1. Fascist Rise to Power Italy

7/27/2019 1. Fascist Rise to Power Italy

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The Crisis of the Liberal State and the

Rise of FascismDr. Simon Martin.


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The Liberal Legacy

Piedmontisation Annexation not unification

Wealth-based Franchise. Regionally divided

parliament.

Southern Chaos. Economy. Alienation of Church from

State. 1871: Non expedit decree

Italy, pre-Unification


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Foundation Fascist Movement

Fascio di Combattimento. Literally the group of ex-

combatants.

Founded by Mussolini inPiazza San Sepolcro Milan on23 March 1919. 200 attendees.

Rejects conventional politics. We prize above everything...

the experience ofrevolutionary war.


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Biennio Rosso 1919-20Budget deficit

1914: 2.9 bn Lire 1919: 84.9 bn LireCurrency Devaluation (lire to sterling) Mar 1919: 30 Dec 1919: 50 Dec 1920: 100Inflation Price Index June 1919 Cost of Living Riots

1913: 100 1918: 413 1920: 591


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Local Govt under Socialists After 1920 local

government electionsPSI controls:

1/3 all town councils all provincial councils Nearly all administrations

are in hands of

maximalists


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Anti-Socialist actions in 1920 Nov 1920: Maximalist

Socialists win local elections inBologna.

Fascists attack town hall asnew council sworn in. 9 killed.

Council suspended byMinistry of Interior. Prefect

rules by decree.

Dec 1920: Similar eventsFerrara.

Squads present themselves asbest defence against Socialism.


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Development of Fascist Squads

Violent direct action.

Beatings with sticks, forcedvictims to drink castor oil.

Modelled military units,black shirt uniforms.

Extreme masculine culture:Menefregismo not giving adamn.

Recruited nationalistveterans and students. Financed local industrial

and agrarian elites.


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Rise of the Ras

Young, charismatic leadersoffasci.

Italo Balbo Ferrara. Dino Grandi Bologna. Roberto Farinacci Cremona. Command own squads. Possess autonomous funds. Potential to challenge

Mussolini.

Italo Balbo


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Countryside Agrarian Fascism South peasants occupy land. Catholic tenant farmers leagues: Northern

Alps. Po Valley: Socialist Federterra, 900,000

members, 1920. Strike, July 1920: 500,000 sharecroppers,

Tuscany.

Fascist breakthrough Po Valley. South: Little success. DestroyFederterrapremises, beat up

activists. Fascist syndicates for braccianti. Farmers agree to hire workers only fromFascist syndicate. Ferrara syndicate set up Feb: 40,000

members June. Bologna province: 6fasciinMarch, 43 in

October.


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Industry

Institute for IndustrialMobilisation (IMI): largerfactories & worker

representation during war.

FIAT largest motor-vehiclemanufacturer in Europe.

Union membership 1920

CGL - Socialist Trade UnionConfederation - 2 million

CIL - Catholic 1.2 million USI - Syndicalist 0.3 million


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Occupation of the Factories, 1920

30 August: Occupation offactories & shipyards.

500,000 involved. 150,000 inFiat plants in Turin.

Establish factory councils. 10 September CGL refusesto transform into revolution. 25 September Giolittis

proposalsTrade Unions onto

management boards.

30 September: Occupationends: scared industrialists.


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Reaction against Giolitti

Administration June 1920-July 1921

Threat of taxes on luxuries and war profits. Alienates middle classes. Sept 1920. Handling factory occupations promise

trade union commissions. Alienates industrial/commercial elite. Oct 1920-Jan 1921. Promise of recognition land

occupations, bracciantito be guaranteed jobs in winter.

Alienates agrarian elites. Nov-Dec 1920. Treaty of Rapallo, expulsionDAnnunzio from Fiume. Alienates nationalists and veterans.


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May 1921 Elections

National Bloc 275 seats ( Fascist 35) Socialists 122 Italian Popular Party (PPI) 107 TOTAL 535 Fascists in Giolitti government. After election Fascists join

opposition. No overall majority. Giolitti forced resign.

Luigi Facta

Prime Ministers

July 1921 Bonomi (Social Dem)

Feb 1922 Facta (Liberal)Aug 1922 Facta


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The Fascist Rise To PowerThe Fasces

Bundle of rods & axe carriedby Roman lictors.

Fasces represented regimesnew society: people bound together law and order prevailed


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Foundation of PNF

1919, Fascism was movementnot a Party.

PNF formed October 1921.Tripartite structure National Parliamentary party

led by Mussolini.

Provincial squads. Fascist Syndicates ledEdmondo Rossoni.


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Fascist membership - Nov 1921

Composition Analysis

Agricultural workers 24% Workers members of syndicatesIndustrial workers 15%

White Collar 16% Students c.2% active population

Students 13%Landowners 12 % 1 in 7 male students active Fascists

Small Traders 9% White collar c.5% active populationProfessions 6 %Industrialists 3%

Dec 1921: 218,000May 1922: 332,000

Movement of the rising middle classes Renzo de Felice


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1921 Fascist CrisisUrban Fascism consolidate m/c support

be a middle-party.Original Fascists; ex-combatants/

students.

Opposed excesses of agrarianFascism

Transition into political party.Agrarian Fascism

perfect methods that seemed to beworking well Terror & control of labour

Largely peasants & labourers no ties of commonality.

rank & file army than a political party Feared restoration of normal politics.


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The March on Rome October 1922

31 July: Socialist GeneralStrike fails.

October Mussolininegotiates with everybody.

Mass rally of 40,000, Naples,24 October .

March on Rome, 27-28October.

28 October: King refusedPM Factas request todeclare martial law.

29 October: King asksMussolini form govt.


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Role of the King

Why didnt King declare martial law?

Feared army might prove disloyal Socialists posed biggest threat to

monarchy.

Why should he have declared martiallaw?

Any outcome to the political crisishad to involve Fascists.

King Victor Emanuel III


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Explaining the Seizure of Power

War and massive loss of life, demands new type of politics. Mutilated victory, stirs nationalism. Economic crisis, collapse of the Lira. Affects m/c Context of the Russian Revolution: October 1917. Intensified byBiennio Rosso and Occupation of Factories. Mussolini did not seize power by force didnt need to. Won it by threat alone, & obedient squads. Fascism presented itself as a revolution. Mussolini heads a coalition government. Fascism brought into the system by King to contain violence. Country tired by protracted failure to find any effective govt.

1. Fascist Rise to Power Italy

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