Fascism's Global Moments: New Perspectives on Entanglements and Tensions between Fascist Regimes in the 1930s and 1940s

In his talk, Professor Reichardt will discuss how a global perspective can help us understand the nature of different fascist empires and the general character of fascism up to the end of World War II. He will focus on cooperation as well as competition between different fascist regimes, especially with regard to their imperial and colonial aspirations during the 1930s and 1940s. While a transfer of ideas as well as economic and military cooperation define the global character of fascism, Reichardt contends, the rivalries between different fascist regimes are an important factor in explaining their radicalization.

Professor Sven Reichardt holds the chair in Contemporary History at the University of Konstanz, Germany. He has published widely on fascist paramilitary units in Germany and Italy and the transnational history of fascism in general. He is currently working on a book on the global history of fascism.

This lecture is part of the Gerda Henkel Lecture Series, organized by GHI West, the Pacific Regional Office of the Germany Historical Institute, Washington DC, in cooperation with the Gerda Henkel Foundation. The program brings German historians to the West Coast to present their research and engage in dialogue with their North American colleagues.