italy 2: rise of fascism

    Cards (42)

    • Mutilated Victory
      - claim Italy had lost out, against what was promised in ToL, in the Versailles settlement - Treaty of St. Germain in june 1919
      - had been promised Dalmatia and shares in colonies in ToL and did not receive these
      - did get South Tyrol, Trentino and Istria
      - Fiume was mostly Italian, surrounded by mostly Slav. Few Italians on Dalmation Coast
      - the Italians had not fought against the Ottomans so had no backing to claims for their colonies
      - similarly had not fought on W front against Germany, so couldn't expect shares there
      - US joined the war in 1917, no obligations to 1915 ToL
      - President Wilson wanted to promote US national self-determination
      - F wanted a strengthened Yugoslavia as potential ally against resurgent G - giving them Fiume could help their trade
      - Both B and F made greater sacrifices in WW1 than Italy, contributing more to defeat G
      - italy = 'lesser of the great powers', weak negotiating position. Orlando would walk out of meetings in protest and others would ignore
    • Occupation of Fiume, 1919
      - sep 1919, nationalist poet + war hero, D'annunzio led 2000 armed men into Fiume
      - he had the slogan 'Italy or death'
      - no resistance since local Italian army sympathised.
      - Arditi from WW1 provided most of his occupying force since he had associated with them in WW1. Supporters wore black shirts and used straight arm salute
      - D'annunzio was eccentric, giving speeches and proclaiming music as the state religion. He lacked calculative nature
      - Occupation lasted 15 months, showing Italians results were achieved by forceful and decisive action
      - also showed Lib gov lacked will or capacity to enforce law
      - D'annunzio was a role model to Mussolini and was a public hero. D condemned M for only lukewarm support over Fiume
    • Ending the Occupation of Fiume
      - PM Nitti did nothing to stop this since it was so popular, but couldn't support it either because he was negotiating loans with B and F
      - Nitti looked weak, replaced by G in nov 1920, agreeing w Yugo that the city would be made independent, under international control
      - D'annunzio refused this agreement, G ordered navy to recapture the port
      - 4 days of fighting, 52 dead, D surrendered
      - no trial to avoid more publicity
    • Post war economic crises
      - industrialists prospered in the war, since demand was so high from the military. post war, this demand fell and their profits fell = decreased profits to factory owners
      - unemployment reached 2 million
      - cot of keeping soldiers armed and fighting forced the gov to borrow huge sums from B + F, and also to print money
      - 1919 lira was worth 25% of 1914 value
      - factory workers themselves struggled when wages couldn't keep up with inflation - rising socialist ideas
      - middle classes had savings wiped out by inflation
      - state employees had wages frozen at end of war, wages falling behind inflation
      - landowners suffered when rents received fell in value
    • The Biennio Rosso (2 red years), 1919-20
      - wave of militancy spread through cities with memberships of TU increasing from 250,000 to 2 mil
      - peaked in sep 1920 and then industrial relations calmed down
      - strikes, factory occupations, violent riots
      -spread quickly to countryside, w peasants seizing land from landlords
      - rural Socialist Unions demanded that they control which labourers were employed
      - G's gov responded by implementing reforms to benefit the masses - bread subsidies, 8 hour working day, simpler + fairer tax system
      - they also legalised some of the land occupations
      - elites terrified of Bolshevik style rev, and were outraged lib gov didnt seem to offer protection from this
      - newly founded Fascist squads seemed to be the only group offering a solution to these problems, providing alt to comm rev
    • post war growth in the PSI
      - membership of PSI grew 4x from 50,000 to 200,000 in 1914-19
      - appeared to be formidable challenge to libs, becoming largest party in parliament in 1919
      - fear of socialism was more important than the actual threat, encouraged by prop on both sides
      - after 1920 threat levels decreased, wages went up for some workers and less working days were lost to strikes. Fear of Bolshevik rev continued
      - many workers/peasants were disillusioned after 1920 since they had not reformed the system, let alone overthrown it entirely as part of rev
      - PSI was increasingly divided as well, couldn't agree on collab or rev
      - General strike in 1922 only half supported and only 24 hours
      - in 1921 more extreme Socialists broke to form Communist Party whilst moderates formed United Socialist Party
    • Could there have been socialist rev in 1919-20? YES

      - membership increases
      - strikes, factory occupations and riots
      - expansion to countryside
      - economic circumstances, Lira and unemployment
