNP was up, many people had jobs, and the economy ripe. Nearly nothing could be better for an expanding cultur. But, sadly and drasticly, that all instantly and violently changed just as the decade was comming to a close, and it was linked to the Stock Market. The 1920's were a time of unbelievable prosperity. The stock market was going through the roof and America seemed to have the formula for limitless prosperity. However, the same formula that generated all of that profit would also be the cause of Black Thursday... Investment during the 1920's was based on the unstable basis of margin buying. Investors bought borrowed money from their brokers, who went to banks for that money. When stocks failed and investors needed to default, the money was permenantly lost. Many Stock Brokers and Traders lost so much of thier money, in thier minds they had no way of paying it off, so the committed suicide. This was a horrid day for America's economy However, adding to the crash of '29 was the slowing economy. The desire for consumer durables (expensive items refrigerators, radios, and automobiles) went down as Americans became satisfied with what they had. This in turn affected the companies and workers that produced these items. A downward spiral was set in motion. The crash of 1929 ended the seemingly infinite prosperity of the 1920s. Millionaires had become paupers overnight. Those who believe in the strength of the economic bubble and invested everything they had lost everything they had. Of course, the economy weakened and the unemployment skyrocketed. Many of the banks which had speculated heavily with their deposits were wiped out by the falling prices, and these bank failures sparked a "run" on the banking system. Each failed bank, factory, business, and investor contributed to the downward spiral that would drag the world into, The Great Depression... Thousands of investors -- many of them ordinary working people, not serious "players" -- were financially ruined. By the end of the year, stock values had dropped by fifteen billion dollars. ***** Hip flasks of hooch, jazz, speakeasies, bobbed hair, "the lost generation." The Twenties are endlessly fascinating. It was the first truly modern decade and, for better or worse, it created the model for society that all the world follows today. It was an era of towering intellect in the arts and sciences-- perhaps like none before or since. It was also an era of pettiness, ignorance and poverty. *****