How was Italy governed under mussolini Flashcards
what was mussolini’s aims in parliament and what challenges did he face after becoming prime minister
He did not have absolute control, even over the Fascist groups (a.g. Ras, squads)
- As a result, he aimed to increase control over the Fascists. With this in mind, in 1923 he created the Fascist Grand Council (which made decisions and later became the main governmental body of Fascist Italy) and a new militia called Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (MVSN) on the 23rd of March 1923.
His position as Prime Minister was weak and he could be easily dismissed and replaced by the King at any time.
- However, Mussolini managed to gain the support of the King. This is because the King feared communism (seeing it as…well– the biggest threat) as it would make Italy a republic. As Mussolini was anti-communist, the King supported him.
His position as Prime Minister was weak due to a lack of support within the Italian Parliament.
- Mussolini aimed to strengthen his position and the influence of the Fascist party through the reduction (and future elimination) of opposition.
- As a result, he introduced the Acerbo law, which would remove proportional representation. The Acerbo law meant that the party which received 25% of votes would receive ⅔ of seats in Parliament. The Fascists used intimidation to ensure that politicians voted in support of passing the Acerbo Law.
- In the General Elections, the fascists used voter intimidation and fraud to ensure that they amassed 25% of the votes. The Ras was also instructed to intimidate opponents in small towns.
The Socialists were Mussolini’s closest rivals and they still had a significant presence.
- As a result, Mussolini wished to reduce the influence of socialism in Parliament and on the nation. This attracted a wealth of support from the bourgeoisie, upper class and businessmen, who especially feared a further advancement into communism.
- He reduced this threat by intimidating socialists, and attacked Socialist meetings, buildings and individuals. During voting, he also used the Blackshirts to intimidate voters.
How did the limited emergency powers help mussolini?
In November 1922, Parliament granted Mussolini limited emergency powers for one year to allow him to deal with the country’s problems.
He made some concessions to the Church (as he saw their support was vital) and passed favourable policies for industrialists and farmers and landowners.
With the extra power, he asserted the rights of Italy overseas in the Corfu Crisis and Fiume incident.
In July 1923, the Chamber (after being intimidated by Blackshirts) passed the Acerbo Law (which was named after the Fascist deputy who introduced it, Giacomo Acerbo).
What was the Matteotti Crisis of 1924?
On 30th May 1924, Socialist leader, Giacomo Matteotti spoke out against the Fascists at the chamber of deputies and was immediately met with interruptions. (to put this into perspective… his speech which was meant to take 30 minutes lasted for 2 hours)
Following his speech, he told his colleagues that they could prepare for his funeral.
Eleven days later, he was kidnapped by ex-squadristi on the way to the Chamber.
Two months later, dogs found his body in a shallow grave 23 kilometres from Rome.
The investigation showed that the car that had been seen by a passer-by belonged to Filipelli, a leading Fascist.
As a result, it became widespread knowledge that Mussolini was implicated in Matteotti’s murder, especially with Matteotti being the main political opponent of Mussolini.
What was the impact of the Matteotti Crisis?
-Large protests ensued with people tearing up Fascist membership cards and communists calling for a general strike. Meanwhile, in what is known as the ‘Aventine Secession’, most opposition Deputies walked out of Parliament and met elsewhere, declaring themselves the true representatives of the Italian people. Their expectation was that the King would dismiss Mussolini.
-Despite the opinions of many deputies, the elite still believed that a Mussolini government was the best option. While there was hesitation from the opposition, the Fascists urged Mussolini to seize control with a Fascist dictatorship.
-At first, Mussolini decided to combine repression and making concessions. He mobilised the militia to crack down on protests and placed tougher restrictions on the press, while he also united the militias with the army, who swore allegiance to the King and fired the murder suspects Rossi and Chief of Police de Bono as concessions.
-On 27th December 1924, a newspaper published the testimony of Rossi which directly implicated Mussolini in the murder of Matteotti, and the Fascists began to further encourage Mussolini to react, with the Ras (leaders of Fascist militia) pressuring him to do so at a meeting on 31st December.