      - language of rev was common among those inspired by Oct rev in Russia, demanding 'dictatorship of the proletariat'
      - weak Lib gov seemed ineffective against socialist action
    • Could there have been socialist rev in 1919-20? NO
      - divisions in PSI, couldn't form coherent strategy between moderates and radicals
      - G's gov made concessions which took fervour out of demand for rev
      - economic crisis was not as bad as other countries e.g. Germany
      - Italian Socialist leaders were neither as ruthless or efficient as Bolshevikes
      - Fascist were smashing Socialist resistance, even if gov was inactive, Squadristi outmatched the Red Guard
    • Growth of the Catholic Party, from Jan 1919
      - Foundation of C party - PPI/Popolari - damaged support for liberal state
      - there were no official links between PPI and Pope, but he had lifted a ban on such an org
      - founded in jan 1919, led by priest Don Sturzo, and could appeal to many cons Catholics and some socialists who wanted better conditions for countryside peasants
      - party was united against anti-clerical stance of some Liberals and the PSI
      - emergence made it harder for Libs to keep support from Catholics in a time of trouble
      - no post war gov secured the full allegiance of the PPI, such as when they withdrew support from G in July 1921 and this forced his resignation
    • 1919 elections - results and impacts
      - first to be held with universal male suffrage and PR
      - also first where PPI put forward candidates
      - PSI 31%, moderates 20%
      - Giolittians - 18%
      - could have strengthened the Lib state by making the gov more representative of different interests in the pop
      - PPI and PSI did very well - over 50% of the vote between them. Libs did not do as well as they had pre-war
      - largest proportion of votes to Socialists, who still dedicated themselves to overthrowing the current system
      - many middle class Italians were very fearful, but PPI and PSI refusing to work together caused political paralysis
    • weak coalition governments
      - pol reforms caused a series of coalition govs which struggled to form a working maj
      - Liberals were disorganised and lacking party discipline
      - old Trasformismo system couldn't work in such a polaried system
      - electoral reform had thus undermined the democratic system by causing instability and lack of faith
      - PSI largest party in 1919, in 1920 they won 25 out of 69 provincial councils
      - following 1919 elections PSI had 156 seats versus 91 to G liberals
    • Impact of 1921 elections

      - new parties such as communists and fascists won seats, worsening fragmentation
      - chances of working gov receded further
      - people increasingly convinced democracy would lead to chaos and wanted a strong leader to bring order
      - there had been five govs in the years 1919-22
    • Benito Mussolini, early life

      - born lower middle class in 1883
      - sent to Cath boarding school, expelled for constant fighting and even stabbing a fellow pupil
      - was a teacher for six months before moving to Switzerland (1902-4) to avoid debts
      - returned to edit Socialist newspaper and help organise strikes near his home town
      - achieved recognition as man of action and words when leading protests against Libyan war, was imprisoned in 1911
      - prominent radical member of PSI
      - when released in 1912, became editor of Avanti!, v successful but resigned in 1914 to set up 'Il Popolo d'Italia' since he was an interventionist. led to him being expelled from PSI but got funding form big firms for his newspaper
      - conscripted from 1915-17 until wounded and returning to journalism. Wrote articles condemning libs for how they acted at war
    • Foundations of Fasci di Combattimento (Fascist Combat Group)

      - first met in march 1919, attended by around 100 people
      - initially included nationalists, republicans, anarchists and some radical artists/poets
      - mostly war veterans, sharing little ideology apart from hatred for liberal regime
      - no one would have gambled on their rise to power, seemed to be a splintered fringe group
      - only a few 1000 members in 1919, claiming nationalist ideals and violent methods in 'trenchocracy' it was hard to tell apart from other LW parties
      - April 1919 they interrupted Milan large Socialist demonstration, destroying Avanti offices. Gov didnt prosecute any of them = would condone anti-socialist violence
    • Fascist programme of June 1919
      - abolishing all titles of nobility
      - nationalise all arms factories
      - confiscating war profits
      - abolition of monarchy and est a a republic
      - confiscation of inherited wealth
      - abolishing national service
      - confiscation of all church service
      - direct involvement of workers in management decisions
      - 8 hour working day
      - I to take possession of Fiume and Dalmatia
      - failed to win radicals from PSI and alienated cons interest groups.
