At the end of World War I, there were four pivotal factors that developed in Italy. They were:

1. Despite the hopes of many Italian politicians, the war did not go well for the Italians. Their soldiers were ill-equipped and ill-supplied. During the Battle of Caporetto, the Italians lost 40,000 soldiers and an additional 300,000 were taken as prisoners. Because their contributions were not as significant as the other Entente nations, their demands were not all met. The Italian people felt cheated by Woodrow Wilson because they did not get Fiume. Wilson argued that Fiume and Dalmatia were vital for the development of Yugoslavia.

In response, Gabriel D’Annunzio hired a 2,000-man private army—the Arditi (“the daring ones”), and led it into Fiume and took the port. After ruling the Fiume region for 15 months, he presented it as a gift to Italy. This event indicated to the rest of Europe that nationalism was not dead. If a country pushes nationalistic feelings forward, the people will support the country.

2. As soon as the war ended,

3. During the war, the Italian government promised the peasants that when the war was over, the government would buy land from the upper class (agrari-______________ ______________) and give it to the peasants. The government decided to back down on this promise. In response, the peasants decided to take the land themselves. Hence, Italy was experiencing the beginnings of a revolution.

4. In order to finance the war, Italy had borrowed heavily from the United States and Great Britain. Their national debt rose from 16 billion lire to 85 billion. The government still had to print more banknotes to pay for the war. This led to rapid inflation, with prices increasing by over ______ percent between 1915 and 1918. This destroyed the middle class’ savings.

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Benito Mussolini was brought up in a socialist family. During World War I, Mussolini was a front-line soldier. It was this experience that provided him with proper training for political combat on the national stage. Another key development for Mussolini at this time is that he became a nationalist.

In 1919, he went to Milan and bought a newspaper to push the idea of nationalism. The ex-soldiers began to read his paper and asked him to become their leader (_______). Mussolini, who was a member of the Arditi, agreed and formed the young men into sqaudristi. Known as the Fascists of the First Hour, they became better known by the color of their shirts (_________). He sent the “Black Shirts” out on punitive (disciplinary) expeditions. They would harass and attack factory workers and peasants believed to be Bolsheviks. In addition, they burnt down the offices and newspaper printing factories belonging to the socialists and trade unions in northern and central Italy.

With only about 50,000 members in 1914, the Socialist Party membership had increased to over 200,000 by 1919. It appeared that Mussolini was the sole obstacle between Italy and the nation falling to communism. So fearful was the Italian government of the socialist movement that the police and military commanders provided transportation for the Black Shirts to go to socialist demonstrations. In the first six months of 1921, over 200 people were killed and more than 800 were wounded by the Black Shirts.

Both the church and the middle class loved Mussolini. To achieve his goal of overthrowing the existing parliamentary government, Mussolini organized a new type of combat party, the “Fasci di Combattimento” (Groups of Combat). From this phrase comes the word “___________.” The party glorified war and combat as the true test of man and nation. Mussolini’s key supporters were:

Veterans of World War I who were

Large donations from the nationalists who became captivated by Mussolini’s imagination of creating a greater Italy.

Italian businessmen were frightened by the rise of revolutionary social protests and worker insurrection. When unemployment rose to over 2 million in 1919, industrial workers responded with a wave of militant action (strikes, factory occupations, and land occupations) that lasted until 1920. These were known as the “Two Red Years” (biennio rosso). Socialist trade unions were gaining support and membership (2 million by 1919).

To increase the popularity of the party, Mussolini shocked many within his own party, and signed a peace deal with the moderate socialists and the General Confederation of Workers (the main trade union in Italy) known as the _____________ __________ ___________________________.

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Mussolini also had the members of the Fasci di Combattimento reform the organization into a new political party, the Partito Nazionale Fascista (PNF). In November 1921, Mussolini convinced the Fascist National Congress to elect him as their leader. He then ended the Pact of Pacification and continued to recruit more members into the party.

Even with support coming from different groups, Mussolini’s Fascists never won over 15 percent of the vote in free elections.

Working with the philosopher Giovanni Gentile, the basic ideologies behind Mussolini’s fascism were established. They were:

Mussolini promised an aggressive form of nationalism.

The Fascists (and Italians) are on a crusade to save the world from socialism and communism. Because of this, Mussolini frowned upon political liberty and democracy and promoted “discipline” for the Italian state.

The Fascists were opposed to the “________________conception of history” and the idea of “class war.”

Mussolini vowed to get rid of the existing political elites. He would replace them with a sense of unity within the government. He is not promising to make everyone equal but rather that the government will all work together.

In 1922, Mussolini made a series of deals with various political and social groups in Italy. However, out of all of this networking, the most important agreement Mussolini made was with King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. The two men agreed to the following:

If the king supported Mussolini, Mussolini would agree to let the king stay on as a monarch. If the king did not support Mussolini, he ran the risk of being overthrown in a coup d’etat.

