Mussolini's Rise to Power Flashcards
What were some issues faced by Italy coming out of WW1?
- Campaign against Austria funded through foreign loans and printing more money = infation
- Tension in the south of conscripts wanting promised land reform
- Divide between returning soldiers and those who did not fight
When was the Paris Peace Conference, who represented Italy and what did he want?
- January 1919, Vittorio Orlando represented Italy
- He wanted all territory promised in the Treaty of London + the port of Fiume on the Croatian Coast
- Majority of Fiume was not Italian
What would the big three respond with to Orlandos request?
- Rejected Fiume
- Rejected parts of the Treaty of London, Dodecanese Islands and parts of the Balkans
When would Orlando walk out of the Paris Peace Conference and when would he resign?
- He walked out of the conference in April 1919
- He was forced to resign in June of 1919
What would Italy claim at the Paris Peace Conference?
- Trent, Trieste, Istria and Northern Dalmatia
What is the ‘mutilated victory’
- Phrase used and developed by poet and novelist Gabrielle D’Annunzio
- disgrace to 600,000 soldiers who had lost their lives in the war
What would Orlandos replacement, Franceso Nitti do?
- Weak economy had made him not want to damage relations with allies, they had coal and money
- Allowed Yugoslavia to take Dalmatia
- Allowed Fiume to be deemed a neutral city under League of Nations protection
- Reduced military spending and issued amnesty’s for those soldiers who deserted during WW1
When and who occupied Fiume?
- Led by Gabrielle D’Annunzio
- 12th September 1919
- 2,000 made up of ex-soldiers, Futurists, students and patriots
For how long did the Italians occupy Fiume?
- 15 months
- Removed the Italians by the Italian Navy Christmas Day 1920
What would Mussolini learn from events at Fiume?
- Assertive Nationalism was effective
- Weakness of Italian Government
- Only need one strong leader
- Success through violent actions
What would cause Biennio Rosso?
- Millions of demobilised soldiers flooding the job market
- Nov 1919, unemployment hit 2 million
- Inflation saw lots of savings wiped
- Companies such as Fiat, Ansaldo and Ilva were struggling - Ansaldo and Ilva collapse (1921) and cause a banking crisis with Banca di Sconto
Who carried out the strikes of Biennio Rosso?
anarchist and socialist radicals who had been jailed WW1
By how much had socialists unions grew since 1918 to 1920
250,000 —> 2 million
What would the first strike of 1919 be about?
- Rising food prices in northern and central Italy
- Protestors looted shops and granaries
When would railway workers go on strike?
January 1920
When would there be telegraph workers on strike?
April and September 1920
When would army troops go on strike?
July 1920
What would the largest strike of Biennio Rosso be?
September 1920
- 400,000 workers taking over factories, red flags of communism and black flags of anarchism for four weeks
- Recession in late 1920 would scare economic collapse
What would the economic discontent be in the countryside?
- Seized land from owners who were absent
- Rural socialist unions in Ferrara and Bologna
What political reform would Italy’s electoral system undergo, what would its effects be?
- Vote extended to all males over 21 and those who had served on any front
- Vote increased by 11 million
- Switched to proportional representation
What were the results of the 1919 election?
- 32% votes for PSI
- 156 Socialist Deputies
- 101 PPI seats
- > 5000 votes for fascists
Both parties unwilling to work together so liberals remained in power - Nitti government would fall in June 1920
When was the fasci di combattimento founded and who did it consist of?
23rd March 1919
- 20 ex-servicemen in Milan
- Men linked through trincerocrazia, men who fought in the war
- trinceristi, returned soldiers who had strength and moral right to lead Italy
- arditi, crack troop commandos
- June - 3,000 members
What were the policies of the fasci di combattimento
By June: - Anticlerical, confiscation of church property - Anti-monarchy - Suffrage to women and younger Italians - 8 Hour working day - Progressive taxation, nationalisation of armaments and profits cut from companies who benefited from war Note very similar to the PSI
When and who burned down Avantis offices in Milan?
15th April 1919
- Squad of around 200-300 dressed in black attacked
- 3 socialist and 1 fascist died
- no fascists were arrested
Who commanded squads and what were some key features?
- Commanded by ras
- Uniform black
- Carried revolver and manganello
- PSI members targeted, castor oil torture
Name some early statistics of fascist violence?
- First five months of 1921 200 killed, 1,000 wounded
Why was the movement popular in the countryside?
- Landowners happy to see socialist land leagues destroyed who tried to bring land reform
What were the results of the May 1921 election and why?
- 35 fascist deputies
- Squads attacked socialist meetings
- Police lent vehicles and army landed weapons
- Italian Judiciary showed particular leniency towards the fascists
When did the fascists adopt the ‘New Programme’ and what was it?
- May 1920
- Removed anti-monarchy and attacks on Pope
- Pro-business
- Compulsory military service
- Unification of Italian irredente
When was the PNF created, what was it?
- October 1921
- Formal political party
- Aimed to recruit more respectable members
How did the PNF grow and who did they appeal to?
- End of 1921, 200,000 members
- Appeal to urban middle class
- Professional white collar workers
- Landowners
- Young Italians
