How far did society change because of Mussolini’s regime? Flashcards
which classes benefited from fascism and which didn’t?
-In the first years of Mussolini’s rule (between 1922 and 1925), male workers had experienced a drop in unemployment and an improvement in living standards.
By 1939, however, it had become clear that only a small
minority of people had gained any significant benefits from Fascist rule. Most Italians, especially the working classes, saw their standard of living and general quality of life decline under Fascism.
-Mussolini’s policies benefited the large landowners more than the small farmers
and agricultural labourers.
-The lower middle classes, who formed the backbone o f t h e Fascist Party, were
affected in different ways. Many of those who had small businesses were quite
hard hit by the impact of the depression and by Mussolini’s various economic policies. However, those who worked for the administrative bureaucracy of the state or the Fascist Party experienced relative prosperity. They benefited from
good wages and considerable fringe benefits as well as the opportunity to increase income via corruption, which was rife in Fascist Italy.
-The classes who did very well in Fascist Italy were the large industrialists and
landowners.
-The large landowners were another group that benefited during the depression, especially by the government’s 1930 legislation that restricted the
migration of rural workers to cities
The landowners benefited further in 1935
when special workbooks (libretto dilavoro) were introduced which had to be
stamped by a Fascist official before a worker could leave an a rea to find work elsewhere. This helped to keep unemployment high in rural areas, a situation that was exploited by landowners in order to cut wages. There was certainly no
attempt to redistribute land. By 1930, 0.5 per cent of the population owned 42
per cent of land, while 8 7 per cent of the rural population (mainly small landowners) owned only 13 per cent.
Why would Pope Pius XI support Mussolini’s Fascist Government?
-When Mussolini was elected to Parliament in 1921, he made a speech embracing the idea of a Christian nation. Pius XI began to think that Mussolini might be the person sent by God to end the separation of church and state and restore the Church’s power.
-The Popes disliked parliamentary democracy as it meant it was difficult for the church to make a lasting agreement with the government, they were opposed to freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion as it impacted their power. These all aligned with Fascist ideology
How did Mussolini improve the Church-State Relationship?
-EARLY YEARS (1923)
Mussolini began to improve the relationship between the Church and the state that had been sour since the Franco-Prussian War.
Clerical salaries were increased.
Religion was reinstated into primary school education.
The crucifix was restored in school classrooms and courtrooms.
LATERAN PACTS (1929)
Upon negotiating the Lateran Pacts, he took even bigger steps to build a good relationship with the Church.
-The lateran treaty
recognised the Vatican City as a sovereign state
Pope Pius XI recognised Rome as the Capital of the Kingdom of Italy
-Financial Conventions
The Church was given 750 million lire as compensation for the lands lost during the Italian unification.
The Church was also given 100 million lire in bonds, making the church the largest holder in state bonds.
-The Concordat
*Recognised Catholicism as the sole religion of the state
*Church marriages were recognised by the state
*The Church had control over divorces
*The state was allowed to veto major Church appointments
*Religious Education was now also implemented into Secondary Schools.
*The state accepted the existence of Catholic Action, which was an international body that the Church had set up in 1863 in order to defend itself.
-However, these agreements were not popular among all Fascists, and especially not among all of the Priests.
Radical fascists considered the concordat a betrayal of the aims of Fascism due to the large influence and power of the Church.
Not all members and ranks of the Church were supportive of Fascism. When the Archbishop of Milan openly praised Fascism, 300 of his Priests circulated open letters of protest saying that good Catholics do not accept Fascism.
what were the Conflicts in the 1930s between mussolini and the church
There was a lot of conflict between the Fascist state and the Church in the 1930s.
Mussolini’s actions were labelled as “heretical” by the Church.
They disliked that Mussolini insisted on and made it law that he is referred to as ‘DUCE’, as he was treated like a God.
It seemed that Fascist religion was literally Mussolini.
In 1931, Mussolini and the Pope disagreed over Catholic Action
Fascists believed it held too much influence, so they closed some branches.
As a result, the Pope published a critical encyclical called “Non-Abbiamo Bisogno”, meaning “We have no need”.
Mussolini disliked the political involvement of the Church, and the Pope decided to reach a compromise with the State— Catholic Action would run strictly religious, educational and recreational activities and it became decentralised.
In 1938, the Pope criticised the anti-Semitic policies implemented by Mussolini which were inspired by Nazi-Germany.
what was Mussolini’s approach to Education
-During their time in power, the Fascists revamped the education system. It became racist, biased and served as propaganda teaching children to have national pride and to be submissive to Fascist control.
-Fascist Education aimed at ensuring total discipline, brainwashing and indoctrinating the youth by educating them on the good aspects and policies of Fascism in order to maintain the support and control over the entire country. Education in Italy was solely pro-Fascism.
-This meant that students grew up supporting Fascism and right-wing views, and they had a strong sense of nationalism and loyalty to the Fascist state.
explain the Religious Changes to the Education System
explain An Indoctrinating Curriculum
The government made other changes to the curriculum, largely with purposes of indoctrinating the youth and ensuring their support.
