The Fascist State 1925-40 Flashcards
1
Q
Youth groups for boys
A
- by December 1921 the Fascist Front Guard was created for boys 14 to 17 years old
- March 1923 the Gruppi Universitari Fascisti - GUF was formed
- creation of Balilla for ages 8-14 years old
- in the early 1920s these youth groups weren’t well organised and competed with youth groups of other political partes
- by 1924 only 3k children were formally involved with fascist youth organisations
2
Q
Opera Nazionale Balilla ONB
A
- created by formal decree on 3 April 1926
- goal of providing for the physical and moral benefit of youth - through the education of boys 8 to 18 years
3
Q
1934 Balilla restructuring
A
- Figla Della Lupa- Sons of the She Wolf - for ages 6 to 8 years
- Balilla - for ages 8 to 14 years
- Avanguardisti - for ages 14 to 17 years
4
Q
Youth groups for girls
A
- Figlie Della Lupa - Daughters of the She Wolf - for ages 6 to 8 years
- Piccole Italiane - Little Italians for ages 8 to 13 years
- Giovane Italiane - Young Italian Women - for ages 14 to 17 years
- these organisations were under the control of the Ministry of National Education
5
Q
Ministry of National Education
A
- created in 1929
- to oversee both the scholarly education and physical training of Italy’s youth
- aim to create a new loyal and physically strong generation of fascists
6
Q
Compulsory youth group membership
A
- ONB was linked into the formal education system and was compulsory for boys and girls aged 6 to 11 years
- in 1939 ONB membership made compulsory after the age of 11 too
- non-membership made it difficult to enrol in further education + barred civil service employment + caused suspicion of being non-fascists
- membership of the ONB provided access to jobs + special scholarships
7
Q
Balilla legend
A
- allegedly the nickname of Giovane Battista Perasso - a boy from Genoa
- started a revolt against Austrian rule in 1746 when he threw a stone at an Austrian official
- the name Balilla was associated with revolution + independence
- the name chosen to represent the idea of a militarised youth who were ready to stand against foreign invaders
8
Q
Youth programme aims
A
- all other youth organisations apart from Church associated ones were banned
- from 8 to 14 - boys trained in the moral + spiritual defence of the country
- 14+ boys involved in sporting programmes to prepare for military life
- at 18 years old all able-bodied males underwent military training
- Giovinezza - name of the fascist hymn
9
Q
Balilla training
A
- sport + military training for boys involved activities like marching + wrestling + shooting + bomb throwing
- young boys taught that the perfect Balilla was one who swore loyalty to Mussolini + dreamt of fighting + dying for his country
10
Q
Physical education for girls
A
- girls did gymnastics - to ensure they would become fit mothers + bear healthy children
- would educate their children in the love for Italy + Mussolini
11
Q
At school
A
- made links between Italy’s great heroes like Caesar and Mussolini
- textbooks explained the poor treatment of Italian soldiers post-WWI + fascism saved Italy from a communist revolution
- in 1933 made compulsory for teachers to be a PNF member
- Libro Unico - single authorised government textbook covering all subjects
- 101 out of 317 history textbooks banned in 1926
12
Q
GUF goals
A
- at university level there was less focus on formal fascist training + military training
- GUF’s main goal was to run the Littoriali - national student games about cultural + debacle competitions centred on fascist themes
- Littoriali ran from 1934 to 1940
- by 1937 before membership was compulsory - fascist youth groups had 7 million members
13
Q
Motivation for youth
A
- not usually the belief in fascism
- more interest in the enjoyable social occasions - enjoyed being outdoors than in classroom
- success of youth policy hampered by regional and demographic differences
14
Q
Divide between north and south
A
- in the rural south most didn’t study past the compulsory age of 11
- nature of agricultural work made participation in youth groups more difficult
- difference between fun sport activities for boys vs dull focus on becoming good mothers for girls
- 1937 PNF survey in Rome found that girls were more interested in the sporting activities for boys
15
Q
WWII soldiers
A
- the most dedicated fascist soldiers were mainly young Italians who were products of fascist youth policy