To bring forth a change within the government, Mussolini organized the “____________ _______ ______________.” Local squads of fascists in the northern parts of Italy were organized into a national militia. Beginning on October 27, 1922, the fascists squads took over town halls, railway stations and telephone networks across northern Italy. The following day, the King declared a state of emergency but did not put Italy under martial law. While the military did slow down the fascists, the king decided not to arrest Mussolini. Instead, the king “agreed” to appoint Mussolini as the Italian Prime Minister. The king claimed that he refused to institute martial law because he could not depend on the army’s loyalty to him.

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Historians still debate as to why the king acted as he did.

Some historians believe that he was uncertain of the reaction of the military and that he had little faith in the liberal politicians to defend the crown. He feared that a civil war would break out, possibly leading to himself being replaced by his cousin, Prince Amedeo, the Duke of Aosta (an outspoken fascist supporter).

Other historians focus on how leading industrialists, landowners, and some church officials favored compromise with the fascists as opposed to crushing their movement. The fascists were viewed as a bulwark against the threat of communism.

For nearly two years, Mussolini remained politically idle. His party’s main concern was to rid the nation of any potential political threats and to recruit political allies. There were only four fascists in the cabinet and the king still had the authority to remove Mussolini from the prime minister position. To increase his power, Mussolini did the following:

1. In November 1922, Mussolini gave his first speech to parliament. He spoke of his desire to create a strong and united Italy and to improve the struggling economy. But, for this to occur, he would have to be granted “___________ _____________.” The parliament agreed to his wishes.

2. Mussolini quickly established the Fascist Grand Council. This organization was the supreme decision-making body within the Fascist Party. It could discuss proposals for government action, but Mussolini still maintained power over appointments to this council.

3. In 1923, Mussolini formed the National Security Guards (MVSN). This militia, funded by the government, swore an oath of loyalty to Mussolini, not the king. The MVSN quickly enlisted 30,000 men.

4. Mussolini passed the Acerbo Law (named after Secretary of State Giacomo Acerbo). This law gave the party that won the most votes in an national election, two-thirds of the seats in parliament. The only stipulation was that the party needed to receive no less than 25% of the votes cast. According to Mussolini, this would give Italy a strong and stable government. In reality, the Acerbo Law was intended to give the Fascists total control over the government “legally.”

Elections were held for the last time in April 1924, however before the election a group of fascists led by Amerigo Dumini unleased a wave of terror against anti-fascists. More than 100 people were killed during this wave of attacks. Dumini’s men seized voting certificates, voted on behalf of dead people, and ballot boxes were stolen in areas where fascists feared defeat. As a result, the fascists won 65% of the vote. The number of fascists in the government rose from 35 to 374 (out of 535 seats).

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After the 1924 election, Giacomo Matteotti (a socialist and staunch anti-fascist) vowed to present evidence that proved that the election was rigged. On June 10, Matteotti was murdered. Mussolini was fearful that this might lead to political unrest and his downfall. To prevent this, Mussolini suspended parliament and ordered the arrest of Dumini and his gang. He denied any connections to Dumini and his gang, but assumed responsibility for Dumini’s actions.

However, by 1924, Mussolini began to feel tensions increasing within his party. His own men said that they would remove him from office if he did not begin to bring forth his revolution. A year later (1925), the Mussolini’s revolution began. First, labor unions were placed under the direct control of the state and strikes were outlawed. Political parties were banned and the concept of free press ended. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mussolini became a totalitarian leader by:

Creating a single party system. All parties aside from the PNF were banned after a failed assassination attempt on Mussolini in October 1926.

Establishing a secret police force. Formed in 1927, the Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism (OVRA) was created to suppress any political opposition.

Banishing his political enemies into concentration camps.

Spreading propaganda and censoring the media.

Reforming education and establishing youth groups. Mussolini created the Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB) to control the education of the Italian youth. Each school day started with the prayer, “I believe in the genius of Mussolini.” Children were taught that Mussolini and the fascists had saved Italy from a communist revolution. Teachers had to swear an oath of loyalty to Mussolini and the king. Mussolini wanted to make sure the students were “fascistized.” The ONB also created youth group camps which focused on the physical fitness of the youth. In reality, this was pre-military training.

Creates organizations which control leisure time. Run by the Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro (OND), this organization created the “After Work” program. It was regulated by the party. The OND created gyms, pools, movies, and vacation resorts. People became very grateful for the work of this organization. In total, 40% of industrial workers and 25% of peasants were members of the OND.

