Fascist Italy 1925 - 1943 Flashcards
(33 cards)
1
Q
What were the main sources of Propaganda ?
A
- Radio
- Newspapers
- Cinema
- Rallies
- Sport
2
Q
Main points of using Radio ?
A
- 2 hours a day of official Mussolini broadcasts
- 40.000 in 1927 to 1m in 1938
- In 1930s, government gave radios to schools
3
Q
Main points of using Newspapers ?
A
- Introduced prefects in 1923 who oversaw censorship
- By 1926 all opposition papers banned
- Journalists had to be registered by state
4
Q
Main points of using Cinema ?
A
- In 1924 LUCE was created to make fascist documentaries
- In 1934 Generallin Culture Ministry was told to oversee cinema
- Used to create national identity in children
5
Q
Mussolini’s 2 aims to improve education ?
A
Improve Literacy and Indoctrinate childrn
6
Q
Successes of Education system ?
A
- Learning age increased from 12 to 14
- Teachers required to be PNF
- Only 1 textbook
- Portraits hung round schools
- Improved Literacy: 1921 = 27% + 1931 = 21% + 1936 = 17%
7
Q
Failures of Education System ?
A
- Uni students decline from 1921-34
- Gov expenditure from 4 to 8% in 1922-36
- Teachers tactical fascist
- Low attendance at youth groups
- Uni professors hard to fire
8
Q
Fascist Policy for Women ?
A
- Ban Contraceptives and reward motherhood
- Limit employment and education
- Women strand of Fascist party
- Let women vote in local elections
- Encourage them to attend rallies
9
Q
What was the OND ?
A
- Entertainment agency providing holidays, cinema etc (3.8m members by 1939)
- increased Fascist support but only tactical
10
Q
What was the ONB ?
A
The Fascist youth group for children
11
Q
Pros and Cons of ONB ?
A
+ 700k attended summer camps
+ By 1929, 60% of northerners were members
- Catholic Boy Scouts rivals
- Low turnout in south
12
Q
Origin of the Mafia ?
A
- Crime families in Sicily hired by Elite caused gang wars
- Protection Rackets common
- In 1885 the ‘Mafia’ was formally created
- Bully their way into Sicily government
- Rule Sicily
13
Q
How did Mussolini deal with the Mafia ?
A
-Visits Sicily with army but seen as disrespectful (24’)
+ Falls out with Mafia so give Cesare Mori unlimited budget to eliminate (25’)
+ Mori lays siege to Gangi and arrests 130 Mafia (26’)
+ Mori arrests 11k Mafia (26’ - 29’)
+ Don Vito (Mafia Boss) senteced to life in prison (30’)
-Mafia comes back after Mussolini ignores Sicily
-Mafia tell USA how to defeat Italy
14
Q
What were the main methods of Power & Control ?
A
- Squadristi
- The OVRA
- Fascist Justice
15
Q
Squadristi (BS) ?
A
- Threatened revolutionary violence
- Terrorised socialists
- 2000 political opponents murdered from 1922 - 25
- Intimidated voters
16
Q
The OVRA ?
A
- Combating anti-fascist groups from 1926
- 700 agents to spy
- Camps like Lipari held 6k prisoners
- 100k informants
- 20k raids per week
17
Q
Fascist Justice ?
A
- 21k trials
- 19k years of sentences
- 3596 found guilty
- 42 death sentences
18
Q
Censorship ?
A
- Journalists had to register with gov
- Anti-fascist propaganda seen as treason
- Hostile newspapers shut down
19
Q
Fascist regime repressive ?
A
- Internal migration had to be approved
- 5000 political prisoners
- 400 killed by state
- Intimidated Voters
- People publicly arrested as deterrent
- Informants arrested for not informing
- OVRA
20
Q
Fascist regime not repressive ?
A
- Jewish house arrest prisoners treated very well
- OVRA only had 700 agents so cant have been that invasive
21
Q
When was a Anti-Semitism adopted by Mussolini ?
