Fascist Italy

Question 1

Lack of fascist economic policy

Answer 1

None, despite rhetoric about the ‘third way’, the corporate state and autarchy

Italy relied on imports so could not be a hermit kingdom

Mussolini believed more in will power than economic theory - ‘battles’ against intractable problems

Always reluctant to challenge big business or agrarians

Question 2

Strengthening of industrialists and agrarians

Answer 2

Due to dismantling of Rossoni’s confederation and the disbanding of non-fascist unions and co-operatives

Question 3

Economic ‘battles’

Answer 3

Battle of the lira attempted to solve inflation with ‘90 liras to the pound’, when it should have been 120

Battle for grain raised tariffs on wheat imports

Question 4

Great depression in Italy

Answer 4

Struck in the early 1930s, making nonsense of the ‘third way’ claim

Official unemployment figures rose to over 1 million

State had to intervene, buying stock holdings from companies in peril with the IRI

Question 5

Economic lack of progress for workers

Answer 5

Workers enjoyed some pay rises, but were still worse off than in the late 1920s, and their consumption of foodstuffs declined

Middle classes became increasingly dependent on posts in fascist organisations

Question 6

Establishment of mass organisations

Answer 6

Huge, national organisations included 1/3 to 1/2 of the population by the end of the 1930s

5 million in the PNF and various auxiliaries

Question 7

Relief for the masses

Answer 7

Organisations were something of a safety net for the distressed

Relief and sports and recreations all aimed at ‘socialisation’ and the integration of all groups into the regime

Question 8

Role of Achille Starace

Answer 8

Appointed party secretary 1931-9 to create the illusion of movement in an increasingly static regime

Question 9

Educational reform

Answer 9

From 1923 with Giovani Gentile - piecemeal and narrow class basis of ‘fewer but better’

Question 10

Female political rights

Answer 10

Contribution to WW1 led to belief in vote, but this was never granted (local election vote allowed in 1925, then abolished the next year)

Fasci femminili were given very limited scope - forbidden from taking any political intiatives

Question 11

‘Battle of the births’

Answer 11

Showed preoccupation with boosting population figures

OMNI set up in 1925 for welfare of unmarried mothers

Tax on celibacy, crack down on prostitution and abortion, also health and welfare units set up

Accepted by the Pope, allowing the Union of Catholic Women to be tolerated

Question 12

Efficacy of women policy

Answer 12

Limited, both in terms of birth rate and work - only 38% of agricultural workers were women in 1936

Question 13

Dopolovaro set up

Answer 13

In 1925, to control leisure and incorporate the masses into the regime - impressive social engineering

Converted into an integral part of the regime in 1937 under supervision of Duce

Class regimes were very obvious nonetheless (lower classes segregated)

Question 14

Dopolovaro as propaganda

Answer 14

It was seen as instrument of propaganda, however direct political indoctrination played a very small part in it

It did not want or expect a fanatical response - passive acceptance of the current situation was all that was required

Question 15

Popularity of the dopolovaro

Answer 15

Certainly very popular, and served the regime well by activities diverting attention from the many economic and social problems, preventing widespread opposition

So popular because it enabled the average Italian to enjoy the PNF’s resources without the obligation of any full commitment to fascist ideals of practice

Question 16

Weakness of the dopolovaro

Answer 16

Enabled critics of the regime to infiltrate its branches and meet together without attracting attention from the police

Also lacked a sense of dynamism, which was a fundamental flaw of the wider regime

Decidedly counter-productive if the fascists had wished to create a forceful, militaristic society

Question 17

Similarities between church and state

Answer 17

Similar attitudes towards women, family, and a form of corporativism that would bring an end to class war

Pope was initially supportive of crushing the socialists and freemasons

Question 18

1929 Lateran Pacts

Answer 18

Signed by the Duce and Cardinal Gasparri - secured the Catholic Church as the sole state religion, legal validity of marriages and freedom to pursue spiritual duties

Mussolini had sanctioned the Vatican, creating a state within a state which made totalitarian power impossible

Question 19

1931 Catholic Church issues

Answer 19

Major conflict, as Catholic Action members were accused of forming secret political groups

Youth clubs and offices were closed, and the pope replied with an encyclical attacking fascist attempts to monopolise education and the traditional rights of the family

Eventual compromise, with state recognising Catholic Action

Question 20

Catholic Church relations deterioration

Answer 20

After the introduction of racial laws in 1938 and the even close links to Nazi Germany, which led the pope to voice his public disquiet

Question 21

Nation prepared for war

Answer 21

The Duce had often declared that Italy was a nation permanently mobilised for war

After 1935, he unwisely decided to prove the validity of this boastful assertion and destroyed the regime in the process

Question 22

Lack of a fascist ideology

Answer 22

Initially the embodiment of mindless brutality, fascism suffered from too many ideas rather than a lack of them - almost impossible to reach any ideological consensus

