Historical Context y Italy suffered from WW1 despite being a victor o Over 1.

5 million casualties (600,000 dead) o Failed to unite Italy  Socialists opposed war throughout o National Debt from 16 -85 million libre o 1915-1918 400% inflation o Closure of war industries led to demobilization of 2.5 million soldiers o Farming negatively affected by peasants and labourers conscripted to war o 1919-1920 widespread violence and rioting o Population Disillusioned by Democracy

Rise to Power y 3 major issues of debate: o Roman Catholic Church  Lost power and alienated from state with loss of Paples states o Universal manhood suffrage o Democracy perceived as inefficient and corrupt 3 major factions: o Privileged (wealthy) o Nationalists (Monarchists) o RC Church Areas to Improve: o Law and Order  Liberal gov. Not strong enough to control chaos  End of violence, madness & mayhem o Discipline Strikers o Rescue National Honour of Italy o Protect Privileged Elite and Monarch, Church acquires some power Political instability in Italy post-war o Between 1914 and 1921, Italy had seven different prime ministers o three majors parties had little common ground, uneasy coalitions and no majority in power during time (ineffective to run country) Fascism began as a movement in the countryside (1919) o fuelled by fact that war had been a disaster, used it to gain support (patriotism)  united by intense patriotism, hatred of parliamentary gov  anti-liberal, catholic, war profiteers, and socialists o mostly young demobilized officers that started the first fasci (armed groups)

Mussolini y y 1912, worked for Avanti and doubled its circulation o Socialist newspaper 1915, WW1 radically changed opinions on Socialism o Expelled from Socialist party and Avanti o Conscripted, wounded o Returned: A man with a sense of Destiny Tomkinson Feb 19198, begins advocating dictatorship o Man ruthless and energetic enough to make a clean sweep Tomkinson May 1918, recommends himself for position o Founds Fascio di combattimento(Combat Group Black Shirts) in Milan  Discontented Soldiers  Roman Salute and Jack Boots o Names Himself Il Duce -> The LEADER, The MAN o Creates Italian Fascist Symbol November 1919 Elections, Mussolini and Black Shirts FAIL o Over 70 towns with Fascio Groups Too many factions o 5,000/270,000 votes Mussolini began funding movement using Industrialists dissatisfied with rioting and failures of Liberal Government o Sends attack squads to burn and destroy Socialist strikes and property. Controlled by Fascist Leaders (ras) o September 1920, citizens begin to see Fascists as better alternatives to Socialist strikers. 400,000 new workers in factories o November 1920, Socialists win 26/69 provinces Mussolini begins asserting influence over ras, stressing need for his leadership and preventing Bolshevik-style revolution in Italy 1921, Fascist Squads continue violence, 200 Socialists killed Fascists entered bloco nazionale in May o Mussolini Announces no support for Giolittis coalition government Socialists win 123 seats in 1921, still most popular party with PPI winning 107 seats o Mussolini satisfied with winning 35 seats (7%, Mussolini is member of parliament) August 2, 1921To outmanoeuvre out of control ras, Mussolini signs pact of pacification with General Confederation of Workers (main trade union) o Resigns from Fascist Central Committee o 1921, forms own formal party: Partitio Nazionale Fascista End of 1921, PNF membership of 200,000 (middle-class previously supporting liberals) July 31, 1922 Socialists finally retaliate to Fascist violence

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o Mussolini manipulates situation to remind Italy of Socialist threat, and Fascist solution o Strike collapsed on Aug 3, allowed for Fascist takeovers in Ancona, Trento, Bolzano, etc PNF protect small businesses illegally to gain support and increase popularity (extortion) Mussolini promises to fix broken infrastructure and issues o Demand Victor Emanuel II to deal with riots  King fails to declare Martial Law in 1922 (afraid of disobedience from military) October 1922, March on Rome o 40,000 Black shirts to converge in Rome o Prime Minister Facta hears of plans to trail from Naples to Rome  Mussolini effectively fixing train schedules  Increases popularity  Martial Law denied o King sends telegram asking Mussolini for formation of government as appointed Prime Minister of Italy  Oct 29, 1922 Mussolini accepts with 4 fascist associates in cabinet  Oct 30, 70,000 Black Shirts celebrate in Rome  Coalition government of Nationalists, Church, Fascists

