Fascist Italy

Question 1

What does Fascism mean?

Answer 1

It’s a political philosophy that emphasises nation and often race and that stands for government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

Question 2

What happened in 1914?

Answer 2

In 1914, Benito Mussolini was expelled from the socialist party after he argued that Italy should become involved in the war.

Question 3

When was Benito Mussolini was expelled from the socialist party?

Answer 3

1914

Question 4

What happened in 1915?

Answer 4

Italy had joined WW1 in 1915 under the terms of the “Treaty of London” which promised Italy several regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the Paris Peace negotiations, the Allied leaders refused to give Italy all of the territory it had been promised. Italy only received South Tyrol, Istria and Trieste. This was abominable for them because 650,000 Italian soldiers died and almost 1,000,000 were wounded. Italian nationalists demanded that all of the initial promises were to be met.

Question 5

When did Italy join WW1?

Answer 5

1915

Question 6

What happened in 1918?

Answer 6

WW1 came to an end. Italy had relied heavily on foreign loans to pay for its involvement in the war, leaving Italy with a debt of 86 billion lire. Unfortunately for them, there was a drop in international trade after the war. Italy then went onto a period of agricultural and industrial decline. As well as this, inflation almost tripled during WW1. Citizens were furious and formed strikes against the government and revolted. For example, peasant workers attempted to seize land for themselves. The democratic system was failing for Italy so people were seeking for a new one.

Question 7

When did WW1 end?

Answer 7

1918

Question 8

How much was Italy in debt after WW1?

Answer 8

86 billion lire

Question 9

What did Mussolini say in 1918?

Answer 9

Mussolini had called for a political leader who could be “ruthless and energetic enough to make a clean sweep to revive the Italian nation”.

Question 10

What was Italy promised for participating in WW1?

Answer 10

The ‘Treaty of London’ promised several regions of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Question 11

What happened in 1919?

Answer 11

A group of ultra-nationalist ex-soldiers took siege of the city of Fiume and demanded that the Italian government formally take hold of it. Instead, the Italian government blockaded the city and told the 2,000 members within the ultra-nationalist group to surrender. This event illustrates the anger of the Italian citizens and weakness of the government.

Mussolini united several right-wing political groups to form the “Italian League of Combatants” which was the first fascist group to emerge after the war. Despite Mussolini’s renunciation of the Socialist Party, many of his policies were based on socialist principles which were to abolish the monarchy, seize Church lands and that workers should have an equal share in the profits of the industries in which they worked. He also established besides the Italian League of Combatants, a paramilitary wing of his fascist movement which is known as the blackshirts because they wore a black uniform.

Question 12

What happened in the 1919 general election?

Answer 12

In the 1919 general election, the Italian Socialist Party won 36% of the vote. However, the Italian Socialist Party was divided in opinion. Some supported the war and some didn’t. They then splitted into the Italian Socialist Party and the Italian Communist Party though the latter was less popular. Even though both parties weren’t that popular, their existence and growing popularity scared industrialists as they did not want the Communist Party to seize control of their businesses and land as Lenin did in Russia.

The fascists failed to secure any seats. Mussolini then established the National Fascist Party. The policies of the party focused heavily on Italian nationalism. Mussolini called for the expansion of Italian territory in order to replicate ancient Rome. In order to please the Italian masses, he toned down his anti-clerical and anti-monarchist views.

Question 13

What happening in 1916?

Answer 13

Nothing.

Question 14

What happening in 1917?

Answer 14

Nothing.

Question 15

What happening in 1920?

Answer 15

Nothing.

Question 16

What happened in 1921?

Answer 16

The Italian government collapsed and the support for the Fascist Party grew. Mussolini denounced the weaknesses of the democratic system claiming that it was failing to restore Italy’s economy and society. Mussolini proposed a “Third Way” which opposed communism and capitalism. Mussolini’s views as well as the actions of the blackshirts secured the Fascist Party gaining the support of industrialists, nationalists, landowners and demobilised soldiers.

Question 17

What happened in the 1921 general election?

Answer 17

In the 1921 general election, the socialist party won control and formed a coalition government.

