Fascist Italy Flashcards
Rise of Fascism
Anger at post war treaty - loss of territory
Weak democratic governments
Economic turmoil
Fear of communism
Charismatic leaders w middle + working class support
Post war Italy
Treaty of London promised Italy several terrritories denied in Paris Peace Accords.
No of Italian soldiers killed In WW1
650,0000
People beleived their sacrifice was worthless
Italia Irredenta
Unredeemed Italy - ideology that proposed territories should be taken eg. D’Annuzio’s seizure of Fiume
Italian economy
€85 bill debt
Decline in trade, industry + ag
Inflation
2 mill unemployed by 1919
Soviets formed + peasant land seizures
Fear of Communism
Italian Socialist Party 36% of vote
Business + land owners scared
Right wing groups formed
Anti gov + Anti monarchy
Mussolini switched to fascism
Mussolini enters the seem
Former socialist joins several right wing groups postWW1 + unites some in 1919 - Fasci Italiani di Combattimento
Fasci italiani di Combattimento principles
Abolish monarchy
Seize church lands
Give workers equal profit shares
Squadrisiti
paramilitary wing of fascist blackshirts, who intimidated political rivals
PNF views
Pnf (National Fascist Party) very pro Italia Irredenta and spazio vitale.
3rd way
Capitalist + communist
Support or PNF
When socialists callapsed, blackshirts kicked them off councels + broke up thier strikes. Seen as better than Facta’s Italian Liberal party
March on Rome
Oct 1922 Mussolini demands Facta to resign, have a fascist gov. Orders 30,000 blackshirts to march on Rome
March on rome results
Facta asked the king to call the army, king refused, Facta quit, Mussolini became PM
Acerbo Law
Most popular party gets ⅔ of the chamber seats, justified by preventing weak coalitions. Blackshirts intimidated people so Fascists could get this.
