QUOTE #1

From the beginning of united Italy the country had been ruled by the Right, some
of them able statesmen and patriots inspired by the principles of liberation and
unity. They were under the dominion of political rather than economic ideas.
Meantime taxes rose, centralization became a specter to the liberals, and the
demand for private security through social-welfare measures and public security
through preparedness was ignored. The nation's prestige abroad was said to be
deteriorating Italy enjoyed a respite for 12 years from deficits after 1898 up to
1910. During that period she had a windfall in the shape of great remittances of
cash from her emigrant citizens who had settled in America and who kept a
continuous flow of funds back to the old folks at home. That played a very great
part in balancing her budget, for there was a steady stream of emigrants leaving
Italy very poor people who contributed very little to the purchasing power of her
population and whose departure removed a considerable army annually from
among those who stood in need of government assistance, draining away large
numbers of the unemployable population (Flynn 3).

For many Italians it seemed that the gains won on the battlefield at such great cost
had been thrown away at the peace table, and a sense of frustration and
disillusionment and of betrayal permeated the country in the years immediately
after the war. Italy was saddled with an enormous war debt. Inflation and shortages
of basic goods triggered strikes that paralyzed large segments of the economy.
Demobilized troops swelled the ranks of the unemployed. Profiteering, often
involving public officials, took its toll on public confidence in the government.
Socialist gains in local elections inspired fears of expropriation especially among
small landholders and outbreaks of violence and counter violence (Keefe 4).
QUOTE # 2
The second problem was general economic distress. Italy was a poor nation. She
could only support her war effort by obtaining foreign loans. Immediately after the
war, as Europe was exhausted by the war, the Italian tourist trade and export trade
came to a standstill and there was large-scale unemployment throughout the
country. The problem of unemployment was aggravated by the return of millions of
ex-soldiers to Italy and a new immigration law of the U.S. government which
restricted entry of immigrants. Moreover, runaway inflation added to the sufferings
of the Italians. The lira had only one-fifth of its pre-war value As the government
became increasingly unpopular, many Italians turned to support the Socialist Party
and the Catholic Popular Party in the elections of 1919. The Socialist Party won more
than one-third of all votes and became the largest single party in the Chamber of
Deputies. They were followed at a distance by the Popular Party which won one-fifth
of all votes on a platform of social reform. The ruling parties (the Liberals and
Democrats) lost heavily.

Encouraged by the success of the general election, the Socialists were prepared to
make more strikes. Socialist agitation reached its climax in September 1920 when
the General Confederation of Labour called for a general strike. During the strike the
workers took over more than six hundred factories and established soviets on the
Russian model to rule a number of industrial towns in northern Italy (Funfront 4)
(Funfront 5-6).
In 1920s, the monarchy, the church, the political elite and the voters, for different
reasons, felt Mussolini and his regime would provide a political and financial stability
that was needed for their country ( Lyttle. Richard B., Paragraph 2).

QUOTE #1

To some Italians, Mussolini seemed to be a savior. They looked to him and his
government to save them from poverty and despair Mussolini found Italians were
willing to accept him not just as the prime minister but as a dictator. In exchange
for the promise of order, prosperity, and the return of national pride, people were
willing to give up some of their personal feelings (Haugen 13). To the people of
Italy, Mussolini appeared confident and strong. They were tired of suffering and
hoped Mussolini would bring them peace and prosperity (Haugen 62). I tell you
that Italy is going ahead, Mussolini told a crowd in Florence seven months later. He
told the excited citizens that he would be adding to Italys territory (Haugen 65).
With no help coming from the League of Nations, Greece met all of Mussolinis
demands. Satisfied, Mussolini pulled his forces out of Corfu. The incident increased
Mussolinis popularity in his homeland. It proved he was a man of action who was
capable of leading Italy to victory (Haugen 66).

QUOTE #2
The Italian people felt betrayed. For its contribution to the Allied cause, Italy was
rewarded with just two small territories. Italian nationalists blamed the liberal
government for accepting a "mutilated victory" that failed to compensate Italy for
its casualties of 500,000 dead and 1 million wounded. A post-war economic
depression was exacerbated by this resentment against the peace treaties. Into
this crisis stepped a man of action, Benito Mussolini, Il Duce, the leader. Mussolini,

who himself was wounded at the front, tapped into this pool of disaffected and
unemployed veterans, riding their anger to control of Italy (TeacherWeb, 2).