Question 18

When did the Italian government collapse?

Answer 18

1921

Question 19

When did the ex ultra-nationalist soldiers take siege of Fiume?

Answer 19

1919

Question 20

What happened in 1922?

Answer 20

The socialist party’s coalition government collapsed which is one of many failed coalition parties. The socialist party called for a strike and Mussolini used this strike to his advantage and attacked his socialist rivals. The blackshirts, which number 200,000, expelled Socialist Party members and broke up the strike. Many Italians saw this as Mussolini being the only politician capable of restoring law and order to Italy. Support for the Fascists grew and Mussolini became the prime-minister.

When Mussolini became the prime-minister, he began to foster a cult of personality. Images of him working in the fields, bringing in the harvest, and in military uniform with his generals were common in the Fascist press, which included Mussolini’s newspaper, Il Popolo d’Italia (The People of Italy). He was portrayed as a sportsman and musician. Strict laws on censorship also ensured that criticism of the Fascist government was suppressed. To many Italians, Mussolini was the embodiment of the ‘strong man’ who would restore Italy’s greatness.

A significant factor that secured support for Mussolini was the success of the Italian economy. Between 1922-1925, the Minister for Finance, Alberto De Stefani restored the Italian economy. He oversaw a reform of the tax system and focused on maintaining free trade. He encouraged foreign investment to Italy by offering foreign companies tax exemptions. The economy grew by 20% and unemployment fell by 76%, from 500,000 to 120,000.

Mussolini demanded that the Fascist-led government be appointed. To emphasise his wishes, he organised a marsh for 30,000 blackshirts to march on Rome. It was believed by the Prime Minister, Luigi Facta from the Italian Liberal Party, that the Fascists were attempting to seize power so he asked the King to tell the Italian Army to deal with the blackshirts but the King refused under pro-fascist royal family and military influence. Facta resigned after hearing this. With no prime minister anymore, the King assigned Mussolini as prime minister believing he could control him. Mussolini was asked to form a government too. This was despite the general elections. Mussolini used this power to dismantle democracy and establish a dictatorship.

Pope Pius XI saw fascism as a useful barrier against the rise of communism and asked Italian Catholics to support the Fascist Party.

Question 21

When did the socialist party’s coalition government collapse?

Answer 21

1922

Question 22

When did Mussolini become the prime minister?

Answer 22

1922

Question 23

When did Italian Catholics join forces with Fascism?

Answer 23

1922. Pope Pius XI saw fascism as a useful barrier against the rise of communism and asked Italian Catholics to support the Fascist Party.

Question 24

What happened in 1923?

Answer 24

Mussolini made the blackshirts a voluntary state military. He also got parliament to pass the Acerbo Law whereby the party with the most votes in general elections would automatically get ⅔ of the seats. Mussolini claimed that this law would put an end to weak coalition governments.

The Corfu incident. Following a border dispute between Greece and Albania, members of the League of Nations, including an Italian delegation, sought to resolve the issue. When 5 people of the Italian delegation were killed on the Greek border, Mussolini issued a series of demands to the Greek government, including the payment of 50 million lire as compensation. When the Greeks refused to pay, Mussolini sent Italian forces to occupy the Greek island of Corfu. The island was to remain under Italian occupation until the compensation was paid. Greece appealed to the League of Nations to resolve the incident. However, the Italians threatened to leave the League of Nations if it became involved in this dispute. In the end, a conference of Ambassadors from Italy and Greece resolved the situation and the compensation was approved. The Corfu Incident heightened Mussolini’s prestige at home and also demonstrated the weakness of the League of Nations as an international peacekeeping organisation.

Question 25

What happened in 1924?

Answer 25

Mussolini secured the port of Fiume for Italy. He was hailed a hero. When the general election was held this year, the blackshirts launched a series of attacks on their most vocal opponents, the Socialists. The Fascists and their allies won over 64% and so the fascists secured ⅔ of the seats.

Question 26

What happened in the 1924 general election?