- HOWEVER the antifascist forces were predominately made up of young people who had also been brought up in the same fascist education system
16
Q
Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro OND
A
- National Afterwork Organisation - one of the most popular aspects of the fascist regime
- in 1925 the fascist OND replaced the banned socialist organisations for worker recreation + welfare
- provided workers with social + sporting activities - bars + billiard halls + cycling groups + football teams + libraries + radios
- each OND section typically had a clubhouse + recreation ground for activities
- plays + concerts provided for workers + popular films
17
Q
OND membership benefits
A
- rail ticket discounts + other consumer benefits
- acted as a welfare organisation provided relief for workers in need + provided a level of social insurance
- subsidised holidays + excursions - workers could their family for virtually no cost to mountain retreats + sporting events + beach
- first example of popular mass leisure in Italy
18
Q
OND membership
A
- by 1939 OND had over 4 million members
- approx 80% of all state + private sector salaried workers were OND members
- approx 40% of Italy’s industrial workers
- OND was ideologically free - no direct promotion of fascist beliefs + ideology
19
Q
OND popularity = Mussolini popularity
A
- people benefited from OND without any actual commitment to fascist ideals
- some PNF members complained that OND didn’t provide fascist education
- Mussolini considered main achievement of OND to be that workers met + participated in social activities linked to the fascist party
20
Q
Press control decrees + prefect power
A
- 1923 + 1925 press control decrees formalised into official laws sanctioned by government by 1926
- 1926 provincial prefects given the power to place anyone under police supervision if deemed a political threat
- prefects had the ability to confiscate whole editions of newspapers + journals + magazines if judged as unfavourable to the fascist regime
- prefects could suspend publications + replace editors + shout down offending newspapers completely
21
Q
Newspapers + journalists
A
- left-wing newspapers like Avanti! + Partito Popolare + L’Unita were closed down
- all journalists incorporated into a fascist union - controlled job access + promotion
- enforced a type of self-censorship - journalists in the union ensured work was fascist-positive or lost their job
- Mussolini’s Press Officer sent out specific instructions on what should and shouldn’t be published
- fascist reports about the greatness of Mussolini and published
- journalists couldn’t write about crime + suicides + traffic incidents - would ruin the fascist image of Italy as a country with no social problems
22
Q
Controlling Press
A
- Mussolini’s fascist newspaper Popolo d’Italia only had a circulation of 100k compared to the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano with 250k in circulation
- fascist newspapers only made up 10% of all newspaper sales in Italy
- Press Law of December 1925
23
Q
Controlling newspapers
A
- increased subsidiaries for newspapers printing positive stories about Mussolini
- independent newspapers allowed to exist under strict guidance - often by the newspaper’s own editor who was fearful of consequences
- fascist regime was successful in controlling press - public only saw the narrative given by the fascist regime
24
Q
Propaganda
A
- Mussolini’s goal was to use propaganda to increase support for policies + transform Italians into fascists
- focus on unifying ideals to draw Italians together
- create shared patriotic feeling about Italian history + fascist rebirth of Italy
25
Q
Cult of Ancient Rome
A
- celebrated the greatness of Ancient Rome + leaders
- portrayed Italians as the heirs to the greatest empire in history
- Medieval buildings destroyed so that Rome’s classic ruins could be better displayed
- in 1937 a large celebration to commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of Augustus Caesar was held in Rome
- over a million people visited the exhibition of Roman history
26
Q
Mussolini and Rome
A
- Mussolini linked to the image of Rome as the heir of Augustus
- Mussolini was rebuilding Italy as a great power from the ruins of chaos + war
27
Q
Sport propaganda
A
- Italian football team won the World Cup in 1934 + 1938
- an Italian was the world boxing champion between 1933 - 35 - Primo Carnera
- demonstrated the new greatness of the Italian people - supremacy in sport