To gain credibility with the Roman Catholic Church, Mussolini had his children
baptised in 1923. In 1926, he had a religious marriage ceremony to his wife
Rachele. Their first marriage in 1915 had been a civil ceremony. Mussolini closed
down many wine shops and night clubs. He also made swearing in public a
crime.One of the reasons why Mussolini pushed the idea that women should stay at
home and look after the family while their husbands worked, was because this was
an idea pushed by the Roman Catholic Church. Mussolini voiced his disapproval at
the use of contraception an identical stance to the Roman Catholic Church. Like
the Roman Catholic Church, Mussolini also wanted divorce banned in Italy. By doing
all of this, Mussolini was trying to bring the Roman Catholic Church onto his side to
get its support and give added credibility to his government. However, the
relationship was not always harmonious. In particular, Mussolini and the Roman
Catholic Church clashed over who should control education. To ensure that children
grew up as good Fascists, Mussolini wanted the state to control this as it did.
However, the Roman Catholic Church felt that it should have this power. Both sides
worked for a compromise. The attempt to settle this dispute started in 1926 and it
took until 1929 for agreements to be signed. These were the Lateran Treaties. They
covered areas other than education. The Papal States (the name given to land
previously owned by the Roman Catholic Church in Italy) had lost all its land in the
1870 unification of Italy. The Roman Catholic Church received 30 million in
compensation in 1929 and the Church was given 109 acres in Rome to create a new
papal state the Vatican. The pope was allowed a small army, police force, post
office and rail station. The pope was also given a country retreat called Castel
Gandolfo. Another part of the treaty was called the Concordat. This made the
Roman Catholic faith the state religion this was a fait accompli anyway. The pope
appointed his bishops, though they had to receive the governments blessing.
Religion had to be taught in both primary and secondary schools. The Roman
Catholic Church was given full control of marriage. When these agreements were
signed in 1929, Mussolinis popularity was at its highest. He had got what he
wanted the support from the members of the public who may not have supported
the Fascists but who saw the Roman Catholic Church working with the Fascist
government, and that by itself created a tacit acceptance of Mussolinis
government (C N Trueman, Paragraph # 5-10).

QUOTE #1

Mussolini took years to achieve what could be defined as a dictatorship. He

achieved some semblance of power after the March on Rome in 1922 when he was
appointed Prime Minister of Italy. But his government contained a mixture of men
with different political beliefs similar to Hitlers position in January 1933. But his
time in power almost collapsed after the murder of Matteotti when great anger
gripped Italy. If he had been a true dictator in 1922, then such an uproar would
never have happened as his enemies and the Italian people in general would have
been cowed into submission.Mussolini started his time in power by buying support
from both the working class and the industrial bosses.The workers were promised
an eight hour day while an enquiry into the profits made by the industrialists during
World War One was dropped. The rich benefited from a reduction in death duties
now, under Mussolini, more of what someone had earned during their lifetime, went
to their family and not the government. To get support from the Roman Catholic
Church, religious education was made compulsory in all elementary schools.These
policies can be seen as an attempt to buy support. As an example, in 1933 Hitler
introduced workers holidays into Germany (similar to a bank holiday). This was very
popular. He then almost immediately banned trade unions which protected workers
rights. Any protests over this were banned as a result of the Enabling Act Hitler did
not bargain with anyone. Mussolini was not in a position whereby he could assert his
authority and it is probable that the extent of his dictatorial powers never did equal
those acquired by Hitler (C N Trueman, Paragraph # 2-6).
QUOTE #2
In 1932, the Fascist Party drafted a constitution which laid out the principles under
which the government must be run. The first article of the constitution reads as
follows: The National Fascist Party is a civilian militia under the order of The Leader
in the service of the Fascist State.1 This, in essence, means that every member of
the Fascist Party (ergo everyone in Italy) doubled as a member of Mussolinis army,
available to his beck and call whenever he so pleased. This shows how tight a grip
on the Italian people Mussolini needed (or thought he needed) in order to maintain
power.
An autocratic ruler must control both subordinates and the population as a whole.
Mussolini attempted to do so by creating his Corporations- which he originally
intended to function as an economic entity. In 1939, however, the Corporations
became a part of the States political machinery.2. Candidates who wished to
stand for election for various positions within Mussolinis government must be
chosen by the members of the Corporations, an entity directly controlled by the
government; in essence, Mussolini and his inner circle therefore controlled the
electoral system (Leeds, 4)