-In 1926, 101 out of 317 historical texts were banned.
-The Fascists introduced official, mandatory course plans into the education system
-In 1928, a single textbook covering all subjects, for each year of elementary school, was created by the government.
-To solidify the national Italian identity, all dialects were banned.
-In 1935, military education was introduced to enhance national pride.
-The subject taught about the good elements of Italian History, weapons and tactics.
-In 1936, lessons on Fascist culture were introduced in elementary schools
-in 1938, anti-semitic policies taken from Nazi Germany were implemented into school curriculums.
how did mussolini control educators
From 1925, the Fascists began to take a number of measures to control the teachers.
-In 1925, they made it so public employees with anti-Fascist views could be dismissed.
-As a result, in order to keep their jobs, they were forced to teach content that they didn’t necessarily agree with.
-In 1929, after the Concordat was signed (which introduced Religious Education into Secondary Schools) teachers were required to take an oath of loyalty to Mussolini.
I-n 1931, teachers associations were combined to form a Fascist Association. It organised indoctrination courses that teachers had to take in order to achieve any promotions.
-In 1931, professors began to receive instructions to take the oath of loyalty, with only 11 out of more than one thousand two hundred and fifty refusing, with many taking the oath with their fingers crossed as they did not agree with the Fascist party.
-After 1933, new educators were required to be members of the Fascist Association
-In 1934, teachers were instructed to express national pride by wearing Fascist uniforms on official occasions.
-After 1937, all educators had to be members of the Fascist Association. They were also encouraged to become leaders on the Fascist Youth Organisation, Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB).
-1938 Racial doctrines meant that Jewish teachers were dismissed and Jewish students were kicked out of their schools.
-Aside from forcing professors to take oaths, they didn’t really enact any policies on universities, as long as they did not express hostility towards the Fascist government.
what were the Fascist Youth Organisations
The Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB)
It consisted of subgroups for boys and girls, ranging from the ages of 6 to 18. It was run by the party from 1926 until 1929, then the education ministry, until 1937 when it was replaced by Gioventù Italiana del Littorio, GIL. Similar to Nazi Germany’s youth organisations, they covered a range of activities from sports and military drills to propaganda lectures.
- Fascio Giovanile del Littorio
This was in place from 1930. It was for youths aged 18 to 21 who were not at university
- Gruppi Universitari Fascisti
This was in place from 1930. It was for youths aged 18 to 21 who were studying at university.
How effective was Fascist Education?
There are twenty years of students who would have experienced Fascist indoctrination.
Mussolini was also able to decrease the percentage of the population that was illiterate from 27% in 1921 to 17% in 1936.
Meanwhile, he increased government expenditure on education from 4% in 1922 to 8% between 1926 and 1935.
What beliefs did Mussolini hold towards women?
Importantly the main aim towards women was to encourage reproduction. This was to fit with the goals of expanding the Italian Empire, making Italians the dominant race and building a strong military for their expansionist policies. Other beliefs included…
-Women should be submissive to their husbands.
-Their work is in the home as they should be raising and looking after their family.
-Women should be tender, gentle and caring towards their husbands.
-Women shouldn’t be taken seriously.
-Women must obey.
-Women should not be intellectual; not receive higher education.
-Women should bear children.
-Women should be good wives and mothers– their main mission should be caring for their families and give birth.
-Women should be subject to the authority of their husbands.
-Women should not work as this distracts from reproduction
explain mussolini’s important views and policies towards certain areas of women’s lives
PERSONAL LIFE:
-Women should be housewives and give birth in order to increase the population for future military strength.
-Women should be of well-rounded and sturdy appearance, as he believed this was better for them as mothers.
-The state criticised cosmetics, high heels, trousers for women, foreign fashion and negro & rhythm dancing.
-Fascists had a confused attitude towards sport…
-They supported it due to the various health benefits and the fact that it promoted discipline and national pride.
-They were against it as distracts women from giving birth, and that it encouraged lesbianism and female liberation.
-Meanwhile, Mussolini feared and believed that certain sports, such as riding, skiing and cycling caused infertility.
EMPLOYMENT:
-Mussolini began to limit job opportunities for women in order to allow for more jobs for men.
-This is because Fascists believed that women should not work but look after their family.
-However, they were given some opportunities, such as the chance to serve on committees of The National Agency for Maternity and Childhood, known as ONMI, a state organisation established in 1925 to help disadvantaged mothers.
EDUCATION:
-They were expected to study living-related subjects that involved training to stay at home and become a housewife & mother.
-Female educators were excluded from prestigious teaching positions, such as Latin, Italian, History and Philosophy.
-The lack of job opportunities increased the number of women at University from 6% in 1914 to 15% in 1938.
POLITICS AND RELIIGION
-In 1925, the Fascist parliament gave women the right to vote in local elections, but as they formed a totalitarian state, women never had the opportunity to practice universal suffrage under the Fascists.
-Pope Pius XI criticised the declining authority of men and stressed that the focus of women should be on consistently remaining obedient housewives and caring mothers.
