Why would some people willingly give up their rights to the fascist state?
1 Answer
People do not willingly cede their rights, generally, but they also appreciate stability, order, predictability and the appearance of peace -- which is what the Fascists and Nazis promised.
Explanation:
The First World War had swept away many of the old certainties of European /Western life, save -- just -- in Britain and the Dominons, and in the US. Austro-Hungary and Russia collapsed, Germany fell into civil chaos, Italy and France (technically victors) came close.
The Revolutionaries of the Left were encouraged (and sometimes supported) by the new USSR and made bids for power where they could and otherwise caused considerable disruption. In Italy and Germany -- both new countries since the middle 19th Century -- the military had played a key role in forging a national identity before WW1. It is also interesting that the early Fascists and Nazis also had a strong egalitarian experience in the trenches and yearned to bring bring that spirit to their home societies.
Faced with vicious Fascist-Communist feuding in Germany and Italy, most people tried to duck out of the way. The other selling point of the Fascists and the Nazis was that they intended to refurbish national pride and prestige, which also had its attractions to Italian and German nationalists.
Mussolini, and then Hitler (who first copied Mussolini in many ways) didn't pledge to reduce people's rights... they just did so once they were secure in power. They were accepted because there was order on the streets again, and because both leaders projected a new spirit of modernity, material progress, and heightened national pride. At the same time, those who openly opposed them soon learned there were dire penalties for doing so -- and in the absence of a credible opposition -- most people accepted the benefits and quietly overlooked the penalites.