Question 23

Lack of propaganda

Answer 23

Took a while to establish a propaganda apparatus that even remotely resembled the formidable machine set in motion by Goebbels

Central press office was present from the beginning, however there was a lack of exploitation of radios and cinema

Question 24

Propaganda after 1935

Answer 24

The Ministry for Press and Propaganda mobilised all the media to present the Italian tase int Ethiopian war

Question 25

Start of racial discrimination

Answer 25

Started in 1938 - surprising as the Duce had often poured scorn on Nazi racial theories Less than 50,000 Jews in Italy anyway, well-integrated and many of them patriotic members of the PNF

Question 26

1938 Racial policy

Answer 26

Manifesto of Racist Scientists appeared, followed by a series of racial laws, part of closer relationship with the Reich since 1936 Jewish children excluded, mixed marriages banned and purge from party and cultural establishments Most Italians deplored the discrimination, and it was a sad commentary on a society that had prided itself on its humanitarian instincts - many Italians did help out Jews in distress

Question 27

Discrimination from 1943

Answer 27

When the Germans took over, extreme persecution began, with 9,000 Italian Jews transported to extermination camps

Question 28

Discredit of Mussolini's ultimate aims

Answer 28

Mussolini sought to reinvigorate his regime by his racial policy and his foreign policy Both failed spectacularly, bringing discredit upon Fascist Italy in general and on himself in particular

Question 29

Unpopularity of war

Answer 29

Racism and joining 'Hitler's war; were so unpopular that only victory could have saved the regime, with even this leaving Italy a mere satellite of Germany

Question 30

Attempts to see Fascism as harmless

Answer 30

Pioneered by De Felice - feeling that it was essentially innocuous

Question 31

Pattern of violence in the regime

Answer 31

Less violence after the initial rise of fascism, but this was due to the defeat of the working classes

Question 32

Extent of intellectual and cultural freedom

Answer 32

Jokes about fascism and Mussolini in common circulation Emphasis on 'fascist tolerance' should not be too great - similar situation in Germany - people knew they just had to be careful

Question 33

Prevalence of the police and OVRA

Answer 33

Police were always present and had greatly increased numbers under fascism 20,000 police operations against opponents of the regime in later 1930s, showing a high degree of sensitivity towards opposition OVRA also penetrated opposition networks and investigated through totalitarian banks of data, torture and threats to family Also eggiest of inculcating fear in those who felt they may be the targets of repressive action

Question 34

Judicial system

Answer 34

Oppressive, giving heavy prison sentences if not death sentences to many of the 13,00 who passed through the system 1927-40

Question 35

Appearance vs reality of repression

Answer 35

Beneath an apparent laxity and overt paternal benevolence, fascism had constructed both the mechanisms of the police state and the judicial system to go with it

Question 36

Regimentation of the working class

Answer 36

Although there were increased numbers in fascist unions, it was due to the blackmail effect of a hostile labour market rather than their favourability

Question 37

Social services in accepting fascism

Answer 37

Induced acceptance of fascism Good provision for illness, unemployment, industrial accidents and old age which brought many into the orbit of the state Meticulous records of assistance of people were a wonderful propaganda vehicle - gave impression that the Italian state cared Opposition could be neutralised by contact withs state services and by the promises they made

Question 38

Lack of qualification for state services

Answer 38

Ethnic discrimination excluded from 1938 Landless agricultural labourers (40% of agricultural population) excluded from participation and benefits, and also more susceptible to heavy unemployment and exempt from unemployment pay The latter showed Po valley landowners were still powerful lobbyists

Question 39

Condition for state benefits

Answer 39

People had to present themselves to authorities on a regular basis to withdraw money Written reports were used, and could lead to fairly drastic disciplinary measures such as the removal of children Benefits controlled by fascist organisations, therefore only available for those conforming to fascist rules - implied threat of exclusion from benefits was potent

Question 40

Fascist division of workers

Answer 40

Divide and rule between blue and white collar, causing fragmentation of any solidarity White collar workers given higher wages and 2 years longer schooling for children

Question 41

Lack of consensus

Answer 41

Their were many highly committed followers, but claims of mass consensus are erroneous There should not be a polarisation of repression and consensus - individual does not move simply from one sphere to another No possibility of not toeing the line unless extremely privileged or brave

Question 42

Irrelevance of consensus

Answer 42

Although 'consensus' is problematic, as many had a pragmatic acquiescence, however even an existence of it does not, by any means, justify fascism

Question 43

Promises of the Duce

Answer 43

Personality cult of the duce promised economic prosperity, imperial success and the creation of a new Roman Empire

Question 44

Numbers in the dopolovaro

Answer 44

Ironically it was the most successful fascist organisation with 4.6 million members participating in holidays, etc.

