by the Army Orientation Branch, Information and Education Division

“ Every measure taken by fascism—its entire economic, social, political, and military set-up—means eventual war. The war comes when intimidation and terror fail as instruments of fascist foreign policy. The war comes when other nations finally refuse further to appease the insatiable hunger of fascism for markets, military glory, and world domination. ”

“ Once their people were sold on the "master race" idea, it was easy for the fascists to make them feel that other people were of no more consequence than vermin. We think nothing of killing a cockroach. They were encouraged to think nothing of killing unarmed and defenseless men, women, and children. Many even got to enjoy it. Hence Rotterdam, Lidice, Maidanek.
By all these devices, fascism creates and then is driven by forces that cannot be stopped at will. Fascism cannot stand still. Its internal and external policies are rooted in aggression. It must expand or explode. ”

“ To the farmers, the fascists promised land through elimination of large estates. To the workers they promised elimination of unemployment—jobs for all at high wages. To the small business men they promised more customers and profits through the elimination of large business enterprises. To big business men and the industrialists they secretly promised greater security and profits through the elimination of small business competitors and trade unions and the crushing of socialists and communists. To the whole nation they promised glory and wealth by conquest. ”

“ The fascist doctrine of hate fulfills a triple mission. By creating disunity—it weakens democracy. By getting men to hate rather than to think—it prevents men from seeking the real cause and a democratic solution to the problem. By fake promises of jobs and security, fascism then tries to lure men to its program as the way out of insecurity. Only by democratically solving the economic problems of our day can there be any certainty that fascism won't happen here. ”

“ We have seen how, by its economic and political structure, fascism means war. Fascism—whether in Germany or Japan or Italy—has never been secretive about its glorification of war and its aim of world conquest. With the conquest of Ethiopia, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Manchuria, Poland, Norway, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Bulgaria, Rumania, Yugoslavia—fascism came close to achieving its goal. This was one time when fascism meant to make good its promise. ”

“ Fascism is government by the few and for the few. The objective is seizure and control of the economic, political, social, and cultural life of the state. Why? The democratic way of life interferes with their methods and desires for: (1) conducting business; (2) living with their fellow-men; (3) having the final say in matters concerning others, as well as themselves. The basic principles of democracy stand in the way of their desires; hence—democracy must go! Anyone who is not a member of their inner gang has to do what he's told. They permit no civil liberties, no equality before the law. ”

“ As soon as these methods had won them enough of a following to form their Storm Troops, the fascists began using force to stifle and wipe out any opposition. Those who saw through the false front of fascism and opposed them were beaten, tortured, and killed.
The fascists knew that all believers in democracy were their enemies. They knew that the fundamental principle of democracy—faith in the common sense of the common people—was the direct opposite of the fascist principle of rule by the elite few. So they fought democracy in all its phases. ”

“ And are we in uniform any more certain what fascism is—where it came from—what made it strong? Do we know how fascism leads men to do the things done to people at Maidanek? Do we know how it leads them to attack helpless nations? Are Maidaneks and war inevitable results of fascism? ”

“ The fascists do not choose to abandon their system and give up their graft, and so they are forced to acquire foreign markets and to eliminate competing nations. Due to their slave labor, the fascists are able to undersell the free nations of the world. The free nations must either resort to fascism, so that with slave labor they can meet the cut-throat prices of the fascist nations, or they must erect trade barriers to keep out the ruthless fascist competition. ”

“ Fascism thrives on indifference and ignorance. It makes headway when people are apathetic or cynical about their government—when they think of it as something far removed from them and beyond their personal concern. The erection of a traffic light on your block is important to your safety and the safety of your children. The erection of a world organization to safeguard peace and world security is just as important to our personal security. ”

“ Many fascists make the spurious claim that the world has but two choices—either fascism or communism, and they label as "communist" everyone who refuses to support them. By attacking our free enterprise, capitalist democracy and by denying the effectiveness of our way of life they hope to trap many people.
Hitler insisted that only fascism could save Europe and the world from the "communist menace." There were many people inside and outside Germany and Italy who welcomed and supported Hitler and Mussolini because they believed fascism was the only safeguard against communism. ”

“ The war machine is ready, and waiting for duty. To justify the building of the war machine as the "solution" to unemployment, the fascists nurture a lust for war, a desire for conquest. "Live dangerously," said Mussolini. "Man has become great through perpetual strife," screamed Hitler. A Nazi slogan was "Guns instead of butter." The hungry people were told they would get butter and other riches in due time—by way of conquest. ”

“ Many, in their misery, seek to find somebody to blame. They look for a scapegoat as a way out. Fascism is always ready to provide one. In its bid for power, it is ready to drive wedges that will disunite the people and weaken the nation. ”

“ Fascism is not the easiest thing to identify and analyze; nor, once in power, is it easy to destroy. It is important for our future and that of the world that as many of us as possible understand the causes and practices of fascism, in order to combat it. ”

“ Citizenship in a democracy is more than a ballot dropped in a box on Election Day. It's a 365-daysa-year job requiring the active participation and best judgment of every citizen in the affairs of his community, his nation, and his country's relations with the world. ”

