Growth In Facism

Question 1

What was the outcome of the Nov 1919 election ?

Answer 1

PSI- 156 (single largest party in Italian parliment) and 32 % of the vote.

Mussolini does v poorly (less than 5000 votes and no seats )

Liberals do v badly but PSI nor PPI ( next biggest party ) had full coalition or willing to work together- liberals stay

[NB: This was one of the key factors that encouraged M to take the facist movement more definatley to the right ]

Question 2

Why were landowners appalled at the governments failure to halt the country side revolution ?

Answer 2

Peasants occupying uncultivated land and farming it for themselves.

Wanted to see socialist attempts to bring about land reform for the peasantry end.

Agricultural labourers joining socialist trade unions in large numbers and were beginning to demand higher wages and employment guarantees.

Question 3

Why did shopkeepers see the liberal job as a failure ?

Answer 3

Their surrender in June 1919 to rioters who were protesting against the rise of bread.

Question 4

What is trincerocrazia

Answer 4

What M used to described the camaraderie felt fighting together which provided a mutual feeling of belonging.

Question 5

When was the socialist occupation of the factories ? Who was involved ? And how long did it last ?

Answer 5

Sep 1920
400,000 Metal workers / engineering workers in the northern industrial cities ( Milian, Turin, Genoa )
Nearly a month

Question 6

What was Giolittis tactics toward the socialists during the red years ?

Answer 6

Non violence, encouraging businesses to give shares in their companies and pressuring Italys banks to not provide money for companies who would not negotiate with the striking workforce.

Question 7

How many seats did the facists win in the 1919 vs 1921 election ?

Answer 7

0 vs 35

Question 8

By 1922 how large had the PNF grown to ?

Answer 8

320,000 members and nearly 1/2 million workers had joined facist trade unions.

Question 9

What did the PSI fail in doing in 1922 ?

Answer 9

24 h strike - this was an attempt by the PSI and PCI to encourage further pressure on the political system, but workers didn’t support this move and were tired of strike action

M takes credit- Encourages myth that it is PNF who spares Italy from revolution. Indeed when workers did go on strike, facist volunteers kept public services running.

Question 10

By spring 1921 which provinces did facists control ?

Answer 10

Emilia and Tuscany ( police looked the other way when squadrismo has crushed the socialist power in these provinces)

Question 11

What Russian phrase were the middle class afraid of ( socialism )

Answer 11

Worried there would be a ‘bolshlevik’ ( seizure of power ) like in Russia.

Question 12

During 1919 how many workers took part in strikes ?

Answer 12

Over 1 million

Question 13

Was what the attitude to elites in Mussolinis initial programme in 1919 ?

Answer 13

Anti clerical and wanted the consfication of church property / remove noble titles (eliminate all titles based on caste or class, among others.)/wanted a republic (end of monarchy ).

Question 14

what was Mussolinis initial programme in 1919 like in relation to industry/workers ?

Answer 14

8 h working day / a minimum wage / confiscation of profits fom comapanies that had made large profits during the war/ participation of workers representatives in the functions of industry commisions/ reorganisation of the railways and the transport sector under gov

Question 15

When did Mussolini form the Fasci di Combattimento ?

Answer 15

23 March 1919

Mussolini gave two speeches at the meeting on 23 March 1919, which contained a catch-all series of proposals intended to appeal to both the Left and the Right

Question 16

What was Mussolinis initial programme in 1919 like in relation to foreign policy ?

Answer 16

Peaceful but competitive/abolition of compulsory military service/ opposition towards militarism/ Revision of all contracts for military provosions.

Although, for the Right, Mussolini endorsed nationalist claims over Fiume and Dalmatia. Also early on Mussolini describes camraderie felt by those in the trenches - trincerocrazia. He argued that it was the trincesti (the retured soldiers) , who had the strength and moral right to destroy the liberal state and lead a new Italy that would reproduce the patriotic feeling of togetherness they had experienced in the war.

Question 17

What was Mussolinis new programme ?

Answer 17

1920

Much more conservative and right wing. Considerably more popular with Italian popuation

Question 18

How did Mussolinis attitude to the elites change by 1921 ?

Answer 18

New programme dropped any mentions of removing the monarchy and attacking the power of the Pope and wanted to settle the Roman question on acceptable terms to the pope/ no mention of removal of noble titles

Question 19

Who was the early Fasci di Combatti predominantley made up of ?

Answer 19

arditi, crack troop commandos who had been formed in WW1 following caperetto.

Question 20

What were the facists military units or squads that were formed in 1919 called?

Answer 20

squadrismo and the members, squadristi answered socialist threat through violence.

Question 21

What is an example of early facist violence against Socialism and what was its significance for M?

Answer 21

April 1919 - facist squad of around 200-300, dressed in black and carrying pistols , attacked a socialist demonstration in Milan and burned down Milan offices of Avanti ( socialist newspaper and Mussolinis old paper )

M had not organised or authorised the violence in Milan but soon realised what a powerful tool it could be.After the violence none of the squad was arrested and the gov made no attempt to close down the facists or condem their action. It was clear to M that police and gov were willing to tolerate squadristi violence because of their fears of a socialist revolution.

Question 22

How many Italians unemployed by 1919 ?

Answer 22

2 million

Question 23

How did Mussolinis attitude to foreign policy and military change by 1921 ?

