Fascism key notes

[Admin]

Everyone even young people in Italy had to take an oath.
It read : In the name of God I swear to execute the Duces orders and to serve with all my force and if necessary with my blood the fascist revolution.


POINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Fascism was a system of government created in Italy by a man called Benito Mussolini.

It consisted of a firm government with power given to only one man a dictator.

It encouraged National pride and private enterprise and was opposed to Communism.

If we can now see how bad Fascism really is why did it become so popular back then?

This was a completely different era and just like today people made decisions based on the situations that they were living in and the problems that they were living with. In Italy people were disheartened with the way that their government was going. They felt that the country was going no where.

Mussolini believed he could be a great leader. He told the people what they wanted to hear. He promised to restore the Roman Empire, to get Italy all the lands it didn’t get for helping in WW1.

Mussolini promised increase in employment for the unemployed of which there were many. He also told the wealthy that he would CRUSH Communism.

How did Mussolini get to power? He won a lot of support through PROPAGANDA. This was the publicity of his good points and Fascism’s good points often these were greatly exaggerated or false.

He also used intimidation against his opponents by use of his own private army known as the BLACKSHIRTS.
Although he only won a few parliament seats Mussolini still became Prime Minister. This was due to the MARCH ON ROME.

Prime Minister was not good enough. Mussolini wanted more. He set about becoming dictator. People didn’t oppose him out of fear. So he was able to change the law in Italy to suit himself. He called himself IL DUCE. He also passed a law called Acerbo Law which meant that the fascists had now total control of Italy.


His private army was now the official police force. Anyone going against IL DUCE were imprisoned, tortured or killed by the Blackshirts or the secret police the OVRA.

With the Fascists in control of the economy the rights of the worker were practically non existent it was the big companies that prospered under this regime.

Propaganda was broadcast while opponents publications were censored. Mussolini set up a young fascist youth called the Balilla and the Avantguardisti. The message was simple Mussolini ha sempre which means Mussolini is always right.

Mussolini knew how important the Pope was to Catholic Italians but due to land disputes since the unification of Italy in 1871 the Catholics were still upset over the taking over of Papal Lands. At this time there were approx 98 % Catholics. So Mussolini granted the Vatican City to the Pope in 1921. This was called The Lateran Treaty.

Mussolini did have some real successes. He did create millions of jobs not well paid but he created them. He got them to build motorways and hydroelectric stations. He turned bad land into rich farmland. He had control of every industry in Italy but did some good.

When it came to Foreign policy. Mussolini wanted to be seen as a great important leader much like some leaders today. However when he became too ambitious and decided to invade Abyssinia the League of Nations condemned him. This drove him into an alliance with a like minded leader Adolf Hitler. This would eventually lead to the fall of Fascist Italy and IL DUCE.


KEY WORDS
Fascism = a strong powerful political movement led by a strong leader in this case Mussolini.

Benito Mussolini. = Prime Minister of Italy from 1922-1943. He established a fascist regime that valued nationalism, militarism and anti-communism combined with strict censorship and state propaganda. Mussolini became a close ally of German dictator Adolf Hitler, whom he influenced. Mussolini entered World War II in June 1940 on the side of Nazi Germany. Three years later, the Allies invaded Italy. In April 1945, Mussolini attempted to escape to Switzerland, only to be captured and executed near Lake Como by partisans.

Dictator = an absolute ruler who takes sole power over the state.

Communism = the idea of a classless, stateless governement or group based on common ownership of the means of production.

Propaganda = a message aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviours of people. It presents its message in order to influence its audience so that people will believe what the person wants them to believe.

Blackshirts = Mussolinis army used to intimidate. Strict regiment.

MARCH ON ROME = Mussolini had stated “Either we are allowed to govern, or we will seize power by marching on Rome”. 250,000 black shirts were assembled north and east of Rome. The Prime Minister Luigi Facta asked the King to impose martial law, the king refused and asked Mussolini to form a coalition government. Mussolini had a victory parade the next day.

IL DUCE = the leader, this is the name by which Mussolini was now to be called.

Acerbo Law = 1923, this law meant that two thirds of the seats in parliament were reserved only for the party which gained the most votes in future elections. Due to fascists using violence to intimidate the opposition and frighter voters it will come as no surprise that the Fascists won the majority of seats.

Ovra = The secret police force formed to deal with those who opposed power.

Censorship = this was how fascist Italy control what people knew. It was making sure that any information that was detrimental to the fascist regime was not seen.

Indoctrination = can often be referred to as brainwashing. Making sure they believe everything you say.



BENITO MUSSOLINI
He was born in 1883 in Italy. His father was a socialist.He was very intelligent but could not behave in class and was expelled from two schools. He did eventually become a teacher. He taught in Swizterland where he joined different revolutionary groups.
In 1912 he became editor of socialist paper Avanti. During WW1 he condemened militarism and thought Italy should not be involved. He did change his mind and was expelled from the Socialist party when he suggested Italy should go to war.

After the war Mussolini created the Fascists party. He said they stood for law and order and were victims of unprovoked attacks. He received money for the party from many Industrialists.

The political system was unstable. Italy had had five governments between 1918 and 1922. The government was unwilling to stop the spread of Facist violence and were incapable of protecting the rights of all citizens There was violence between the Communists and the Facists even thoguth they had similar beliefs such as that elections, parliaments and democracy should be abolished and violence used when necessary but Fascists believed Communists would take away their wealth. Fascism supported private enterprise whereas Communism thought all business and land should be owned by the state. Fascism supported the Catholic Church and the monarchy whereas Communism wanted it abolished.

For a lot of Italians Mussolini was the man to restore the Roman Empire.