Rise of Fascism 1919-22 (Key Facts) Flashcards
March 1919
first meeting of Fasci de combattimento
June 1919
Treaty of St Germain, Orlando resigns and replaced by Nitti
September 1919
Occupation of Fiume by D’Annunzio
November 1919
PPI established and general election using proportional representation resulted in political deadlock
1919-20
Biennio Rosso (strikes, demonstrations, land occupations of the left)
June 1920
Nitti replaced by Giolitti
September 1920
workers seized control of northern factories
December 1920
D’Annunzio forced out of Fiume
May 1921
PCI formed and general election continued political deadlock, fascists gained 35 seats
June 1921
Giolitti replaced by Bonomi
August 1921
pact of pacification
November 1921
PNF’s new programme
January 1922
Pius XI new pope
February 1922
Bonomi replaced by Facta
August 1922
general strike collapsed within 24 hrs
27 oct 1922
fascists seized control of provincial cities and waiting outside Rome
28 oct 1922
king approved martial law then changed his mind, Facta resigns
29 oct 1922
salandra unable to form government so king invited Mussolini as PM
30 oct 1922
Mussolini arrives in Rome to accept appointment as PM
31 Oct 1922
March on Rome
Salandra
-failed to absorb mussolini in a coalition government in oct 1922
-advised king to not appoint Giolitti
Giolitti
-reduced impact of the Biennio Rosso by making concessions
-legitimised Mussolini by including him in the party list for 1921 election
-acted passively during March on Rome crisis as expected he’ll be made PM and only waited for the call
what were Giolitti’s concessions made during Biennio Rosso
-bread subsidies
-8 hr working day
-fairer tax
legalised land occupations
Orlando
-signed the Mutilated Treaty of St Germain in 1919
-negotiated with Mussolini to form a coalition but failed
Facta
-failed to obtain king’s approval for martial law in 1922
who were the 4 prime ministers in 1919-22
Orlando, Nitti, Giolitti, Facta (only lasted a year each so Mussolini a more viable candidate)
who was the commander of the army in 1917-22
General Diaz (victor of vittorio veneto)
-told the king that the army would obey orders but shouldnt put its loyalty to the test during march on Rome
General Badolgio
confident that the army could crush the fascists during march on rome
who was the leader of the PPI catholic party
Don Sturzo (unwilling to work with socialists and were reluctant with the fascists)
Pope Pius XI
-pope in jan 1922
-more sympathetic to fascism than his predecessor
-overruled don sturzo by ordering him to join mussolini’s coalition
King Emmanuel III
-timid and weak character
-changed his mind about martial law
D’annunzio
nationalist leader who occupied Fiume for 15 months
Pirelli
a leading industrialist
Balbo and Farinacci
local fascist leaders
duke of aosta
kings cousin, emmanuel feared that he would replace him as king if mussolini wasnt to be PM
quadrumviri
4 fascist leaders who organised the march on rome
Ras
local fascist leaders
sqaudristi
fascist black shirts who used violence against socialists
proportional representation
electoral system introduced by PM Nitti (radicals) in a series of unstable coalition governments and encouraged the splintering of parties
universal suffrage
every man has the vote regardless of literacy
prefects
representatives of central government responsible for law and order in the provinces
treaty of london
italy agreed to join the allies in 1915 in return for irredente lands (e.g. south tyrol, trentino, Istria
Fiume and colonies not mentioned
“Mutilated peace”
reference to the treaty of St Germain (versailled settlement) where italy failed to gain Fiume, dalmatian coast or colonies
Biennio Rosso
“two red years” of strikes, factory occupations and violent riots
main reason why higher classes flocked to the fascists
march on rome
threat of the march was intimidating, actual march in rome was the day after Mussolini appointed PM
1919 PNF programme
-abolition of monarchy
-confiscation of inherited wealth, war profit and church property
-8 hr day and worker participation in management
-nationalisation of arms’ factories
-italy to take fiume and dalmatia
This extreme left wing alienated elites but didnt win over workers as they were loyal to the PSI , later shifted more right
1921 New Programme
-republicanism dropped
-no mention of confiscation
-8 hr day except for agricultural and industrial requirements
-privatisation of nationalised industries
-complete unification of Italy
-major role in mediterranean
used many meaningless slogans, vague so that people could interpret i themselves in a way that aligns with their interests, widens their appeal
liberal party
-dominated parliament since unification
-liberal vote collapsed in 1919 election
-remained divided between factions e.g. Giolitti and Salandra
PSI
-1919 socialists biggest party in parliament with 31% vote
-no other party willing to join them in coalition so was excluded from power
-lacking an inspirational leader and coherant strategy
PSU
moderate socialist splinter party from the PSI
formed in 1919 under Marinetti
PCI
communist splinter party from the PSI
formed in 1921 under Gramsci
PPI/ “populari”
catholic party formed in 1919
commanded 20% of electorate, mostly those who previously supported liberals
refused to form coalition with anticlerical socialists or radicals
radicals
had a loose relationship with liberals, in 1919 a more distinct party, Nitti introduced proportional representation
fascism
difficult to define because Mussolini changed position on so many policies
Themes: glorification of violence, extreme nationalism, antiliberalism, antisocialism
mussolinism
mussolinis ideology was flexible but his quest for power wasnt, determined his thinking and tactics
dual policy
mussolini presented himself as a violent revolutionary to appeal to the army but also a defender of the establishment to appeal to the conservative elites, managed to be both moderate and extremist without appearing contradictory
conservative elites
upper class establishment consisting of industrialists, big landowners, aristocrats, army generals, senior civil servants
King was the top of the social hierarchy
by 1922 they had lost faith in the liberals to protect their status and saw fascism as an alternative
middle class
professionals, junior civil servants, officers, tenant farmers, small businessment who felt most threatened by socialism so were enthusiastic about fascism
how much did government debt rise during the war
increased from 3 billion to 23 billion lira
by 1919 how much was the lira worth
due to inflation, lira worth 25% of value in 1914
in 1918 how many war veterans
5 million
in 1918 how many soldiers died and wounded in ww1
650,000 died
1 million wounded
how much did trade union membership increase by
250,000 in 1915
2 mill in 1919
how much did membership of the fascists increase by
4000 in 1919 to 200,000 in 1921 when Biennio Rosso at its peak
by 1922 was 300,000
what happened in 1919 election
PSI- 156 seats 31%
PPI- 101 seats 20%
left wing vote split with the reformist socialists with 21 seats
fascists gained 2% of vote in miland and didnt win any deputies
what happened in the 1921 election
PSI- 123 seats
PPI 107 seats
they still remained strong despite left wing split with the rise of communists with 15 seats and reformist socialist with 29 seats
fascists won 39 seats and 7% vote
how many police men needed to halt the march on rome
400 police needed to halt the march 50 miles outside of rome
how many killed by the fascists
3,000-4,000 killed with over 10,000 injured between 1919-22
intimidated people into submission