From 1920 to 1922, armed fascist squads faced minimal interference from
the police or army as they roamed the country causing property damage and killing
an estimated 2,000 political opponents. Many other citizens were beaten up or
forced to drink castor oil. Then, on October 24, 1922, Mussolini threatened to seize
power with a demonstration known as the March on Rome. Though Prime Minister
Luigi Facta knew of these plans, he failed to act in any meaningful way...After
becoming prime minister, Mussolini reduced the influence of the judiciary, muzzled
a free press, arrested political opponents, continued condoning fascist squad
violence and otherwise consolidated his hold on power...Following a series of
assassination attempts in 1925 and 1926, Mussolini tightened his grip even further,
banning opposition parties, kicking out over 100 members of parliament, reinstating
the death penalty for political crimes, ramping up secret police activities and
abolishing local elections...Mussolini launched his first military action in 1923 when
he bombarded and briefly occupied the Greek island of Corfu. Several years later,
he authorized the use of concentration camps and poison gas to help put down a
rebellion in Libya, which at that time was an Italian colony. (Greenspan 3)
(Greenspan 5) (Greenspan 7)

HOW DID MUSSOLINI IMPROVE/ TAKE STEPS TO IMPROVE THE ECONOMY?

QUOTE #1
Mussolini knew that Italy after 1918 was a poor nation compared to France and
Britain. Mussolini wanted to advance the economic state of Italy and his plan was
based on a two-fold approach: attacking the power of the trade unions and
therefore controlling the workers, and setting Italy targets as he had with his Battle
for Births. For the attempt to get Italy on the road to economic prosperity, Mussolini
introduced three battles the Battle for Land, the Battle of the Lira and the Battle
for Grain (C N Trueman, Paragraph # 2 ). The Battle for Land: this battle was to
clear marshland and make it useable for farming and other purposes. One area that
was cleared was the Pontine Marshes an area of mosquito-infested bog land that
was to have housing built on it. Cleared land also had roads built on them to
improve Italys infrastructure. These schemes were labour intensive and employed a
lot of people so they served a purpose in this area. Many saw the Battle of Land as a
success (C N Trueman, Paragraph 4). The Battle of the Lira: This battle was to
restore some of the purchasing power the lira had in bygone days. Mussolini
believed that a weak lira looked bad for Italy when he was trying to create the

image of a super-power in Europe. A powerful nation could not have a weak national
currency. Mussolini inflated the value of the lira making exports more expensive.
This created unemployment at home as many industries and firms could not sell
their goods. This particular battle proved a failure primarily as the economic base of
Italy was too small. She was not an industrial nation but in essence an agricultural
one. Basing the strength of your economy on agriculture rarely works and this was
the case in Italy. However, Italy got through the Depression in the 1930a better
than Europes industrial power houses simply because she was an agricultural
nation. The Depression hit the industrial nations of Europe very hard (C N Trueman,
Paragraph 50). The Battle for Grain: Mussolini wanted to make Italy economically
stronger and near enough self-sufficient. Hence his desire to grow grain. However,
the plan was to grow grain at the expense of fruit and vegetables which were
cheaper to produce. Italian grain became expensive at home and the price of bread
rose. This hit the poor the worst as bread was a major part of their diet. Rich
farmers did well out of this as they were guaranteed a good price for what they
produced (C N Trueman, Paragraph 6).

QUOTE #2
Since the 1950s, Italy has shifted from a largely agricultural to a highly
industrialized economy. During the 1950s, Italys economy grew rapidly, but it
slowed during the 1960s. Despite some revival between 1970 and 2000, Italys
economic growth now stands at zero (Green 30).
Italys unenviable weak financial and industrial position acted as a further serious
impediment to Mussolinis projected drive towards Mediterranean and Red sea
supremacy. Despite the dictators conclusion of a war-debt agreement with Great
Britain in 1926, an agreement that allowed Rome greater access to foreign capital,
and, as a consequence, permitted greater spending on capital, and, as a
consequence, permitted greater spending on armaments, Italy remained heavily
reliant on imported staple raw materials like coal and petroleum, and was to remain
reliant (Mallet, 18).
Policies which were introduced by the government favoured industry. Cartels, which
were associations of manufacturers who maintained prices at a high level and
controlled production, continued to grow. New industries such as chemicals also
grew well. The major firms of the Italian industry were: FIAT, Montecatini, Pirelli and
ILVA. These large firms took over smaller ones and all got Government protection.
However, Government was more concerned about retaining the existing structure
rather than encourage an efficient reorganization. Industry was quite a successful
area in the economy. However, smaller firms did get taken over.Furthermore,
transport made vivid progress and many motorways were built and railways were
increasingly electrified. On the other hand, prestige projects were troubled and
many local roads were left untouched. The poorer built roads of Italy were all
located in the backward agricultural areas. The south, once again, was neglected.

