Italy

By:Brock Braidwood, Elizabeth Leybold, Tanner Bunko, Megan Cundiff, and Danielle Jacobs

Italy

• Was on the Allies in WWI• Had a monarchy during WWI• State was angry that they were not given

promised lands by the Allies• Fell into chaos: Italy was split into sections and

workers went on strike

Single party dictatorship with blind obedience to a single ruler

• Benito Mussolini was the dictator and named himself Il Dulce (The Leader)• He organized discontented Italians into the Fascist party and lead the Black Shirts to Rome

where the king appointed Mussolini as Prime minister under a new government• He Promised the revival of

Roman greatness and promised a strong government, reviving the national pride

• He implemented a Fascist government that was the first totalitarian state, where all aspects of life are controlled by a single party dictatorship and advocated extreme nationalism and blind loyalty

• The individual was unimportant• Italy focused on aggressive

expansion

State Control of the Economy

• Italy’s states controlled industry, agriculture, and trade.

• Italy’s economy was changed to state controlled but kept

capitalism in the economy.

Use of police spies and terror to enforce the will of the state

• The regime improved because of the secret police and the propaganda.

• Any critics against Mussolini was either put in prison or murdered.

Government Control of the Media to Indoctrinate and Mobilize Citizens Through Propaganda

• Mussolini didn’t allow parties to compete against him, and the press was not allowed to say anything bad about him. He cheated in elections, so he could place his own supporters in the government

in the place of elected officials.• Loud speakers, youth lines, and posters were used as propaganda.• Always promising the rise of Italy as a world power and desired social change.• Slogan on loudspeakers was “Believe! Obey! Fight!” and youth yelled “Mussolini is always right!”• Use of combat squads

Ideological Imperative to Restructure Society and Values

• Men: raised to be ruthless and selfless warriors.• Women: got kicked out of paying jobs, their only role in life

was to have kids. Mussolini told women to “Win the war of motherhood”. Any women that had more then fourteen babies received a medal from Mussolini himself.

• Children: grew up with strict military discipline. By the 1930s Mussolini had one generation of blind military followers.

• Mussolini’s goal was to fix the economy of Italy and to spread extreme nationalism.

• Mussolini made the first totalitarian state to gain total control of his citizens, Hitler and Stalin later followed Mussolini’s example.

Citing Pictures• Background- http://good-wallpapers.com/places/10443• Map of Italy- http://www.mediterraneandiet.com/• 2nd slide- http://

www.grantsmilitaria.com/militariaphotos/militaria_images.asp?key=39

• 3rd slide- http://hotnhumidhistory.wikia.com/wiki/Mussolini's_rise_to_power

• 4th Slide- http://freedombunker.com/2012/12/24/capitalism-evolution-2/

• 5th Slide- http://seanlinnane.blogspot.com/2010/05/us-using-private-spy-ring.html

• 6th Slide- http://www.comandosupremo.com/propaganda.html/fratellilarge