-On 3rd January 1925, Mussolini identified himself as the Fascist leader and announced that he would set up a dictatorship within 48 hours.
In what ways did Mussolini and the Fascists ‘succeed’ in regards to the Matteotti Crisis?
-He gained increasing control -over the whole Fascist party. His party called on him to take action in a critical meeting on the 31st of December. His response of declaring a Fascist dictatorship assured them of his power and control.
-In regards to his rule, he imposed a new policy that mobilised the military and was more strict towards the press. This effectively reduced opposition to the rule of the Fascists.
-By admitting to the murder of Matteotti (to a certain degree), his brutality instilled fear among Italians and this meant that they were willing to obey him and support the Fascists. Thus, he was able to solidify his rule over Italy.
-As he had removed the socialist leader, he gained support from the elite, the church, and other right-wing groups that opposed the left and saw Socialism & Communism as a serious threat.
In what ways did Mussolini and the Fascists ‘fail’ in regards to the Matteotti Crisis?
-Following the Matteotti Crisis, opposing parties still existed and were heavy critics of Fascism. Furthermore, he could still be dismissed by the King at any time (but he largely had the support of the King, who was weak and often refused to take action against or even criticise Mussolini).
I-n regards to the country, for a time, Mussolini lost a significant amount of Italian support and they disrespected him for ordering the murder of Matteotti. However, in the long run, this instilled fear and led them to obey.
-Finally, Mussolini conceded in some ways. For example, the Fascist militias joined the army and had to pledge allegiance to King Victor Emmanuel III and he fired the murder suspects Rossi and de Bono (Chief of Police).
the establishment of mussolini dictatorship
How were Jews repressed in Fascist Italy?,
He implemented laws relating to immigration, employment, personal lives and education. Essentially, he systematically imposed anti-Semitic laws of varying degrees that oppressed the Italian-Jewish population, restricting their rights to employment, property and education.
-All Jews who had arrived in Italy after 1919 were given six months to leave. This meant that Jews who had fled from the Nazi-German regime had to relocate again.
-Jewish property was confiscated and Jews were not allowed to be managers of businesses that employed in excess of one hundred workers.
-Marriages between Jews and Italians were forbidden.
-State employment was denied to Jews, so many people were dismissed, such as Jewish teachers.
-A Charter of Race was issued in 1938 to give a scientific explanation of the Fascist racial doctrine.
-Foreign Jews were banned from Italian schools.
How did Mussolini repress political opposition?
LAW DEFENCE FOR THE STATE 2026
-A Special Tribunal for the Defense of the State was set up by military officers. They were in charge of putting Fascist political opponents on trial.
-Following their trial, those convicted would be imprisoned on remote islands.
-31 Death penalties were issued by them, including the leader of the Communist Party, Antonio Gramsci and Liberals Piero Gobetti & Giovanni Amendola.
-This paved the way for the establishment of OVRA in 1927.
Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism (OVRA) 1927
-This organization was a secret police force of the Kingdom of Italy.
-Their job was to stop any anti-fascist activity and eliminante anti-fascist sentiment
-They were responsible for investigations and ensuring the safety of the Duce from those who wanted to kill him.
-They were known to persecute a number of groups, including the Jews, gypsies and homosexuals.
-With their operations, they arrested around 4,000 people and 10 were executed.
-They used terror to scare the Italian population into obeying and stopping them from speaking out against the Fascist party
CENSORSHIP IN ITALY
-Censorship and propaganda were heavily practised in Fascist Italy.
-The policies targeted the general public (to ensure full cooperation), journalists & editors (to ensure a good image of Fascist Italy was consistently portrayed) and anti-Fascists & government officials (to ensure there was no opposition to the Fascist Government or Mussolini’s leadership).
