Eight lesson Flashcards
Beginnin of italian protests
early clashes CD government by Tambroni.
1960, Genua: strong about its entrance in the government majority, the MSI (socialist italian movement– heir of the Fascist Party) decides to organize its sixth convention in Genua, prized city with the gold medal of resistance. Work chamber and antifa forces organize protests against the convention.
PCI’s rally turns into a mass demonstration by which thousands of people flock; in Reggio Emilia police had to disperse the crowd with tear gas.
Five people died and Tambroni resigned
Rise of the centre-left-wing (60s)
1963– the PSI enters the CD majority and the PSIUP is born– some wanted to continue the extreme leftist cooperation with the PCI. Elections are won by the coalistion DC-PSDI-PLI-PRI with 53% of the votes
PCI gets 25%
Society of the Twenties’ second half
- rise of education levels: increase of unemployment rate, increased ownership of consumer goods by families (appliances and cars) (sympthoms of mass consumer society)
- crisis of catholic identity
- families: increase in divorces, de facto cohabitations (unmarried couples) and reconstructed families (families with divorced parents)
- sexual revolution: premarital relationships, technical evolution of contraceptives, divided ideas of sexuality and reproduction
Second Vatican Council
1962-5: Catholic Church admits the need to reform its religious principles following the long-standing crisis of its identity.
Before new contrasting ideologies like Communism and Consumerism, the Church opens itself in the hope of reaching a new christian unity with the people separated from Rome
Prague Spring
During the session of the central committee in 1967 Novotny clashed with the slovaks.
He invited the soviets to help him regain control but they declined. Increasingly powerless Novotny eventually resigned as first secretary of the communist party and left Dubcek as his successor. He wanted to revise communist Czechslovakia and renew it
Points:
- promotion of Slovakia to full parity within the new czechslovak federation
- long overdue industrial and agricoltural reforms
- decentralization of the economy and legislation
- democratization
- more freedom of speech, press and travel
- revised constitution ensuring civil rights and liberties
- complete rehabilitation of all citizens whose eights had been infringed in the past
- division of the national territory into two socialist republics: Czech s. republic and Slovak s. r.
“Two thousand words” Manifesto– demanded real democracy; they wanted to leave the Warsaw pact. In August 1968 armed soviet forces entered the country.
Czech population responded through passive resistane and improvisation.
Moscow protocol: the cezchs were compelled to yield to it
Ostpolitik
From 1969-74
Willy Brandt: commercial and cultural closeness from west to east Germany following the Berlin Wall crisis
SALT agreements
From 1969-72: concretization of the detent through the agreements between the USA and USSR for the mutual limitation and the progressive reduction of the nuclear weapons potential
1979: SALT II, continuation of the agreements forr the limitation of nuclear war machine
RICO act
1970
First act establishing in the US territory the crime of mafia association and external cooperation in mafia association
Shooting at Kent
1970
demonstrators against Cambodia invasion were shot by the national guard under Nixon
Watergate
1971: Nixon termiantes Bretton Woods and eliminates the dollar convertibility to gold= end of the gold exchange standard
1972: Wahington: some republican officials of the white house are arrested for violation of private property and espionage at the hotel Watergate (=headquarter of the democratic party) in the act of setting up wiretraps.
Nixon’s administration tried to cover it up.
oil shock and energy crisis
1973 the OPEC pretested during the Yom Kippour war because of the support shown by western countries to Isreal, causing a recession in the western industrial economy by cutting down oil export.
They demaded the territories conquered by Israel in 1967 back.
Oil prices grew
On the other side: origin of ecologism + development of the third sector
Years of the Lead
1969-1980
Social turmoil, political violence and upheavel marked by a wave of both far-left and far-right incidents of political terrorism and violent clashes.
Participating organizations:
- Brigate rosse (marxist-leninist group) with potere operaio, autonomia operaia and others.