- famous sports venue built 1928 - 38 called Forro Mussolini
28
Q
Ministry of the Press
A
- Ministry of Press formed in 1935
- renamed to the Ministry of Popular Culture in 1937
- not very sophisticated + struggled using media such as films for propaganda
- lack of mass media in the south - lack of national integration
29
Q
Cult of Il Duce
A
- image propagated by posters + cinema news reels + radio - portray Mussolini as a great leader
- popular fascist slogan Mussolini is always right - starts the school day off
- 30 million pictures of Mussolini circulated throughout Italy of 2.5k poses
- image of Mussolini as a modern + dynamic leader + sportsman + respected statesman
- frequently photographed shirtless - image as a man attractive to women + traditional family man - contradictions strengthened appeal as Mussolini appealed to everybody
30
Q
Image as a lone leader
A
- image as a lone leader above friends + own Party
- without friends to distract from work + without normal emotion to hinder
- Il Duce represented hopes + desires of the Italian people - supreme patriot + heir to Julius Caesar and Augustus
- whilst PNF ideology might not be popular - Mussolini himself was believed in
31
Q
Problems with the Mussolini image propaganda
A
- Mussolini’s image was more popular than the fascist ideology
- cult of Il Duce didn’t transform the Italian people into a more militaristic society
- focused on the worship of one leader - not sustainable after death
- as Mussolini aged the image was difficult to maintain
- Mussolini may perhaps have started to believe in the cult of Il Duce himself - explains his more agressive + radical policies after 1935
32
Q
Cultural revolution of Fascism
A
- all art should serve the goals of the fascist state + sustain the fascist image
- The National Institute of Fascist Culture created in 1926 - artists + intellectuals organised into particular associations
- organised cultural events + free concerts + publications to encourage mass Italian participation in fascist propaganda
- PNF funded the Italian film industry + created an art film production complex called Film City
33
Q
Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution
A
- 1932 - held to celebrate a decade of fascist rule
- artists commissioned to make artwork for it - over 4 million people visited the exhibition
- Mussolini never attempted to control art style - as long as it glorified fascism - much of fascist art was modern + experimental
34
Q
Architecture
A
- new fascist buildings modelled on neo-classical Roman style
- to connect the fascist regime with Ancient Rome
35
Q
Plays and Movies
A
- Giuseppe Forzano produced three plays called Napoleon + Camilo Benso di Cavour + Juliius Caesar* - audience encouraged tho link great leaders to Mussolini
- Mussolini listed as the co-author of the plays - he suggested the idea of the films to Forzano
- several popular films that glorified fascism + its achievements - Pilot + Vecchia Guardia
- worth noting that 87% of all box-office takings in Italy were from Hollywood films
36
Q
Unsuccessful influence of fascist culture
A
- the National Institute of Fascist Culture may have controlled what was produced - but wasn’t focused in a coherent manner
37
Q
Repression of political opposition
A
- November 1926 – Mussolini introduced legislation that banned all other political parties and suppressed any Italians who tried to protest against the dictatorship
- death penalty was also reintroduced for anyone who attempted to assassinate the King or Mussolini or threatened state security
38
Q
Confino
A
- The Specials Tribunals could send political dissidents into exile for an unspecified amount of time – known as Confino
- Used against Italians who were judged as potentially dangerous antifascists despite lack of evidence
- financially devastating for those sent away and their families who faced discrimination from the fascists
- dangerous to employ anybody who had returned from Confino
39
Q
Political Police Division ZA
A
- Formed in late 1926 by Arturo Bocchini
- Were successful in infiltrating + breaking up antifascist organisations
- Had a considerable network of spies in Italy + Italian communities abroad
- June 1937 – they worked with the Servizi Militari Informativi Italiani (SIM) – the military spying organisation – to organise the assassination of prominent Italian antifascist exiles Carlo + Nello Rosselli through a French fascist group IN 1937
40
Q
OVRA - Italian Secret Police
A
