All things Italy flashcards

Impact of WW1

Divided Italy pro war vs against the war
Significant loss of life
Punished economy

Led to debt 180% of GDP

Red Years 1919–20

Period of socialist strikes and factory occupations causing fear of revolution.

Black Years 1921–22

Power and violence of the fascist party was high
Using action squads and some police support
Fascists broke strikes gaining middle class support

Trasformismo

After Italy’s unification its politics was dominated by liberals which wanted to transform Italy.
However, they only allowed 2% of population to vote so many people were against them.
Only men over the age of 30 in 1912 were given the right to vote.

Endemic public corruption

Unstable government 5 different coalitions between 1918-1922

Economic Conditions

Huge debt due to the war 180% of GDP

Slow industrial development, weak economy, backwards agriculture
High inflation, wiping out middle class

Treaty of London (1915)

Italy signed a treaty with Britain that started it would get the South of Tyrol, Istria, northern Dalmatia.
This led it to join WW1 on the side of the triple entente in 1915.

Treaty of Versailles

Italy expected everything from the Treaty of London

Did not get Fiume initially (only in 1924)

Never got Northern Dalmatia or Albania

Only got 25,000,000 US dollar credits instead of 50,000,000

Gabrielle D’annuzio called it a “mutilated victory”

Blackshirts

Sent to suppress peasants revolt
Financed by landowners and industrialists
Used violence to break strikes and intimidate opponents

Tried to imitate the Arditi (famed paramilitary unit)

Invasion of Fiume 1921

Invaded Fiume to reclaim it
Hugely popular
Inspired Roman salute, parades, speeches
Removed in 1921

Inspired Mussolini to try similar things

Cult of Personality (Il Duce)

Mussolini promoted himself as the sole savior of Italy, portraying himself as infallible, strong, and decisive. Photographs, speeches, posters, and newspapers emphasized his masculinity, energy, and leadership. From 1926 onwards he was compared to Caesar through the Romanità movement, reinforcing the idea that Fascism was a continuation of ancient Roman greatness.

Ministry of Press and Propaganda (1934 / 1937)

The regime created a Ministry of Press and Propaganda to control newspapers, radio, films, and cultural expression, ensuring all media praised Fascism and Mussolini. In 1937 it was renamed the Ministry of Popular Culture. Despite this, liberal culture remained strong, forcing the regime to compromise rather than fully control artistic expression.

Youth Groups (ONB)

Youth organizations were used to indoctrinate children with Fascist ideology through education, uniforms, rituals, and paramilitary training. Schools taught loyalty to Mussolini, and teachers were required to swear oaths of allegiance. Indoctrination was more effective at primary level than secondary, and around 40% of children evaded membership, limiting total control.

Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro

The OND organized leisure activities, sports, holidays, and social events to build loyalty to the regime. Around 40% of industrial workers and 25% of peasants participated. While intended to spread Fascist ideology, many local organizers ignored political content, meaning support was often based on enjoyment rather than belief.

Use of Violence

Fascist action squads used systematic violence against socialists, Catholics, and trade unions to break strikes and suppress opposition. Violence was financed by landowners and industrialists who feared socialism. Events like the 1920 Bologna council chamber attack demonstrated the regime’s willingness to use terror to gain power.

OVRA (1927)

The OVRA was a secret police force tasked with monitoring, intimidating, and suppressing political opponents. It operated outside normal legal procedures, contributing to fear and self-censorship rather than mass terror.

March on Rome

Fascist takeover achieved through the threat of violence and royal appointment

Acerbo Law 1923

The Acerbo Law granted two-thirds of parliamentary seats to the party with the most votes, allowing Mussolini to dominate parliament without majority support. Fascist squads patrolled parliament during the vote, showing how legal change was enforced through intimidation.

Matteotti Crisis

After Giacomo Matteotti exposed Fascist election fraud, he was kidnapped and murdered by Fascists. Mussolini initially distanced himself but later used the crisis to justify repression, censorship, and the destruction of opposition, marking the transition to dictatorship.

Battle for Grain

Promoted cereal growth

Import controls

Grants for tractors

Reduced grain imports by 75%

Caused shortages of other goods

Battle for Births

Goal to increase population to 60 million
Restricted female employment (10% of government jobs)
Birth rate declined

Battle for the Lira

Revalued currency
Increased unemployment
Recession 1927
Benefited industrialists

State intervention in Great Depression

Unemployment reached 2 million
Public money saved banks
IRI took over industries
Increased autarky

Abyssinian War

Imperial conquest increasing prestige, causing Mussolini’s peak popularity. But also caused short lived sanctions, loss of allies (Britain and France) moving it closer to Germany and economic strain.

Rome Berlin Axis (1936)

Alliance with Germany
Strengthened fascist ideology

Pact of Steel (1939)

Economic and military alliance
Italy unprepared for war

Made Italy become a puppet state for Germany

Anti Comintern Pact

Agreement with Germany and Japan opposing international communism

Reasons for Entering WWII

Desire for empire, fear of German dominance and belief the war would be short

Failure of Autarky

Inability to supply industry and military weakening war performance

Fall of Mussolini 1943

Collapse of support after military defeats leading to his removal

Middle Class

Feared socialist revolution during the Red Years (1919–20), especially strikes and factory occupations. Supported Fascism because it promised order, stability, nationalism, and protection of property. Benefited initially from suppression of strikes, Lateran Treaties (1929), and state jobs, but later suffered from sanctions after the Abyssinian War, inflation, rationing, and bombing during WWII, leading to declining support.

Industrial Workers

Did see an increase in quality of life due to the Italian revival in 1920s

Fascists Trade unions replaced communist trade unions which put industrial needs first

Pay sick leave and national holidays were introduced in 1938

By 1939 the quality of living had actually declined for most Italians

Peasants

Landowners benefited
Wages dropped 30%
200,000 emigrated

Women

10% limit on state jobs
Battle for Births
Same-sex relations outlawed
Taxes on bachelors

Youth

Forced to swear an oath of Loyalty to Mussolini,

Jews and Racism

Initially tolerated, however forced by Hitler to introduce anti-semetic laws

Spanish Civil War

Mussolini supported Franco to fight communism, expand influence, and strengthen ties with Germany at high economic cost.

Albanian Invasion (1939) :

Italy occupied Albania to assert dominance in the Balkans and imitate Hitler’s expansion, revealing Italian military weakness.

Stresa Front (1935)

Aimed to stop Germany aggression however it was first broken down by the Anglo German naval agreement then dissolved for sure when Italy invaded Abyssinia

Hoare–Laval Pact

Tried to appease Italy during the Abyssinia crisis by giving half of Abyssinia ot it. However, when the public found out the deal broke down severing Italy-Anglo and French relations and

Anti Comintern pact

Corfu Incident 1923

Italy occupied Corfu after an Italian general was killed, showing Mussolini’s willingness to use force and the League’s weak enforcement

Munich Agreement 1938

Mussolini painted himself as the grand mediator in between teh two big powers of Neville Chamberlain and Hitler. However he was mostly a secondary power

Anti Comintern pact

Signed in 1936 between Germany and Japan which set their mutual hatred for communism, Italy then joined it shortly afterwards in 1937.