-In regards to the media, in July 1925, new laws were introduced controlling the press. Anti-Fascist newspapers were closed down. Legally, now any articles have to be approved by the Government before being published. In December 1925, it was required that all journalists be registered with the Fascist party. With this, hostile journalists and editors were replaced or arrested whilst those approved by the Fascists remained.
-The ‘Ministry of Popular Culture’ had competence over the contents in newspapers, radio, art, etc. Most foreign papers were banned. State-controlled what the media published and portrayed. With this, the reporting of crime, disasters and disorders were forbidden
-As a result of censorship, there was also a loss of privacy. Private calls and letters were intercepted and monitored.
-Censorship was to be carried out by Prefects, but in the case of the media, the editors (which were approved by the Fascists) usually performed this task successfully, without the involvement of Prefects.
PUBLIC SECURITY LAW 1926
-The Security Law put in practice strict control over the state, aiming to reduce political opposition.
-Italian associations, bodies and institutes (and by extension the whole Italian population) were required to provide their details when requested by public security authorities.
-The public security law allowed investigations into threats to public security. Those found to be “enemies of the State” were to be sentenced to harsh imprisonment and faced the re-introduced death penalty.
-This law would be supported by Italians, especially those who feared communism.
THE VIODONI PALACE PACT 1925
-The Vidoni Palace Pact was
signed in October 1925 between The General Confederation of Italian Industry, called Confindustria, which is the Italian employers’ federation and national chamber of commerce and jointly with Rossini’s Fascist trade unions. It limited the organisations representing workers to the official Fascist ones by abolishing the Catholic, Socialist and independent unions.
-Workers were instructed not to challenge the authority of their employers and managers.
-This matched with the Fascist ideology of anti-individualism and resulted in a loss of freedom and rights.
-Law on Corporations 1926
Alfredo Rocco’s Law on Corporations came into effect in October 1926. Trade unions were banned and a new law court was set up to deal with political offences. The law also made all strikes illegal.
-With this, The National Council of Corporations was initially established by royal decree on 2 July 1926.
-This aligned with the Fascist ideology of anti-individualism and resulted in a loss of freedom and rights.
How effective was Mussolini’s repression?
-Many political opponents fled Italy, including Francesco Nitti who was Prime Minister from 1919 to 1920 and Sturzo, who founded The Italian People’s Party.
-Cases about political opponents reached about an average of 2,000 a year and there were in total 9 execution until 1940.
-In total, 5,000 out of 28,000 opponents were imprisoned or banished.
-In 1926, 21,000 people were put on trial. From 1927 to 1937, 3,596 sentences were passed, totalling 15,300 years. Thus, the average sentence was approximately five years.
-Over the duration of his rule, it is estimated that Mussolini had around 2,000 political opponents killed.
-There were 7,000 Italian Jews who were murdered.
-Many opponents fled into exile. Those who did not (and some who tried to) were killed by Fascist agents.
-An important figure was Carlo Roselli. He was one of the founders of ‘ Justice and Liberty’– a group that aimed to unite all political opponents of the Fascists (excluding communists). The members publicly dropped anti-Fascist pamphlets from aeroplanes, and the leaders were arrested as a result. Roselli was fortunate enough to escape and edited the anti-fascist journal from Paris. However, he was eventually assassinated by Mussolini’s agents.
-All in all, Mussolini’s actions resulted in huge success. He was able to intimidate the population in order to gain their support. Around 2,000 people were killed by the state for political reasons. Although this is a small number in comparison to the Italian population and those killed by Hitler’s Gestapo, this shows that Mussolini was effective in establishing control. There were no mass killings and the number of people killed was relatively low. This demonstrates that he had control over the country, and therefore, he had no need to kill large numbers of people.
explain mussolini’s use of propaganda
NEWSPAPER
-Mussolini had already banned all Anti-Fascist newspapers (including foreign newspapers) in July 1925 and required that all journalists should be approved by and registered with the Fascist party from December 1925. Therefore, when reading Italian newspapers, everyone would be influenced by propaganda as the news constantly promoted Fascism and portrayed Mussolini’s government in a very positive light.