A
1938
22
Q
What were key Anti-Semitic policies ?
A
- Mixed marriage banned
- No jews in state service
- Banned from public schools
- Not allowed Aryan servants
- Foreign Jews expelled
- Not allowed to own businesses
23
Q
How many Jews did Fascist Regime send to camps ?
A
7500
24
Q
What were the reasons for Anti-Semitism ?
A
- Impact of war in Ethiopia
- Relations with Hitler
- Pressure from Italian Fascists
- Manifesto of Racial Scientists
25
Why did Mussolini want to work with the Pope ?
- Pope aided consolidation of power
- Helped Pope out of bankruptcy
- Passed policy that aligned with Catholics
26
What is Lateran Agreement ?
Treaty (Concordat) ending conflict around role and status of Catholic Church in Italy
27
Benefits of Lateran Agreement for Mussolini ?
- Clergy cannot be member of a party
- Gov can veto any Bishop appointments
- Pope agreed to recognise Italian state
- Collaberation
28
Benefits of Lateran Agreement for Pope ?
- Given £30m
- RE compulsory in state school
- No divorce without church consent
- State pays clergy salary
- Church can instate marriage
- State recognises Pope’s rule of Vatican
29
What happened between Fascist and Church with Youth Groups ?
- In 1931 tried banning catholic group as was rival to ONB
- Church stopped talking political in response
- Fascist banned the group’s political stem anywa
30
What happened between Fascists and Church with Anti-Semitism ?
- Anti-Semitic laws in 1938 because of increased relations with Hitler
- Cardinal Schuster condemned all and Pope spoke out against
- Lateran agreement broken and Pope said he regretted any collaboration with Mussolini
31
What were Mussolini’s Economic Policies of 1920s ?
Liberal Economics 1922-24:
- Mussolini’s initial policy addressed a budget deficit and to tackle this De Stefani made large cuts in public spending, privatised government owned companies.
- A main policy was introducing deregulation and reduced taxation - This meant that government debt shrank from 74% of GDP in 1922 to 50% of GDP in 1925. However in the long term there was a sharp rise in inflation after a poor harvest in 1924 and the value of lira fell from 91.5 to 144.9 lira to the pound in 1925.
The Battle for the Lira:
- Lira was revalued from 140 to 90 to the pound in 1927 meaning that tariffs on imports were introduced to protect the economy and the government began to regulate industrial relations, manage state finances, further develop and modernise the economy.
- The revaluation undermined led to wage cuts, falling living standards and rising unemployment.
The Corporate State:
- The corporate state meant that workers, employers and Fascist officials were organised into corporations to work together, solve disputes between workers and management and improve production.
- The Vidoni Palace Act 1925 was signed between the employers association and the Fascist trade union federation to recognise each other as the only negotiator for their respective groups. Other trade unions were disbanded after 1926 along with a ban on workers strikes.
- The Ministry of Corporations 1926 was established to overview the new system but was never supported by industrialists or Mussolini.
- The trade union movement in 1927 meant they were determined to regain control of their factories and led to Mussolini breaking down the Fascist unions into smaller ones to boost the power of employers.
- The Corporate State was used as propaganda but was virtually useless, Businesses ignored regulations and made their own organisations.
32
What was Mussolini’s main aim in the economy for 1930s ?
Autarky - Economic self-sufficiency whereby in theory only Italian produce is consumed
33
What were Mussolini’s Economic Policies of 1930s ?
Preparing for War:
- Mussolini took industry into state control with 80% of shipbuilding and 50% of steel production being taken over
- In response, living conditions and welfare worsened as well as the LON imposing trade sanctions on Italy after their invasion of Abyssinia
Industrial Policy:
- Mussolini placed tariffs on imported goods to encourage autarky
- In response most wages fell by 10%
Responding to Wall Street Crash:
- Government introduced work schemes and bailed out banks who couldn’t pay investors
- Despite this car production fell by 50% with 15k redundant and unemployment rose to 2m in 33’