- Formed in 1927 by Arturo Bocchini to spy on Italians + ensure destruction of antifascist activities
- Approximately 5k informers in Italy for the OVRA + successful in stopping antifascist groups
- OVRA spies infiltrated universities + businesses + fascist unions + anywhere workers met
- Italian mail was examined + phone calls were listened to by the Special Reserve Service
41
Q
Success of Bocchini’s organisations
A
- Bocchini had files on over 130k Italians
- the Special Tribunals prosecuted 13k cases + imposed approx 28k years of jail time
- appprox 10k Italians sentenced to Confino + hundreds arrested weekly
- the regime ONLY carried out 9 death sentences before WWII - little serous opposition
42
Q
Mussolini’s concern with national security
A
- Mussolini worried about nationalist movements among the Slovenes within Italy’s borders
- Slovenes were restricted in culture + speaking their language
- Slovenes faced considerable oppressions from the fascist authorities
43
Q
Cinema organisations
A
- The Experimental Centre of Cinematography - film school admitting 100 students yearly
- The General Directorate of Cinema - LUIGI FREDDI
44
Q
Political prisons
A
- Lipari + Lampedusa
- housed political prisoners
45
Q
Early economic policies
A
- wanted to win over the powerful + established industrial elite - appointed Alberto DeStefani as Minister of Finance 1922
- DeStefani’s approach was little gov interference + focus on reduce gov spending to balance the budget
- privatised the telephone industry + reduced state expenditure + cut protective tariffs - angered agricultural workers
- from 1921 - 24 manufacturing production improved + achieved budget surplus
- inflation problems + pressure on the lira
46
Q
Giuseppe Volpi
A
- replaced DeStefani in July 1925
- marked a transition in fascist policy towards a more regulated + state-run economy
47
Q
The Corporate State
A
- Alfredo Rocco introduced the structure of corporatism in 1925 - 26 - involved workers + employees + state-appointed officials
- main goal of corporations to fix goods + service prices + issue norms to regulate economic relations
- Ministry of Corporations set up in 1926
- the Corporate State provided a third way between capitalism + communism
- Mussolini publishes book Doctrine of Fascism in 1932
- Giuseppe Bottai was the Minister of Corporations
48
Q
The Corporate State Timeline
A
- 1925 - Palazzo Vidoni Pact - asserts that Italian industry will only negotiate with fascist trade unions
- April 1926 - Rocco Law - bans strikes + lockouts
- 1927 - Charter of Labour asserts that workers’ rights will be established through mixed corporations
- March 1930 - National Council of Corporations set up - consists of 7 large corporations representing the main parts of the economy
- 1939 - Parliament replaced by Chamber of Fasces and Corporations - mainly a powerless body for show
49
Q
Battle for Lira 1
A
- 1922 - Italian currency stood at 90 lira* to the British pound - fell to 150 lira in 1926
- price inflation starting to rise again
- December 1927 - lira fixed to 92.46 to the British pound - sharp revaluation known as Quota Novanta
- policy seen as a way of restricting government spending
- disaster for most export industries, as foreign buyers found Italian goods nearly twice as expensive - Textiles industry underwent a depression
50
Q
Battle for Lira 2
A
- tariffs on undesirable products such as consumer goods kept their prices high
- 1926-28 - unemployment rates trebled whilst wages went down 20% due the Revaluation
- people accepted wage cuts as Mussolini portrayed this as a necessary adversity
- industries such as steel + armaments + ship-building improved as as their imports were cheaper
- companies such as Fiat (Car) + Montecatini (Chemical) + Ansaldo (steel) thriving
- gov forced to devalue the Lira on 7 October 1936
51
Q
Battle for Births
A
- 1927 - Mussolini wanted to increase Italy’s population from 40 million to 60 million by the 1950s - unsuccessful as in 1950 it was 47.5 million
- larger population would make Italy a world power - increase military strength to gain a strong empire + create competition for employment, keep wages and labour costs low
- Mussolini believed that 12 children per family was ideal - Basilicata used as example
- Marriage loans available + part of the loan cancelled after every child born - loan cancelled after 6 children
- 1928 - married men with at least 6 children entitled to jobs in civil service + promotions + tax concessions