      - only receive less than 2% of the vote in 1919, and membership had fallen to less than 4000 by dec. M contemplated giving up
    • Squadrismo
      - started to recover in 1920 in response to gathering speed of Biennio Rosso
      - G's gov wouldnt use force against factory occupations, instead urging employers to allow concessions e.g. higher wages and participation of workers in management
      - Industrialists felt abandoned and fear of Socialism increasing (26/69 provinces nov 1920)
      - gov was doing nothing to stop agrarian strikes, land seizures and peasants revolt
      - Fascist squads spontaneously rose to counter Socialism with violence, supported by those who lost faith in the gov weak methods
      - squads led by ex-army officers + controlled without much reference to M
      - prominent local 'Ras' (leaders) inc Balbo, Farinacci and Grandi
      - M found it hard to assert authority, but claimed he was the only 1 who could bring national coherence to the movement through his newspaper
    • Mussolini moving to the Right
      - M realised more stood to be gained by moving to the R and playing on fear of the L
      - some of the biggest supporters of the squads were the petty bourgeoisie (lower middle class) who felt insecure and wanted radical ideas rather than Lib compromised
      - many of these were ex-soldiers who felt they had not been rewarded for military service and joined the squadrismo in large numbers
      - squads also won over farmers in rural areas, some of whom had been granted land and felt threatened by socialism redistribution. farm workers made up 24.3% in 1921
      - larger landowners also thankful for action, preparing to finance it
      - shows many groups would support this, and membership reached 200,000 in 1921
    • Ensuring political legitimacy
      - by 1920, M began to drop radical LW policies to appeal to middle class
      - started presenting fascist ideas that promised restoring Italian power and prestige
      - claimed he would develop the economy, by improving productivity, abolishing state controls and re-establishing strong leadership to curb socialism
      - he abandoned republicanism and anti-clericalism = reassuring social elite
      - balancing act: violence and intimidation had won him support, but he still needed to look respectable to Lib politicians to consider forming coalition with him
      - this worked, since in 1921 G sought an electoral alliance with M, giving them legitimacy
      - miscalculation from G, thinking he could absorb them into the system by using trasformismo - 'Fascism = 'fireworks which made a lot of noise but just leave smoke behind'
      - M was still underestimated as a threat at this point
    • Elections of may 1921
      - fascists were on the party list
      - won 35 seats, one for M and 7% of the vote
      - gave M a foothold in parliament, significant since the system was so fragmented so he could play a crucial role
      - LW was still splintered with the Socialist Unity part (reformists expelled from PSI), and the rise of the Italian Communist Party. Although the PCI was not a mass party they had 15 seats in 1921 and reminded the elite of threat of rev
      - after election M withdrew support for gov, G resigned in June
    • Formation of PNF and the "New Programme"
      - part of efforts to seem respectable, in August 1921 he agreed to the 'Pact of Pacification' with Socialists to end violence
      - Fasci upset, Ras ordered his resignation but he was restored as there was no alt leader
      - M then approved renewal of Fasict violence, but demanded creation of a disciplined party - the PNF (National Fascist Party)
      - adopted a New Programme in nov 1921 which showed clearly shift to the R since 1919
      - unspecified pol structure (didnt mention republicanism)
      - state to preserve order
      - stae to 'exercise its spiritual mission'
      - compulsory military service
      - proportional tax to income
      - 8 hour working day, exceptions for agri and industrial neds
      - privatise national industries
      - corps to show national solidarity between labour and capital and increase production
      - completely unified Italy with larger role in Med
    • The extent of Fascist support in 1921
      - they had small rep in parliament, but appeal and strength went beyond their electoral support for 2 reasons
      1. fear of socialism:
      - this was regarded by many of the elite as better defence to their interests than weak libs.