This key area of the Fascist economy was partially a success; this is because of the
development of transport. However, few Italians owned cars to use the roads and all
the railway tracks were electrified in the north. Taxation was another key area of the
economy (Stephen Leatherbarrow, Paragraph # 7-8).

HOW DID MUSSOLINI MAINTAIN CONTROL OVER THE PEOPLE/ MANIPULATE THE
PEOPLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL?

QUOTE #1
Mussolini would later proudly claim about his fascist revolution: We have buried
the putrid corpse of liberty. In place of democracy Mussolini upheld a vision of the
new fascist man. He developed a cult of physical virility, of masculine action
rooted in the costume, violence, ritual, and values of Italian veterans of the Great
War, especially the arditi, squads of thugs who formed his original fascist
bodyguard. Italian fascism was not solely the product of Mussolinis personal
ambition. To the contrary, fascism in Italy began as an inchoate and fairly
spontaneous movement scattered across the country. He had to struggle to lead it,
by dividing and ruling its many fractious parts. To that organizational skill he
attached charismatic political appeal to make fascism a truly national movement
capable of seizing power (Cathal 753). Once in power, Mussolini set the mold for a
new kind of 20th-century populist dictatorship. He scored real points with domestic
public opinion when he settled the Italian states protracted dispute with the Vatican
by signing the Lateran Treaty and concordat of 1929. He did so even though his was
the first modern regime to propagate fascist civic beliefs as a substitute for
traditional religion. His domestic policy laid claim to successes in building canals,
bridges, aqueducts, and other public works. Malaria was reduced by draining
swamps around Rome. Sports and spectacle were elevated to levels reminiscent of
pagan Rome, always in celebration of the regime and the new fascist ideology,
replete with wide boulevards and new civic temples erected in torn-down medieval
town squares. Mussolini cut deals with Italian industrialists (the Confindustria) and
carefully worked to dispel middle class fears of his latent radicalism. In the south, he
suppressed the Mafia: it would not recover until the invasions of Sicily and Italy in
1943. He organized millions of Italian youth into various fascist clubs and social
organizations, a policy emulated by the Nazi Party in Germany and in other
Mussolini appointed members to the Fascist Grand Council and from 1928, the
Grand Council had to be consulted on all constitutional issues. As Mussolini
appointed people onto the Council, logic would dictate that those people would do
what Mussolini wished them to do. The electoral system was changed again in
1928. Mussolini said after the change: Any possibility of choice is eliminated..I
never dreamed of a chamber like yours. Workers and employers unions (now
known as corporations) were entitled to draw up thright-wing dictatorships (Cathal
754).

QUOTE #2
In 1927, a secret police force was set up called the OVRA and it was lead by Arturo
Bocchini. The death penalty was reintroduced for serious political offences. By
1940, the OVRA had arrested 4000 suspects but only 10 people from 1927 to 1940
were ever sentenced to death much smaller than in Mussolini also changed Italys
constitution. He introduced a diarchy. This is a system whereby a country has two
political heads. In Italys case, it was Mussolini and the king, Victor Emmanuel. This
system put Mussolini in charge of Italy simply because Victor Emmanuel was not the
strongest of men and rarely felt able to assert himself. Though he disliked Mussolini
bypassing him at every opportunity, he did little to challenge this. The Grand
Council selected 400 of these names i.e. people they would approve of. The list of
400 names was presented to the electorate for approval. They could only vote for or
against the whole list not the individual candidates. In 1929, 90% of the electorate
voted for the list and in 1934, this figure had increased to 97%. However, all those
on the list were Grand Council approved so they were no more than lap dogs for
Mussolini with no real political power. In 1939, Parliament was simply abolished(C N
Trueman, Paragraph # 21-25).

QUOTE #1
In early 1941, Italians suffered the wars effects on their own soil- the British
began bombing Italy. In addition, news on other fronts grew worse. The Italian army
had made progress against Great Britain in British Somaliland, but in January 1941,
the Allies had turned the situation around. Great Britain invaded Ethiopia and Italian
Somaliland, and on April 4, the Allies captured Addis Ababa.The next month, Haile
Selassie was returned to his throne. Italy would lose all its colonies to the British...
Mussolini worked hard to make his people believe these defeats were victories- or to
at least downplay the seriousness of the losses. He promised his citizens that in
time, Great Britain would be defeated. Mussolini placed any blame for failure on his
generals. In time, he would turn on the Italian people themselves. He would say
Italians were weak and cowardly...Mussolinis harsh comments made Italian people
angry. They were frustrated with losing loved ones in a war Italy was losing. They
grew weary of being bombed and of the destruction it caused. Day-to-day living
became more and more difficult. Italy was hit with severe food shortages, and many
went to bed hungry every night (Haugen, Page 44- 45).