52
Q
Battle for Births 2
A
- bachelor’s tax introduced so single men take on financial burden
- 1927 - women’s wages were lowered - to discourage from working - lower wages encouraged employers to hire them
- state railway company fired all women except war widows + 1933 - women were limited to 10% of the workforce
- 1930s - Fascist Italy had second highest proportion of married females in employment in Europe - women were 33% of workforce + only declining 3% from 1921
- 1930s - marriage rates remained + birth rate fell - 1936 102.7 birth per 1000 women vs 1911 147.5 births per 1000 women
- Mussolini claimed that the lack of patriotic effort in terms of reproducing from Italians lost him the equivalent of 15 army divisions in WWII
53
Q
Battle for Land
A
- The land reclamation attempt to increase areas for wheat production - linked with policy of ruralisation
- Ruralism - rejecting modernity + urban cities - return to agricultural life + countrysides
54
Q
Bonificia Integrale
A
- land reclaimation + improvement project + prevented internal migration from country to cities
- 1920 - USA closed immigration borders from Italy - more Italians left the countryside for the cities for a better standard of living
- Rome population doubled 1921- 41
- Two projects under Bonifica Integrale were draining marshlands + building new towns
- useful for Facist Propaganda - Pontine marshes drained only 50km from Rome - tourists could visit + town of Littoria created
- Wall Street crash - land reclamation projects boosted employment + economy
- marsh drainage reduced malaria by more than 50% - improving public health in poorer areas
- only 58% of the land was improved
55
Q
Peasants and the Battle for Land
A
- less than 10,000 landless peasants received the land promised
- law to break up big estates and distribute them had been dropped -fear of offending the land owners who were political supporters
- Italy was 18th across Europe in the daily calorie intake of people - lowest in the south
56
Q
What was the battle of grain
A
- agricultural policy 1925 - to make Italy self-sufficient
- in response to substantial growth in grain imports + price
- high tariffs on foreign imports + gov gave grants to farmers + fertilisers + machinery + resistant seeds
- free advice on latest, efficient farming techniques
- farmers guaranteed high price for grain produced
- didn’t want slavery of foreign bread
57
Q
Successes of battle for grain
A
- Wheat imports fell 75% 1925 - 35
- wheat production rose 5.39 million to 7.27 million tons 1925 - 35
- Grain production up 40% by 1940
- 5000 newly funded farms
- benefit large-scale farms like in Po Valley - maximised use of mechanisation + fertilisers
58
Q
Failures of the battle for grain
A
- cereal production increased at expense of other forms of agriculture - animals + viticulture
- lack of competition increased prices for Italians - families paid 400 lira extra in food costs per year
- Italy’s livestock decreased by more than 500k
- Production of typical Italian goods - fruits + olive oil decreased
59
Q
Autarky
A
- being economically self-sufficient by reducing imports + maximising production in Italy itself
- formally announced 1936
- consequence of the Great Depression + sanctions from League of Nations after invasion of Abyssinia 1935
- 1937 - creation of High Commission on Autarky - supervised policies +encouraged domestic production
- 1939 - lack of raw materials domestic production only met 1/5 of their industrial raw material need - still required imports
- Living standards for industrial workers declined - Mussolini willing to let happen to avoid tax increases + spending cuts
60
Q
What was the Great Depression
A
- triggered by Wall Street Crash in America 1929
- gov cut workers’ wages by approx 12% November 1930 + welfare spending increased 6.9% 1930 to 4x higher 1940 + taxes increased
- Cartelisation encouraged + made compulsory 1936 - to help companies survive
- Cartelisation was the Union of businesses to decrease prices
- Several Italian banks had to loan money to struggling industries
61
Q
Policies formed due to Great Depression
A
- 1931 IMI policy provided credit to banks to guarantee they wouldn’t collapse
- 1933 IRI scheme - used state finances to buy worthless shares + lent money to industries + developed more effective management to mobilise various resources more efficiently
- Long term loaning + lending became the responsibility of state agencies such as the IRI