      - socialism had peaked in 1920, but the threat of rev still existed in many minds. Seemed to be confirmed when socialists called general strike in aug 1922
      - perception mattered more than reality that mattered
      2. weak + divided opposition:
      - Lib, Soc and Cath opponents to fascism couldn't cooperate against them
      - lib politicians put rivalries above the need for united action against fascism
      - M played lib politicians against each other in negotiations
      - Fascism also benefitted from the blind eye cast by local authorities when dealing with violence against socialists, even when they had been authorised to act such as under Bonomi in dec 1921
    • TWE was fascism a strong contender for power by 1922?
    • TWE was fascism a weak contender for power by 1922?
      - only 35 seats and 7% of vote, easily outmatched by PSI
      - Biennio Rosso peaked in Sep 1920 and threat of rev receded, meaning people wanted less radical alt
      - uncontrolled fascist violence alienated some elite who saw it undermining law and order
      - King could choose Pm and operate ruling by decree, as well as imposing martial law. Fascists could not challenge army
      - economy was about to recover, and the lib state would have probably increased in pop if this continued
      = CONC: fascism was not inevitable atp
    • M taking advantage of political unrest
      - gov seemed paralysed and reluctant to combat Fascit violence, so socs decided to act
      - called for general strike in aug 22, meant M could capitalise on fears of soc rev
      - on speeches, M promised Fascists would end the strike, even if the gov refused to
      - Fascists occupied Avanti! offices, smashing printing presses and burning it to the ground
      - when post officers continued strike, Fascists delivered mail and also drove trains themselves when transport workers refused
      - strike lasted only 24 hours, the L could not resist Fascist violence and were basically destroyed as an organised force
      - gov could have used substantial military and policing forces, but failed to. Prefects didnt know how to respond, police usually stood aside and sometimes even helped to transport the squads
      - when the police were occasionally deployed, fascists quickly retreated
      - M knew at this point he could take over, still unsure how
    • Establishing a dual policy
      - Mussolini was fearful that levels of Fascist violence was undoing the legitimacy he worked for
      - If fascists went too far, the police and army could still destroy them
      - on one side, M encouraged black shirt violence. on the other, when addressing conservatives he condemned their actions and pretended to completely disagree
      - promised that he would keep the squads under control if cons leaders gave him more power and authority politically
      - M aided by arrival of Pope Pius XI, sympathiser to Fascism and ensured the PPI would not form coalition with either libs or socs
    • Plans for the March on Rome
      - plans drawn up on 16 oct 1922 by a quadrumviri (Balbo, de Bono, de Vecchi and Bianchi) for the march. they decided 3 columns would descent at the same time on 28 Oct
      - M hoped violence would not be necessary, that the threat of it would be enough to generate a crisis bringing him to power peacefully
      - PM, Facta, was assured by army leaders that they would defend Rome. Rome garrison reinforced and plans for blocking bridges and roads into the city drawn up
      - PNF congress, Naples, Oct 24, rally held where 60,000 supporters marched past M - he announced he would either be announced PM or seize power
      - M said they didn't want to confront the army, but Rome would be reached 'at all costs'
      - in priv, M was playing lib leaders against each other in negotiations
    • Events of the March on Rome
      - night of 27 oct, Fascist squads seized town halls, post offices, stations in many N italy towns, unopposed
      - did not take Milan, Genoa or turin
      - Facta met king at 2:30am on 28 oct, king approved manifesto stating 'its supreme duty to defend the state at all cost, by all means and against all who violate its laws'
      - at 5am the cabinet met and approved martial law state to start at midday
      - orders for M's arrest prepared, waiting for kings signature
      - some 30,000 Fascist marchers were stopped 50 miles outside the city by 400 policemen
      - marchers were hungry, poorly equipped and rain soaked
