Read the first page of DeMarco chapter...

Transcription

1 Read the first page of DeMarco chapter... From Latin word fascis meaning bundle stems from Etruscan civilization passed on to ancient Roman civ bundled wooden rods * symbolizes strength in numbers axe symbolizes power of leader over life & death by capital punishment (based on speculation)

2 Mussolini s Italy A Fascist Case Study

3 What circumstances and strategies did Mussolini use to create a fascist dictatorship in Italy by 1922?

4 Benito Mussolini

5 Did Mussolini s administration have some good qualities? Very little crime?... & the trains were on time?

6 The setting for a fascist takeover... The morale in Italy was poor after WWI. Pres Wilson did not grant Fiume or the Dalmation coast to Italy (p 39 Atlas) Poverty and inflation were high. In the south, landless peasants were scratching a living from infertile soil. In the north, Italy was more industrial, but prices and unemployment had risen out of control (500 % inflation).

7 Socialists were organizing strikes and willing to implement communism Large firm owners worried they would lose their businesses The government could not settle this unrest due to its proportional representation -- coalition governments were the only way to gather more than 50% of the MP s

8 5 governments rose and fell between People were hungry for a decisive government Mussolini would capitalize on this sense of need and rising nationalism

9 He: promised business leaders & land owners he would crush the socialist movement provided disciplined law and order formed the Fascist Party attacked the Socialist worker s movement with his Combat Squads (Black Shirts) made up of ex-soldiers In return, industrialists and landowners gave Mussolini lots of $ Liberal Prime Minister Giolitti asked Mussolini to join the government

10 For political expediency, Mussolini quit badmouthing the Catholic Church and the monarchy. King Victor Emmanuel III and Pope Pius XI started to think Mussolini could save Italy from Communism and godlessness.

11 The March on Rome In 1922, Mussolini stood up to the Communist uprising in something called the Caporetto of Italian Socialism He then demanded to be made PM and gathered of his blackshirts in Florence.

12 The actual Prime Minister, Facta, asked King Emmanuel to grant him special powers to crush the Mussolini threat Emmanuel, fearing civil war, decided against Facta s advice and acquiesed to Mussolini, asking him to become the Prime Minister in October 1922.

13 Prelude to Dictatorship: In 1923, the Acerbo Law was passed due to pressure by the Fascist Party It stated that the party winning the most votes could take 66% of the seats in parliament Meanwhile, the Blackshirts continued brutal acts of violence against the Fascist s opponents.

14 Matteotti, a high profile Fascist opponent was assassinated in Blackshirts stormed into Mussolini s office in Dec 1924 demanding he take credit for the murder--after some consideration--he did.

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17 Exercises 3 & 4 page 71-72

18 Mussolini Created a Cult of Personality Not a tall man, at 5 ft 6 inches, he arranged for photo s of him to create an imposing impression By 1923, he was calling himself, Il Duce (the Leader)

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21 Exercise 5 discussion photostream

22 Formation of a Dictatorship By 1925, two old democratic pillars were to crumble in Italy... The Free Press Political parties The OVRA, Mussolini s new secret police, was formed in 1927 (Organizzazione per la Vigilanza e la Repressione dell'antifascismo). M. also abolished unions and replaced them with Corporations M. was becoming increasingly anti-semitic.

23 Read only... July Mussolini introduced the Charter of Race which took away the Italian Jews right of Italian nationality. Italian Jews were not allowed to teach, they were not allowed to have state jobs, they were not allowed to be in the Fascist Party (though a number had since 1922!) and no Jew could work for a bank or insurance company. Jews were forbidden from marrying non-jewish Italians and they were not allowed to join the army. These laws were so unpopular that the pope sent a letter of protest to Mussolini. Source:

24 Mussolini s 4 Battles Mussolini started 4 growth programs to strengthen Italy: The Battle for Wheat aimed to expand grain production reducing reliance on foreign exports (autarky). The Battle for Births campaigned to increase Italy s population from million by 1950 using tax breaks as incentives. The Battle for the Lira was an attempt to strengthen the Italian currency. It backfire- greatly reducing exports. The Battle for Land drained marsh lands for cereal crops.

25 The Lateran Treaty 1929 In this key treaty, Mussolini reconciled the Roman Catholic Church with the Italian gov t (at odds since 1870). The church now recognized the Kingdom of Italy, and in turn, Mussolini gave the Pope the Vatican City and made Roman Catholicism Italy s official state religion.

26 Foreign Policy Italy took the island of Corfu from Greece and the League of Nations did nothing about it. in 1925, Mussolini signed the Locarno Pact with France and Britain to protect France against Germany.

27 In 1934, when the Austrian chancellor, Dollfuss, was murdered by Austrian Nazi s, Mussolini sent a strong warning to Hitler by moving 3 tank divisions to the Austrian border- threatening to use them against Germany if necessary. Mussolini also stood up to Hitler at the Stresa Front (1925) where Italy, England and France condemned Germany s rearmament program. In October 1935, however, Mussolini himself acted the aggressor by attacking Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Italy was avenging a loss in 1896, and aiming to increase its imperial prestige.

28 Italians used mustard gas against the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) troops Abyssinia s king, Haile Selassie, requested help from the League of Nations...to no avail. The League applied only weak economic sanctions against Italy - which did not include oil or coal. Germany, however, continued to sell Italy whatever it wanted to secure a fascist ally. Between , Mussolini sent military aid (battleships, machine guns, planes, tanks, troops to help the Spanish fascist leader, Franco, take control of Spain.

29 Assessing Mussolini A major campaign publicizing Italy s ancient Roman heritage attracted many tourists. By 1937, iron, steel and hydro production doubled. Yet, despite Mussolini s boasting, Italy was still a poor country and unprepared for WWII (with a weak army and a lack of resources). Mussolini s demise...

30 Complete exercise 8 on p. 79

31 Purpose of next Assignment To evaluate Mussolini s leadership. Especially his: treatment of opponents / allowance of freedoms modernization of the Italian economy speaking and inspiring abilities (cult of personality) foreign policies Tuesday, 13 March, 12 honesty with his people (or not) regarding preparation for war

32 Elected to Italian Parliament as a Conservative Bucked tradition by proposing to her now husband in1987 Won a legal battle for her children to take her surname, rather than her husband s Alexandra Mussolini Grandaughter of Benito Used to be a model, singer and an actress.

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