Italy Booklet 5: Consent and Control in the Fascist Dictatorship Flashcards
When was RE made compulsory in elementary schools/secondary schools?
Elementary - 1923
secondary - 1929
What was implemented in schools as a result of the cult of personality?
Portraits of Mussolini in all classrooms
All pupils were given a free copy of the life of Mussolini by Pini
The school day began with the raising of the Tri colour flag and there were prayers twice a day
What happened with textbooks in 1926 Italy?
101 out of 317 were banned
How were teachers controlled?
(1931)Had to take a loyalty oath
(1933) all teachers had to be party members
What was done to universities in the dictatorship?
Mostly universities were left alone as most students were fascist orientated anyway
What was the ONB?
The fascist children’s groups which trained them to be sporty and loyal to the fascists (trained to be ready for military)
What was the OND?
The fascist group set up for workers welfare and recreation
What did the OND replace?
The socialist organisations
How many members were in the OND by 1939?
4 million
Was the OND political?
No, it was totally A-political and didn’t promote fascism. Members didn’t need to swear loyalty to fascism to join.
What are three examples of benefits of being in the OND?
discounted railway tickets
cheaper holidays
social insurance
What was the cult of Il Duce?
A cult formed to honour Mussolini as a strong and powerful leader.
What was the purpose of the cult of Il Duce?
To present Mussolini as a leader of immense ability who was leading Italy to greatness. He was portrayed to be attractive, sporty, physically strong and a family man.
What was a weakness of Mussolini’s style of leadership (Il Duce)?
It relied so heavily on Mussolini that it would not be able to continue without Mussolini.
How were Newspapers censored by the fascists?
All journalists had to join a union which censored all articles, and journalists censored themselves so as to not risk offending Mussolini
What percentage of newspaper sales were the fascist newspaper?
10%
Which organisation’s newspaper was the most popular?
The catholic church
What parts of the Lateran pact was the best for the Catholics?
They were granted a sovereign state in Rome, given control over divorce, and given 750 million lira
When was the Lateran pact signed?
1929
What parts of the Lateran pact were best for Mussolini?
The pope recognised the Italian state and Rome as its capital
The fascist state could veto church appointments.
When did Mussolini declare himself only accountable to the King?
December 1925
What was established in 1928 and who ran it?
The fascist grand council, run by Mussolini
What power did the fascist grand council take away from the king?
The power to appoint Prime ministers.
When did Italy cease to be a constitutional monarchy?
1943
When did Mussolini take the title of Supreme military commander away from the king?
1940
How did Mussolini treat the legal system?
He left it almost totally alone, judges were independent from the fascist party, although most of them joined anyway to ensure they kept their jobs.
How did Mussolini treat the military?
Although he had official titles throughout the years, he left the military to run itself for the most part
Why did Mussolini leave the military alone for the most part?
Most of them were fascists anyway and had always been loyal to Mussolini.
How were local governments run during Mussolini’s rule?
There were prefects appointed by Mussolini who ran the provinces, and Podesta appointed by the prefects to run the smaller local councils
When were unions banned in Mussolini’s rule? and what was the pact called?
October 1925 - Palazzo Vitoria pact
What were fascist syndicates?
The fascists equivalent to trade unions
What did Mussolini do to the more radical members of the PNF?
He purged them and replaced them with more moderate middle class members
What percentage of box office sales were Holly wood films?
87%
What were the aims of the fascists in terms of education?
They trained the children in sports to increase fitness. They wanted to create a generation of children who were loyal and obedient to Mussolini and fascism. They wanted to show unity and eliminate individualism
What was the fascist youth called?
Gioventu Italiana Del Littorio - meaning the fascists youth of the Lictors
What were the different stages of the male fascist youth?
Children of the wolf - birth to age 8
Balilla - from age 8 to age 11
Balilla Musketeers - from age 11 to 14
Vanguard - from age 14 to 16
Vanguard Musketeers - from age 16 to 18
What was the fascist youth group for girls called and how as it split up?
Fascio Femminile
Ran from birth to 18 and was divided into 3 groups
What happened to boys at the age of 18 when they left the youth groups?
they were either conscripted into the royal navy or they volunteered for the blackshirts, the navy or the airforce
How was architecture used by the fascist regime?
