Mussolini's consolidation of power Key Facts (1922-26) Flashcards
when did Pius XI become Pope
Jan 1922
when was Bonomi replaced by Facta as PM
Feb 1922
What happened in Aug 1922
General strike collapsed
what happened in 27 Oct 1922
Fascists seized control of provincial cities and walked outside Rome
what happened on the 28 Oct 1922
King approved martial law and changed his mind, facta resigned as PM
what happened in the 29 oct 1922
salandra unable to form government so the king invited mussolini as PM
what happened on 30 oct 1922
mussolini arrived in Rome to accept his appointment as PM
what happened on 31 oct 1922
March on Rome
when was mussolini issued to be able to rule by decree
Nov 1922
when was the fascist grand council established
1923
when was the MVSN established
1923
when did the nationaists merge with the PNF
1923
When was the PPI dismissed from coalition
1923
when was acerbo law created
1923
Describe the timeline of 1924
april- General election
June- matteotti murder
July- aventine succession
Dec- rossi memorandum
when did Mussolini declare dictatorship
jan 1925
describe the events of 1925
PNF centralised, trade unions abolished and strikes illegal, press censorship increased, Mussolini head of government
describe the events of 1926
Elected mayors replaced with podestas, all other parties banned, purge of civil service and judiciary, special tribunal for poltical crimes
when was the OVRA secret police created
1927
Facta
PM who obtained the King’s approval and backing for martial law
Resigned when the king refused to order it later
Don Sturzo
leader of PPI, joined fascists in a coalition government in oct 1922, dismissed by Mussolini in 1923 when he doubted the coalition, lost support of the Pope and resigned
Pope Pius XI
became pope jan 1922, good relationship with Mussolini and supported him during the Matteotti crisis, approved the PPI joining the fascists in oct 1922, accepted the banning of the PPI in 1926, saw Mussolini as a saviour against communism and appreciated his restoration of crucifixes and religious education becoming mandatory
Orlando, Salandra, Giolitti
joined government list of candidates in 1924 election, won many seats in the south, were complicit to Mussolini’s destruction of democracy
Matteotti
leader of the reformist socialists (PSU), assassinated in 1924, he championed democracy and stood against Mussolini by delivering a speech that condemned the april elections as a fraud, Mussolini’s survival of his crisis showed that he had become above the law
Dumini
deputy to Rossi in the Fascist press office, one of Matteotti’s murderers, member of Cheka hit squad, Mussolini liked to employ these people as they could do the dirty work for him, the failure to effectively clean their tracks meant that they acted spontaneously
Rossi
Mussolini’s press officer, wrote a memorandum that accused Mussolini in acts of violence but didnt mention Matteotti, found its way to the press who then published it in dec 1924, couldve been used to destroy Mussolini’s power
Federzoni
member of the nationalists party and appointed minister of the interior in 1924 to reassure the elite during the Matteotti murder, they were responsible for law and order
Rocco
member of nationalist party and appointed Justice minister in 1924 to please the elite during the Matteotti murder, he drafted many laws e.g. banning of trade unions and making strikes illegal, gave Mussolini dictatorial powers
Farinacci
Mussolini appointed him, a violent ras, as PNF secretary in 1925, this centralised the organisation and expanded the membership to 900,000 and purged those who disagreed with Mussolini, after he had broken the ras he was then sacked in 1926
de bono
fascist and general in the army, was a bridge between the PNF and the elite, was made chief of police and made member of the fascist grand council, was used as a scapegoat for the Matteotti murder and was sacked in 1924, was replaced as chief of police by a non-fascist
Balbo
important ras and rival to Mussolini, was appointed in fascist grand council and put in charge of the MVSN in 1923, sacked in 1924 as another scapegoat for Matteotti’s murder, was made governor of Libya to get him out of the way of Mussolini
King Emmanuel
claimed in oct 1922 there were 100,000 fascists outside Rome against 8,000 army but there was actually 30,000 each, army was better equipped and trained, supported Mussolini during the Matteotti murder and refused to read the Rossi memorandum that was the key evidence against Mussolini, this gave Mussolini confidence in 1925 to set dictatorship as he was now above the law
General Diaz
commander of army 1917-22, Victor or vittorio veneto, expressed uncertainty about army’s loyalty during march on rome
general badoglio
confident that the army could crush fascist threat during march on rome, was appointed commander of army in 1925
rule by decree
november 1922 Mussolini given power to pass laws without parliamentary consent for 12 months, was passed 306/116 votes even though there were only 35 fascists, this shows peoples lack of faith in democracy and the consent they gave to the rise of fascism
acerbo law
replaced the system of proportional representation in 1923 by a system that gave 2/3 seats to the largest party as long as they get 25% of votes, this was passed due to a lack of faith in democracy, wasnt needed by fascists in 1924 elections as they got 2/3 of vote anyway
MVSN
squads or blackshirts that were organised locally under the control of ras, were now centralised into state militia and paid by the government, became neutralised as shown by decreasing violence, few fascists were convicted of murder which shows that the judiciary were lenient towards them
how many deaths caused by fascists between 1919-26
4000 in 1919-22
only 400 in 1923-26
aventine succession
100 left wing deputies left the chamber in jul 1924 to set their own parliament in protest to Matteottis murder, this played into Mussolini’s hands as it got rid of his opposition,it wouldve only worked if they represented a majority
podestas
replaced elected mayors in parliament, were fascists appointed by Mussolini, non-fascist prefects still the most important representative which reassured the elite and they could also keep an eye on troublesome ras
fascist grand council
an organisation made in 1923, undermined the authority of the cabinet and allowed Mussolini to “absorb” senior fascists by giving them some power while distracting them from their local power bases
head of government
the title Mussolini gave himself in 1925, was answerable to the king and not parliament, made rule by decree permanent
purges
some civil servants and judges were purged but only few as there wasnt much resistance to Mussolini, he was reluctant to replace them with fascists as they were more inexperienced and could cause more trouble
OVRA
secret police introduced 1927 like an afterthought since there wasnt much opposition he didnt need to use force, OVRA agents werent as ruthless or well-organised as Gestapo as Mussolini’s dictatorship didnt have to resort to terror
special tribunals
courts that handled political crimes
ras
local fascist leaders
squadristi
fascist black shirts who used violence against the socialists
march on rome
took place after Mussolini became PM, only took 400 policemen to halt the march 50 miles outside capital, victory parade lasted 1 day then Mussolini send them all away so they wouldnt cause chaos and affect his image as the one to restore order
quadrumviri
the 4 leaders of the march on rome, Mussolini wasnt an organiser or participator, he stayed in Milan ready to escape to Switzerland if it failed, he was walking a tightrope trying to be reassuring and intimidating
dual policy
his policy of compromising with both elites in private and appearing a radical fascist in public
martial law
military rule