      - in Rome, 28,000 troops and police were action ready. General Badoglio, army chief of staff, was confident the could crush rebels with superior weaponry
    • the role of Victor Emmanuel II

      - 9am oct 28, Facta asked king to formally authorise martial law. He refused, a change of mind
      - king claimed he appointed M to stop outbreak of civil wae
      - after WW2, the king said he thought there was 100,000 fascists and only 8000 troops (reality was about 30 v 30)
      - convo between Diaz and king lasted 5am to 9am, and could have been told the army should not be tested
      - kings pro fascist cousin, Duke of Aoasta, might have scared him that he would be replaced
      - Facta resigned at 11am, King asked Salandra to form a gov - he agreed on the condition that M would join, but M refused and was determined to hold out for the top
      - Salandra told king he couldnt form a gov and advised making M pm, to stop Giolitti
    • the appointment of M as PM
      - on evening of 29 oct, M was in Milan ready to escape to Switzerland if martial law was declared
      - instead M received a telegram, asking him to meet the king so he went overnight to Rome
      - 39 years old when he met with the king on morning of 30 ocr 1922, offered PM
      - black shirts couldn't get into the city, were blocked by police and so M arranged a march for them into Rome on the next day when deals were secured
      - 30 oct, march of squads to celebrate 'Fascist revolution' - AFTER m was PM constitutionally
      - After this, M's supporters went home with minimal violence
      - appeared M had fallen into line with the lib system
    • Mussolinis strength in coming to power
      - great journalist, understood significance of prop
      - opportunist, abandonign LW policies and moving to the R to get support from middle/upper classes
      - only Fascist leader nationally who could claim contro of squadristi violence
      - dual policy of violence to crush socialism and threaten the state, as well as gaining respectability was v effective
    • Opponents weakness in M's rise to power
      - opposition to fascism failed to unite against M, PSI and PPI refused to collab = led to inability to resist fascism in gov
      - establishment too willing to support/turn a blind eye to Fascist violence against the left, assuming (incorrectly) M could be absorbed into the Lib state
      - Lib PM's more anxious in preventing each other becoming PM than stopping M
      - the king was timid and did not impose martial law
      - CONC: more important than the strengths since the initial limited support could have been crushed by a show of unity
    • Parliamentary compromise
      - M was PM, but the PNF only had 35 seats so he had to appoint politicians from other parties
      - his cabinet = 3 fascists, 4 libs, 2 PPI, a nationalist, marshal + navy admiral
      - establishment assumed radical days were over, furthered when the gov adopted orthodox economic policy and endorsed return to law and order
      - C church appeased when M promised compulsory religious education in schools + to raise priest salaries + return crucifix to in all public buildings
      - elite had wanted fascism as a weapon against socialism, now soc was dealt with they thought they could reabsorb fascism into their own gov or abolish it altogether
      - most elites thought M's lack of coherent ideology and strong position in parl, M wouldn't last long
    • Parliamentary coercion
      - M used threat of soc to persuade new cons allies to increase his own power (despote socialists already being powerless and any law and order breakdown due to Fascists)
      - control over Min of Interior meant police did nothing to stop squadristi violence
      - M made dramatic speech in C of Deputies on 16 nov22, emphasising need for order restored
      - he demanded power to rule by decree, in dec the C of Deputies gave a massive vote of confidence - 306 to 116
      - M now had the power to pass laws without parliamentary consent for 12 months
      - only socs and comms opposed this. Nationalists, Libs and Catholics abstained or supported since they had lost faith in the weak govs from recent years
    • Controlling the PNF once PM
      - M created the Fascist Grand Council as a rival org to Cabinet. He appointed members, allowing him to control leading Fascists such as Balbo and De Bono
      - De Bono was made Chief of Police
      - Jan23, M strengthened grip on Squadristi by est a national militia, the MVSN, led by Balbo. Members gave an oath of allegiance to M and recieved state payment, weakening the Ras