- Neofascist groups= movimento socialista italiano, ordine nuovo, ordine nero and more
First attacks (Years of the Lead)
1969
public protests shook Italy led by students’ movement– occupation of FIAT
Killing of Antonio Annarumma: milanese policemen killed by far-left demonstrators= first victim
Piazza Fontana bombing: in Milan; a bomb placed in the National Bank of Agricolture. 17 dead.
Anrchiest Valpreda= first convicted
Two neo-fascists are arrested but acquitted
Pinelli, far-left suspect, arrested but dies falling out of the window while under police custody.
1972, Milan: Calabresi is killed by Lotta Continua.
New trials found the neofascists of Ordine Nuovo as responsibles for the Piazza Fontana attack.
- Peteano Bombing: 1972, three carabinieri were killed– guilt firstly attributed to Lotta Continua then to Ordine Nuovo; goal= bringing the state to declare the state of emergency and become more authoritarian (support of SID)
- 1973:
- Potere Operaio starts a fire killing the sons of an italian MSI neofascist
- anarchist throws a granade into a milan police department to avenge Pinelli’s death
1974:
- Piazza della Loggia bombing, Brescia: Ordine Nuovo terrorist attack during a CPI and CISL demonstration against neofascist terrorism; responsables were found
- RB’s first murders; two members of the MSI were killed in Padua.
- Golpe Bianco: failed putsch attempt by anti-fascist and anti-communist partisans; it was meant to create a government that prevented to the participation of CPI and MSI’s participation
Golpe Borghese
1970
golpe attempted by the former general of the national republican navy and former president of the MSI Borghese.
20.000 neofascists participated but the subversive act never materialized. Nonetheless the plan was discovered and exposed
The Red Brigades
1969: Curcio and Cagol (both from Trento) found the collettivo politico metropolitano in Milan
By the same year sinistra proletaria is built by the two and Franceschini
August 1970 Curcio and Cagol found the Red Brigades at the conference in Pecorile– a month later RB’s first action takes place= burning of the sit-siemens leader’s car for labour unrest
Trento= ideological core of the movement– fighting the imperialist state of multinationals against consumerism and capitalist system of the US
Milan= workerist core– against exploitation of the wokring class by the neterprenuers
Reggio Emilia= political core– fighting agianst DC, leading the movement for about 20 years
Strategy of Tension (Years of the Lead)
political policy wherein violent struggle is encouraged rather than suppressed.
The purpose is to create a general feeling of insecurity in the population and make people seek security in a strong government, terrorist attacks, murders targeting political or military authorities and attempts to subverting the democrartic institutions through golpes
Historic compromise, democratic alternative
Proposal by Berlinguer= leader of the PCI
Proposal= democratic alliance with the DC
Berlinguer knew a marxist government was impossible withouth an alliance with moderate forces
Launching of Eurocommunism with PCF and PCE.
Compromise= unpopular opinion– not sustained by PSI’s leader Craxi
Communist extermists tried to boycott the government and far-left terrorism by BR increased
Aldo Moro’s assassination
Attack on the Italicus train, many died, on the train there should have been also Moro– responsability was claimed by neofascists of Ordine Nero
By the same year Kissinger (US’s secretary) threatens Moro about his attempts of cooperation of all parties (“there’s a Jaqueline in Italy’s future”)
By the same year– arrest of Curcio and Franceschini, new leadership (Mario Moretti) continued the war against the italian right-wing with increased fervour.
Disbandment of Potere Operaio and Lotta Continua (the latter in 1976)
1978, Roma: massacre of Via Fani and kidnapping of Aldo Moro– the RB were then led by Mario Moretti
ALDO MORO: a left-leaning DC member who served several times as prime minister; before his murder he tried to include the PCI in the government.
PCI at the time strongly opposed RB– perhaps this war the reason behind the kidnapping.
Moro was found dead and clampdown on the socialist movement followed– many members of leftist groups were arrested.
