Fascism

Benito Mussolini

Religion

Mussolini was an opponent of Christianity. In the Il Popolo D'Italia of 12 December 1919 he wrote: "We, who detest Christianity in its entirety, from Jesus to Marx, with all our hearts, view this ‘reconquest’ of modern life by the pagan form of the cult of strength or boldness with extraordinary sympathy."

Jews

According to Kurt Lüdecke, who interviewed Mussolini on Hitler's behalf in 1922, Mussolini was “observing” the Jews in Italy at that time, but they were “not the problem that they were in Germany.” In Emil Ludwig's aforementioned notes, Mussolini states the following: “Anti-Semitism does not exist in Italy. Jewish Italians have always proven themselves as citizens and fought bravely as soldiers. They hold prominent positions at universities, in the army, and in banks. A number of them are generals...”

Race

In a speech given in 1922, Mussolini said: “Italy is not a state, but a nation, because from the Alps to Sicily there is a fundamental unity of our race, our customs, our language, and our religion. [...] But the nation must create the state.”

In the book “The Universal Aspects of Fascism,” published by James Strachey Barnes in 1928, in the foreword of which Mussolini wrote that the author knew fascism “perfectly,” it says: “This meaning of the term ‘nationalism’ in no way implies approval of the doctrine of racism, which states that unity of racial origin is the main principle of unity in civil society.” It goes on to say: “Racism, or the principle of racial self-determination as it has been called in recent years, is a materialistic illusion, contrary to the laws of nature and destructive to civilization.”

In 1932, Jewish journalist Emil Ludwig held an hour-long conversation with Mussolini “almost every day” over a period of 13 days and then had his notes checked by Mussolini himself. During the course of the discussions, Mussolini comments as follows: "Of course, there is no longer such a thing as a pure race; not even the Jews have remained unmixed. It is precisely from fortunate mixtures that the strength and beauty of a nation has often resulted. Race: that is a feeling, not a reality; 95% of it is feeling. I will never believe that a more or less pure race can be proven biologically. [...] National pride has no need for racial delirium."

Julius Evola

Evola thought, Hitler was "possessed" by antisemitism and in this regard "almost paranoid". While he said that a "Jewish problem" did exist, he thought that in Hitler it "took on the character of obsessive fanaticism, a sign of a lack of inner control, and it left a stain on the Third Reich that is difficult to remove." He also spoke out against "the physical extermination of the Jews" in Germany for which "no justification or excuse can be given" according to him. Evola claimed that the Nationalsocialist conception of race was "a mere myth, with no precise reality to correspond to it". Evola writes that the "racism I defended, far from being 'extremism', was part of my attempts, in other fields as well, to rectify ideas that were developing in a deviant direction in Fascism and also in Nationalsocialism", which he described as materialistic and vulgar as opposed to his own "spiritual racism".

In July of 1938 Reinhard Heydrich sent a report to Heinrich Himmler regarding Evola, in which Evola was judged based on his work "Pagan Imperialism". Heydrich concludes that Evola has "no understanding whatsoever for the German folkish [völkisch] past", which Heydrich reasons is due to him not being German. Evola was not able to understand the development of the German world or concept of "king" and unable to comprehend Germanic concepts in general. Heydrich criticizes Evola for his "universalism" and his opposition to the idea of a "fatherland" as well as Nationalsocialism as a whole, which Evola attacks explicitly. Heydrich recommends to Himmler that Evola's attempts to form an international secret order should not be supported, that his public appearances in Germany be stopped and the spreading of his influence in the Nationalsocialist party be prevented as well as to monitor his propagandistic activities in neighboring countries.