Medieval buildings were destroyed so that Rome’s classical buildings could be better displayed
How was the cinema used by the fascist regime?
the PNF funded the Italian film industry and in the late 1930s, created a state if the art film production complex known as film city
How was art used by the fascist regime?
30 million pictures of il duce were circulated around Italy - posed as a powerful leader who was sporty
How successful was the use of art in the fascist regime?
it encouraged people to participate in pro-fascist propaganda
Made people see fascism as allowing Artists own development and styles - made mussolini more popular - not fascism
How successful was the use of architecture in the fascist regime?
This showed Rome’s historical greatness and encouraged much nationalism
However, some people were angered by the destruction of Italian history to fit the fascist ideal
What were the key reasons for radicalisation and increasing anti-sematic policy in the 1930s?
The increasing influence of the Nazi party
What was the impact of the increasing radicalisation and anti-Semitism in the 1930s?
It caused the fascist dictatorship to go into decline as people were concerned by economic problems, a growing relationship with Germany and Mussolini’s failure to follow up on certain promises
Outline the anti-fascist concentration in Paris 1927
They concentrated on informing Europeans of Evils of fascism via conferences - 1934 dissolved itself
Mainly socialists
Found it difficult to overcome previous divisions
Outline the communist party outside Italy
1926 most of the leaders were arrested, but party survived illegally
2-8000 members
some success in north in infiltrating factories and trade unions to formed strikes and demonstrations
1928-34 of non collaboration with other anti-fascist groups (soviets banned collaborations)
Helped by soviet money
1943 onwards major role in resistance in northern italy
what did the politicians who fled italy do to oppose the fascists?
After 1924 many major politicians left Italy. Thousands of exiles published horrors of fascism abroad, smuggled antifascist literature into Italy and planned for the overthrow of fascism
From 1936 there were 3000 anti-fascist volunteers fighting in spain - beat fascist troops at Guadalajara, March 1937
Why was the opposition outside Italy not particularly effective
no direct action against the government
lost support of radicals
couldn’t resolve differences
dissolved themselves in 1934
Outline the underground printing of anti-fascits propaganda
a secret paper - eventually stopped by the police
Outline the attempts on Mussolini’s life before 1931
1925 - Rome
1926 - Bologna
1931 (bombs) turin, genoa and Bologna
Outline some examples of strikes in fascist Italy
Turin March 1943
Bologna 1930 and 31
Trieste 1933
Forli 1933
1933 numerous spontaneous demonstrations in northern cities
In what ways was there not full support for fascism and mussolini (generally)
There was a crowing criticism of fascist violence
Was tension between church and mussolini (catholic action - 1931 and racist decrees - 1938)
More public violence - against mussolini and the police and government in general - lots of extremism but threats were supressed quite quickly and privately
When did Mussolini introduce legislation to ban all other political parties?
November 1926
what was confino?
An exile (to the south) used against Italians who were judged as potentially dangerous anti-fascists despite there not being any concrete evidence
financially devastating for families
Why and when were the political police division formed?
Late 1926
Formed to infiltrate and breakup anti-fascist organisations
What is an example of a specific action of the political police?
In June 1937 it worked with the Servizi Militari Infermativi Italiani to assasinate exiles Carlo and Nello Rosselli in Paris my members of a French fascist group
How many cases did the political police have?
13,547 in tribunal courts
How many years of jail time was given out by the political police?
27,742
What was the OVRA and when were they formed?
The Italian secret police
in 1927
Outline the OVRA
around 5000 informers operating in Italy
Infiltrated universities, businesses, fascist unions and could be located anywhere where working men and women were known to meet.
Italian mail was examined and Phone calls listened to by the special reserve service
How many death penalties were carried out before WW2 in italy?
9
What are four examples of compromise made my Mussolini?
February 1929 - concordat with the pope
February 1923 - wins the support of Vatican by increasing clerical pay and reinstating crucifixes in schools
February 1923 - ANI officially absorbed into PNF
November 1922 - orthodox economist Alberto De Stefani appointed minister of finance - gaining support from the industrialist
When was the labour charter issued and what did it do?
Granted workers rights
April 1927
What are two examples of the removal of opposition?
An estimated 10,000 antifascists leave italy in december 1926 - citizenship is revoked and property confiscated
October 1926 - Aventine deputies excluded from parliament
Communist deputies who stayed were banned and their leader was arrested (Antonia Gramsci)