Question 45

Real economic impact of fascism

Answer 45

Growth of the Italian economy under fascism was one of the slowest in C20 Index of real wages fell 11% 1925-1938

Question 46

Abyssinia

Answer 46

Fascist expansionist policy managed to accumulate it in 1936 - not particularly impressive as a territory, and the Italians had to use poison gas and bombs against civilians

Question 47

WW2 effect on Fascism

Answer 47

Destroyed it - 35/80 divisions had old rifles, no aircraft tanks and no aircraft carriers Inability to perform mass mobilisation, as it easy to make people conform, but harder to make them commit

Question 48

Organisation name for workers and welfare

Answer 48

National Council of Corporations set up in 1930, covering the main areas of worker and employer rights PNF took over and delivered social welfare thorugh the Enti Opere Assistenziali from 1931

Question 49

Specific welfare organisation examples

Answer 49

National Institute of Social Insurance provided insurance against accidents, sickness, old age, and unemployment

Question 50

Corner - Pre-fascist relationship between central government and local administration

Answer 50

Government respected local autonomies, blunting centralisation and setting up tension between the two Central government was sufficiently weak to have to rely on the collaboration of local government Needed continuous mediation through prefects, etc. Local votes in Rome dependent on exchange of favours

Question 51

Corner - Nature of fascist provincialism

Answer 51

Provincial in origin, and developed due to varying local issues Therefore, fascist preferred to define itself by what it was against rather than by what it was for Had to establish discipline and control factionalism within a highly variegated movement

Question 52

Corner - Party defining itself under Farinacci and Turati

Answer 52

Tried to curb many of its pretensions, including appointing to office from above, subordinating provincial federations 1927 circular stated that the federal (provincial leader) was subordinate to the prefect

Question 53

Corner - Limit of fascist bureaucratisation

Answer 53

Did create many large government organisations that restricted local issues, However, decisions taken at the centre were implemented on the ground by provincial party officials and local state administrators At this point, centralised mechanisms were exposed to obstruction, deviation or abuse Local contrasts and rivalries came to the fore again

Question 54

Corner - Lack of discussion of party ideology

Answer 54

Examination of party documents in the 1930s and 40s shows little discussion of fascist ideology other than reference to the 'fascist faith' Discussion of policy is absent - provincial politics is conducted entirely at the level of personalities and reputations, of local intrigues and vendettas

Question 55

Corner - Complaints about local officials

Answer 55

Letters to party HQ are filled with suggestions that local officials interpreted the 'fascist sacrifice' uniquely Men like Feltri, the Federale of Modena, gave building contracts to his brother in law and illegally sold petrol reserved for agriculture

Question 56

Corner - Effect of local official abuse of the system

Answer 56

Led to fairly generalised perceptions that they were principally interested in themselves Bound to produce cynicism and hostility Continual rotations of officials failed to stop complaints e.g. 15 Naples federalists in 10 years

Question 57

Corner - Failure of local federations

Answer 57

Working of them seemed to be irregular and at times totally chaotic Seemed like by the 1930s, the wheels were falling off Fascism Due to apathy, the provincial federations lost contact with the people they controlled

Question 58

Corner - Increase in reports of disaffection

Answer 58

By the late 1930s, as people were aware the war was looming Many felt that a German victory would be disastrous for Italy in the long run - Mussolini didn't realise until 1943

Question 59

Corner - Failure of demonstrations by late 1930s

Answer 59

1937 march in Padua for troops returning from Africa was virtually empty - more like a funeral Fascism seemed to have exhausted its energies, and disaffection even involved the young (supposed to be the most indoctrinated)

Question 60

Corner - Mental distinction between leader and reality

Answer 60

Phrase 'if the Duce only knew' shows this distinction, separating Mussolini from his self-interested and overbearing followers However, it does condemn what everyday Fascism represented for many people

Question 61

Corner - Doubts about Mussolini

Answer 61

In the good of 1938-9, a gathering level of frustration wit foreign policy and the German alliance led to doubts about his infallible 'intuition' Withdrawal from politics led to rumours of illness - his fall was a foregone conclusion to many

Question 62

Corner - Suggestion of party and police documentation

Answer 62

Progressive decay of the movement under the impact of provincial leaders who were not up to the job or brought the movement into bad repute

Question 63

Corner - Parallel processes in fascism

Answer 63

On one hand, its formal structures were being extended and reinforced On the other, the actual impact of fascism on a day-to-day basis was pushing people away from any commitment to the regime

Question 64

Corner - Failure of fascism to overcome origins

Answer 64

For all its modernising and centralising efforts, it never really outgrew its origins, dominated by local consideration Local and personal issues could never be prevented from coming to the fore Manifested the issues it had condemned liberal Italy for (parochialism corruption, etc.

Question 65

Corner - How should fascism be viewed?

Answer 65

Not from a teleological viewpoint, but rather in terms of the more deep-seated problems which faced the nation Problems of tension between centre and periphery, public and private, etc. provoked fascism, but also ultimately overwhelmed it Fascism was a response to more fundamental tensions present in Italian society, which did not begin or end with Fascism