Benito Mussolini

1. Benito Mussolini http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/dpf/Fascism/Mussolini.html

2. Italian Fascism • The term comes from the Italian fascio, derived from the ancient Latin fasces, which referred to the bundle of lictors, or axe-headed rods, that symbolized the sovereignty and authority of the Roman Republic. From approximately the 1870s, the term fascio was used in Italy in the names of radical new social and political organizations, normally of the left. Thus the revolutionary nationalists who sought to create a new left nationalist league in 1919, in the aftermath of World War I, formed a Fascio di Combattimento, transformed two years later into the new Fascist Party, and so a radical new "ism" was born. source

3. Socialist Editor • Mussolini went south to the Po Valley. Here he helped the farmers in their efforts to get a better wage. He became the secretary of the local socialist party in Forli and became the editor of the socialist newspaper "The Class Struggle" (La Lotta di Classe). • In 1911, the Italians attacked Libya in North Africa. Mussolini led demonstrations against this attack in Forli. He was arrested and sent to prison for five months. However, his action had got him noticed by socialist movements outside of Forli. He was rewarded with the job of editor of "Avanti" (Forward) the socialist newspaper – an appointment he got in April 1912. Most of the contents in the paper he did himself. The popularity of the paper increased and his views reached many people and thus expanded his influence. • "Let a single cry arise from the vast multitudes of the proletariat and let it be repeated in the squares and streets of Italy: down with war! The proletariat provides raw material, cannon fodder with which states make their history."

4. World War I Change of Mind • Many socialists had supported the government ‘s stand in keeping Italy out of the war in 1914. The nationalists, however, were horrified. To start with, Mussolini was against the war: • "Down with the war. Down with arms and up with humanity." (July 1914) • However, by October 1914, he had changed his mind and referred to the war as "a great drama". • "Do you want to be spectators in this great drama? Or do you want to be its fighters?“ • Mussolini was kicked out of the Socialist Party in Italy but many young socialists agreed with Mussolini and left the party and followed him. Therefore, they greeted the news of April 26th 1915, the entry of Italy into the war.

5. Problems after WWI • 460,000 soldiers killed • Heavy debt • Britain and France did not give Italy the land they promised • Governments were all coalitions that couldn’t make decisions • Rising unemployment led to unrest in cities www.hfcsd.org/ww2/WW%202%20Timeline/Road%20to%20War/The%20Rise%20of%20Mussolini%20in%20Italy.ppt

6. A Definition of Fascism Fascism is the totalitarian philosophy of government that glorifies the state and nation and assigns to the state control over every aspect of national life. The State not only is authority which governs and molds individual will with laws and values of spiritual life, but it is also power which makes its will prevail abroad….For the Fascist, everything is within the State and…neither individuals nor groups are outside the State...For Fascism, the State is an absolute, before which individuals or groups are only relative….Liberalism denied the State in the name of the individual; Fascism reasserts the rights of the State as expressing the real essence of the individual. -- Enciclopedia Italiana, 1932 http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

7. The Fasces Symbol • Comes from the Latin word fasces. • In ancient Rome, the fasces were cylindrical bundles of wooden rods, tied tightly together around an axe. • They symbolize unity and power. http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

8. Ideology A form of extreme right-wing ideology. It celebrates the nation or the race as an organic community transcending all other loyalties. Powerful and continuing nationalism. Constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, etc. Flags are seen everywhere. http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

9. Subordination to the State Fascism seeks forcibly to subordinate ALL aspects of society to its vision of organic community [usually through a totalitarian state]. It uses organized violence to suppress opposition. Glorification of force. Accepts the tenets of Social Darwinism. Is anti-democratic. http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

10. The Fasci de Combattimento • Called up for military service, he was wounded in grenade practice in 1917 and returned to edit his paper.  Fascism became an organized political movement in March 1919 when Mussolini founded the Fasci de Combattimento. • After failing in the 1919 elections, Mussolini at last entered parliament in 1921 as a right-wing member. • The Fascisti formed armed squads to terrorize Mussolini's former Socialist colleagues. The government seldom interfered. • In return for the support of a group of industrialists and agrarians, Mussolini gave his approval to strikebreaking, and he abandoned revolutionary agitation. http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Biographies/MainBiographies/M/mussolini/2.html