Consolidation of Power Establishing the Fascist State y y y November 16th, 1922, demanded full powers because he wanted to assume full responsibility November 25th, 1922, given 1 year of emergency powers (independent of parliament) only 35 fascists in government but o many members of government were convinced that Mussolini was the strong hand Italy needed in the short term used emergency legislation to disband DAnnunzios paramilitary regime and to destroy communist party (strengthened the stability and power of government) gained widespread support for restoring law and order and his economic policy(Williamson) controlled fascist squad by integrating them into the national militia in 1922 (allegiance to him) Fascist Grand Council (1923), to appease followers who thought he was betraying the revolution Acerbo Law(July 10th, 1923)

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o Electoral reform, party w/ most votes (if 25% or more of vote) to 2/3 of the seats in gov. o Fascists only had 42 seats (joined national party), but all parties wanted to reform law that had let socialists gain so many seats April 1924 elections, mass intimidation, several hundred people killed o even without the Acerbo Law Mussolini would have achieved a majority(Williamson) o 403 fascist seats + 29 supporters vs. 105 opposition members Matteotti Affair (1924) o Giacomo Matteotti criticized elections at opening of parliament, opposition refused to recognize Fascist regime o Killed 10th of June by Fascist thugs  last chance to remove Mussolini, didnt happen due to fear of Fascist violence (King did not want coup by black shirts)  Aventine Succession (July 1924), oppositions members left parliament to protest  strengthened regime because there was no one to criticize him in the house, no opposition = could pass any law unopposed o crisis caused danger of isolating Mussolini from the conservatives + centre (saw him as too violent) vs. Ras, (accused him to selling out to get support and threatened coup) o January 3rd 1924, rebuffed both sides in speech, adjourned parliament  dictatorial state began with this speech o November 1925, Law of Associations, any organization not approved was banned o December 1925, Mussolini declared head of government, only answerable to king o April 1926, 60,000 veterans purged from party to restore discipline o October 1926, all other political parties banned o November 1926, Public Safety Law, removed individual rights, no restraints on powers of state or police (enacted the police state) o 1927, All factionist in Party banned o May 1928, direct elections abolished, through only Fascist Party and its candidates  King could not select PM o February 1929, Lateran Pacts  basically gave Popes support for the Fascist state and thus all Catholic Italians o By 1929, Mussolinis control over the state, with his unrestrained police and political power, was absolute

Economy under Mussolini

Economic Policy y Believed in Corporate state o corporations would be set up for each sector of industry, each has a) employers b)Fascist trade unions for workers o Each corporation responsible for its own production, pay and working conditions and its own industry. o In case of a dispute, labor court would sort it out quickly and amicably. o The Fascist regime believed that this new system would:  See employer + workers co-operation hopefully lead to maximize production  Avoid bitter industrial disputes leading to strikes and class conflict Reality was different, Rossoni (head of unions) was opposed by the Connfindustria the employers and Guiseppe Bottai, head of the Ministry of Corporations that settled disputes o 1927, Bottai to wrote a Labour Charter  Favored employers, given power to control workers working hours, pay, night shifts etc. o 1928 Rossonis federation of unions split into 5 smaller federations his followers removed from their posts o By 1934 22 corporations covered nearly every area of the economy o Workers were unable to chose their own reps o Mussolinis corporate revolution never materialized workers were simply suppressed

Economy y y y When Mussolini came to power he was lucky Italian industry experiencing boom o Exports of cars, textiles, agriculture produce doubled during 1922-5 Mussolini wanted Italy to strike for autarky: economic self-sufficiency 1925, Vidonic Palace Pact (outlawing of Socialist and Catholic trade unions), o got support of industrialists with ban on unions o reduced gov spending but paralyzed telephone network 1926: end of boom, 150 Lira : 1 pound o Battle for the Lira a symbol of our nation, our wealth, our strength, sacrifice, blood o set to 92 Lira: 1 pound  increased Mussolinis prestige with foreign bankers and Italian public  price of Italian goods double abroad, so export businesses entered depression  industries such as steel, armaments, shipbuilding benefitted from the cheap imports of resources

