A reference to Nazism or Fascism engenders immediate thoughts of the events from 1922 to 1945. But without reference to prior history, the history of the Third Reich or Fascist Italy would be incomplete. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini looked to the past in building the intellectual, cultural, and historical foundations of their respective regimes.  Indeed, the very expression of the "Third Reich" served to strengthen this belief. The "First Reich" had been the medieval Holy Roman Empire; the "Second Reich" had been that which was formed by Bismarck in 1871 following Prussia's defeat of France; and the "Third Reich" was, of course, the German nation as envisioned by Adolf Hitler. Mussolini used this same approach as he referred to the "Third Rome." Indeed, the Duce argued that events had inevitably led to the "Rome of Fascist Italy." The Rome of Fascism would outlast and outshine the "Rome of the Caesars" as well as the "Rome of the Popes." Not surprisingly, therefore, it was a vital for both regimes to root their movements in historical tradition and to maintain a line of continuity with the past.

This seminar will examine the "real or imagined" line of historical continuity in the development of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Significant attention will be given to the years from 1922 to 1945. Nevertheless, a great deal of time will be spent investigating how both Hitler and Mussolini argued that the "continuity of history" had naturally culminated in the development of their respective movements. The seminar will begin in Rome, which will provide students with a perspective of the transition between Ancient and Fascist Italy. From Rome we will travel to Florence and then to Venice to explore Jewish life in Italy prior to and following the Holocaust. From Italy the seminar will then travel to Austria and Germany. Our travels to Central Europe will highlight the historical transition from Medieval to Nazi Germany. We will make stops in Vienna, Berchtesgaden, Munich, Nürnberg, and Berlin.