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"...We have a right to empire as a fertile nation which has the pride and will to propagate its race over the face of the Earth, a virile people in the strict sense of word..."
"...We have a right to empire as a fertile nation which has the pride and will to propagate its race over the face of the Earth, a virile people in the strict sense of word..."
Italy Immediately after World War I
Italy Immediately after World War I
Italy's Prime Minister, Vittorio Orlando, was considered one of the 'Big Four' in Paris, but his influence proved to be minor compared to Clemenceau, Wilson and Lloyd George.
Italy left the Paris Peace Conference dissatisfied.
Italy were promised future territorial gains made in the 1915 Treaty of London to encourage Italy's participation in the war, but it wasn't fully honoured.
Italy's economy and political system were in a mess: unemployment was rising and inflation was out of control; the northern industrial regions were suffering strikes; the south remained mired in poverty and Mafia control; it was a fairly new country and its constitutional system proved to be unworkable at times; the largest party, the Socialists, refused to join a government that would impose austerity measures; and political witnessed violence on the streets
Fears that Italy might experience a Communist revolution just like Russia in late 1917
Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
In 1902, he emigrated to Switzerland and became involved in socialist politics, returning to Italy in 1904.
In 1911, he was briefly imprisoned for involvement in violent rioting against Italy's invasion and annexation of the Ottoman province of Libya.
He rejected the Socialist Party's opposed involvement in World War I, ending his association with the Socialists
In 1919, he formed the Fascio di Combattimento, which became the future Fascist Party
Due to international frustration, economic recession, political chaos and violence, Mussolini's Fascist Party made its move toward taking power
Mussolini, sensing success, ordered his supporters to "march on Rome" in October 1922
He was appointed Prime Minister by King Victor Emmanuel III
Parliament gave him full powers for a year, and within a couple of years, the Fascist Party was Italy's only legal political party
Mussolini's Dictatorship
Mussolini's Dictatorship
Less ideological than the Nazi dictatorship and never as all-pervasive as was to become that of Stalin.
No opposition was permitted to the regime and most active opponents fled the country.
Beatings were dished out by "black shirt" thugs regularly to anybody who stood up against the regime.
Compared to Stalin's Russia or Hitler's Germany, the level of organised state violence in Mussolini's Italy was far less
Press freedom disappeared.
Cult of Personality developed around Mussolini, now referred to as 'Il Duce'
Mussolini settled church-state differences with the Lateran Accord of 1929 to settle strained relations with the Roman Catholic Church when it took possession of Rome in 1870, leading to the creation of the Vatican State in Rome.
Attempted to create a "Corporate State" where representation in parliament was now based on "corporations". Its aim was to end disharmony between Italy's social classes and increase living standards.
Just like Russia and Germany, there was great emphasis put on the mobilisation and indoctrination of young people to ensure their future support of the Fascist State. This led to Italy's youth being placed into the 'Avanguardia" and the "Giovani Italiane" for boys and girls respectively.
Fascist Foreign Policy
Fascist Foreign Policy
Mussolini's attention centred on foreign policy
Pursued more aggressive aims in the 1930s, where part of his motivation was to achieve a revision of the 1919 Paris Peace Settlement
Wanted Italy to rediscover imperial greatness and make the Mediterranean an Italian lake
During the 1930s, Italy moved closer to Nazi Germany and in 1940, entered World War II on the side of Germany
"School-teachers were ordered to magnify this solitary figure, to stress his disinterestedness, his wonderful courage and brilliant mind, and to teach that obedience to such a man was the highest virtue. His picture – often in one of his Napoleonic poses – was already displayed on all public buildings and could sometimes be carried in procession through the streets like the image of a patron saint. Devout fascists might have his photograph printed at the head of their writing-paper, together with one of his short announcements. He was compared to Aristotle, Kant and Aquinas; he was the greatest genius in Italian history, greater than Dante or Michelangelo, greater than Washington, Lincoln or Napoleon; he was in fact a god, and the other fascist leaders should consider themselves his priests and acolytes…
…He took trouble with public appearances and his speeches were usually carefully prepared, though he sometimes pretended otherwise. He also liked to pretend that he disapproved of making speeches as something essentially unfascist, yet in practice they were one of his chief preoccupations. Italy, he used to say, was a land of theatre and its leaders must orchestrate their public contacts…
…Mussolini’s speeches are not interesting to read but his declamatory style was very effective viva voce with an audience he understood… He used to refer to the balcony outside his office as his ‘stage’: standing on this stage, he would invite the crowd to answer his rhetorical questions in chorus so as to involve them in active participation. He confessed that this gave him the pleasure of feeling like a sculptor wrestling with his material, ‘violating’ it, molding it into shape…”
Source 1: Mack Smith, D, Mussolini, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London
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