- June 1932 - formation of consortiums made obligatory
62
Q
How government helped people during the Great Depression
A
- 1939 - gov owned majority of companies in steelwork + shipbuilding + electricity + telephone industries
- Spending increased on public works programmes + social welfare to combat unemployment
- gov intervention guaranteed financial support for banks + key employment industries = maintained public confidence in economy
63
Q
Discontent due to new anti semitic degrees
A
- Italian fascism had no link to race - many jews had joined the Fascists
- only approx 45k Italian Jews - less than 1%
- Mussolini had a Jewish mistress + appointed a Jewish Finance Minster in 1932
64
Q
New decrees against Jews
A
- 1938 - Italian Jews forbidden from marrying PURE Italians
- not allowed to have *public office jobs - teaching
- can’t run businesses with more than 100 employees + employing pure Italians as servants
- can’t own more than 50 hectares
- foreign Jews deported
- 6k Jews left the country - businesses closed + students expelled + lost jobs
65
Q
Reasons for Mussolini’s change
A
- anti-Jewish right-wing dictatorships in Germany + Austria + Hungary + Romania
- harsher policy would unite Italians in hatred for external + internal enemies - create a militaristic society
- racial mentality would give Italians a sense of superiority - prepare them for inevitable war
- Italian imperialism in Africa - mixing of troops with African women - seen as inferior race
66
Q
Reform of Customs
A
- idealogical campaign - forced all civil servants to wear uniforms
- army + militia had to adopt the passo romano - goose step - German idea
- army forbidden to handshake + greet with straight arm salute - Roman Salute - to seem imposing
- ridiculed by Italians as pointless + copied off of Germans - most chose to ignore it
67
Q
Loss of support due to anti-semitism
A
- Pope condemned the policies as un-Italian + attempt to copy German nazism
- public viewed polices as a sign of Italy’s growing weakness + subordination to Germany
- Mussolini’s goal to unite Italians through radicalism was a failure
- lost support of conservative elite of the Church + business + judiciary
- caused Italians to doubt direction of fascism
68
Q
Compromise with Monarchy
A
- Italy remained a constitutional monarchy until September 1943
- 1920 programme excluded any mention of removing King
- political compromise with the Monarchy - gained acceptance of fascist dictarship amongst armed forced + state administration who had loyalty to monarchy
69
Q
Laws to take power from king
A
- December 1928 - Fascist Grand Council granted constitutional right to limit King’s power to nominate future PMs + advise king on future Royal succession
- March 1938 - creation of the title of First Marshal - highest rank in military hierarchy - given to King + Mussolini - king had previously been the Supreme Military Commander
- June 1940 - when Italy joined WWII - Mussolini took complete control of military
70
Q
Lack of opposition from the King
A
- King made little effort to prevent erosion of Italy’s constitutional democracy
- unwilling to challenge Mussolini + was subservient - to retain position
- didn’t try to prevent the anti-semitic decrees - in 1938
-political compromise with Mussolini
71
Q
Working with the conservative elite
A
- legal system - mostly unchanged - judged were independent from the party though many joined the PNF
- military ran independently - armed forced run by under-secretaries - generals + admirals
- gov administration - conservative elite maintained influential positions - some civil servants removed due to antifascist ties
- top administrative posts in the ministries held by long-term civil servants - in the Ministry of Corporations senior staff had been civil servants since 1916
72
Q
Working with conservative elite in the states
A
- highest state authority remained the prefect - mostly career civil servants not regional fascist leaders
- traditional conservative elite had political influence through role of podesta - held by elderly conservatives - especially in the south - aristocrats + former generals
- for Mussolini this relationship enabled a greater acceptance of his dictatorship
73
Q
Central gov changes - new laws
A
- December 1925 - Mussolini became head of gov -accountable only to King not Parliament
- May 1928 - Parliament was to be made up of 400 deputies chosen by Fascist Grand Council from a list of 1k candidates nominated by Fascist confederations + public bodies