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Depression 1933: 2 million unemployed and began Public Works Schemes (motorways & hydroelectric plants) increased $, jobs, gov bailed out the banks Institute for Industrial Reconstruction (IRI), (1933) o funded faltering portions of economy (banks and businesses) o Encouraged growth of heavy industries (steel, 150% , led by gov), shipbuilding (80%), chemicals) o Dependent on imports for oil, coal, iron ore o it nevertheless gave the government a control over the economy that was unequalled outside the Soviet Union - Williamson economically Fascism was a failure - Tannenbaum 1925-38 real wages fell by 10% Italy as backward compared to other nations, despite some growth o 1922-29, growth was 100 base units to 204, by 1938 only 216.5 (due to depression)

Agriculture y Battle for Grain (1925): promote Fascist power & national self-sufficiency o Gave grants to enable farmers to buy tractors, fertilizers o 5.5 million tonnes (1920s), 7 million tonnes in 1930s o Grain imports fell 75% o Came at cost  land in central and southern regions that had been turned to wheat was unsuitable for such a crop  soil conditions and hotter, drier climate more suited to growing of citrus fruits or production of wine and olive oil  as a result these traditional agricultural exports declined Land Reclamation: Pontine Marshes (50 km from Rome) created a network of small farms o propaganda for foreign observers Agricultural workers had heavier wage cuts that industrial workers in 1930s o Up to half a million people left land in 1920s o in 1931, number of farmer went from 3.4 million to 3 million o between 1921 and 1941 population of Rome doubled, despite Mussolinis intent to make agrarian nation Failure to break up the great landed estates in 1922  profited lard landowners but smaller ones were same  cemented poverty in the South

Fascist Culture in Italy Propaganda y key was the concept of an imperial Italy or Greater Italy

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Mussolini became linked with this state, so he became a major symbol for the masses Mussolinis Cult of Personality established as : superhuman talents, the new Caesar, Italys Saviour, Il Duce o Worked 20 hrs/day o infallible, Mussolini is always right o Said, Often Iforesaw o Athlete (horse riding, sports, airplanes, youthfulness o Seen as a man of culture o Had read 35 Volumes of Italian encyclopaedia one must know how to shake the imagination of the public, that is the real secret of how to govern Mussolini The Duce became a god-like being for whom no task was too great - Williamson o Mussolini established direct contact with masses and established this image o Mussolini made the trains run on time Mussolinis portrait had to be hung beside Kings Local Fascists used propaganda in films, the radio to instil fascist message in public o by 1938, over 1 million families possessed a radio o Italian film industry funded by IRI since 1936 Press was censored by government , news of Great Depression suppressed until 1932 Sports used to glorify both Mussolini and the nation itself o won 12 gold medals at LA Olympics, called Mussolinis boys o 1934, hosted and won World Cup in soccer  Mussolini attended final and gave team their medals  image of regime was significantly boosted 1935-36 Abyssinian conquest was used to glorify the Italian Empire, Mussolini became an emperor o regime experienced enormous popularity in Italy as a result

Education System y y y y y y y at first, goal was to make a Fascist academic elite December 1925, all teacher and lecturers had to swear oath of loyalty to Mussolini o non-Fascists removed from education system 1928, curriculum changed to have more indoctrination of Fascism 1928, all non-fascist youth groups banned (except church ones) 1930, Young Fascist organization revived the Fascist Squads o motto for New fascist man was believe, obey, fight 1933, Ministry of Public Education took over the ONB (made in 1926) o were the youth groups in Italy government interested in the total upbringing of the child

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1935-36, Military instruction was introduced into high schools 1937, Young Fascists and ONB united into the GIL, under direct control of the party o influenced its presence in schools Contact with ideal was tremendous for youth, but impact was limited o the Young Fascists were a joke from all points of view... discipline did not exist Fascist Official