Topic 2: Rise of Mussolini and Fascism Flashcards
“Mutilated Victory”, and reactions to end of WW1:
Phrase used by Italian nationalists to describe the perceived mistreatment of Italy by the allies as Italy was not granted all territorial demands.
Reality of Treaty:
Italy received Trentino, Trieste, Istria, the Brenner and some territories demanded not in the TOL, such as some Dalmatian islands.
14,500 km^2 more than all other powers in europe.
German war reparations.
Steat at the LON.
Discontent with Treaty:
Yugoslavia established- included some lands nationalists decided should belong to italy.
Woodrow Wilson- belief in self determination leading negotiations. Conflicted with italian aims of gaining German-speaking lands in Tyrol and slav speaking lands in Dalmatia, alongside Fiume.
No former German colonies in Africa.
Fealing of betryal after much death.
Fiume became a powerful symbol, exploited by Italian nationalists.
Negotiation around Fiume:
Mixed pop of Croats and Italians. Not included in discussions leading to the TOL so no basis for the demand.
A key demand in post-war negotiation.
1919- Vittorio Orlando raised the issue of Fiume with the Allied leaders. But B+USA felt Fiume should remain part of Yugoslavia.
Wilson claimed this was too large of a demand in a Paris Newspaper and was branded an “arch-villan” by Italian Nationalists.
Nationalists wanted Fiume due to its 50% Italian-speaking pop which made it “italian”.
Result of Failed negotiation:
Gabriele D’Annunzio lead an invasion and seizure of the city in September 1919.
Nature of the “Free state of Fiume”
Extravagant and festive.
D’Annunzio made long speeches to his adouring crowds and introduced many of the other elements of later Fascist regimes.
Including:
The militia
Roman Salute
Castor oil punishment “Fascist medicine”
Title of Duce
Black shirts for those who supported the movement
Rhetorical public speeches
He formed a revolutionary constitution and issued proclamations from his base.
Result of slow governemnt responce to Fiume:
15 month occupation, only ended in December 1920 when Giolitti’s government sent in the Italian army to end it.
Governments lack of prompt affirmation or opposition reinforced perception it was weak and indecisive.
Public reception to Giolitti’s actions bombardment of Fiume.
Many Italians highly critical, saw the naval bombardment as anti-patriotic and the occupation became a symbol of nationalist defiance.
Disliked attack of a national hero in D’Annunzio.
Effect of slow reaction to occupation:
Suggested they were unwilling to prevent illegal actions by nationalist or fascist groups, gave more momentum to those groups.
Revealed force and violence could be used to achieve political aims and normalised this new way of politics.
Influended Mussolini and the Fascist movement.
Further undermined support for Liberal government and more became attracted to political extremes.
Post-war economic crisis:
National debt rose exponentially and businesses that had depended on military contracts struggled to survive.
Inflation had a huge impact on cost of living, particularly in urban areas.
Cost of living index 100 in 1914 —> 264 in 1918.
Real wages fell by 1918 to around 65% of 1913 levels.
Milan- a family needed 75 lire for daily needs but avg wage was 7.
1919- Gov ended war loans to companies and rapidly returned to a free market economy to try reduce national debt –> Companies going bankrupt as military orders stopped —> rising unemployment (Nov 1919, 2 mill unemployed).
Savings of middle classes damaged –> disillusionment with the Gov.
Middle class, urban workers, rural labourers and many others all adversely affected and were willing to turn to extremes for solutions.
Biennio Rosso
1919-20 “Two Red years”
Result of economic problems and promises of greater freedom made during the war.
Tensions fuelled by demobilisation, end of restrictions on trade union and socialist party activities, and the raised expectations of the material reward the Italian people would receive as a result of their participation in the war.
1919- 1,663 striked in industry, 208 in agriculture
1920- 1,881 and 189
April 1920- General strike in northern italy and Turin introduced factory committees, which demanded the right to control factory production.
September 1920- the “occupation of the factories” took place, 400,000 workers took over their factories.
Dramatic growth in membership of workers’ organisations.
(June and July 1919 ships were looted across the ocuntry in insurrectionary “cost-of-living riots”) BAP
Caused increase in food prices , gov ordered local authorities to set up food committees to requisition food and issued price decrees to halve the price of foodstuffs. put an end to disorder, but shopkeepers ahted it as their profits declined.
(It was a joyous atmosphere, with chants dedicated to Lenin and the Russian Revolution)BAP
Some socialists called for a communist revolution “As was done in russia”, although this was never a serious threat it did lead to increased concessions:
minimum wage
8 hour work day
welfare initiatives such as insurance for disabled and elderly, new standards of factory hygiene and compulsory employment insurance and employment offices.
Index of real wages rose again, to nearly 115% in 1920
Rural crisis:
Returning soldiers forcibly occupied lands of large estates, especially in the south.
Peasant owners increased to 3.5 mill.
They profited from the war enough to buy the land they farmed, as wartime inflation let them make more money from sold food
Life for labourers became harder, poverty increased.
Labourers joined Labour Leagues, rural trade unions.
Unions aimed to make labour-owned collective farms.
1919+20- Giolitti gave the impression his gov was willing to support peasant aspirations. Ordered prefects to legalise land confiscations by Peasants.
Some areas local gov became controlled by socialists.
Suported Labourers by setting wage rates and working conditions.
Landlords and tenant farmers experienced bad harvests in 1919 and 20, began to feel more threatened by military peasants and socialist-influenced trade unionists.