-Newspapers were used to promote the Fascist ideology, such as militarism, nationalism an d extremism. For example, when Italy joined World War Two on the side of Germany, in an article titled “People of Italy Run To Arms”, they stated that it was “Italy’s destiny to join the War”. As an ally of Nazi Germany, they also used their newspaper to spread Hitler’s news and Nazi German propaganda, such as anti-semitism.
POSTERS
-Fascist Italy used posters to show Mussolini’s brilliance, the power of Fascism, the threat of communism and a number of other messages.
-On the right is a poster with a large face of Mussolini above smoking factories, the caption being “Greetings to the Duce, the founder of the empire”. Clearly, this had the purpose of celebrating the Italian leader, showing how he has established power and authority over the national image, by leading the country through greater development and expansion, and the power over the nation as a whole. The factories in the foreground and background indicate the industrial advances that Mussolini advocates and has brought for Fascist ideology and Italy as a whole. His large face evokes a sense of national pride as the stoic facial expression and the shadows drawn present him as a powerful Italian patriot who has seen war.
-We found another poster of a young child (representing Italy), captioned ‘Papa Save Me’ with a red flag and symbol of communism in the background. This would appeal to the upper class, businessmen and bourgeoisie due to their fear of communism. In short, it tells Italians that they should be afraid of communism. The child fits the technique of pathos as it targets the audience emotions, telling them that they should save the child, and thus, Italy– from communism.
CINEMA
-Mussolini changed the film industry and used the cinema to fit the interests of the state.
-In 1934, a censorship government body was founded, with the power to read and change movie scripts, they awarded prizes to pro-Fascist movies and censored many foreign films. They provided full funding to movie scripts that had pro-Fascist messages in their original versions, whilst any approved movie scripts could also receive up to 60% of their funding from the state. With this, there was also a Directorate-General for Cinema who was responsible for monitoring it for anti-Fascist messages and for approving content.
-In 1937, Benito Mussolini and his son Vittorio, founded Cinecitta movie studios with Luigi Freddi, Directorate-General for Cinema, in order to help filmmakers make films with pro-Fascist messages. The same year, an Italian movie, titled “Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal” was released, promoting Italy’s Africa expansionist policy.
-Above is Cinecittà Studios in the modern day. It is the largest film studio in Europe.
Radio
In 1924, Mussolini began to see the potential of the radio in dispensing propaganda. The Radio began to broadcast several state programmes. Although it mainly consisted of music, there were at least 2 hours of official broadcast each day, and this increased in the 1930s.
-Additionally, Mussolini made speeches that were broadcast to crowds of people in Piazzas through loudspeakers. This is because, at the time, only 40,000 people owned a radio, although, by 1938, this had increased to 1 million and by 1939, 1 in 44 households owned a radio.
-This large increase was likely due to the new rural radio agency which supplied schools with radios. There was also a Fascist leisure and recreational organization for adults called The National Afterwork Club (Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro, or OND for short). It ran community listening meetings that assisted in the spread of Fascist ideology, to people in rural areas and those who could not read
RALLIES AND SPORT
-Italy was quite heavily invested in the sport of football, with Mussolini being an avid fan. In regards to sport, they had quite a few aims. The Fascist regime used football to improve the health and strength of Italian men, possibly as they wanted to be able to recruit a strong army in the event of War.
-In 1934, Italy hosted the FIFA World Cup, using the opportunity to show off and sell Italian products. Rallies were also held, showing the might of the Italian Nation. Italy even won the World Cup that year, and it showed the strength of Italian men.
-Many rallies were held over the years, aiming at impressing the audience, promoting discipline and encouraging national and collective identity. Examples of these rallies include the mass rally which was held in celebration of the seventh anniversary of the Fascist March on Rome. Again, in 1936, they organised a mass military parade in which medals were presented to war widows.
