Notes:
Italy After WWI
Italy’s situation:
Italy under Mussolini
Italy After WWI
- Italy emerged from the war still a constitutional monarchy
- Inflation, Dept, unemployment
- filled with an assortment of embittered veterans, republicans (anti-monarchists), anarchists, syndicalists and restless socialist revolutionaries
Italy’s situation:
- red scare of communism
- America was so afraid of communism: created Zombies as a hollywood
- Red scare leads to popularity increase of ultra right → fascist
- bitter about outcome of treaty of versailles
- unhappy population of Italy - high unemployment
- Most important Right wing revolution 1920s
- Benito Mussolini:
- Character: self confident, full of hatred, bragging
- Socialist
- Not supporting Monarchist countries such as Germany
- gets eliminated out of the Army
- changes his mind about communism -> hated it
- started a newspaper with ultra nationalistic content
- After War ended, popularity of Newspaper increases and people believe in Nationalism
- “ I am fascism” ,
- called “Blackshirts”
- 5 factors that allowed Mussolini to come to Power
- Character: self confident, full of hatred, bragging
- Low employment
- Treaty of Versailles
- Inflation
- Lack of Democratic tradition
- not used to the new Democratic system
- Easy to change the system
- not used to the new Democratic system
- Returning Soldiers
- De facto Governments: Fascist movement all over Italy
- 1922: Rome
- Victor Emmanuel III
- Invited Mussolini to be Prime Minister
- Mussolini lets “Blackshirts” run the election
- 1924: violently enforced voting of Fascism
- rebels were murdered
- rebels were murdered
- 1926: Democracy of one: Election of one option
- passes bill to make him a dictator for life
- passes bill to make him a dictator for life
- Invited Mussolini to be Prime Minister
Italy under Mussolini
- Authority was enforced by the use of the Blackshirts – the nickname for the Fasci di Combattimenti
- murdered the socialist Matteotti
- motto of the Blackshirts was “Me ne frego” (I do not give a damn”)
- Mussolini : “Italy wants peace and quiet, work and calm. I will give these things with love if possible and with force if necessary.”
- 1927: Secret police called OVRA was formed
- Actions of police force are massively overshadowed by the SS of Germany
- Actions of police force are massively overshadowed by the SS of Germany
- The role of Women
- The task of Girls was it to get married early and have many children
- Women were encouraged to reproduced, for the tay prices got very low, with an increasing amount of Children
- The task of Girls was it to get married early and have many children
- However, Mussolini’s Battle for Births was a failure.
- population grew as people were living longer due to better medical care
- However, birth rate actually went down between 1927 and 1934.
- population grew as people were living longer due to better medical care