Fascism in Italy

Rise of Mussolini• Italy was in disorder after World War

I; the government couldn’t fix the crisis

• In 1919, Benito Mussolini organized veterans and other discontented Italians into the Fascist party– Fasces is a Latin word for a bundle of

sticks wrapped around an ax, the symbol of authority in ancient Rome

Rise of Mussolini

• Mussolini organized his supporters into black-shirted “combat squads” who broke up socialist rallies, smashed leftist presses, and attacked farmer’s cooperatives

• In 1922, the Fascists made a bid for power, demanded the government make changes. Fearing civil war, King Victor Emmanuel III asked Mussolini to form a government as prime minister

Mussolini’s Italy• By 1925, Mussolini assumed more power

and taken the title Il Duce “The Leader”• Critics were thrown into prison, exiled,

or murdered• The secret police and propaganda helped

spread Fascism• Mussolini brought the economy under

state control– Not socialism, he preserved capitalism

through a “corporate state”• Representatives of business, labor, government,

and the Fascist party controlled industry, agriculture, and trade

Mussolini’s Italy

• To Fascists, the individual was less important than the state–Mussolini called on women to “win the

battle of motherhood”– Fascist youth groups toughened

children and taught them strict military discipline

Fascism

• No “real” definition for fascism because there is no single unifying set of beliefs– Authoritarian government that is NOT

communist– Rooted in extreme nationalism– Glorified blind loyalty to the state– Anti-democratic– Pursued aggressive foreign expansion

• Enemies of socialists and communists

Fascism

• In compared to Stalin’s Soviet Union and Hitler’s Germany:– A single-party dictatorship– State control of the economy– Use of police spies and terror– Strict censorship– Use of schools and the media to mobilize citizens– Unquestioning obedience to a single leader

• Why fascism in Italy?– Promised order in a time of uncertainty– Revived national pride