QUOTE #2
During the evening of July 24 and the early hours of the 25th, the Grand Council of
the fascist government met to discuss the immediate future of Italy. While all in
attendance were jittery about countermanding their leader, Mussolini was sick,
tired, and overwhelmed by the military reverses suffered by the Italian military. He
seemed to be looking for a way out of power. One of the more reasonable within the
Council, Dino Grandi, argued that the dictatorship had brought Italy to the brink of
military disaster, elevated incompetents to levels of power, and alienated large
portions of the population. He proposed a vote to transfer some of the leaders
power to the king. The motion was passed, with Mussolini barely reacting. While
some extremists balked, and would later try to convince Mussolini to have those
who voted with Grandi arrested, Il Duce was simply paralyzed, unable to choose any
course of action (History Team, 2).
As events hurtled toward a more general European war over the summer, he
joined Italy to Germany in the Pact of Steel . The new closeness to Hitler was not
popular with most Italians, even with many fascisti, but Mussolini persisted: his
earlier decisions meant that he really had no other strategic option left
Undeterred by severe military weakness revealed in the short campaign in France,
Mussolini became increasingly angered that Hitler did not take into account Italian
interests and ambitions in the Balkans. He determined to launch another parallel
war (guerra parallela) in the Mediterranean, to keep up with German gains. He
ordered an invasion of Greece on October 28, 1940. Once again, his ill-prepared and
poorly commanded troops lost badly, this time to a minor power that expelled the
Italians and chased them back into Albania. The Balkan campaign (19401941) drew
British forces into the region, a fact that deeply angered Hitler (Cathal 758).

HOW DID THE PEOPLES LOSS OF FAITH AFFECT HIM/HIS RULE?

QUOTE #1

By now, even many of those closest to Mussolini were begging him to surrender,
but he refused. As his people starved and suffered more losses, Mussolini continued
the fight (Haugen, Page 46). Though his German guards told him not to go to
Milan, Mussolini ignored their advice.On April 25, 1945, Mussolini fled in a car with a
friend without any resistance from the Germans. Two days later, Mussolini and his
friend joined a group of about 200 German soldiers heading to Switzerland.
However, the group was stopped before it reached the border. The Italian
commander who stopped them said he would let the German soldiers continue their
journey, but first he wanted to make sure no Italians had joined their group.
Disguised with only a German helmet, Mussolini was easy to spot. Mussolini and
other Italians were taken to the northern Italian village of Dongo... Mussolinis
mistress, Claretta Petacci, had planned to meet him on his way to Switzerland.

However, she too had been caught and sent to Dongo. Reunited with Mussolini,
Petacci refused to leave his side. Mussolini and Petacci were put in a guarded
farmhouse...Mussolini knew he didnt have long to live, and his thoughts were on his
wife, Rachele. The last letter he ever wrote was to Rachele as he awaited his fate.
On my knees I ask you to forgive me all the evil I have unwillingly done to you;but
you know that you are the only woman whose good I genuinely desired, he
wrote..Mussolini was sentenced to die. He and Petacci were taken outside the
farmhouse. Mussolinis death sentence was read aloud, and two gunmen were
ordered to fire. Petacci died instantly, but Mussolini was only wounded by the first
shot when the gun jammed. A second shot from a different gun ended his life
(Haugen, Page 48-49).

QUOTE #2
The 61-year-old deposed former dictator of Italy was established by his German
allies as the figurehead of a puppet government in northern Italy during the German
occupation toward the close of the war. As the Allies fought their way up the Italian
peninsula, defeat of the Axis powers all but certain, Mussolini considered his
options. Not wanting to fall into the hands of either the British or the Americans,
and knowing that the communist partisans, who had been fighting the remnants of
roving Italian fascist soldiers and thugs in the north, would try him as a war
criminal, he settled on escape to a neutral country.He and his mistress made it to
the Swiss border, only to discover that the guards had crossed over to the partisan
side. Knowing they would not let him pass, he disguised himself in a Luftwaffe coat
and helmet, hoping to slip into Austria with some German soldiers. His subterfuge
proved incompetent, and he and Petacci were discovered by partisans and shot,
their bodies then transported by truck to Milan, where they were hung upside down
and displayed publicly for revilement by the masses. (History 2-3)