Local gov was no longer under their control and the weak central gov seemed unable to protect their interests.
Industrialists fears
Loss of political power and influence as well as a takeover of Italy by a growing socialist movement.
Resented Socialist parties in gaining power in local elections.
So they and the middle classes amplified and feared a “red threat” more than it probaly deserved.
Middle classes and petty bourgeoisie
Disenchanted.
Hard hit by economic difficulties, self-employed did not have powerful trade unions to represent their interests politically and support their demands for higher living standards.
Inflation—> savings significantly lost value, industrial workers gained economically at their expense.
Extra tax pressure on middle classes, while subsidies for the poor were not reduced.
Frustration aimed at gov, resulting in a turn to the extremes for answers.
Resented educated working class for filling professional jobs
Resented Women who remained in jobs post war, seen as taking jobs from men.
Such upper and middle class groups turned to fascism, largelly as a result of these resentments.
Belived fascist groups could protect economic, social and political interests against socialist encroachment.
Introduction of Proportional representation
1919, Nitti hoped this would weaken growing support for more extreme political parties and boost the moderate socialists and please the Catholics.
Did not see the risk to Liberal domination and belived no more than 60 Socialists would be elected
PPI
The popolari, or popular, party founded in January 1919. Supported by the pope but seperate from the church.
Made up of a coalition of catholics who aimed to improve living standards of peasants.
Supported social reforms (welfare state)
Yet split amoung conservatives who supported the role of the church and those who were more focused on social issues.
Unity was fragile, reluctant to perform a significant role in gov.
Entered coalitions with Liberals for political concessions but these concessions had to be meaningful and it was easier for the catholics to hold the liberals to account.
PSI
The socialist party.
Became a mass party, won in towns councils so controlled local taxes and services.
However divided between the PSI, socialist trade unions and socialist councils.
Failed to work together effectively, after ww1 socialists did not have a leader to unify the movement into an effective political force.
Divided and failed to implement meaningful reforms.
Lacked strategy to take and keep political power.
Gained support due to economic discontent unemployment and rising inflation.
Socialist agricultural unions
Po Valley
Made demands such as higher wages and lower hours, sought control over supply of labour and employment.
Prepared to adopt volent methods to achieve aims.
Attracted some support to the PSI however encouraged many Italians to support more extreme political groups like the fascists.
Mussolini skilfully exploited fears regarding socialism to gain support for the fascists.
November 1919 election
PPI and PSI became the most powerful parties in the COD.
Giolittian Liberals won 91, RW liberals 23.
162 of 239 deputies from the “backward” south, and the traditional Liberal govs had to make alliances with northern Catholics or socialists to rule effectively.
Liberals were no longer a powerful political force and were deeply divided.
So despite the fact neither the PPI nor PSI had enough Deputies to rule, they ruled themselves out of forming a government together as they would not work with each other.
The resulting Liberal government was weak and unstable.
Giolitti managed to create a coalition with the Popolari in 1920, but his anti-clerical past made his relationship with Sturzo, the leader of the Popolari, tense and unstable.
Giolitti also approached the Socialists,, which lost him support amoung Liberals and catholic deputies.
Fascism immediately post war
Mussolini wanted to end the power of LIberals and socialists, believed democracy had made italy weak and wanted an authoritarian regime.
No clear programme, attracted support from italians disenchanted with the Liberal political system and those who feared the growth of socialism.
Support small, concentrated in norther cities such as Milan.
1919 Party programme
Presented itself as a left-wing movement, attempting to challenge socialism with a programme of:
Anti-clerical & confiscation of property
rebublican
8 hour working day
Universal suffrage
minimum wage
anti-imperialism
Nationalisation of armaments
Confiscation of profits from those who had profited from the war
Designed to attract support from social classes. Not having a clear ideology actually helped as it did no antagonise potential followers.
Also emphasised negatives such as:
Growth of socialism
Weakeness of democracy
Failure to maintain law and order
the TOV and “mutilated victory”
Election of November 1919
Complete failure
Mussolini failed to be elected into the COD, no seats in parliament.
Their powerbase of Milan only achieved cast fewer than 5,000 votes out of 275,000 (1.8%).
end of 1919- no more than 4,000 supporters.
Mussolini’s exploitation of conservative fears of the socialist threat saved the movement and led to its growth.
Occupation of factories by 500,000 in northern italy in 1920 convinced many that revolution was imenant and fascists would defend Italy against the growing evil of socialism.
Squadrismo
Agricultural employers called for help against local socialist or Catholic unions. Fascists organised into squads (the squadristi), paramilitary groups often led by former army officers.
Wore black shirts to identify themselves and their allegiances.
Key target of their violent methods were Socialists.
Invaded villages with firearms and cudgels, beating up union leaders and socialists and ransacked their headquarters.
(Squadristi took pride and pleasure in burning, looting, and beating their enemies. Raids were carried out in a festive atmosphere accompanied by alcohol, laughter and song.)BAP
Castor oil violence
During elections they intimidated voters or organised tax strikes in socialist towns.
Had access to arms and were often helped by the army, police forces often used them to “control” strikes and protests.
Establishemnt supported fascists as a way to regain control over certain areas.
Support from Wealthier peasant farmers, industrialists, youth, elders
Wealthier peasant farmers- fear of socialist seizure of land
industrialists- angry at increased levels of taxation, post war economy and socialism
youth- attractive alternative to corrupt liberals (1921 10% of movement was from students)
Older generations- belived parliamentaly system was ineffective and could not provide stability.
