Fascist Italy- Rise Of Fascism 1920s Flashcards
What occurred at the occupation of Fiume
.September 1919 D’Annunzio led 2000 former soldiers and seized Fiume which he called the Free state of Fiume
.Allied troops withdrew from the are and made no attempt to resist the occupation.
. Lasted 15 months ending in December 1920
. Giolitti eventually sent the Italian army over
. In November 1920 Giolitti signed the Treaty of Rapallo and declared that Fiume was to be an independent city
. Many Italians ended up criticising Giolitti for how he handled the situation. It suggested that they were unwilling to prevent illegal actions by nationalist or fascist groups.
What post war economic and political problems did Italy face
Economic - 2 million Italians unemployed, cost of living index rose from 100 in 1914 to 264 in 1918, moved to a free market economy and many large Italian companies went bankrupt
Political - middle class, urban workers , rural labourers had been adversely affected and were more willing to turn to political extremists.
What was the Biennio Rosso
Also known as the two red years
In 1919 their were 166e strikes in industry and 189 in agriculture
In September 1920 in the city of Turin saw the introduction of Factory commissions. This saw 400,000 workers take over their factories.
What caused a growth of support for the catholic party (PPI)
They wanted to improve living standards among peasants , supported social reforms including the foundation of a welfare state. We’re willing to work in a coalition government with the liberals
What caused growing support for the socialist party (PSI)
The group often failed to work together successfully, they sought to control the supply of labour and employment. Socialist unions were prepared to adopt violent methods to achieve their means
What occurred with the foundation of the Fasci Di combattimento
On march 23rd 1919 Benito Mussolini , a former socialist, founded a new political group in Milan. The fist meeting was only attended by 118 dissident socialist, war veterans and Futurists
What was the Fasci Di Combattimentos party programme
They attempted to challenge socialist: republicanism, decentralisation, female suffrage, 8 hour work day, minimum wage
Who were the squadrismo
Formed into squads called the squadristi, wore black shirts to identify themselves. The key targets of their violence was socialist. They engaged in strike breaking, forced unions of labourers to disband and gained supporters through installing a fear of socialist.
What was the support for the squadristi like
Local leaders within rural areas often became supporters of the squadristi. As the movement grew fascism began to appeal to clerical workers and shop workers. Smaller scale industrialists played a role in supporting and financing the black shirts
What occurred during the march on Rome in October 1922 ?
. On 27th October fascists seized government offices and telephone exchanges outside of Rome
. On 28th October the blackshirts had gathered outs due of Rome but were not marched in as to not conflict with the Army. Eventually prime minister Facta requested Marshall law and declared a state of emergency with the aim of using the army to defeat the fascists.
. At 2am king Emmanuel agreed with factas request and began organising 12000 troops to defend Rome
. However by 9am the king changed his mind and decided to compromise with Mussolini out of fear of Bering replaced by his Fascist nephew
. Facta resigned and the king attempted to get salandra to form a government with included Mussolini but he refused
. On 29th October Mussolini received a telegraph from the king asking him to come to Rome and discuss
. On 30th October the king offfered Mussolini the role of prime minister with 3 other fascists in the coalition government
. On 31st October 50,000 fascist in Rome held a victory march
How did Mussolini consolidate power ?
. He appeased the old elite by appointing an orthodox economist as minister of finance
. He prioritised relations with the Catholic Church by increasing clerical pay and ordering all schools to display the crucifix.
. As a result the Vatican backed Mussolini
. Mussolini also came to an agreement with the nationalist ANI which resulted in the ANI being absorbed into the PNF in Early 1923.
. On 16th November 1922 Mussolini was granted emergency power for 1 year. He could raise taxes and rule without parliament for a whole year
How did Mussolini control the PNF
. Set up the Fascist Grand Council in December 1922. This acted as an alternative government, containing leading fascists like Balbo, Bianachi and De bono
. The MVSN was set up in January 1923. They took control of all Squadristi and formalised their role as to support police/army defence of the fascist revolution, this increased Mussolini’s control and limited the power of the ras.
. The fascist movement became more middle class
What was the Acerbo law
The Acerbo law was introduced in November 1923 and gave 2/3 of the seats in parliament to the party who got 25% of the vote.
. The election on 6th April 1924 was influenced by the fascist violence and the PNF won 66% of the vote and 275 seats. Mussolini had control of parliament
What occurred during the Matteotti crisis ?
.On 24th may 1924 Matteotti gave a speech in parliament criticising Mussolini
. He disappeared on 10th June on the way to parliament and was later found dead in August.
. Eye witnesses reported he had been bundled into a car that belonged to Fillipelli, a leading fascist, who was linked to Mussolini’s press secretary Cesare Rossi. It was clear Matteotti had been muredered by the fascists and a group of 100 anti-fascists members of parliament set up their own assembly on Aventine Hill
. In response Mussolini sacked Rossi and De Bono and appointed a conservative. In November 1924 Mussolini told the squadristi to end all violence and he met with the ras in December 1924.
How did Mussolini establish his dictatorship
On 3rd January 1925 Mussolini gave a speech in parliament where he took responsibility for fascism and announced he would set up a personal dictatorship.
. In Feb 1925 Farinacci was given the job of PNF secretary . His job was to purge the PNF of members who did not do as Mussolini said
. In October the fascist grand council announced that all squads join the MVSN or disband
. Army generals were given a pay rise and the conservative Badoglio was made commander to appeal generals
. Membership of the PNF was expanded further to weaken the influence of radical elements
. On 2nd October 1925 the Palazzo Vidoni Pact made the fascist trade union the only official representative of Italian workers
