Unlike socialism and communism, which were explicitly ideological and based on political philosophy (particularly Marx), fascism didn't really formulate itself as a coherent ideology. It wasn't presented as a list of ideas or principle, so much as rallied by meaningless patriotic slogans. Where communism appealed to logic with detailed, coherent ideas (sometimes dangerous ones), fascism appealed to gut feelings of patriotism, nationalism, and xenophobia. Whereas socialism made sense to some on an economic level, fascism rarely even tried to make sense; it simply bypassed the rational mind entirely and dug straight into strong emotions, especially anger.
In many ways fascism emerged as a counterreaction to socialism, particularly in Italy where Mussolini presented himself as a strong leader who would break the corruption and deadlock that had set in, as well as restore Italy from a state of economic crisis.
Hitler likewise emerged from economic crisis---in the aftermath of WWI Germany had been left with unpayable debts and reparations, which the Weimar government tried its best to pay by printing money, though it only ended up triggering hyperinflation and economic collapse. Then the Great Depression hit worldwide. Hitler was never actually elected by popular vote, but used shrewd political maneuvering to rise in the ranks and assume power.
Fascist governments assumed power in several countries in Europe, then launched WWII to try to conquer the rest. Fascism was tied with attitudes of nationalistic superiority and the glory of war, which no doubt contributed to why fascist nations were so aggressive militarily. Hitler's explicit goal was to conquer all of Europe and turn it into a vast fascist empire. And for a time, it looked like he might succeed---German forces did capture most of Europe and held it for a few years.
But after the bloodiest war in human history, with millions of deaths for Germany, Japan, and especially the Soviet Union, and hundreds of thousands for China, the US, and the UK (and thousands more in other smaller countries), the fascist governments in Germany and Italy were finally conquered. Europe was divided in two, and even Germany itself was split in two parts: West Germany, taken by the US and UK and governed by democratic capitalism, and East Germany, taken by the USSR and governed by totalitarian socialism.
In the end, Western Europe turned out quite well. With the help of the US, Western Europe rebuilt itself from the quite literal rubble and now has some of the most prosperous nations in the world. Except for East Germany (which unified with West Germany to be once again just... Germany), Eastern Europe did not fare as well; they stagnated economically under the USSR and when the USSR fell they were thrown into chaos. There are still stark differences between Eastern and Western Europe in terms of health, standard of living, and overall welfare. In that sense, the consequences of fascism were not as dire as those of communism, because fascism was quickly toppled while communism persisted for decades and stagnated nations with millions of people. And of course fascism launched a global war that killed some 20 million people, not to mention the Holocaust of 10 million civilians by Nazi Germany---so while it was brief, it did an enormous amount of damage in that short time.
Yet fascism may still rise again; those deep, strong emotions remain in the human brain, and it might only take a severe economic crisis combined with another opportunistic, psychopathic demagogue to throw any nation back into fascism.
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