Since the fall of the Roman Empire, repeated attempts have been made to achieve the elusive
goal of European unity.
Justinian, Charlemagne, Otto I, Charles V and Napoleon all sought a confederation of
Europe, largely through the mechanism of the Holy Roman Empire.
During the twentieth century the Axis Powers attempted to dominate Europe with their own
take on a Restoration of the Roman Empire.
Nineteenth century Europe was a fragmented continent, divided between small principalities
and states, which saw many revolutionary movements and changes.
By 1871 Italy was united by Giuseppe Garibaldi, and in the north of Europe the Prussian Prime
Minister, Otto Von Bismarck, brought the fragmented Germanic states into a new country called
Germany, under Prussian leadership.
Bismarck started and won two wars which made his German state the dominant power on the
continent.
Austria was defeated in 1866 in a quick seven week campaign, and later France was defeated
in 1871 after a six month conflict.
To further humiliate France, Bismarck arranged to have Prussian king Wilhelm I, crowned German
Emperor or Kaiser (Caesar), in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, south of Paris, declaring
the establishment of the Second Reich of the German people.
The First Reich generally refers to the period of the Holy Roman Empire (AD 800-1806)
Shortly after the death of Wilhelm I, his second son Wilhelm II became the new Kaiser
in 1888.
One of his first acts was to dismiss the architect of the new German state, Bismarck.
Without Bismarck’s guiding hand, Germany was soon plunged into World War I.
By 1918 the new German Empire was in ruins – defeated and impoverished.
The Second Reich is dead.
Subsequently, largely under pressure from France and Russia, the Treaty of Versailles
imposes crushing and humiliating terms on Germany, making economic recovery from the
war very difficult.
Through the 1920’s, Germany, under the Weimar Republic, experienced a period of great social
liberalism, as did Italy.
At this time there was a growing presence of leftist philosophy and extreme socialism,
somewhat due to the Communist regime which had taken over Russia.
This resulted in the development of a marked social tension between the socialist left
and the conservative right.
Matters rose to a head as a consequence of the great economic depression of the 1930’s.
In Italy, a young journalist, Benito Mussolini began a movement to counter Communist influences.
In 1921 he founded the Fascist Party.
In addition to the black shirts that identified party supporters, they adopted as their symbol,
the emblem of authority of Imperial Rome, the “fasces”.
Mussolini had grown up imagining himself a successor to the Caesars.
On October 22, 1922 King Victor Emmanuel III calls upon Mussolini to form a government.
To quell the riots that were overtaking much of Italy Mussolini is granted emergency powers
and is soon declared the dictator
of Italy.
In Germany the parliament of the Weimar Republic is hamstrung by the many competing parties.
The Depression has hit Germany very hard.
Financial depravation and runaway inflation, combined with a fear of the far left spawned
anger and a call for order in society.
Out of nowhere a formerly obscure Austrian artist and war veteran, leading a party filled
with anger toward those it blamed for Germany’s problems rises to power.
In 1933, Adolph Hitler asked to form a government.
Once in power all opposition is brutally swept aside.
The Third Reich of the German people has arrived.
In 1936 the Rome-Berlin Axis is formed.
Hitler and Mussolini agree to coordinate their foreign policy.
As it was since the days of Charlemagne and Otto the Great, the German speaking peoples
and those of Italy tie their destinies together.
Although the Nazis and Fascists were far from being religious, efforts were made to reach
agreements with the Roman Catholic Church which still held some sway with European populations.
The Church was then limited by the two dictators.
While it is very difficult even to compare the Roman Empire with its power, stability
and longevity to the rather inept and unstable Mussolini, this new alliance did not shy away
from references to Rome and its symbolism.
In addition to the “fasces”, Mussolini, in 1932, ordered that the handshake be replaced
with the Roman salute (Politico, The Right Arm of Royalty, July 21, 2015)
Many supporters began to call him “Divine Caesar”.
(“The Days of Hitler’s Jackal”, The Spectator, Oct 22, 2005)
In Germany as well allusions to the Holy Roman Empire were frequent as Hitler spoke about
the need to unite all Europeans under one tent.
By claiming for his government the mantle of the Third Reich, Hitler attempted to position
himself within the larger context of German and European history.
In his mind, Hitler’s “thousand-year Reich” would serve as the natural conclusion of a
process that he traced back to the coronation of Charlemagne in 800.
(“Why was Nazi Germany called the Third Reich?”
Encyclopedia Britannica Online)
In Hitler’s own mind he was connected with Charlemagne and the dream of a unified Europe
under German domination.
This is reflected in a comment he made to Albert Speer in reference to the location
of his mountain residence at Oberslazberg that overlooked Mount Untersberg, which according
to legend is the place where Charlemagne sleeps, waiting to rise again with his knights and
restore a glorious new Reich.
“You see the Untersberg over there.
It is no accident I have my residence opposite it.”
Hitler at Home, p 79, Despina Stratigakos
Clearly in the minds of Hitler and Mussolini, there was the greater goal of establishing
a unified Europe as a restoration of the glory of a unified Roman Empire.
Their efforts of course resulted in the horror of World War II.
The Rome-Berlin Axis collapsed in rubble in the very war they started, leaving tens of
millions dead and many more homeless and destitute and a continent in ruin.
The sixth attempt to restore the Empire of Rome and the “1000 year Reich” had ended.
I am Stuart Wachowicz for Tomorrow’s World Viewpoint.