- December 1928 - Grand Council’s role formalised in the Constitution as the most important legal body in the state - all major policy matters to be discussed + approved by Grand Council - framework to allow PNF to retain power after Mussolini
74
Q
Reality of Fascist Grand Council
A
- Mussolini had the power to appoint PNF leaders + decide laws to be debated by the Council
- Grand Council had no consultation on major policies - Catholic Church agreement 1929 + WWII entry
- Grand Council barely met in the 1930s
- Senate left completely unchanged - by 1932 14 senators not in the PNF - Mussolini accompanying existing political elite to ease acceptance of dictatorship - over time ensured all Senators were fascists
75
Q
Prefect’s job
A
- tradition position of Prefect remained - usually held by carrer civil servants
- organised police + ensuring censorship of local press + suppressing antifascist activity
- reported on local fascist branches - to ensure PNF was in Mussolini’s control
- not always fascist but appointed by Mussolini - ensured loyalty to his political goals
76
Q
Local governments
A
- local councils run by podesta - appointed by the Prefect
- podesta role often given to conservative elite instead of fascists
- local gov not in control of Fascist party but conservative elite + career civil servants - all owed their position to Mussolini - ensured loyalty
77
Q
Controlling own Party - Roberto Farinacci
A
- appointed Roberto Farinacci in 1925 - purged party of dissidents - was an extremist - encouraged squad violence in provinces - October 1925 fascist squads kill 8 liberals in Florence
- Matteotti murder - violate became unpopular with the public
- Mussolini purged the Florence Fascio + dismissed Farinacci - replaced by Augusto Turati
78
Q
Controlling own Party - Augusto Turati
A
- Turati ensured PNF’s purpose was to only fulfil Mussolini’s personal policies
- mass expulsions of older hard-line fascists - 50k - 60k members dismissed by 1929 + 110k left voluntarily - unhappy with Party direction
79
Q
Controlling own Party - Giovanni Giurati
A
- 1931 Giurati replaced Turati
- oversaw the purge of another 120k members - replaced by 800k new fascists - mostly clerks + civil servants + white-collar workers** - little interest in political opposition - joined for employment benefits of PNF membership
- 1933 PNF membership became compulsory for public office jobs
80
Q
Nationalist merger with PNF effect
A
- ANI merged with PNF 1923
- *17 June 1924 - nationalist Luigi Federzoni appointed Minster of Interior - helped placed older conservatives
- ANI members accepted merger - followed Mussolini’s direction - unlike PNF prominent members
81
Q
Former ANI members’ role in PNF
A
- Roberto Cantalupo asserted Fascism’s main goal should be creation a new generation local to Fascist ideals
- Costanzo Ciano was the Minster of Communications from 1924 - 34 - longest serving minster in the regime
82
Q
Mussolini’s radicalism influenced by nationalism
A
- ex-ANI member Giotto Dainelli helped rid Italy of foreign sounding words - hotel names - part of reform of customs
- nationalist ideology about expansion + imperialism influenced Foreign Policy in the 1930s
83
Q
Economic interest groups
A
- Mussolini’s first economic policy focused on placating large economic groups - Fiat + Pirelli
- licensing system introduced to protect small shop owners against larger supermarkets
- trade union policy adapted to favour industrialist interests + syndicalists
- October 1925 Palazzo Vidoni Pact - recognised only the Fascist syndicates as representative bodies of Italian workers - rendered other trade unions irrelevant
84
Q
Fascist syndicates
A
- argued that fascist syndicates should be the basis of the state - corporations of employers + employees should run the economy together - would ensure workers wouldn’t revolt
- not subservient to industrial interests - conservative industrial elite concerned
- April 1926 Rocco Law - gave syndicates rights of representation + compulsory arbitration of pay + conditions disputes at special labour tribunals
- strikes + lockouts banned - syndicates given no actual say in gov policy
85
Q
International economic slump in the 30s
A
- gov pursued policies to support big businesses + encouraged wage cuts
- favoured interest of big industry - such as Montecatini (chemicals) + ILVA (steel)
- richer industrial + agricultural interest grouped were main benefactors of Fascist economic policies