Answer 26

After the election, the leader of the Socialist Party, Giacomo Matteotti, called for an annulment. He claimed that the Fascist Party skewed voting and that Fascist gangs were violent and murderers during the election. Shortly after this, he was murdered by members of the Fascist Party’s secret police, the Ceka (modelled on Lenin’s Cheka). Mussolini claimed Matteotti’s death was the work of extremists.

The King refused to question the affair as he did not wish to destabilise the government yet again. In protest against the refusal of questioning into the murder, the Socialist Party deputies withdrew from the Chamber in an event known as the Aventine Secession. They stated that they would return to the Chamber once the King dismissed Mussolini. This worked to Mussolini’s advantage as most of his opponents removed themselves from the Chamber.

Question 27

What happened in 1925?

Answer 27

Mussolini finally became a dictator.

In January 1925, Mussolini delivered a speech to the Chamber in which he took responsibility for Matteotti’s murder stating, “I declare before all Italy that I assume full responsibility for what has happened.” He then told the rest of the members to challenge him though not one of them did.

Mussolini was then referred to as “Il Duce” which is the leader in Italian. By the end of the year, the parliament passed a law allowing Mussolini to rule by decree. This means that he could introduce laws without the parliament’s consent. The only person who could remove Mussolini from this position was the King.

De Stefani was dismissed. Mussolini wished to take greater control of the economy and pursue a policy of self-sufficiency by making Italy less reliant on foreign trade. Italy embarked on a series of large public works which helped to further reduce unemployment, but were funded by borrowing enormous sums of money. Free trade was ended and a series of protectionist tariffs were placed on imports. Foreign goods became more expensive, which discouraged Italians from buying them. The wages of state workers were reduced. Mussolini introduced a series of ‘Battles’ to promote self-sufficiency.

Question 28

What were the ‘Battles’?

Answer 28

‘The Battle for Lira’ where Mussolini believed that the Italian currency, the lira, needed to look stronger than it was. It was revalued and inflated by 10%, which made exports more expensive, discouraging foreign countries from buying them. ‘The Battle for Grain’ where Mussolini demanded that farmers focus more on producing grain so that Italy would be less reliant on imports. ‘The Battle for Land’ where Mussolini ordered marshland and wastelands cleared to make them available for farming. ‘The Battle for Births’ where financial incentives were given to large families and a tax was placed on unmarried men to incentivise marriage and increase the population. There were several successful outcomes of these policies, such as the draining of the Pontine Marshes near Rome. The mosquito-infested marshes were successfully drained and the new town of Littoria was opened in 1932. The town’s housing was given to some of the poorest in Italian society. Through public works, almost 4,000 miles of road works were completed and around 400 bridges were constructed. New public buildings, modelled on those of Ancient Rome, were built. Many of these buildings were used as offices by the Fascist Party.

Question 29

What was the outcome of the ‘Battles’?

Answer 29

While the ‘Battle for Land’ was largely successful, Mussolini’s overall interference in the economy was disastrous. Larger farmers benefited from state-guaranteed prices for grain but the policy meant that bread was too expensive for many of Italy’s poorest citizens. Many farmers abandoned the production of more profitable crops in favour of wheat. In some cases, soil conditions were not suitable for wheat: the state was required to subsidise farmers’ incomes, which increased the national debt. With the abandonment of free trade, unemployment rose and wages plummeted to the lowest in Europe. Many Italian industries were unable to export their produce, which hindered growth. ‘The Battle for Births’ also placed an increased burden on resources, which were already under pressure from Italy’s large population.

Question 30

What happened in 1926?

Answer 30

In 1926, a Fascist paramilitary youth organisation, Opera Nazionala Balilla (ONB), was created. Boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 18 were required to join the ONB, where they would learn military skills and be indoctrinated in fascist ideology. It was envisaged that the male members of the ONB would go on to serve in the Italian Army. All other youth movements were banned in Italy.

The Fascists outlawed trade unions and replaced them with Fascist syndicates.

Mussolini secured Albania as an Italian protectorate.

Question 31

What happened in 1927?