-1934 FIFA World Cup Final: Italy vs Czechoslovakia
Art
In terms of art, Mussolini banned degenerate art in an attempt to control the public and only allowed abstract art. As already discussed, posters were created as Fascist propaganda. Mussolini was also featured in art where he was depicted as a strong saviour and hero of Italy.
SCULPTURES
With regards to sculptures, a huge sports complex, called Foro Italico, was created in Italy, with the primary aim of Italy hosting the olympics in 1940. Known originally as Foro Mussolini (meaning Mussolini’s Forum), statues of Italian athletes were built to advertise the success and strength of Italy— and it still exists today as a significant example of Fascist architecture.
EXHIBITION
Furthermore, the Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution was held in Rome from 1923 to 1934 and featured art and sculptures.
It was opened by Mussolini on 28 October 1932 and had 4 million visitors.
The show told the story of the evolution of Italian history from 1914 until the March on Rome. It served as a work of Fascist propaganda which aimed at influencing and emotionally involving the audience, whilst it also compared Mussolini to the Roman Emperor Caesar, signifying that Mussolini would bring Italy back to it’s former glory.
LITERATURE AND PHYLOSOPHY
In 1928, Mussolini also published his autobiography, recounting his youth, his time as a journalist, his experiences in World War I, the formation of the Fascist Party, the March on Rome, and his early years in power.
From 1929 and 1936, Enciclopedia Italia was published, also known as Treccani (after its developer Giovanni Treccani). It was aimed at rivalling Britain’s Britannica Encyclopedia, although it had a strong focus on Italy’s role in world development as it aimed at displaying Italian pride.
The philosophy of fascism was conveyed through the Manifesto of Fascist Intellectuals. In this, over 200 intellectuals, led by the philosopher Gentile, produced this book on the philosophy of Fascism, similar to how Mein Kampf showed the philosophy of Nazism and the writings of Marx and Lenin the philosophy of communism. This aimed to show that without Fascism, there would be no true culture, and to prove that fascism was the one true ideology.
CULTURE AND MUSIC
The National Fascist Cultural Institute was established to spread Fascist culture to the masses, and by 1941, had over 200,000, mostly middle-class members.
Musicians were forced to join the Fascist Union of Musicians and were forced to reject foreign influences in order to develop “Cultural Authority”. Despite this, there was still some musical diversity in Italy.
What were the aims of Mussolini’s foreign policy?
-Obtain the lands promised in the 1915 Treaty of London.
-Expand Italian influence into the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
-Spread Fascist ideology
-Revive the glory of the Roman Empire to demonstrate the national unity and strength of Italy.
-Achieve a superior leading position in European politics where Italy was seen as an equal to Britain and France.
-Increase and maintain his popularity in order to sustain his rule
What were the main features of Mussolini’s foreign policy from 1923 to 1934?
TERRITORIAL EXPANSION
-In 1923, Italy invaded Corfu, but in the end, they were forced to withdraw and instead receive an indemnity from Greece due to pressure from the League of Nations and Conference of Ambassadors.
-In 1924, Italy signed the Treaty of Rome with Yugoslavia, taking control of Fiume, as the Roman Empire had done before.
He used a combination of diplomacy and unilateral
action to force Yugoslavia to sign the Pact of Rome, which accepted Italian
occupation of Fiume
-In 1926, Italy set up a puppet regime in their protectorate of Albania, expanding Italian Influence across the Adriatic.
NATIONAL DEFENCE
-In 1934, Italy defended its national security when it warned Hitler not to attempt to invade Austria.
-he did this by placing Italian troops on the Austro-ltalian border
NEGOTIATIONS AND AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
-In 1925, Italy signed the Locarno Treaties, which fitted aimed to create greater stability in Europe as the signatories respected each other’s joint frontiers.
-In 1928, Italy signed the international agreement of the Kellogg-Briand Pact which had the main aim of outlawing war and prohibited the use of weapons and arms, unless being used as a means of self-defence against attacks or if it suited the League’s covenant and other peace treaties of the League.
-In 1932, Italy joined the World Disarmament Conference.