11. The March on Rome • "Either the government will be given to us or will shall seize it by marching on Rome." • The plan was grandiose if naïve. The military in Rome far out-numbered the Fascists who were poorly armed. Many Fascists only had tools brought with them from farms. Many had the wrong clothing for a party that was trying to seize power. • Victor Emmanuel was convinced that any form of conflict would lead to a civil war and he was not willing to contemplate that. • Victor Emmanuel also knew that his cousin, the Duke of Aosta, was a Fascist supporter. He was fearful that his cousin would replace him if he stood up to Mussolini and failed. • On October 29th, 1922, Mussolini was summoned to meet the king in Rome. • Mussolini arrived on October 30th and was sworn in as Prime Minister. Only then were the Fascists who had gathered outside of Rome allowed to march in triumph through Rome. Just five years earlier, Mussolini had been a corporal in the Italian Army fighting in World War One. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/march_on_rome.htm

12. March on Rome, 1922 www.hfcsd.org/ww2/WW%202%20Timeline/Road%20to%20War/The%20Rise%20of%20Mussolini%20in%20Italy.ppt

13. http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/headwideopen/mussocd.jpghttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/headwideopen/mussocd.jpg

14. Quote • “Fascism conceives of the State as an absolute, in comparison with which all individuals or groups are relative, only to be conceived in their relation to the State.” ~Benito Mussolini www.hfcsd.org/ww2/WW%202%20Timeline/Road%20to%20War/The%20Rise%20of%20Mussolini%20in%20Italy.ppt

15. The Fascist State • In February 1923, Mussolini and the Fascist Grand Council introduced the Acerbo Law. This law changed election results. Now if one party got just 25% (or more) of the votes cast in an election, they would get 66% of the seats in parliament. • The gallery in the hall in which the politicians voted was filled with armed fascist thugs who had a good view of anybody who spoke out against the law. The threat was clear and real. If you voted for the law, you would be fine. If you did not, then you were certainly in danger from fascist thugs. • Mussolini did say in the spring of 1924 that "a good beating did not hurt anyone." http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/mussolini_dictatorship.htm

16. Fascism under Mussolini www.hfcsd.org/ww2/WW%202%20Timeline/Road%20to%20War/The%20Rise%20of%20Mussolini%20in%20Italy.ppt

17. Mussolini Comes to Power 1921 election  Fascists included in the political coalition bloc of P. M. Giovanni Giolitti’s government [they win 35 seats]. October, 1922  Mussolini threatened a coup d’etat. “March on Rome”  25,000 Black Shirts staged demonstrations throughout the capital. http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

18. Mussolini Forms a Government King Victor Emmanuel III refused to sign a law giving the Italian military the ability to quell the chaos and arrest the Fascists. He invited Mussolini to joina coalition government withGiolitti. 1925  Mussolini seized dictatorial powers during a political crisis [Black Shirts murdered one of Mussolini’s chief Socialist critics, Giacomo Matteotti]. http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

19. The Italian Fascist State under Mussolini POLITICAL Acerbo Law Assassination of Giacomo Matteotti Censorship of the Press Secret Police Il Duce ECONOMIC Corporative State SOCIAL AND CULTURAL Lateran Act Role of Women Dopolaravo http://teacherweb.com/OH/ChardonHighSchool/MrMichaelWMosnik/Totalitarianism.ppt

20. The Fascists Consolidate Power(1925-1931) New laws passed to create the legal basis for Italy’s official transformation into a single-party state: Independent political parties & trade unions were abolished. Freedom of the press was curbed. Special courts created to persecute any political opposition. National police force created [with a secret police component]. http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

21. State “Corporatism” 1926  The National Council of Corporations created. Guilds of employers and employees established to manage the 22 sectors of the economy. Supported by small capitalists, low-level bureaucrats, and the middle class They all felt threatened by the rise of Socialist power! The goal  harmonize the interests of workers, managers and the state by abolishing class warfare. The reality  This system retarded technological progress and destroyed workers’ rights. http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

