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Fascist Italy
a. ea;y 1920s: in wake of economic turmoil, political disorder, and general insecurity and fear, Benito Mussolini burst onto Italian scene with frist fascist movement in Europe
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Impact of WWI
- i. 700k soldiers dead and treasury had to pay 148 billion lire
- ii. gained territory, but some demands were rejected
- 1. Italy felt cheated of its just rewards by other victors
- iii. domestic confusion
- 1. inflaton, demobilization caused high unemployment and huge groups of dissatisfied veterans
- 2. incompetent government
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The birth of Fascism
- i. Mussolini
- 1. unruly, rebellious,socialist, editor of Avanti (official socialist daily newspaper)
- a. after editorially switching his position from ardent neutrality to interventrion in WWI, he was expelled from Socialist Party
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1919
- 1. 1919: he laid foundations for fascism after Fascio di Combattimento (League of Combat)
- a. little attraction until political stalemate in Italy’s parliament and strong nationalism saved him and his Fraschists
- 2. the new parliament elected in Nov was incapable of governing Italy
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Three major parties
- a. three major parties: Socialists, Liberals, and Poplari, couldn’t form coalism
- i. Socialists spoke of need for revolution
- 1. industrial and agricultural strikes in 1919 and 1920 created class warfare and continual violence
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He shifted
- 1. He shifted quickly from leftist to rightist politics and began to gain support from middle-class industrialists freaful of working class agitation and large landowners who objected to the agricultural strikes
- 2. he also saw that Italians were angry over Italy’s failure to receive more fruits of victory in the form of territorial acquisitions after WWI
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Realized that ...
a. realized then that anticommunism, antistrike activity, and nationalistic rhetoric combined with the use of brute force might help him obtain what he had been unable to achieve in free electiosn
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1920 and 1921
- i. 1920 and 1921: bands of armed Fascists called squadristi were formed and turned loose in attacks on Socialist offices and newspapers
- 1. strikes by trade unionists and Socialist workers and peasant leagues were broken up by force
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Mussolini allied
- 1. at the same time, Mussolini allied with Liberals under Giovanni Giolitti, who believed that Fascists could be used to crush socialistm temporarily and then be dropped
- a. in this game of mutual decit, Mussoli won; by allying with government coalition, he gained respect and a free hadn fro his violent squadristi
- i. fascists, after, won 35 parliamentary seats
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Use of violence
- i. use of violence crucial to Mussolini’s plans
- 1. 1921: black-shirted fascist squads numbered 200k and had become a regular feature of Italian life
- a. WWI veterans and students attracted to squadristi and relished the opportunity to use unrestrained violence
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Mussolin and Fascists
- i. Mussolini and Fascists believed that these terrorist tactics wouold win poltics for htem
- 1. created conditions of disorder, knowing that fascism would flourish in that environment
- a. Fascists construed themselves as the party of order and drew bulk of support from middle and upper classes, white collars, professionals and civil servants, etc. who made up 60% of Fascist party
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Italian politics
- a. As the Italian politica situation deteriorated further, Mussolini and Fascists were emboldened to plan a march on Rome to seize power
- i. it was a bluff to frighten the government into giving them power; it worked; government capitulated before march occurred
- 1. Oct 29, 1922: King Vic Em. III made Mussolini prime minister of Italy
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Muss and Italian Fascist State
- a. Mussolini and the Italian Fascist State
- i. since they were small part in Parliament, Mussolini moved slowly
- 1. prepared for national election that would consoled Fascist power and allow greater governing
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July 1923
- a. July 1923: Parliament passed Acerbo Law, which stipulated that any party winning at eleast 25% of votes would be given 2/3 of seats in parliament
- i. victory for Fascists by fraud (65% of votes; 374/535 seats)
- 1. they were getting popular
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1926
- i. 1926: Mussolini established Fascist disctatorship
- 1. press laws gave government right to suspend publications that fostered disresept for Catholci Chur h, monarchy, or state
- 2. prime minister was head of voernment with pwer to legislate by decree
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Police law
- 1. police law empowered police to arrest and confine anybody for nonpolitical or political crimes without due process of law
- 2. government could dissolve political and cultural associations, such as all anti-Fascist parites
- a. created OVRA (new secret police)
- end of 1926: Hew was Il Duce, the leader
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He conceived
- a. He conceived Fascist state as totalitarian
- i. tried to create police state, but police activities were never repressive, etfficient, or as savage as Nazis
- Italian Fascists attempt to gain control over form s of mass mediu so they could use propaganda as instrument to integrate masses into state, failed to achieve major goals
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Mussolin and fascists and single minds
- a. Mussolini and Fascists also tried to create signle mided community by pursuing Fascist educational policy and developing Fascist organizations
- i. because secondary schools maittained freedom from Fascist, the regime relied on activies of youth organizations {Young Fascists) to indoctrinate the young people in Fascist ideals
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By 1939
- 1. by 1939, 66% of people were enrolled in some Fascist group
- a. activities: unpopular Saturday afternoon marching drills and calisthenics, seaside and mountain summer camps, cocmpetitionß they insisted on militarization
- i. male grousp in 1930s given exercises to develop discipline and train for war
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