-In 1933, Italy proposed the Four-Power Pact with Britain, France and Germany, but in the end, it was not ratified by France.
Why did mussolini opted for the pursuit of diplomacy, 1922-35?
Arguably, Mussolini adopted a more conciliatory approach to diplomacy from 1923 to 1934.
-Italy was in no position to adopt an aggressive foreign policy as their military power was insufficient. This was caused by their vast losses in the First World War in which 650,000 soldiers were killed and 947,000 were wounded. Thus, Italy had a shortage of trained and well-equipped soldiers, as well as armaments, so Mussolini was unable to pursue an aggressive foreign policy.
-He did not immediately begin to pursue his aims, such as expansion. If he was pursuing an aggressive foreign policy, he would have attempted to take back much more of the former Roman Empire, but Italy was simply in no position to organise offensive attacks against the combined power of the League of Nations or declare a war against another European country.
-Thus, Mussolini adopted a much more conciliatory approach to diplomacy than he might have wished to.
When looking at Mussolini’s diplomacy from 1923 to 1934, did he achieve his aims?
-Did he receive the lands promised under the 1915 Treaty of London?
Under the Treaty of London, Italy was promised colonies, however, in the Treaty of St. Germain, they were not given any.
Italy was also promised Dalmatia, but it was not until 1941 when Mussolini invaded Yugoslavia that he was able to rule Dalmatia.
Though they made claim to Fiume in 1915, it was not granted to them, however, they were able to obtain Fiume through the Treaty of Rome in 1924.
Therefore, during the period of 1923 to 1934, he only achieved this aim to a small extent as he did succeed in gaining and establishing a protectorate over Albania (and this could be considered a colony?)
-Was he able to expand Italian influence into the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea?
He attempted to take Corfu from Greece when he deployed 10,000 troops there, but then he was paid to leave by Greece for 50 million lire after he was pressured by the League of Nations and Conference of Ambassadors.
He successfully annexed Fiume by signing the Treaty of Rome with Yugoslavia, and he also set up a protectorate over Albania.
Therefore, he was moderately successful.
-Was he able to further spread Fascism?
Italy was quite successful in spreading fascism through the acquisition of Fiume in 1924 and setting up a puppet regime in Albania across the Adriatic Sea, and in doing so he also fulfilled the Fascist aim of gaining additional territory.
Mussolini failed to permanently take control of Corfu as Italy was pressured to leave by the League of Nations and the Conference of Ambassadors.
-Did Mussolini revive the glory of the Roman Empire?
Mussolini only re-claimed Fiume and established a protectorate over Albania, with regards to Corfu, he was not able to expand there, but was paid 50 million lire to leave after he was pressured by the League of Nations and Conference of Ambassadors.
Therefore, he only achieved this to a small extent.
-Did Mussolini manage to achieve a greater position of leadership in European politics?
He was able to confront and disobey the League of Nations without sanctions and military action when he initially refused to withdraw from Corfu, and then in the end, he did manage to force Greece to accept Italy’s ultimatum.
He acquired Fiume which showed Italy’s superiority over Yugoslavia and he was able to establish a protectorate over Albania.
He was also a key figure in both the Locarno Treaty of 1925 and the Kellogg Briand Pact of 1928.
Moreover, he was able to prevent German Anschluss with Austria in 1934.
-Did he increase and maintain his popularity in order to sustain his rule?
His reputation did indeed increase as the votes for the Fascist Party increased significantly, allowing him to achieve one-party rule as politicians voted for the Acerbo law.
Meanwhille, his signing of the Locarno Treaties improved his diplomatic reputation and displayed Mussolini’s Fascist state as highly influential in European politics, which enhanced his popularity in Italy.
how aggresive was italy after 1934
The events of Mussolini’s foreign policy after 1934.
-In 1934, Mussolini stopped Nazi Germany from expanding to Austria. Hitler claimed that he was trying to ‘put down the rebellion’ in Austria which was calling for German–Austrian unification, but in reality, he wanted to invade. To protect South Tyrol, which was under Italian control, Mussolini stationed soldiers at the Brenner pass, forcing Hitler to back down. This action earned him a lot of international prestige.
