Fascism and Mussolini Worksheet PDF

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Fascism and Mussolini...

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Fascism and Mussolini: Questions 1-6 1. What are the common characteristics of fascism? Fascism is a political ideology and mass movement that dominated many parts of central, southern, and Eastern Europe between 1919 and 1945 and that also had adherents in Western Europe, the United States, South Africa, Japan, Latin America and the Middle East. Europe’s first fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, took the name of the party from the Latin word fasces, which referred to a bundle of elm or birch rods used as a symbol of penal authority in Ancient Rome. Although fascist parties and movements differed significantly from one another, they had many characteristics in common, including extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the rules of elites. 2. Outline Mussolini’s early agitation in post WWI Italy. (1 paragraph) The political crisis of the post-war years provided an opportunity for militant, patriotic movements, including those of ex-servicemen and former assault troops, students, exsyndicalists, and former pro-war agitators. Mussolini was unhappy that Italy had joined the Allies in WWI at the last minute, hoping to gain land after winning the war. However, they didn't get as much land has, they wanted, and there was inflation, unemployment, and social unrest. 3. Outline the rise of Mussolini and his Fascist Party in Italy and evaluate the effectiveness of his methods in gaining control? Mussolini’s movement was initially unsuccessful, but Fascists soon began to agitate in the streets and against the left. In April 1919 Fascists and nationalists burned down the offices of the national Socialist daily, L’Avanti! in Milan. Four people were killed, and the paper shut down for several days. This was the first demonstration of the ability of the Fascists to attack Socialist institutions. The offices of L’Avanti! Were attacked twice more between 1920 and 1922. Organized militias began to attract support across Italy in an anti-Bolshevik crusade that united various social and political sectors and organizations. Local Fascist groups were soon founded in Emilia, Tuscany, and Puglia and by autumn 1920 were busy not only breaking up strikes but also dismantling Socialist and Catholic labour unions and peasants’ cooperatives and, often with police collusion, overthrowing newly elected local councils. Fascist squads, dressed in blackshirted uniforms and often financed by landowners or industrialists, used systematic violence to destroy these organizations. Thousands of people were beaten, killed, or forced to drink castor oil and run out of town. Later on, Mussolini abandoned republicanism in October, and in November he formalised his movement as the National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista; PNF), which by this time was well-financed albeit ill-disciplined and immensely fragmented. Local chiefs remained supreme in their own jurisdictions. Fascist "syndicates" were formed among crucial groups such as postal administrative workers and taxi drivers to supplant Socialist or Catholic organisations, give mass membership, and dominate labour. These unions were never able to gain traction among the organised working class, but they did have some support among the lower middle class and small landowners. 4. Who supported the Italian Fascists and why? (1 paragraph) In the aftermath of Italy unable to defend basic democratic rights or to prevent the criminal activities of a private militia that operated openly and nationwide, the state threw away its

credibility, bolstering and aggrandizing the fascist movements. Within a few months, paramilitary Fascist squad leaders controlled many rural areas of central Italy. Local bosses-built power bases in various areas such as areas Italo Balbo in Ferrara, Roberto Farinacci in Cremona, and Leandro Arpinati in Bologna. These individuals and men became known as ras and exercised considerable local power throughout the Fascist period. In addition, upon the Fascists had become a major political force, backed not only by landowners but also by many members of the urban middle class, including students, shopkeepers and clerical workers. Furthermore, in May 1921, when Prime Minister Giolitti called new elections, 35 Fascists were elected to parliament as part of a government bloc of 275 deputies. 5. Once in power, how did Mussolini consolidate control of Italy’s government? (2 paragraphs) Mussolini manipulated this volatile situation in the next few months to his advantage, and the Liberal political establishment sought to conciliate him and the Fascist thugs. The police, the army, and much of the middle class sympathized with Fascist destruction of Socialist unions. Mussolini, as duce (leader) of fascism, gradually made himself indispensable in Rome, and the squads took over more cities in the provinces. Only a very few areas were able to resist the “Black shirts” (The Voluntary Militia for National Security) in street fighting, including Parma and Bari in 1922. In October 1922 Mussolini organized a “March on Rome” by Fascist supporters. Fascist squads, numbering about 25,000 men altogether, began to converge on the capital from all over Italy on October 26, occupying railway stations and government offices. Prime Minister Facta asked the king to declare martial law, but Victor Emmanuel III eventually refused in order to avoid possible army disloyalty or even a possible civil war. Instead, he asked Mussolini to form a government on October 29, hoping to tame him by constitutional means. Mussolini became prime minister, therefore, in a more or less constitutional manner, but only after three years of near civil war in the country and an armed invasion of Rome. He was appointed by the king, and he headed a coalition government that included nationalists, two Fascist ministers, Liberals, and even (until April 1923) two Catholic ministers from the Popular Party. 6. How did life in Italy change under fascist rule? Conduct additional research if needed. After World War I, the fascist movement in Italy sought a revolutionary dictatorship that would turn Italy into a new civilisation, employing force where necessary. However, fascism's impact on Italy was not homogeneous. Fascist control was perceived differently by the Italian people depending on their social class, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnic origin. A harsh fascist government resulted in economic hardship and/or the loss of basic human rights for a substantial proportion of Italians. Others saw fascism as bringing peace, well-being, and national honour (exemplified by the invasion of Ethiopia in 1936), for which authoritarian rule was a price worth paying. To some extent, the impact of fascist authority varied according to geographical location, reflecting a historical division between northern and southern Italy, as well as rural and urban areas. Fascism altered Italian society on the outside, as seen by the establishment of a one-party state that claimed to control all aspects of life, including the economy, education, leisure hobbies, and the family and private life. Mussolini's election as Prime Minister in October 1922 did not result in the instant establishment of dictatorial authority. Black shirt squad violence, typical of the Fascists' methods of gaining power, managed to weaken the influence of legislative opposition without outlawing it entirely. From the beginning of 1925, a fascist parliamentary majority (elected in April 1924, thanks in part to fascist intimidation) was able to enact a series of measures that undermined the institutions of liberal democracy....