Answer 23

Compulsory military service/ focus on training future soldiers in schools/ foreign policy to raise Italy to the status of a great power

Question 24

How did Mussolinis attitude to wokers and industry change by 1921 ?

Answer 24

New programme - Anti socialist with facist unions to replace the current unions/ no mention of minimum wage/ no mention of nationalisation of any industry and all nationally owned buisnesses to be sold to private investors

Question 25

What was Mussolini encouraging by 1920 ?

Answer 25

The formation of more armed squads across Italy. These were ornasied like military units under a commanding offcer known as a ras. Members wore the uniform of a blak shirt and mainly carried a black shirst and revolver and manganello (club) as their weapons

Question 26

When was the creation of the national facist party ?

Answer 26

October 1921

Question 27

Who were the Italian PMs 1919-22 and why did they resign/ govs collapse ?

Answer 27

Orlando 1917-1919 (resigns due to failure at paris peace conference)

Nitti 1919 -June 1920 (resings due to poor economic situation; ongoing situation with Fiume; failure to please left by granting major reforms or right by crushing protests or stikes; falling support from PPI.

Giolitti 1920-1921 (gov collapses after loosing support of the catholic party - PNF, PPI , PCI and PSI would not work with one and other to form a coalition gov. This is month after the election )

Bonomi 1921-22

Facta (weak and complacent PM) 1922-22

Question 28

Why was Giolittlis tactics of non violence and appeasement with socialists a problem for them ?

Answer 28

Gov looses support of the m/c, nationalists, industrialists, land owners and Catholics as Giolitti has ‘given in’ to union demands. Eg he introduced a min wage and 8 h working days

Upper Class and M/c turn to facism.

Question 29

In the first 5 months of 1921 how many were killed and wounded in facist violence against Socialists ?

Answer 29

200 killed and 1000 wounded

Question 30

By Nov of 1920 how many of Italys provinces did the socialists control ?

Answer 30

26 of Italys 69 provinces, mainly in northern and central Italy

Question 31

Where were many of the facist weapons from?

Answer 31

Supplied by local police and army barracks.

Question 32

When did splits start to emerge in the PSI ?

Answer 32

1920

In Jan 1921 more radical members of the PSI left to form the PCI , supported by Russia. The facists most critical opponents were weakened as a result of this split.

Question 33

What was the outcome of the 1921 election ?

Answer 33

Socialists: 123

PPI : 107 seats

Giolittis National bloc : 105 - inc 35 facist seats

As a result no one party could control parliment or form a gov.

Question 34

What was Mussolinis dual policy ?

Answer 34

Violence of squads provided basis of facist strength and possible means to overthrow gov via force however M wanted to manouvre himslef to becoming PM via parlimentry deals.

Question 35

What was the pact of pacification ?

Answer 35

A deal signed in August 1921 between the fascist and socialist trade unions to help end violence and hoped by Mussolini to make the fascists look more respectable and committed to using democratic means to achieve power.

Question 36

What was the outcome of the pact of pacification

Answer 36

ras bosses withdraw dupport and M resigns

But its all fine cos at the PNF conference in Nov facist delegates overwhelmingly vote for Mussolini and facists become an official party. M then drops pact of pacification

Question 37

Who was Italo Balbo ?

Answer 37

Blackshirts leader

Led squads along the east coast of Italy in 1922, destroying all houses and offices where the socialists held meetings

Question 38

What happended between May and October 1922 ?**

Answer 38

The facists became the de Facto gov in many of Italys provinces.

(By September, the squads had taken over areas around Rome and were ready to move on the capital)

Question 39

Give and example of Mussolinis dual policy in 1922 through september and october

Answer 39

• He promised that if the facists were accepted within a governement coalition, he would pursue a moderate conservative policy, backing the monarchy, reducing taxes and balancing the budget
• At the same time, he encourgaed the squads to attack Bolzano and Trent. This was crucial as these towns were held by conservative liberals, not socialist councils. (M now increasing the pressure challenging gov itself)

Question 40

How did Mussolini encourage liberal divisions in 1922 ?

Answer 40

Seperatley promises Giolitti, Nitti, Salandra and Facta that they would be PM in a facist coalition gov.

Question 41

When did Mussolini start to plan the takeover of Italian gov ?

Answer 41

16th October.

Question 42

What did Mussolini say in his public speech to the squadristi on the 24th Oct ?

Answer 42

‘either we are allowed to govern or we will seize power by marching on Rome’

Question 43

When does facta finally take action (march of rome) ?

Answer 43

Night of the 27th Oct

He asks the King Emmanuel III to use the army to crush the facist insurrection.

This was after the squadristi had taken control of gov offices, telephone exchanges, railway stations and police stations.

Question 44

When does the King change his mind 28th oct and why ?

Answer 44

2 am king declares a state of emergency

9am King refuses to sign the decree- encourages not to sign by salandra and his supporters who beleived that factas resignation might allow salandra to become pm in a facist coalition.

Also a possibility that he feared that the military might not obey his orders and would side with the facists.

He may have been dettered by bloodshed

Also Kings cousion, Duke of Aosta was a facist and M v cleverly hinted that he could replace.

Question 45

Why did the liberals gov hatred for each other mean it was ultimatley Mussolini who was appointed ?

Answer 45

Salandra, orlando, giolitti all believed they should be pm but their hatred for each other meant that they recommended to the king that he was better to appoint M as opposed to one of their rivals.

29th Oct M offered prime ministership by king -legal means