Answer 31

15 year old anarchist Anteo Zamboni attempted to assassinate Mussolini. Mussolini was uninjured by the attack and Zamboni was immediately killed by Fascist troops. This assassination fed into Fascist propaganda which portrayed Mussolini as untouchable. They also enabled Mussolini to introduce a series of laws to abolish the remaining opposition parties and turn Italy into a police state.

The Fascists established a new secret police force known as “OVRA”. This force worked separately from other state security forces. It was responsible for arresting anyone who was involved with or supported political dissent.

Question 32

What happened in 1928?

Answer 32

The “Grand Council of Fascism” was made responsible for nominating candidates to parliament. This limited voters’ choices.

Question 33

What happened in 1929?

Answer 33

Mussolini negotiated a treaty with the Vatican. Under the terms of the Lateran Treaty, Mussolini and the papacy agreed to many factors.

Question 34

What happened in 1930?

Answer 34

Despite these agreements, the Vatican’s relationship with Mussolini’s government deteriorated drastically after 1930, when the Fascists began to limit the freedom of the Church. For example, the Fascists tried to merge the Church’s youth groups into the ONB.

By 1930, OVRA had 700 full-time agents and a network of over 100,000 informants. Those found guilty of sedition against the Fascist government were deported to prison camps situated on several islands off the Italian coast. Repression in Mussolini’s Italy was not on quite the same scale as that of Soviet Russia or Nazi Germany.

A Council of Corporations was established as an advisory body to the government. There were 22 corporations within the council. Each corporation represented the workers and employers from a particular sector (industrial, agricultural, etc.) of the economy and society. The officials from each corporation were appointed by the state and were responsible for negotiating, working and pay conditions for their sector. In practice, the Council of Corporations held no influence over Italian economic policies, which remained under the control of the Fascist Party. The Council increased the control of the Fascist state over society. All Council decisions were in keeping with the wishes of the Fascist Party and their industrial supporters, which meant that the workers lost out.

Question 35

What were the terms of the ‘Lateran Treaty’?

Answer 35

Catholicism became the state religion and the Italian clergy were to be paid by the state. The Italian state recognised the Pope’s sovereignty and provided 109 acres for the creation of the Vatican City. Rome was declared the centre of the Catholic world and the primary place of pilgrimage for Catholics. The Italian state agreed to compensate the papacy for the loss of the Papal States in 1870 with a payment of £30,000,000. The Italian state recognised Catholic marriage and there was to be no divorce. Religious education was permitted in Italian state schools. The papacy agreed to recognise the Italian state. All bishops appointed in Rome had to be of Italian birth and be approved by the state. The Church agreed to support the Fascist government’s anti-socialist policies.

Question 36

What happened in 1931?

Answer 36

Pope Pius issued Non Abbiamo Bisogno. It denounced the attacks on the Church in Italy and condemned ‘pagan worship of the state’.

Mussolini ordered that all teachers had to swear an oath of loyalty to fascism. Those who refused were dismissed from their posts. Students were educated on the glories of the Roman Empire and were taught to believe that the Fascists would help to restore Italy’s greatness.

Question 37

What happened in 1932?

Answer 37

Nothing.

Question 38

What happened in 1933?

Answer 38

Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 initially alarmed Mussolini. He feared that Hitler might seek to reclaim Austrian territory that had been given to Italy following WW1.

Germany withdrew from the League of Nations.

Question 39

What happened in 1934?

Answer 39

The Austrian Chancellor was assassinated by members of the Austrian Nazi Party. Mussolini sent a warning to Hitler against any attempt at invading Austria.

Question 40

What happened in 1935?

Answer 40

Italy, France and Britain formed the Stresa Front which aimed to guarantee the independence of Austria and to resist German rearmament.

Italian forces invaded the African nations of Ethiopia in Mussolini’s attempt to gain control of several North African countries. The Emperor of Ethiopia called on the League of Nations to intervene, since it was against the Covenant of the League for one member to attack another. The League placed a series of economic sanctions on Italy. However, France and Britain were reluctant to enforce sanctions because they feared it would alienate Mussolini and cause the collapse of the Stresa Front. Britain, France and Italy agreed to the ‘Hoare-Laval Pact’, which allowed Italy to partition part of Ethiopia and make it an Italian colony. When the details of the pact were announced, there was an outcry in Britain and France and both governments were forced to reject the pact. After the collapse of the Hoare-Laval Pact, Mussolini moved towards an alliance with Hitler. When the League placed sanctions on Italy, the Germans continued to trade with Italy. Hitler used the distraction of the Ethiopian Crisis to reoccupy the Rhineland, which was forbidden under the Treaty of Versailles.

