The Rise Of Mussolini And The Creation Of A Fascist Dictatorship 1919-26 πΊπ§πΌββοΈπ§ π¨πΏβπ¦°π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π Flashcards
Who felt betrayed after the war
Ex soldiers as they didnβt achieve the national greatness they had all been promised and fighting for.
What were peasant conscripts pushing for after the war and what did they do
Pushed for Land reform that they had been promised. Many forcibly occupied hundreds of thousands of hectares of land
What tension was rising in the north after the war
The divide between the fighting soldiers and the exempt workers, who were considered cowards
What did Orlando want from the Paris peace conference in terms of land (jan 1919)
He pushed to gain all land from treaty of London and Fiume, as he claimed it had a large community of Italians. However this claim of Fiume was very weak as it was not even a part of the treaty if London.
Did the big 3 give Italy its land?
No, they all were condescending towards Italy and did not see it as great power and declined their request to gain the lands of the treaty of London and Fiume.
What did Orlando fear if he couldnβt acquire the irredente lands?
He feared there would be revolution and that he faced assassination people would not see the war effort as worth it in anyway.
How did the big 3 respond to Orlandoβs worries if possible anarchy and assasination
They ignored them all and Orlando walked out the conference in April. Because of this, Italy had no say in who gets the German colonies.
What month did Orlando try again to push to gain land and what were the consequences?
He tried pushing to gain land in may but was ignored again and was forced to resign from PM in june.
What was some of the land that Italy managed to gain?
Trent, Trieste, Istria, north Dalmatia, but did not gain Fiume or any German colonies, which undermined the liberal government.
What did the poet Gabriel D Annunzio call the outcome of the war?
A mutilated victory that disgraced 600 000 soldiers who lost their lives in war.
Who was Orlandoβs replacement and did he help?
Nitti and no. He played down Italyβs claims for land and allowed yopugoslavia to take Dalmatia and Fiume be declared a neutral city under the protection of the League of Nations. He reduced military spending and offered a deserter amnesty, all which triggered Italyβs nationalists.
What would the fascists focus on to get support?
They would focus on the mutilated victory to appeal to Italian people.
Who occupied the Fiume and who was it led by and why
12 sept 1919, Gabriel dβAnnunzio, 2000 ex soldiers, futurists and students seized the port of Fiume because they thought only war could rejuvenate Italy and help regain its glorious past. D annunzio called this occupation a redemption for Italyβs dead soldiers.
How long did it take for the lib govt to respond to the invasion of the Fiume.
15 month, until the govt removed d anunzio and his crew using a small navy on Christmas Day 1920
What dip Mussolini learn from Fiume occupation?
Success could be achieved through violent and decisive action and that Italy could just take what was rightfully theirs.
What were some post economic and social problems after the war?
Millions demobilised - by nov 1919, 2 mil unemployed.
Inflation at its highest - lira collapsed
Wages and pensions declined rapidly of middle class donnys
Savings wiped
Major companies such as fiat, Ansaldo and Ilva that benefited from the war were struggling to stay afloat.
When the armament factories, Ansaldo and Ilva shut down in 1921 there was a banking crisis that caused a major bank to close
On top of the socio and economic problems post war, what major event happened that lasted for 1-2 years?
Biennio Rosso - a period of labour and militancy strikes that took place between 1919 and 1920 in which left wing organisations were at their peak.
Socialist unions grew - 1918: 250 000, 1920: mil
Sept 1920 - largest strike, 400 000+ workers seized factories
Peasants occupied land - land owners feared rural revolution
What were some changes made for the 1919 elections?
All Italians who fought or any other man over 21 could vote.
PR was also introduced
When was the ppi formed and what was its significance?
1919, led by Luigi Sturzo and was a major supporter for land reform, making it very popular and a threat to the liberal regime, making coalitions much more harder
What were the results of the 1919 elections?
PSI won most - 152 seats
PPI won second most - 101 seats
Liberals - 91
No full majority but no one would work together, so liberals still maintained power, forming coalitions until 1922.
Demonstrated that democracy could not solve Italyβs problems
Italians began to consider more radical systems.
When did nitti resign and who replaced him
June 1920 replaced by giolitti
When and where did Mussolini form the Fasci Di Combattimento?
23 March 1919in Milan
What is trincerocrazia
Where class is abolished and all that mattered was that People were fighting for Italy and each other.
What were some of the fasci do combattimentos programme
?
Confiscation of church property End to monarchy Suffrage extend to women and younger people 8 hr working Abolishment of senate Nationalisation of armament industry
What was the problem with this programme? (Fasci di combattimento)
Did not distinguish the Fasci from other left wing parties, especially psi
How did giolitti placate the strikes
He pressured Italyβs banks to withdraw support for companies that would not negotiate with strikers.
He encouraged businesses to to allow workers to have shares in their companies.
How successful was giolitti in placating the strikes
In the short term he was:
25th sept 1920 - strikes ended
However nationalists, catholics, landowners and industrialists thought giolitti had given into the workers as compared to the fascists who would use violence to crush the socialists
Did returning soldiers see socialists as the enemy or as friends
As the enemy
What are squadristi
Small military squads of fascists - not organised by Mussolini, that answered to the socialist threat through extreme violence
E.g. on 15 April 1919, a sauadristi of 250 attacked a socialists demonstration in Milan and burnt down avanti buildings.
How many votes did the fascists get in 1919?
5000, not even enough for a seat in parliament.
Why were squadristi dons not punished
Police, army, govt etc feared socialist revolution like Russia 1917 so let them do their thing. They also sometimes actively joined in. This move to the right was also demonstrated in the May 1921 elections, whereby the fascists made use of squads to attack socialist campaign meetings and intimidate voters. The police lent them vehicles and army gave weapons and judiciary were very lenient.
What were the leaders of squadristi called
Ras
Who supplied the black shirts with weapons?
The local police and army barracks.
What are some of the things the black shirts done?
Targeted key psi members and beat them up and forced them to drink castor oil.
Killed 200 people in the first 5 months of 1921
Targeted socialist campaigns - using vehicles and weapons lent by the police and army
What effect did squadristi violence have on the support for the PSI and the fascists
It broke the power of the socialists, while creating a myth that fascism saved Italy from revolution.
What was the outcome of the may 1921 elections?
PSI still achieved the highest vote, however fascists made electoral breakthrough, winning 7% of the vote and 35 seats. Mussolini now had a say in parliament, which was game changing.
What did the racist new programme consist of? (May 1920)
It dropped all calls for an end to monarchy
Reference to the nationalisation of industry was removed, instead they are now more pro business and promised to sell nationally owned businesses to private investors.
Also called for compulsory military service