22. The Lateran Accords (1929) This settled a long-running dispute over the Catholic Church’s role in Italian politics  this was the 1st time in Italian history that the Church and the government agreed on their respective roles! Terms: The Papacy was granted temporal sovereignty over Vatican City. The Papacy was guaranteed the free exercise of Roman Catholicism as the sole state religion throughout Italy. The Papacy accepted Italian sovereignty over the former Papal States. http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

23. The Lateran Treaty http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

25. Cult of State Worship The individual had no significance except as a member of the state. The fascists were taught: Credere! [to believe] Obbedire! [to obey] Combattere! [to fight] http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

26. Militarism http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

27. Sexism Almost exclusively male-dominated. Traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion & homosexuality are suppressed. The state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution. http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

28. Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) His editorial positions: The war was a turning point for Italy. The returning combat soldiers would form a new elite and bring about a new type of state. This new elite would transform Italian politics and society! http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

29. The Fascist Family The Fascists encouraged the development of large families. http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

30. Controlled Mass Media http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

31. Education The first sentence pronounced by children at school was Let us salute the flag in the Roman fashion; hail to Italy; hail to Mussolini. Textbooks emphasized: The glorious pat of the ancient Romans. The limitations imposed upon the present inhabitants by geography and the West. The imperial destiny that awaited Italy’s future development. http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

32. Emphasis on Physical Fitness http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/EHAP/ItalianFascism.ppt

33. Economic Policy Part of the selling point of fascism is a promise of economic success and self-sufficiency • He was determined to push Italy into a state of autarky, self-sufficiency. He went on a series of domestic conquests which are commonly referred to as the "Battles". • Battle for Grain • The problem was while grain production rose farmers forgot about the harvesting of other crops (meat, dairy, etc.) and while grain imports dropped by 75% every other crop and animal product's import rose. Subsequently the Italian diet suffered. Italy did become nearly self sufficient in cereals but not in fertilizers • Battle for the Lira • it harmed the economy by hitting exports as now Italian goods cost more money abroad. • Although this policy seems like a failure, it forced Italy into autarky and helped to centralize Italian industry and thereby the Italian economy • Economic Assessment • As Mussolini's ambitions grew domestic policy was subsumed by foreign policy, especially the push for autarky after the 1935 invasion of Ethiopia and subsequent trade embargoes. The push for independence from foreign strategic materials was both expensive, ineffective, and economically wasteful. • In terms of economic growth, Italy did not have the expanse of industry to bolster her farming based economy. Whereas Germany had its industrial power house in the Ruhr and Britain had South Wales, the North-East, Midlands and North-West, Italy had relatively few of these industrial zones. Though laudable in theory, Mussolini's plans for Italy's economic growth were based on weaknesses he could not overcome. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/economy_in_fascist_italy.htm http://ibhistoryhlwiki.wikispaces.com/Mussolinis+Italy

34. Mussolini’s Foreign Policy • 1922-1932 Decade of Good Behavior

35. Restored Relations w/ the Pope in 1929 • Roman Catholicism recognized as the only state religion • Independence of the Vatican City • Policy of “Mare Nostrum” (“Our Sea”): desire to control the Mediterranean • Policy of imperialistic expansion led to invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 & Albania in 1939 • Alliance with Nazi Germany : Rome-Berlin Axis of 1936 • Heavy involvement in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) on the side of the Fascist rebels • Italy withdrew from the League of Nations in 1937 • accomplishments: prevented communism & restored patriotism http://www.cobb.k12.ga.us/~kennesawmountain/Social_studies/sisino/Powerpoints/WWII/Fascist%20Italy%20and%20Mussolini.ppt

36. Mussolini’s Execution Mussolini was taken prisoner by the partisans and was joined by his mistress, Clara Petacci. A few days later they were shot to death. In April of 1945, their bodies were hung at an Esso gas station along with the bodies of other fascist leaders. Mussolini and his mistress www.hfcsd.org/ww2/WW%202%20Timeline/Road%20to%20War/The%20Rise%20of%20Mussolini%20in%20Italy.ppt