ITALIAN FASCISM

1. ITALIAN FASCISM The many problems and failures of Liberal Italy and the establishment of Mussolini’s fascism

2. Fast rise to power being a new political ideology Mussolini became Prime Minister in 1922 Situation in Italy did not appear as being favourable for the fascist rise Slower rise to power, being also a new political ideology Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 Situation after Versailles made possible the rise of the Nazis Italy and Germany

3. Comparison with the German Nazis • Germany was a defeated nation • Territorial and economic losses • Traumatic political changes, from autocracy to democratic republic • Privations and starvation because of the blockade • Fear of Russians and communists • Hyperinflation

4. The Italian situation • Victorious after WWI • It acquired territory • Not dramatic institutional change • It remained a constitutional monarchy • It suffered the usual economic and social problems after the war, but not too serious

5. The Italian situation • Italians though that they had been cheated by their allies • The town of Fiume had been awarded to Yugoslavia • The arditi seized Fiume by force • Blame on liberal-conservative politicians

6. The Italian situation • Democratic government held by modern, mass political parties • The dominant parties were the Socialists and the Catholic People’s party • From 1919 to 1922 there were six short-lived coalition governments • Mussolini came to power in October 1922

7. The Italian situation • Italy suffered from serious economic problems: • High levels of unemployment due to the demobilisation of troops • Slowness to return to a peacetime economy and inflation that hit the middle classes • The failure to solve these problems undermined the faith in political parties and democracy

8. The Italian situation • The fear of Bolshevism was exploited by fascists to raise to power • 1918-20 was a period of upsurge of working class militancy: strikes, bread riots, violence against political opponents • Occupation of the land and factories

9. Agrarian Facism • Fascist acted mainly in areas where the battle between large landowners and peasant leagues and agricultural trade union was more acute • Fascism became a mass movement and entered the Parliament • Between 1920 and 1922 Fascist fighting squads took the sides of the landowners and middle-class elements, defeating peasant leagues and trade unions by burning their offices, assaulting and intimidating their members of even killing their leaders

10. The March on Rome • In 1922 Mussolini warned that if the Fascist were not given the power they would take it by force • Other political forces, even the King, seemed unwilling to form a stable government • Squadristi marched on Rome and gained power

11. The consequences of a rapid rise to power • They gained power in a legal way but the Fascists were a minor party in the Italian Parliament • Their ascent to power depended upon • Leading liberal-conservative politicians • The monarchy • The armed forces • The Catholic Church • The business and landowning elites

12. The consequences of a rapid rise to power • Mussolini did not have time to bring the provincial leaders or the Fascist movement under his control • After October 1922 he spent a long time bringing the institutions of the State under Fascist domination • The Fascist party lacked of a strong parliamentary position

13. The consequences of a rapid rise to power • In the long term, Fascist regimen was a compromise between Fascism and the establishment • This weakness meant that the survival of element in the block of consensus was essential and they became disillusioned with military defeats

14. Life in Mussolini’s Italy • Dealing with opposition • Use of Blackshirts or Fasci di Combattimenti. They killed political enemies, such as the socialist Matteotti • They terrified opponents, but they did not use the same techniques used in Germany • The OVRA was the secret police of the regime • Prisons were set up in remote islands • Some political opponents preferred to leave the country for their own safety

15. Life in Mussolini’s Italy • Education • Young boys were prepared for fighting while girls were expect to became mothers • Boys were given military instruction • Their example was the March on Rome and they followed the Duce

16. Life in Mussolini’s Italy • Women • Girls were educated to get married and have children • Large families got tax benefits • Mussolini wanted a population of 60 millions but they only got to 37 millions

17. Italy was a poor country Mussolini wanted to reach autarchy His plans were based on two points: Attacking the power of trade unions to control workers Setting Italy targets The Economy in Fascist Italy

18. The Economy in Fascist Italy • Mussolini introduced three battles: • Battle for land: to clear marshland and built roads, this gave work to people • Battle of the Lira: to inflate the value of the lira, leading to unemployment and lack of competence for industries • Battle for grain: to try to be self-sufficient

19. The Economy in Fascist Italy • Results: • Industry did not expand • Economy continued based on agriculture • Economic growth was based on a weakness that Mussolini could not overcome

20. Mussolini and the Roman Catholic Church • Thanks to the dictatorship Church was powerful • Measures taken: marriages, baptises, girls educated as mothers, wine shops closed… • Church controlled education after Lateran Treaties • Concordat: Roman Catholic faith of the estate • The Pope protested to the Chart of Race (against Jews)

21. Foreign policy • Italy just got Eritrea and Somaliland in the Scramble for Africa • Mussolini tried to get new land in Africa, such as Libia and Abyssinia. This created a problem with the League of Nations

22. Italy and Germany 1936-1940 • Italians took part in Spanish Civil War, helping Franco • Mussolini visited Germany and allied to Hitler • He left the League of Nations • Pact of Steel with Germany • In 1940 entered WWII attacking British troops in Egypt