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TRANSCRIPT
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
� 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
Benito Mussolini
Fascist Blackshirts
Mussolini Speaking to His People
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
VaticanThe 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 firstbefore 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?
The End