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ease out of the Germans, the other wants to purge the Germans outof the world.But the explanation is not quite so simple. Germany is not theonly country where fascism has appeared. It took power in Italy adecade before it ruled in Germany. It was in Turkey as soon as it attackedItaly. Indeed in the first days of his fascist adventure Mussoliniliked to refer to himself as "the Mustapha Kernel of a MilaneseAngora." If Germany was "outside the stream of Latin culture,"surely this cannot be true of Italy. The fascist microbe has playedno favorites. It has penetrated through Protestant Germany,Catholic Spain, Orthodox Greece, and Mohammedan Turkey. Ineach such country dictators have popped up fitting perfectly intothe national background.It would be impossible to find races of people in Europe differingmore widely in history, culture, tradition, and tastes than Germany,Italy, Portugal, and Turkey, nor dictators more sharply distinguishedfrom each other than Hitler, Mussolini, Metaxas, Salazar,and Kernel Pasha. In Italy, Mussolini supported the monarchy; inGermany, Hitler abominates it. In Spain, Franco allies himselfdevoutly with the Church; in Italy, Mussolini used the Church; inGermany, Hitler castigates it. The German Führer makes anti-Semitism an article of Nazi faith. The Duce ignored it save as agesture of politeness to the Führer after the alliance. Fascism hasmade its appearance not only in Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece,Portugal, and Turkey, but likewise in Yugoslavia, Rumania, Poland,and other European countries, with a wide swing to South Americaand Asia.It is fatuous to look upon fascism as a growth indigenous to anyparticular country. And it is equally false to say that it would nothave arisen save as the work of Hitler or Mussolini. We cannotescape the significance of the fact that in each of these numerouscountries a fascist tyrant sprang up at the right moment and allwithin a very brief period. It is true that in each case the countryitself, its history, manners, culture, tradition, political system havegreatly colored the external trappings of its fascism, and in eachcase the peculiar character of the leader has had an important effectupon the form, practices, techniques, slogans, and rituals of the76

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