Mussolini Flashcards
The Origins of Italy
The nation formed in 1861 and was joined by Rome in 1871. It was a constitutional monarchy with a mostly symbolic king and a parliament.
Entry into WWI
Italy despite being a part of the Central Powers (Germany and Austro-Hungary) proclaimed neutrality at the outbreak of war. Then when they negotiated with the Entente for key Austro-Hungarian states they joined the war on the side of England and France. Italy joined on April 26th, 1915.
Liberal Government During WWI
“Struggled unconvincingly to conduct government throughout the war” - Martin Blinkhorn
“Liberal government was coming to seem irrelevant and ineffectual” - Martin Blinkhorn
Italy’s Wartime Record
500,000+ casualties out of 5.9 million recruited
Crisis of October 1917 with the Battle of Caporetto - 10,000 dead in a week and 300,000 captured. Austrian army pushed 110 kilometers into Italy
War ended with “Vittoria Mutilata” (Mutilated Victory) as a result of the Paris Peace Conference. Italy did not get the provinces negotiated during their entrance into the war.
End of the War
Economically impaired
Facing massive unemployment
Dissatisfied with the conflict’s outcome
Politically unstable at the humiliation of Versailles
Socially divided, along the north-south provinces
Uncertain about its future security and strength
In short a crisis state.
Rise to Power - Founding the Party
In 1919, Mussolini set up the party ‘fascio di combattimento’ along with 20-30 other ex-soldiers from the Arditi.
Using propaganda paper ‘Il Popolo d’Italia’ (The people of Italy)
Rise to Power - The Taking of Fiume
Italian poet and fascist, Gabriel D’Annunzio took over the island city of Fiume, a territory promised during WWI, along with other disgruntled ex-soldiers, in 1919
They are removed finally in 1920 by the liberal government.
Rise to Power - Ideology
Order above all
National strength
“Glory of the Roman Empire that had come before”
Anti-Communist/Democratic
Rise to Power - Opposition
There were two key opposition blocks. The Liberals and Catholics, who represented a fairly weak ruling order. And the Socialists a diverse group ranging from labor groups to revolutionaries.
Italian Socialist Party (PSI) Stats - Membership (1920): 250,000 Trade Union membership: 2,000,000 Deputy Seats (1919): 165 Province Control (1920): 26/6
Rise to Power - Biennio Rosso
Two red years - the years from 1919-1920 where Italy experience massive violence. Clashes from labor movements were common and there was a real fear of a revolution.
Rise to Power - Black Shirts
The militants of the Italian fascist movement were the ‘squadre d’azione’ (squads of action), formed mainly from groups of ex-soldiers. Their main role was the harassment and threatening of left-wing movements to prevent their organizing.
Rise to Power - ‘The March on Rome’
28th of October 1922 - Mussolini’s Squadritsi begin a march on Rome 30,000 strong. Mussolini is not among them, he is near the border ready to flee if things go pear-shaped.
29th of October 1922 - Prime Minister Luigi Facta urges the king to send in the military. The king does not fearing greater violence.
29th of October 1922 - The king invites Mussolini to come to Rome and set up a new government there.
Rise to Power - The Weakness of the Liberal Government - Fiume
Failure to drive D’Annunzio from Fiume until a year after his taking of the island demonstrated weakness on the part of the Italian liberals.
Rise to Power - The Weakness of the Liberal Government - Instability
The government was prone to change and from the years 1900-1922, there were 18 separate prime ministers demonstrating disunity on the part of the Italian people.
Rise to Power - A Divided Oposition
The left antifascist movement was weak and split up, the major socialist movement was divided into three groups, Communist Party (PCI), Moderate Socialists (PSU), & Main Socialist Party (PSI).
The Catholic party was split in their opposition to Mussolini with some members preferring him to left-wing alternatives.
The liberal factions of the government all looked at Mussolini as a positive alternative to the Socialists.
Rise to Power - Favored by the Traditional Elites
Many of the landowning and industrial class found Mussolini to support their own interests in his efforts against socialism.
Rise to Power - The Militias Ties to the Army
Mussolini’s militiamen often held ties to the army which gave them a certain immunity. Where socialists might be brutalized the blackshirts were let go.
Rise to Power - The weakness of democratic institutions
Italy was a new country and many of the democratic institutions that Mussolini fought against were not well cemented. Therefore it was not difficult to remove them.
