Booklet 5: Consent And Control In The Fascist Dictatorship Flashcards
Religious changes to the school curriculum
Compulsory RE in elementary schools 1923, secondary 1929
Takes support away from PPI
Cult of Mussolini changes to curriculum
Portrait of M in every classroom
All pupils given notebook with M on cover, free copy of a biography
School began with raising flag, sang songs about M
Government intervention in curriculum
1926 101 history books banned
1928 one textbook introduced
All dialects banned
Extreme gov intervention in schooling
1935 military education in secondary school
1936 lessons in fascism culture in elementary
1938 anti-semitism taught in schools
Control over teachers
1929 teachers took oath of loyalty
1933 all new teachers had to be fascist party members
1934 teachers to wear fascist uniform
1938 racial laws
Fascism in university
Generally left alone
By late 1930s students most likely to be fascist
What values did fascists want young people to have?
Blind obedience, discipline, patriotism
GIL
Fascist youth
From age 1 to 18
Combines with ONB
Bailla
8-14
Physical training and encourage fascist beliefs
Prepare for military life
People were motivated by the social aspects
14+ youth
Training for military life
18+ royal army or blackshirts
Access to jobs
Girls were less likely to go to school
OND
Provided workers with social, sports opportunities
Worked as welfare organisation providing relief in times of need
1939 over 4 mil members
One of the most popular aspects of fascism
Imagery of cult of Il Duce
Viewed as god like, julias ceased comparisons
Can do and be everything
Everyman
Purpose of the cult
Portray him as a leader with immense ability
Leading Italy to greatness
Contained contradictions to appeal to different grouos
Weaknesses of his style of leadership
Image was more popular than ideologies
The image would be hard to maintain without mussolini
How were newspapers used by fascism
Encouraged positive images of mussolini
Could confiscate any newspapers
Successes of newspaper censoring
Shut down all left wing newspapers
Independent newspapers were allowed under strict supervision
How did fascism use art
Art wasn’t subjected to censorship
Mussolini linked to heir of Augustus, rebuilding Italy
Lots of debate, no consensus
Cinema used by fascism
American films were popular
Ministry of popular culture was never very sophisticated and had difficulty with films
All films began with 20min news reel about M
Architecture used by fascism
Modelled on neo-classical roman style
Promoting the idea of ancient Rome into Italian society
How did Mussolini control economic interest groups?
Licensing system to protect small shop owners from large supermarkets
Pallazo vidoni pact protected businesses from strikes and banned other trade unions
Fascist syndicalists were in favour of policies that gained support from working classes
Rocco law 1926
Trade unions banned
New law court set up to deal with political offences
How did mussolini control the PNF
Farinacci purged the fascists
Turati ensured the PNF became nothing more than a means to fulfil Mussolini’s personal policies
Replaced party members with 800,000 new fascists
How did the PNF restrict Mussolini’s power
The violence was concerning to M, hindered his ability to stay in power
Overall, they supported his views
How did mussolini control the monarchy and elites?
Let existing elites become Podestas
M granted himself the same military powers as the king
Invasion of Ethiopia and Albania gave the king more land
What powers did the fascist grand council give themselves? 1928
Took kings ability to elect future PMs, self granted
Power to advise monarch as well as fix monarchy line
How did mussolini control central and local gov?
Parliament was made up of 400 fascists
M appointed top PNF leaders to create laws to be debated by FGC
What restrictions did the FGC have for Mussolini?
Everything had to be discussed and approved by them
1932, 148 senators were not members of PNF
What were the problems Mussolini faced after the peak of his popularity?
Economic issues, concern about relationship with Germany
Mussolini’s inability to fulfil his promises
What were the features of the anti-Semitic decrees?
Forbade Jewish people from marrying ‘pure’ Italians
Couldn’t own more than 50 hectares of land
Couldn’t run businesses with more than 100 employees
What influenced Mussolini in establishing the decrees?
Nazis were pursuing a harder line on German Jews
No evidence Hitler pressures Mussolini
Anti-Semitic policies may have influenced italy
What was the reform of customs?
Ideological campaign that forced all civil servants to wear uniforms, and army to adopt goose step
How did Italians respond to anti semitic decrees?
Reform of customs was ridiculed by Italian people, believed they were simply copying Germany
Relationship with church after anti semitic decrees
Church publicly opposed some of the policies
Pope was concerned about the ban on marriage, however he died before properly condemning the decrees
Relationship with other countries after anti semitic decrees
Britain and France were concerned about Italys clear strengthening relationship with Germany and change in ideology
Mussolini and the fascist party after anti semitic decrees
Mussolini’s Jewish mistress was deported
Much of the fascist officials were not persecuted by the decrees
Radicalisation in fascist Italy after the anti semitic decrees
PNF appeared to be Pershing a more radical policy that was pushing Italy in a dangerous and concerning direction
Key aspects of Lateran Pacts 1929
Giving the pope the Vatican City
Provided the pope with 750 million lire and 1,000 million in state bonds as compensation for lost territories
Catholic action allowed to continue
Catholicism recognised as sole religion in Italy
Who gained the most from Lateran Pacts?
The church- money, youth group, bonds, estate, a country
Mussolini- solved Roman question, gained a lot of support
Plebiscite 1929
90% of voters attended
98% voted in favour of M
Impact of Lateran
Impact of Lateran on Mussolini
Political support from church
Popular overseas
Support in rural areas
Impact of Lateran on church
Involved in everyday life of fascism
Own newspaper (l’osservatore romano)
Dispute over catholic action 1931
CA had 250,000 members
Allowed to continue as long as no political activities or sport
Concession from M
Salvemini
Spoke out against Matteotti murder
Criticised fascist regime
Prison for 1 month
Gramsci
Head of PCI, sent to 20 years in prison
Released in 1934 for health reasons
Died 3 years later
Gobotti and amendola
Anti-fascist journalists
Died in France in 1926 from back shirt attack
Rosselli brothers
Anti fascists who set up a volunteer army in France
Organised anti fascist soldiers during Spanish civil war
Murdered by French fascists
Anti-fascists in exile
Many politicians left Italy
Published books of the horrors of fascism
Literature smuggled into Italy
Anti fascist propaganda
Underground printing of propaganda
Secret press had success in the north
Anti-fascist Strikes and demonstrations
Turin march 1943, major strike quickly gained concessions
Bologna 1930 protests about closing soup kitchens
Trieste 1933 protest about food shortages
Anti fascist ethnic minorities
Protests against imposition of Italian language and culture on German and Slav minorities
Anti fascist expression of criticism
Growing public criticism of fascist violence
Intellectual criticism
The communist party
Some success in the north, infiltration of factories and trade unions to form strikes and demonstrations
OVRA
Around 5,000 informers operating in Italy
Successful in stopping antifascist groups
Infiltrated fascist unions
Confino
Around 10,000 Italians sent into confino and hundreds of arrests every week for anti fascist activity
What could anti fascism result in?
Loss of benefits, unemployment, lack of progression for children at school
Why was opposition limited?
Italian people used fascism in a way that it would work for them, resistance wasn’t popular and it was tolerable for the general population.
Political police
Broke up antifascist organisations
Organised assassination of rosselli brothers