-In December 1934, there was a dispute between Italian and Abyssinian soldiers at the Wal Wal Oasis on the border between Abyssinia and Italian Somaliland. As a result, Mussolini demanded an apology from the Abyssinian Emperor who took the dispute to the League. While the League discussed the crisis, Mussolini planned a full-scale invasion for October 1935 using tanks, aeroplanes and poison gas. The League immediately condemned Italy as the aggressor and began to impose economic sanctions and banned the sale of weapons to Italy, but vitally, they did not ban supplies of oil, coal, rubber and iron as they knew that non-members would continue to sell these to Italy anyway. Britain also feared that their Navy would be attacked by Italian forces if they closed the Suez Canal, the Italian Army’s supply route to Abyssinia. British and French foreign ministers, Hoare and Laval, met in secret and agreed to divide Abyssinia in half, giving Mussolini the richer half. However, after Mussolini accepted their plan, it was leaked to the British press before it was proposed to the Abyssinian emperor, causing uproar among the British Public and resulting in the resignation of the foreign ministers. The League tried to introduce tougher sanctions on Italy after the Hoare-Laval pact had failed, but before they were put in place, Italy had conquered Abyssinia by May 1936.
-From July 1936 to April 1939, Mussolini and Hitler both supported and fought on the side of Franco, a fellow Fascist, in the Spanish Civil War. As a result, the two dictators, Hitler and Mussolini, were brought closer together.
-In 1936, Germany and Japan signed the anti-Comintern pact, and in 1937, this was signed again, but with the addition of Italy. This basically allied Germany, Italy and Japan against the ‘threat of communism’, or put simply, against the Soviet Union.
-In 1938, Germany invaded Austria but this time, Mussolini and Hitler were true allies, and the Anschluss between Germany and Austria was welcomed by the Italian people as it strengthened Germany, and by extension, their alliance. This marks how Italian
-In 1938, Hitler demanded that Germany be given the Sudetenland as the 3 million German speakers who lived in that area of Czechoslovakia claimed that the Czech government was not treating them fairly. As a result, Chamberlain went to assist and spoke with Germany, offering him certain parts of the Sudetenland. However, Hitler refused and war seemed imminent. Mussolini organised a meeting that led to the signing of the Munich Agreement in September 1938. This led to a massive amount of prestige for Mussolini as his actions had averted large-scale war.
-From April 7th to April 12th 1939, the Italian Military invaded and rapidly overrun Albania with its ruler, King Zog I, forced into exile, and the country incorporated into the Italian Empire as a protectorate in personal union with the Italian crown.
-On the 22nd May 1939, Germany and Italy signed the ‘Pact of Steel’— a military alliance.
what were the Key differences in Mussolini’s foreign policy from 1924 to 1934 as compared with 1934 to 1939
I-n 1925, Mussolini signed the Locarno Treaty, which aimed at increasing stability in Europe. He also opposed international aggression in accordance with the covenant of the League of Nations. As a member of the LoN, it was their obligation to focus on international peacekeeping rather than expansion, and Italy followed through with this as they signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war.
In contrast, he caused heightened international aggression in Abyssinia from 1934 to 1936 as he took steps to make Italy “great, respected and feared”, enacting the Fascist expansionist policy.
-From 1932 to 1934, Mussolini attended the World Disarmament Conference and advocated for disarmament.
-In contrast, he supported fascist rearmament in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 as he wished to create more fascist allies and spread fascist ideology.
I-n 1934, he blocked German Expansion in order to maintain good relationships with Britain and France in the League of Nations. This also contributed to the signing of the Stresa Front in 1935.
- In contrast, by signing the Pact of Steel in 1939 and allowing Anschluss, he was supportive of German expansion, and as a result, he was able to create a strong, powerful relationship with Germany.
