Transcript Fascism and Mussolini

Fascism and Mussolini
Ms Leslie
History 12
Fascis
• Latin term for a bundle of rods, firmly tied
together with a beheading axe protruding
from the center.
• It was a symbol of absolute authority in
ancient Rome
• Which is why Mussolini chose this symbol
Fascism - what is it?
• applied mostly to the movement spawned
from Benito Mussolini in Italy from 19191943.
• Fascism Rejects the Major philosophical
trends of the last two centuries that stress
individual liberty and equality of all men
and races.
• embraces social Darwinism.
• The Italian slogan was ‘To believe, to obey
to combat.’
Main characteristics
1. Action over thought - no moral or rational
reasoning - Use of violence to further party and
2.
3.
4.
5.
national aims
Ultra-nationalistic beliefs. - Creation of national myths
and great reliance on pageantry and symbolism
Unquestioned rule of Dictator - Individual serves the
state - the state does not serve the people; citizens are
to obey and serve
Extremely anti-communist
Ultimate goal is to be imperialist through conquest of
war.
All about Benito
• born in 1883 in Varano di Costa in Romagna,
Italy.
• His father was a blacksmith and socialist.
• Full name: Benito Amilcare Andrea after the leftwing Mexican revolutionary Benito Juarez
• His mother was a deeply religious school
teacher.
• He spent the days fighting with other boys or
hunting.
• At 9 parents sent him to boarding school
due to his bad behaviour
• Benito hated school rules
• Hated how much parents had to spend on
tuition
• Got in a lot of fights
• Stabbed another boy with a pen knife
• At 10 he was sent to another school which
he liked better
• He worked hard and became well known
for his powerful speeches, most of which
had socialist leanings.
• In July, 1901, Mussolini received an
elementary teacher's diploma.
• Taught for a year before moving to
Switzerland
• He was avoiding Italy’s conscription
• Mussolini's life in Switzerland was one of
vagrancy.
• He begged for change and lived on the
streets.
• Learned about Marx, Nietzsche and
Buddhism
• Eventually deported due to violent ways
• Went to France to teach, but went back to
Switzerland
• Became an established Socialist
• 1904 Italian King announced a pardon to
all deserters
• Mussolini returned to Italy to enlist for
military duty
• Conscripted for WWI but was exempt due
to a grenade training injury
• So he looked for a different way to make a
name for himself.
Italy after WWI
• Italy devastated after WWI
• Little success in battle
• Peace didn’t come with all that was
promised
• Italians resented allied powers
• Wilson would not give Italians the territory
they wanted at the PPC as there were no
Italians in them
Society after the war
• Inflation
• Rise of socialist activities
• Extreme poverty in the south - peasants
start occupying land
• In the North prices rose 560% and
unemployment increased.
Post war elections
• Failed to produce stable governments
• 5 different governments 1919-22
• Proportional representation to blame (5%
of vote means 5% of seats)
• No one could get a majority, lots of
coalitions
Bolsheviks in Milan
• Bolsheviks in Milan began to organize a
take over of the country.
• There were several massive strikes.
• Big industries like Fiat looked desperately
for someone to crush this threat.
Benito makes his move
• A Fascist movement begins in Milan in
1919.
• Mussolini saw his opportunity in
protecting landowners and industrialists
from the socialists factory and land
seizures.
• He recruited unemployed ex-servicemen
and middle class youth
• Mussolini lead his group of Fascists
against Socialists and Trade Unions;
bringing him the support of industrialists
who were afraid of a left-wing seizure of
power.
• The fascists were supplied with arms and
transport and promises of immunity of
punishment.
• Mussolini called his gang ‘Combat
Squads’ and unleashed them on peasants
and workers.
• They would club their victims to death and
torture others.
• There was huge pay out from landowners,
industrialists and banks…. In the Millions
of pounds.
Things get legit
• In 1921 The Fascist Party was asked to
join the National Block Coalition with the
Liberals, democrats and nationalists.
• Mussolini won 35/535 seats in the
election.
Enter the Blackshirts
• In 1922 Mussolini’s party had a
membership of 360,000 of which 50,000
were a member of Combat Squads, now
given the nickname ‘The Blackshirts’.
• Mussolini uses his private army to show
his might
• He outfits them all with Black Shirt
uniforms to make them feel special
March on Rome
• On October 28, 1922, Mussolini puts the
word out that he is going to march into
Rome with 26,000 Blackshirts.
• The King decided to make Mussolini the
new Prime Minister rather than risk civil
war by sending in the troops.
• So on Oct 29, Mussolini became prime
minister of Italy
• It is important to note the March on Rome
was only a threat.
• Mussolini arrived in Rome on a train after
the King invited him.
