Fascist Italy

On March 17th, 1861, a new country came into existence. It was known as the

Kingdom of Italy. The Kingdom was full of restless people, hunger, unruliness, and other

factors that played a major role in the rebellion of the workers. In addition to the rebellion,

the pope was unsatisfied because the new government took away his papal state, leaving

him with only a small portion – the Vatican. Even though they struggled, the people still

believed that their country would once again be restored to great power. Different ideas and

theories came about, attempting to provide answers, such as futurism (effort to destroy

historical monuments and create new things), nationalism (their source for gaining power

was through war), and socialism (effort to reject government through revolutions).

Although futurism and nationalism believed the solution to their problems was going

to war, socialism rejected this idea. Ennito Mussolini, one of the commanders of the socialist

party, revolted against this reformation, leading to his execution. However, very quickly,

thousands of socialists joined the efforts he began. Together, they walked into war. On

March 23rd, 1919, Mussolini created an organization known as the Fasci d'Italiani di

Combattimento (combat bunches of Italians). As time progressed, this organization soon

transformed into the fascist party, taking the name ‘Partito Nazionale Fascista (Fascist

National Party). Their party was against socialists and communists and was supported by the

government. In May 1919, there were 316 strikes in Italy. Fascists used violence against their

opponents, and the corrupted police could not stop them. In May 1921, Fascists, with the

help of the prime minister, gained 35 seats of parlament through elections.

The term “fascism” is derived from the ancient Roman fasces. It is a symbol of Roman

authority and was also intensely nationalistic, militaristic, and anti-Marxist. It also comes
from the Italian word fascio, meaning group. Fascists were characterized by black shirts and

hats, as well as some ornaments. Their enemies were leftists, also known as the “reds”. Their

symbol, “fasces“, was a bundle of rods wound together by a red strap and an axe. It was a

symbol of execution and lashing.

On October 21st, Mussolini proclaimed, “It is time; the arrow has left the bow.” This

led to a march of Mussolini’s Blackshirts on Rome to gain power. This led to the start of civil

war. King Victor Emmanuelle feared civil war, so he offered the government to Mussolini in

an attempt to avoid a civil war. On October 30th, 1922, Mussolini became dictator. From the

birth of Italy in 1861 to 1925, Italy was a democratic country ruled by a king in parliament.

The year 1925 marked the beginning of Mussolini’s peacemaking dictatorship, censorship,

propaganda. The people called him Duce, meaning leader. Restoration of the dictatorship in

Italy meant that there was only one political party- the fascist party. The police were

corrupted, the political system was changed, and suffrage was only for men who were part

of the fascist organization. There were a lot of assassination attempts on Mussolini, but he

created a secret police force, the Ovra, for his protection. Not a single assassination was

successful.

Fascism almost resulted in aggressive foreign policies in Italy and the leadership of

the conquest wars. In 1936, Italy attacked Abyssinia. Before the beginning of World War

Two, Italy became an ally of Nazi Germany. Italy officially went to war on June 10 th, 1939,

and attacked Albania soon after.

The Italian fascist regime fell on July 25th, 1943 when Mussolini was removed from

parliament and arrested. However, Benito Mussolini managed to escape from prison with

the help of German paratroopers. In Northern Italy, which was occupied by German forces,
Mussolini stood at the head of the socialistic republic with the government in Salo. Mussolini

and his wife were executed on the run on April 28th, 1945.

Monika Rečníková 4.A

Sources:
http://www.thecorner.org/hist/total/f-italy.htm

http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch12.htm

http://specialcollections.library.wisc.edu/exhibits/Fascism/Intro.html

http://beo.sk/historia/275-taliansky-fasizmus-definicia-vznik-vyvoj-a-zanik