Popular support and opposition Flashcards
What was the consequence of M’s control over the party and the great institutions of state?
It made open opposition both difficult and extremely dangerous
What does the death of Matteoti prove about M?
That he had no compunction about using violence and even murder to silence his critics
Give a statistic to show the violence of fascist squads
By 1926 it is probable that they had murdered around 2000 opponents
What two things denied opponents a platform for their views?
The ban on political activity outside of the party and the imposition of press censorship
What was the OVRA?
The fascist secret police
What did it do?
Spied on dissidents
How many informers did they have?
Thousands
What might happen to suspects?
They might be severely beaten up or brought before the OVRA court
Give some statistics to show how important this was?
By 1943 they had tried around 4500 defendants and ordered the executions of 31
What was the consequence of this array of repressive measures?
Opposition in Italy was disorganised and ineffective, with only a small number of sizeable networks of anti fascists existing in the country
What did the communists try and do?
Maintain an underground party organisation within Italy, published their own newspaper and distributed anti fascists propaganda leaflets
What was the name of this newspaper?
L’Unita
Give a statistic to show the weakness of communism in Italy at this time?
It is estimated that they could count on no more than 7000 constantly harried active supporters
Who was the founder of L’Unita
Prominent Marxist writer Antonio Gramsci
What happened to him?
He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in 1927. His health destroyed, he died in 1937
What was the name of group founded by Carlo Roselli?
Justice and Liberty
Give his background
He escaped from fascist prison in 1929 and settled in Paris
What did he want to create?
An alliance between socialists and liberals opposed to the regime
What did Justice and Liberty to from Paris?
Kept the international press informed about the repression and injustice within Italy, and smuggled leaflets to its supporters within the country
What did these supporters within the country then do?
Tried to spread this anti fascist propaganda within the Italian cities
What was the main weakness of the group?
They only had a few thousand supporters
What did the movement still attract despite its small scale?
The full attention of the fascist state
What was the consequence of this attention from the state?
Roselli was murdered in 1937 by Fascists acting on instructions from the government in Rome
What was a significant reason for the limited impact of opposition groups?
They squabbled amongst themselves instead of forming a proper anti-fascist front
Give an example of this
Socialist Pietro Nenni formed the concentrazione antifascista in Paris in 1927. They produced a weekly newspaper called La Liberta. However, internal disputes and the refusal of the communist anti fascists to cooperate led to its dissolution in 1934
What two things does the lack of effective opposition prove?
The strength of the regime’s repressive machinery and that M knew how to manipulate his subjects
What happened to the liberals and popolari who had become disillusioned with the regime?
They were mostly left alone as long as they did not openly criticise the regime