Consolidation of Power - Acerbo Law & the Taking of Parliament
July 1923 - The government passes the Acerbo law which means that any party winning the highest percentage (with a minimum of 25%) of the vote got 2/3s of the total seats in parliament. This ensured that the fascist would hold the most seats giving them the ability to rewrite the constitution.
Stephen Lee on the Acerbo Law
“This [the Acerbo law] stated that the party with a 25% poll would automatically have a two-thirds majority in parliament and therefore form the government.”
Stephen J. Lee
Consolidation of Power - Removal of the Opposition & the Murder of Matteotti
June 10 1924, Socialist party leader and outspoken critique of Mussolini, Giacomo Matteotti is kidnapped and killed. This lead to a wave of protests calling for Mussolini to resign.
Consolidation of Power - The Aventine Secession
Soon after Matteotti death, the representatives of the Socialist, Catholic, Liberal and various other parties leave the Italian Parliament chambers for good, in an event known as the “Aventine Secession”.
Consolidation of Power - The Fascist Party Threat
Members of Mussolini’s own party tell him that he must end the Matteotti crisis or they will withdraw support from him. Mussolini agrees and begins to move towards dictatorship, weakening the parliament.
Domestic Policy - Autarky
The goal being the ability to produce all that a country needs within that country.
Domestic Policy - The Battle for Grain
1925
Aims:
- Boost cereal production to make Italy self-sufficient in grain
- Reduce the deficit in the balance of trade
- Lower the necessity of foreign bread imports
- Show Italy as a major power
Actions:
- Tariffs and tax incentives encouraged farmers to grow grain rather than import it.
Outcomes:
- An overall increase in grain production
Domestic Policy - The Battle for Land
1928
Aims:
- To increase the amount of land available for cereal production and help the Battle for Grain.
- To provide more jobs, reduce unemployment and stimulate demand.
- To improve health by reducing malaria, thereby improving living standards.
- To show dynamic government in action, impressing foreigners.
- To revive rural Italy by altering the pattern of small farmers at the expense of large estates.
Actions:
- Expanded previous government’s schemes of providing money to drain or irrigate farmland (laws passed in 1923, 1928 and 1933).
- The Pontine marshes, only 50 km from Rome and thus easily accessible by foreign journalists, were the showpiece; by 1935 they provided land for settlement.
- Malaria swamps were drained and a network of small farms were set up, owned by ex-servicemen.
- Private landowners were made to cooperate with drainage schemes and other projects via the landholder association, which determined contributions.
Successes:
- Public health was improved.
- Provided thousands of jobs during the depression.
- New towns—Latina and Sabaudia—created as show pieces.
- Between the years 1928 and 1938, 80,000 hectares were reclaimed.
Failures:
- The 80,000 hectares reclaimed was only one twentieth of the propaganda claim which was one sixth of Italy’s land.
- Three quarters of the reclaimed land was in the North; the South, which was most in need of improvement, was largely neglected.
Domestic Policy - The Battle for the Lira
Aims:
- To fix the lira at a rate of 90 (“Quota 90”) to the pound Sterling (£)
- To reduce inflation
- To confirm the image of Fascism bringing stability
- To show the world that Italy could be a great force, with a strong, desirable currency
Actions:
Revaluation of the Lira to 90 Lira to the Pound Sterling
Results: Italian workers were pressured into accepting wage cuts to match the new value of the lira to the point where wages fell more than food prices and living standards for working-class Italians rapidly declined.
Domestic Policy - The Battle For Births
Aims:
To increase the population to support a larger army and imperial Italy. Mussolini hoped for an increase from 40 million to 60 million Italians.
Policies:
- Loans offered to married couples, parts of which were canceled with each new child.
- Men who had 6 or more children were tax-exempt
- Unmarried people were hired less in nationalized industries
- Bachelors were taxed higher
Results:
- Birth rates fell, in 1911 they were 147 per 1000 in they had dropped to 112 per 1000
- This policy was an abject failure.
Historiography - Renzo De Felice
Renzo De Felice takes more seriously Mussolini’s ambitions to be a statesman with the mission of restoring Italy’s greatness. De Felice believed that Mussolini’s regime did essentially rest upon consent, at least before World War II, and he was anxious to distinguish between Fascism and German Nazism. For example, De Felice argued that Mussolni’s foreign policy was relatively moderate, and that his alliance with Hitler was purely tactical
Historiography - Mack Smith
Italian fascism was for the most part a result of inadequacies of the unification process in Italy, a process which had left behind many unsolved problems. Mussolini the opportunist appeared to give Italians hope, but ultimately anything he achieved was superficial and short-term.