- workers’ interests weren’t as important - workers’ wages reduced below cost of living from 1927 onwards
86
Q
Anticlerical background
A
- Mussolini had published articles contrasting Jesus’s life + corruption of the Catholic Church
- published book The Cardinal’s Mistress
- Mussolini angered by Pope Benedict XV’s Peace Note after Caporetto Defeat
- Fasci di Combattimento first programme 1919 had called for the confiscation of all church property
87
Q
Move away from anticlerical background
A
- May 1920 Fascist congress - Mussolini declared Catholicism was a political force to drive Italian unity + nationalism
- most of the Fasci leadership supported drop of anticlericalism in quest for power
- during his maiden speech May 1921 Mussolini asserted fascism’s positive view of the Catholic Church
88
Q
Pope Pius XI
A
- Cardinal Achille Ratti became Pope Pius XI in January 1922
- concerned by communist threat - believed fascism could save Italy from left-wing revolution
89
Q
Policies favourable to Church
A
- Mussolini responded by reintroducing **religious education + crucifixes in pubic buildings + increase in priest pay*
- Vatican had a large stake in the Bank of Rome which was in danger of collapse - Mussolini assumed that the gov would help the bank
- banned Freemasonry + anticlerical journals + dropped policies about taxing church property
- had his 3 kids baptised + married his wife in a church ceremony
90
Q
Pope Pius XI close relation effect
A
- Pope’s close relation with PNF undermined the PPI
- 1923 Pope ordered PPI leader Luigi Sturzo to resign
- backed Mussolini during Matteotti crisis - led to resolution of the Roman Question
91
Q
The Lateran Pacts
A
- signed on 11 February 1929
- provided Pope 44 hectares of land + full diplomatic rights in Rome - Vatican City
- gave Pope 750 million lire + 1k million in State bonds - compensation for territory loss 1870
- Catholicism recognised as sole religion of Italy + RE established in schools + church marriages given legal validity
- Catholic youth groups allowed to continue - no political activities allowed - concession about youth - only no-fascist org. Allowed to exist - had approx million members
92
Q
1929 plebiscite Church support
A
- 1928 - Mussolini introduced new electoral law that a plebiscite will be held - to approve a list of candidates from the PNF - to claim a broad consensus from public
- as part of the Lateran Pacts - Catholic Church promised to mobilise the Catholic vote for the fascists - proclaimed to be motivated by gratitude for Mussolini - Catholic Action appealed to voters to vote yes
- Pope said in speeches that yes vote would help approve the Concordat
93
Q
1929 plebiscite outcome
A
- 12 March 1929
- 8.63 million voters partook + 98% of voters approved the vote
- Catholic support repeated in the 1934 plebiscite
94
Q
Catholic Action youth issues
A
- rival organisation with 250k members - wanting to ensure loyalty of next generation
- Giurati as Party Secretary + Carlo Scorza given responsibility for fascist youth organisation October 1930 - hardline in their attitude towards Catholic Action
- accused Catholic Action of organising sport - banned under Concordat + being led by former PPI + being sanctuary for antifascist policies + attempting to form trade unions = police raids + violence to close down Catholic Action youth orgs
- Pope Pius XI responded with attack on fascism + PNF + encyclical titled We have no need - couldn’t reconcile fascism’s sole control of youth with Catholicism
95
Q
1931 agreement
A
- Catholic Action youth groups to be reinstated + not allowed to organise sporting activities - confined to recreational + educational aspects that were strictly religious
- former PPI members not allowed to be youth leaders
- February 1932 - Mussolini visited Pope in Rome + he and Pius XI confirmed mutual views on societal + gender values + foreign policy towards Soviet Union + communism
- Catholic youth organisations had 388k members by 1939
96
Q
Other church-state disagreements
A
- girls involvement in physical activities in fascist youth groups - didn’t prepare them for maternity
- prostitution viewed as young male culture by state vs condemned by Church
- 1938 Church condemned anti-Semitic decrees + prohibition of intermarriage conflicted with Church authority to allow Jews to convert - conflict with Concordat
- Pope Pius XI wrote a letter against racism - died 10 February 1939 - letter not published
