Mussolini - Italy

Amy Gordon, Alexis Buzzard, Jarred Nedimyer, Erin Smoker, Matt Miller,

Austin Sensenig

• Son of a socialist blacksmith and a teacher.

• Charismatic Leader- Promised to end corruption, spoke on reviving Roman greatness.

• Pledged to turn Mediterranean into a Roman lake again. 

Benito Mussolini

•  Created a Fascist party.• Critics thrown in prison or

exiled.• Dictatorship upheld by

terror.• Suppressed rival parties,

muzzled the press, and rigged elections.

• Replaced officials with Fascist supporters.

• 1929 Mussolini received support from Pope Pius XI for recognizing Vatican City as an independent state.

The Black Shirts• The Black Shirts

were "combat squads" organized and created by Mussolini

 • The squads wore

black shirts and rejected the democratic process in favor of violence

 

The Black Shirts were later copied by Hitler and made into the "Brown Shirts"

What is the March on Rome?

The March on Rome- in 1922 a march of thousands of Fascists support to take control of Rome, in response, Mussolini was given the legal right to control Italy.

How did Mussolini plan the March on Rome?

He would first bring Fascits Rome from all over Italy. They would take over all public buildings and Mussolini would demand for resignation of the government. The last step was to have armed Fasicits near Rome and if the government failed to meet the demands the would march into Rome to take over.

The Individual and the State

• Loyalty to the state replaced conflicting individual goals

• The individual person was unimportant except as a member of the state

• State was all - important!• In 1930 Italian power was ready to

expand

The Individual and the State cont...

• Men were urged to be selfless warriors fighting for the glory of Italy

• Women were pushed out of paying jobs and were called to "win the battle of motherhood."

• Fascist youth groups toughened children and taught them to obey strict military discipline

• Boys and girls learned about the glories of ancient Rome.

Totalitarian State• One - party

dictatorship attempts to regulate every aspect of the lives of its citizens.

• Government had direct control over the activities of its subjects.

Totalitarian State

con...• Hitler and Stalin followed in

Mussolini's lead• Mussolini's rule was fascist, like

Hitler, but totalitarian governments rise under the other kinds of ideology as well, such as communism, like Stalin.

lexi Fascism in Italy: what is it?

Fascism: any centralized, authoritarian government system that is not communist whose policies glorify the state over the individual and are destructive to basic human rights.so, practically, it is a government that isn't communist and values the individual states and people had no basic rights.

fascism now: above

lexi Basic Fascist Beliefs:• Extreme Nationalists• glorified:

o Actiono Violenceo Disciplineo Loyalty to the state

• They echoed the idea of "Survival of the fittest"• They thought that warfare was a "noble struggle for

survival"• Antidemocratic:

o did not believe in equality and liberty.o democracy lead to corruption and weaknesso democracy put individual interests above national

goals• Believed in the supremacy of the state

The Appeal of Fascism 

 With so many limitations on personal freedom, why would fascism appeal to the Italians?• Fascism promised a strong stable government to the

unstable Italy.• It promised an end to the constant political fued

occuring in Italy• Mussolini, providing a sense of power and

confidence, encouraged fascism. Mussolini also revived pride in Italy through his intense nationalism

The Appeal of Fascism cont.

When Italy became Fascist, They turned from a corrupt and chaotic country to a very orderly and disciplined one.     At first, North America, Britain, and France applauded this extreme turn around.    But when Mussolini began attempting to conquer countries in Africa and southeast Europe, western democratic countries protested.    Italy had a very weak military, though. They only succeeded in conquering Ethiopia, barely, even though Italy fought with modern technology and Ethiopia fought with sticks

Fascism vs. Communism

Fascists were enemies to communists and socialists alike.• Fascists worked to fix the national, while communists

worked to fix the international • Fascists supported defined classes,

communists supported a classless society • Fascists allied with business leaders, wealthy

landowners, and the lower middle class. Communists allied with the working class

Fascism vs. Communism cont.

Surprisingly, fascism  had much in common with communism• Both inspired blind devotion to the state• Both usually ended in a dictatorship• Both used violence as means of enforcement• Both flourished under a suffering economy• Both claimed to rule in the nation's interest