      - Nationalists agreed to merge with the PNF in February 1923, useful since Nationalists had stronger presence in the S where the PNF had not influenced yet
      - in 1922, PNF had 300,000 members but 780,000 by end of 1923. Many were ambitious opportunists/moderates which diluted the more radicals
    • Acerbo Law, 1923
      - April 23, M dismissed PPI coalition partners, inc Don Sturzo, despite this placing his parliamentary maj in jeopardy
      - M's position aided by Pope Pius XI who favoured accommodating Fascists which split the PPI and forced Sturzo to resign as leader
      - M also lucky most people were dissatisfied with PR and his proposals for a 'corrected' system passed with little resistance. Deputies did not understand they were voting to end parliamentary gov
      - any party with the largest vote share, if over 25% of votes, would recieve 2/3 of parliamentary seats
      - passed 303 votes to 40
    • Elections in April 1924
      - gov bloc of Fascists, former nationalists and liberals won 66% of the vote
      - would have got 2/3 of seats regardless of Acerbo Law
      - partially due to leading liberals, inc Orlando, Salandra and Giolitti joining gov candidate list and winning S seats
      - opposition parties divided and their vote collapsed. PPI = 9% and communists 4%
      - Fascist deputies rose from 35 to 275 plus 100 other supporters
      - 4.5 million votes meant genuine electoral backing for their policies
      - gave M a hard to challenge mandate
    • Matteoti crisis, june 1924
      - May 1924, leading soc politician, Matteoti, made a parliamentary speech condemning april elections as fraudulent
      - rumoured he had documents showing details of fascist corruption
      - M made several comments that he should be 'taught a lesson' but the link to M ordering this is unproved
      - June 1924, witnesses saw him being bundled into a car, several days later the car was discovered abandoned and bloodstained
      - in august his body was discovered
      - police connected the death to Dumini, a murder of the Cheka hit squad and assistance to Rossi, head of M's press office
      - public opinion started to turn against M when evasive answers suggested he at least knew of the plan
    • Aventine secession, july 1924
      - Matteoti crisis eventually strengthened M's position, when opposition parties chose to protest by walking out of the C of Deputies in july, as protest
      - refused to play any further part in parliamentary proceedings and instead set up their own assembly. They hoped the king would dismiss M as a result
      - the king refused to act, fearful that dismissing M would strengthen the revolutionary L, terrified also of civil war if fascists resisted
      - King also understood widespread support for M among pol elites
      - elites had been reassured by appointment of two nationalists in charge of law and order: Federzoni as Min of Interior and Rocco as Justice Minister
      - backfired when it guaranteed M couldn't face a vote of no confidence. Until this point M thought he would not survive the Matteoti crisis
    • Establishing a dictatorship, 1925
      - speech in jan 25, M took responsibility for Fascism wo specifically referring to Matteoti's murder
      - wave of opponents arrests followed, and this level of repression and terror was justified in the next couple of years by assassination attempts on M
      - M strengthened grip on PNF by appointing the best-known and most violent ras, Farinacci as party secretary
      - Farinacci centralised the org, expanded it to 900,000 members and purged those who disagreed with M
      - having neutralised the Squadristi, Farinacci replaced and M ensured all party appointments from then required his approval
      - Ras's independence was broken and the PNF reduced down to propaganda role and little else
      - Most fascist terror occurred in 1919-22, 2-3000 killed, and then 2-300 hundred for rest of 20s
    • Amendments to the constitution in 1925-6
      - PNF centralised by Farinacci (25)
      - TU abolished and replaced by Fascist corporations, with workers represented by PNF members) + strikes illegal (25)
      - press censorship tightened (25)
      M head of gov, only answerable to king and not parliament (25)
      - elected Mayors replaced by Podestas chosen by M (26)
      - All other pol parties banned
      - civil service and judiciary purged
      - special tribunal for pol crimes
      - est. of a secret police, OVRA (27)