• Mussolini does not have complete control
yet and rules in a coalition government
• He takes steps to secure his power:
Acerbo Election Law - 1923
• Who ever got the largest number of votes
(as long as it was 25% or more) would
automatically get 2/3 of the seats in the
lower house of parliament.
• The rest of the seats would be divvied up
proportionally.
• This allowed Mussolini to gain 374 out of
535 seats in April 1924.
Murder of Giacomo Matteotti
• an outspoken opponent
• on June 10, 1924, 5 fascists thugs
on the party payroll killed him.
• There is no proof that Mussolini
ordered this murder.
• The people liked Matteotti and
were upset with his death
Loss of freedoms
• Takes away freedom of press, assembly,
speech, and freedom from arbitrary arrest
• ‘useless or harmful liberties’
• Trade unions abolished
The Corporate State
• Trade unions were replaced with
‘corporations’, which were run by fascists
to settle disputes; interests of bosses
usually won out and the living standards of
workers fell.
• All economic planning was centralized
Other changes
• He adopted the title
‘Il Duce’
• Civil service purged
• 1928 cancelled
future elections and
replaced the Italian
parliament with the
Fascist Grand
Council
• political parties are banned (except for
Mussolini’s of course).
• In 1926 he reinstated the death penalty.
• In 1927 he set up his secret police the
OVRA to harass political opponents.
Important events
• The Corfu Incident. An Italian General
and their officers were assassinated while
on Greek territory in August of 1923.
Mussolini bombarded and occupied the
Island until the Greeks paid indemnity and
apologized.
The economy
• Autarchy. Fascism believes in a self-sufficient
state.
• launched the ‘Battle for Wheat’ with the goal of
increasing production and decreasing imports.
• From 1925-1935 wheat production went up
75%.
• He tried to do the same with a ‘battle of births’
but was unable to get the population to comply.
• Unemployment reached 1.1 million in 1932
It’s all Benito’s fault
• He fired the competent Finance minister to
give his friend a job
• He raised the value of Italian currency, the
lira, to 90 to the pound instead of 150,
making Italian exports more expensive;
thus demand for Italian goods abroad fell
sharply.
• Wasted money helping Franco out in
Spain
But what about the good things
Mussolini did?
• Road infrastructure increased.
• Archeology was pushed to the forefront
and tourist was boosted because of the
new artifacts discovered.
• Iron ore and steel production increased as
well as hydro electric power.
The Lateran Accords
• Catholic Church last possible opposition
• Traditionally Pope forbids Catholics from
participating in politics (no voting)
• In exchange for not saying bad things about
fascism the Pope got: control over education,
recognition as the official state religion and the
right of the Pope to have the Vatican as it’s own
state
Mussolini's youth groups
Foreign Policy
• 1934 he guaranteed Austria’s Independence
against German Threats.
• In 1935 Hitler attempted to invade Austria and
murdered the Austrian Chancellor Dollfuss, to
which Mussolini reacted instantly.
• Mussolini could not risk Hitler taking over Austria
for the safety of Italy.
• He sent three tank divisions to the Austrian
border. Hitler was out-bluffed and out bullied
and backed down.
Stresafront Agreement
• Mussolini declares his stand against Hitler
in the Stresafront Agreement of 1935.
• In this agreement Italy, France and Britain
condemned Germany’s re-armament.
• Shows Mussolini did not always want to
align with Hitler
Oct 1935 - Abyssinia
• Mussolini wanted to
restore Italy’s Empire
to the glory of Rome.
• Abyssinia was
between two Italian
Colonies and had
been the location of a
humiliating Italian
defeat in 1896
• 1934 - Italy provoked an incident where
Italians were killed and demanded an
apology
• Ethiopia appealed to the League of
Nations but they stalled for a year
• In October of 1935 Mussolini invaded
Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and was successful
due to the new inventions of
flamethrowers and poison gas.
• Newsreel film
and eyewitness
reports of the
Italian use of
poison gas and
flame throwers
brought public
outrage in
Britain and
France.
• The League of Nations applied sanctions
on Italy - did not include steel, coal and
copper
• Austria, Hungary and Germany refused to
obey the sanctions
• Sanctions were a joke - UK even allowed
Italy to continue to use the Suez Canal
• Hoare-Laval Plan - respective foreign
ministers from Britain and France. Agreed
to let Italy have Abyssinia if they stopped
fighting immediately. This secret
agreement was leaked to the press and
other countries stopped obeying sanctions
(why bother?)
• An attempt to patch up the Stresa Front
• Mussolini quoted saying he would have
quite within a week if oil sanctions in
December had been imposed
• Germany continued to trade with Italy normally
throughout the incident and an alliance between
the two nations was forged.
• Hitler dominated this alliance and the Italian
people were against it as Germany was a
traditional enemy.
• The May 22, 1939 Pact of Steel solidified the
link between Germany and Italy in an offensive
and defensive alliance.
 Based on the assumption war would probably start in
3 years
• end