While leading Italy through the post-World War I years, he creates three policies. They were:5

1. Foreign Policy : Mussolini wanted to “create the second Roman Empire.” This was known as the Romanita (“Romanness”). Fascist writers, artists, and scholars portrayed fascism as a revival of ancient Roman society. The first empire was around the Mediterranean Sea. “We will take the Mediterranean Sea and convert it into an Italian lake.” Because of this glorious idea, Mussolini was referred to as the “divine Caesar” by his loyal followers and was seen as the “sublime [inspiring] redeemer in the Roman heavens.” Overall, Mussolini’s foreign policy focused on increasing spazio vitale (“living space”) for the Italian people.

a. By wanting to control the Mediterranean Sea, Mussolini was threatening England because they owned and controlled the Suez Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar. Italy already had control of Eritrea (1890) and parts of Italian Somaliland.

b. In 1923, an Italian general was murdered on Greek soil while making maps for the Conference of Ambassadors. Mussolini demanded a full apology from Greece, as well as financial compensation. When Greece refused (because they were not responsible), Mussolini invaded the island of Corfu. The Greeks were able to hold their ground against the Italians, but the Greeks did appeal to the League of Nations for help. The Italians were ordered to evacuate and Greece had to pay Italy an indemnity. From this point forward, Mussolini talked about military involvement in different regions, but took no actions. He realized that his military still needed more training and time.

2. The Church : Mussolini shied away from boasting his anti-religious views because he knew that most Italians were Catholics and he needed to maintain a cordial relationship with the Church. The Catholic leaders were pleased by the fascists’ defeat of the socialists and communists and Mussolini’s attempt to create a working relationship between the Church and state. In 1929, Mussolini worked with Vatican official Cardinal Gasparri, and signed the Lateran Accords (Agreements) with the Vatican.

The ______________________ Accords agreed to:

a. Give sovereignty to the Vatican and Vatican City. In return, the Pope recognized the Italian government and its control over former papal states.

b. Mussolini gave the Church a large sum of money.6

c. Mussolini adopted the Church’s policy on marriage and divorce.

d. Roman Catholicism would be the official state religion of Italy and all students had to attend religious instruction in school. The government also agreed to pay the salaries of the clergy. In return, the papacy agreed that the state could veto the appointment of politically hostile bishops. Also, the clergy could not join political parties.

e. Catholic Action was established. It was a youth group of men who had newspapers promoting the Church’s activities. Mussolini agreed not to ban this paper. However, in 1931 he tried to shut down Catholic Action but failed to do successfully do so.

3. Economic Policy : Mussolini established an economic policy called Corporative State. The purpose of corporativism was to replace the politics of a traditional democracy in handling the economy with corporations representing the nation’s various economic sectors. He divided Italy’s economy into sections. Each corporation would make their own decisions. Each corporation was comprised of three groups:

a. The

b. The

c. The

Each of the groups had a 1/3 vote. It was an attempt by Mussolini to trick the unions. The unions did not know that the government would routinely side with the owners. One of the first actions made by the Corporative State was to outlaw strikes which fundamentally weakened the unions.

In addition to the Corporative State, Mussolini created a series of “battles” to improve the economy. The most famous ones were:

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Battle Over the Southern Problem-

Battle of _________- In response to the poor harvest in 1925, the aim of this battle was to get famers to grow more wheat in order to reduce Italy’s dependence on foreign imports.

Battle for ________- In 1926, Mussolini launched this battle to increase the amount of land available for farming. Marshes and swamps were drained and converted into government-financed farms. This also helped with the unemployment rate.

Battle for the _______- In 1926, when the value of the Italian currency dropped, this battle was initiated. Its purpose was to restore the value of the lira abroad by revaluing the currency domestically.

The general idea of these battles was to achieve “autarchy.” Autarchy means “self-sufficiency.” It usually applies to countries that try to exist without having to import food, fuel, raw materials or industrial goods.

One group that suffered more than most under fascism was women. Their status was downgraded by the launching of the Battle for Births in 1927. This was a government program that stressed the traditional role of women as housewives and mothers and drastically limited their employment opportunities. The main agenda of the Battle for Births was to increase the Italian population to create a large future army that would necessary for Italy to expand its borders. Mussolini wanted the population to rise from 40 million (1927) to 60 million by 1950. To encourage families to participate in the Battle for Births, Mussolini did the following:

The government encouraged early marriage and offered generous maternity benefits.

Married fathers were given preference in employment opportunities over bachelors.

Bachelors had to pay extra taxes, while couples with six or more children paid none.

In 1933, it was announced that only 10% of state jobs could be held by women.

In retrospect, Mussolini’s two main objectives in handling women (increasing the birth rate and reducing the number of women in the workforce) failed. The number of births actually declined from 29.9 per 1,000 in 1925 to 23.1 in 1940. By the time World War II began, nearly one-third of Italy’s paid workforce were women.

The failure of these two goals was due in a large part because of Mussolini’s conscription of large numbers 8

of men to fulfill his foreign policy agenda.

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