“ Fascism cannot tolerate such religious and ethical concepts as the "brotherhood of man." Fascists deny the need for international cooperation. These ideas contradict the fascist theory of the "master race." The brotherhood of man implies that all people—regardless of color, race, creed, or nationality —have rights. International cooperation, as expressed in the Dumbarton Oaks proposals, runs counter to the fascist program of war and world domination. ”

“ It is generally conceded that today, in the Soviet Union, there is no such thing as racial discrimination in theory or in practice. Unlike Nazi law, which enforces discrimination on "racial" grounds, Soviet law punishes the establishment of direct or indirect privilege for citizens on account of their race or nationality as well as the advocacy of racial or national exclusiveness, hatred or contempt: "Article 123: Equal rights for citizens of the USSR, irrespective of their nationality or race, in all spheres of economic, state, cultural, social and political life, shall be an irrevocable law. ”

“ Right now our native fascists are spreading anti-British, anti-Soviet, anti-French, and anti-United Nations propaganda. They know that allied unity now foretells the certain defeat of fascism abroad. They know that post-war allied unity means world peace and security. They realize that fascism cannot thrive or grow under these conditions. ”

“ In their systematic destruction of all opposing groups, Hitler and Mussolini had the communists first on their list. Among the early opponents of fascism, the communists were in the forefront.
Let us take three fundamental concepts—War and Peace, Race, and The Purpose of the State—and see how the two systems stack up. Since the Soviet Union is associated in most minds with communism, and is the only working example, reference is frequently made to Soviet practice in the comparison with characteristic fascist practice. ”

“ The political fascist state is based on the "leader principle," under which the people must follow blindly the dictates of a few men. In the Axis countries, the emergence of fascism meant a taking away of self-government. As fascism grows more powerful it permits its people less and less liberty and uses more and more violence.
The Soviets early believed that a dictatorship "of the proletariat" was necessary in order to destroy capitalism and set up socialism; that then the dictatorship should gradually evolve into a democracy, as now provided in their Constitution. ”

“ In any discussion on fascism there will be some who will argue that there are strong similarities between fascism and communism. Under both systems, there is neither freedom of speech nor of press as we know it. ”

“ Pitting of religious, racial, and economic groups against one another in order to break down national unity is a device of the "divide and conquer" technique used by Hitler to gain power in Germany and in other countries. ”

“ Some Americans would give an emphatic "No" to the question "Can fascism come to America after it has been defeated abroad?" They would say that Americans are too smart, that they are sold on the democratic way of life, that they wouldn't permit any group to put fascism over in America. Fascism, some might say, is something peculiar that you find only among people who like swastikas, who like to listen to speeches from balconies in Rome, or who like to think that their emperor is god. ”

“ We Americans have been fighting fascists for more than three years. When Cecil Brown, one of the leading war correspondents, came back from the battle fronts, he went on a trip that took him into big cities and small towns all over America. He talked and listened to all kinds of people. He found that most Americans are vague about just what fascism really means. He found few Americans who were confident they would recognize a fascist if they saw one. ”

“ Fascism is more apt to come to power at a time of economic crisis; (2) fascism inevitably leads to war; (3) it can come to any country; (4) we can best combat it by making our democracy work. YOU are away from home, separated from your families, no longer at a civilian job or at school and many of you are risking your very lives because of a thing called fascism. Our country was attacked by the fascist aggressor, Japan. The "Sons of Heaven" were promptly joined by their fascist partners of Germany and Italy. ”

“ Our countries are joined together in a high cause and I fully share your confidence that the unity of purpose which binds our peoples and countries together in the prosecution of the war will be translated into a close and lasting collaboration together with other like-minded countries in the establishment of a just and enduring peace. ”

“ Fascism came to power in Germany, Italy, and Japan at a time of social and economic unrest. A small group of men, supported in secret by powerful financial and military interests, convinced enough insecure people that fascism would give them the things they wanted. ”

“ We have seen that, under fascism, the productive energies of Germany, Italy, and Japan were turned to war preparations under the slogan of "guns instead of butter."
The communists believe in state ownership of factories, farms, and all other productive agencies, with distribution of the proceeds among all the workers according to their productivity. The Russians have great confidence in the future improvement of their lot, although the average Russian is poor in comparison to American standards. ”

“ With slight variations, to suit local conditions, fascists everywhere have used this Hitler method. In many countries, anti-Semitism (hatred of Jews) is a dominant device of fascism. In the United States, native fascists have often been anti-Catholic, anti-Jew, anti-Negro, anti-Labor, anti-foreign-born. In South America, the native fascists use the same scapegoats except that they substitute anti-Protestantism for anti-Catholicism.
Interwoven with the "master race" theory of fascism is a well-planned "hate campaign" against minority races, religions, and other groups. ”

“ Any fascist attempt to gain power in America would not use the exact Hitler pattern. It would work under the guise of "super-patriotism" and "super-Americanism." Fascist leaders are neither stupid nor naive. They know that they must hand out a line that "sells." Huey Long is said to have remarked that if fascism came to America, it would be on a program of "Americanism."
Fascists in America may differ slightly from fascists in other countries, but there are a number of attitudes and practices that they have in common. ”

“ Deprived of their unions, the working people could be driven to work longer and harder for less and less money, so that those who subsidized and ran fascism could grow richer. By wiping out all internal competition—especially the small and medium sized business firms—profits were increased still higher for the handful on top. In some cases, the fascists then gobbled control of the top corporations. ”