Question 41

What happened in 1936?

Answer 41

The Pope condemned Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia.

When the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936, the fascist governments in both Italy and Germany gave military support to the Spanish fascists.

Question 42

What happened in 1937?

Answer 42

Italy withdrew from its membership of the League of Nations. It signed the ‘Anti-Comintern Pact’ with Germany and Japan. This commited the 3 states to opposing the spread of communism with force.

Question 43

What happened in 1938?

Answer 43

Mussolini launched the ‘Manifesto on Race’.

Mussolini’s adoption of Nazi-style race laws in 1938 was furiously rejected by the Vatican. The Church works to try to protect Jews in Italy. The Vatican remained an independent body throughout Mussolini’s dictatorship and continued to act as the authoritative voice of the Catholic population. It was too powerful in Italian society for Mussolini to actively suppress it.

Mussolini, who was not prepared for a war, acted as a peace negotiator during the ‘Munich Crisis’ and helped to avoid a war between Germany and Britain over Czechoslovakia.

Question 44

What did the ‘Manifesto on Race’ state?

Answer 44

It stated that Italians were an Aryan race, and that there existed a pure Italian race to which Jewish people did not belong. This was followed by a series of laws inspired by Nazi Germany, foreign-born Jews were forbidden to live in Italy, Jews were banned from jobs in the civil service, banking, education, the military and the law, jews were projibited from attending all education institutions, marriage was banned between Jews and non-Jews, Jewish property and businesses were confiscated and a census of Jews was conducted in 1938 and continually updated in the following years. This information would be used for the mass arrest and deportation of thousands of Jews during WW2. The laws found little support among the Italian public. There was a level of non-cooperation in Italy. The Fascists did not exercise the same level of totalitarian control as that of the Nazis in Germany or the communists in Russia.

Question 45

What happened in 1939?

Answer 45

Italy and Germany agreed to a military alliance, the ‘Pact of Steel’. The pact was a defensive and offensive military alliance. However, Mussolini sought assurances that Germany would not involve itself in a war for a period of at least 3 years. Italian forces had been overstretched in the previous years and Mussolini needed time for them to recover. Therefore when Britain and France declared war on Germany, Mussolini broke the pact and declared that Italy was not prepared to involve itself in the conflict. During this period, Britain and France sought to regain Italy’s support.

Question 46

What happened in 1940?

Answer 46

Following German successes in Western Europe, Mussolini was convinced that Germany would emerge victorious and declared war on France and Britain. Following his declaration of war, Mussolini sought to expand Italian territory in North Africa and the Balkans and needed the assistance of the Germans in 1941 to secure a victory. This delayed Germany’s planned invasion of the Soviet Union by over a month.

By 1940, OVRA had arrested 4,000 people and 10 people had been sentenced to death for political crimes.

Question 47

What happened in 1943?

Answer 47

The Italians lost control of Ethiopia and North Africa. The Allies then launched an invasion of Sicily and then launched an attack on the Italian mainland. Support for Fascists evaporated. The King deposed Mussolini and ordered his arrest. Badoglio was appointed the new Italian Prime Minister and brought an end to Italy’s involvement in the war.

Mussolini was rescued by German forces. Following his release, Mussolini established a new Nazi puppet state, the Italian Social Republic, in German-held Northern Italy.

Question 48

What happened in 1945?

Answer 48

Italian partisans captured Mussolini and executed him. His body, along with his mistress and several of his ministers, were transported to Milan where they were hung up in the main square.

Question 49

When was Mussolini executed?

Answer 49

1945

Question 50

What happened in 1941?

Answer 50

Nothing.

Question 51

What happened in 1942?

Answer 51

Nothing.

Question 52

What happened in 1944?

Answer 52

Nothing.