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Fascism in Italy. Chapter 13 Section 3. Italy. Italy After World War I. After WWI, Italian nationalists were outraged when Italy received just some of the territories promised by the Allies Italian nationalists argued that the Allies betrayed Italy after World War I
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Fascism in Italy Chapter 13 Section 3
Italy After World War I • After WWI, Italian nationalists were outraged when Italy received just some of the territories promised by the Allies • Italian nationalists argued that the Allies betrayed Italy after World War I • Chaos ensued as peasants seized land, workers went on strike, veterans faced unemployment, trade declined, and taxes rose • The government could not end the economic crises plaguing Italy
Benito Mussolini • Into this turmoil stepped Benito Mussolini, the organizer of the Fascist Party • Mussolini was an intense nationalist • Mussolini’s supporters, the Black Shirts, rejected democratic methods and favored violence for solving problems • Black Shirts used terror tactics to scare the opposition
March on Rome • In the 1922 March on Rome, tens of thousands of Fascists swarmed the capital • Protestors demanded the government make changes to the economy and society • Fearing civil war, the king, under intense pressure, asked Mussolini to form a government with Mussolini as prime minister • Mussolini had legally assumed power in Italy because King Emmanuel II appointed him!
Mussolini’s Fascist Leadership • Mussolini takes on the title Il Duce (the Leader) • Mussolini soon suppressed rival parties, censored the press, rigged elections, and replaced elected officials with Fascists • Critics were thrown into prison, forced into exile, or murdered • Secret police and propaganda strengthened the regime • In 1929, Mussolini also received support from Pope Pius XI in return for recognizing Vatican City as an independent state • Pope, though, disagreed, with some of Mussolini’s goals
Vatican The smallest independent state in the world. Pius XI
What type of government was leading Italy? • Italy was still a parliamentary monarchy – technically • But Italy was now ruled by a terrorizing, fascist dictator – Benito Mussolini • Italy evolved into an evil dictatorship
Italian Economy • Mussolini brought the economy under state control, but basically preserved capitalism • Representatives of business, labor, government, and Fascist party leaders controlled industry, agriculture and trade • Mussolini’s system of government favored the upper classes and industry leaders • Workers were not allowed to strike, and their wages were kept low
Loyalty • In Mussolini’s new system, loyalty to the state replaced conflicting individual goals • Italians owed loyalty/allegiance to the state first before personal goals • State was all-important • Individual rights were secondary to the goals of the state
Obedience to the State • “Believe! Obey! Fight” loudspeakers blared and posters proclaimed • Fascist youth groups marched in parades chanting slogans • Men were ruthless, selfless warriors fighting for Italian glory • Mussolini awarded women for having 14 or more children (it was a women’s duty to bear children to serve the Italian state)
Influencing Young Italians • Young children were taught loyalty and obedience to Italy • Fascist youth groups emerged • Tough discipline was taught to youngsters • “Mussolini is always right”, people chanted in song • Mussolini was developing the Italian people for an expansion of Mussolini’s dream of an expanded Italian empire
Totalitarianism • Mussolini built the first modern totalitarian state • In this form of government, a one-party dictatorship attempts to control every aspect of the lives of its citizens • Today, we usually use the term fascism to describe the underlying ideology of any centralized, authoritarian government system that is not communist • Fascism is rooted in extreme nationalism • Fascists believe in action, violence, discipline, and blind loyalty to the state
Fascism • They praise warfare • Fascists are anti-democratic, rejecting equality and liberty • Fascists oppose communists on important issues • Communists favored spreading communism internationally and the creation of a classless society • Unlike communism, fascists were most concerned with strengthening their own nation
Fascism • Fascists are nationalists who support a society with defined classes (upper, middle, poor) • Both base their power on blind devotion to a leader (e.g., Mussolini) or the state – individuals do not matter under Fascism • Both flourish during economic hard times • Fascism appealed to Italians because it restored national pride, provided stability, and ended the political feuding that had paralyzed democracy in Italy
Powerpoint Questions • 1. What angered Italian nationalists after World War I? • 2. Who were the party militants who rejected the democratic process in favor of violent action? • 3. After the March of Rome, what did the king feel pressured to do? • 4. Under Mussolini’s leadership, what groups controlled industry, agriculture, and trade? • 5. Explain a totalitarian state. • 6. How do you define fascism?
Powerpoint Questions • 7. Why did fascism appeal to many Italians? • 8. How does fascism differ from communism? Explain • 9. What is fascism rooted in? • 10. What four elements do fascists believe in? (four points) • 11. What slogan did the fascists play on loudspeakers? • 12. What did the Fascist Party teach young children?
