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‘mutilated victory’
-italy had one of the biggest successes in ww1: gained land but italy wanted more e.g. Brenner Pass
-fiume brought major discontent & sense of betrayal of Italian armed forces by Allies & weak liberal gov
what did italy receive after ww1?
-14,500 km of land
-trentino
-trieste
-istria
-the brenner
-territories not in ToL like Dalmatian Islands
-allowed to receive German war reparations
-permanent seat in league of nations
occupation of fiume sept 1919
-nationalist d’annunzio invaded & seized Fiume
-because 50% Italian speaking population
-allies rejected request for fiume
-2,000 former soldiers, arditi
-allied troops withdrew & did not resist
-15 months
fiume’s new regime by d’annunzio
-militia
-’Roman salute’
-castor oil punishment for opposition
-title of Duce (leader)
-blackshirts supported movement
treaty of rapallo nov 1920
-declared fiume an independent city
-dec, giolitti’s gov sent italian army & navy to remove d’annunzio
significance of fiume occupation 1919
-slow hesitance to help fiume gave way for nationalist use of force & violence
-liberal gov lost support & credibility due to this
-d’annunzio influenced mussolini & fascist movement
post-war economic crisis
-economic problems due to war led to dislike of liberal gov & turning to political extremism
-inflation, cost of living, businesses, unemployment & savings problems
-by 1919, 2 M unemployed
economic crisis in rural areas
-farmers profitted from food they sold during war so could buy land > more peasant landowners
-different groups tried setting up different govs to help rural workers economically
-left-wing groups tried labour-owned collective farms
-italian gov threatened farmers & landowners > ordered prefects to legalise land confiscations
post-war social discontent
-huge increase in strikes (biennio rosso)
-food riots
-threat of communist resolution
biennio rosso 1919-20
-huge increase in strikes
-1919, 1,663 strikes in industry & 208 in agriculture
-sept 1920, ‘occupation of the factories’, 400,000 workers took over their factories
-membership of workers’ organisations grew
food riots june 1919
-spontaneous
-sharp increase in food prices
-food committees set up to requisition food & issued price decrees to halve price of food stamps
gov response to post-war social discontent
-minimum wage
-8 hour working day
-recognised factory grievance committees
discontent among elites & middle class
-wealthier elites scared of socialists, angry their interests were not represented like theirs were through trade unions, their savings were lost, frustrated at liberal gov
-fascists promised to support them in return for their support
Political reforms in 1919
-Dec 1918, Orlando universal male suffrage as reward for soldiers + to gain support
-1919, Nitti proportional representation to weaken extremist party support
Socialist party (PSI)
-despite control over town councils, local taxes & services, PSI lacked unity & a leader
-Po Valley changes: socialist agricultural unions economic demands of higher wages & fewer working hours, prepared to adopt violent tactics to achieve aims
-attracted supporters but also encouraged support for more extreme political groups like fascists
Poplari (PPI)
-separate from Catholic Church
-wanted better living standards for peasants
-were prepared to join coalitions with liberals as long as good concessions
1919 elections
-PSI: 156 deputies
-PPI: 100 deputies
-Giolitti’s liberals: 91 seats
-right-wing liberals: 23 seats
-fascists: no seats, only 5,000 votes in Milan out of 275,000
Foundation of Fasci di Combattimento
-23 march 1919
-only 118 assorted radicals present- launch not well attended
Fasci di combattimento manifesto
-no clear ideology
-minimum wage + 8 hour working day
-confiscation of Church property
-control of banks & stocks exchanges
-restoration of Italy’s national strength & prestige
-growing threat of socialism
-weakness of Italian political system + democracy
-failure to maintain law & order
-ToV & mutilated victory
Growing Supp for FDC
-mass worker occupation of factories 1920 showed verge of revolution- fascists would defend Italy
-initial support: urban areas, former servicemen, from Milan to northern cities
-early 1921: rural areas, agricultural employers
Squadristi
-paramilitary group led by former army officers
-wore blackshirts to identify themselves & targeted Socialists violently
-invaded villages, beat up union leaders, strike breaking, intimidated voters during elections, organised tax strikes in socialist-controlled towns
-helped by army & police
-by 1921, controlled significant areas of Italian countryside
How Mussolini established control over fascists
-took credit for actions of squadristi
-convinced majority of Ras (who resisted his control) to support him, his newspaper Il Popolo d’Italia (fascist activities)
-seemed like unifying leader, powerful & stable
-tried appealing to both radicals & traditional elites
Support from 1921
-EVERYONE
-powerful landowners
-shopkeepers & wealthier farmers
-small-scale industrialists angry at tax increases
-younger Italians: appealing alt to liberals
-older gen: saw it as promoting stability
-appealed to radicals like Italo Balbo/ Roberto Farinacci- believed in violent overthrow of state by force
Pact of pacification July 1921
-pact between fascists & socialist trade unions
-conservatives didn’t want violence too go too far
-Mussolini looked like peacemaker
-pact failed because fascists leader rejected it
National Fascists Party (PNF) Oct 1921
-local branches set up, ‘respectable’ recruits attracted & membership dues collected
-control of party from Milan power base loyal to Mussolini
-allowed for legitimate political negotiations with other parties
-membership 1921: 200,000 to 1922: 300,000
-party of respectable middle class
-political parties wanted coalitions with fascists to make them less radical
‘New Programme’
-8 hours working day, exceptions for agriculture/industrial needs
-limiting citizens freedoms to need of nation
-taxes proportional to income & no forcible confiscations
-no references to confiscating Catholic Church property
-military service obligatory
-Italy influence in Mediterranean expanded
-Nov 1921- opposition to divorce to attract catholics
Nature & extent of fascist support 1922
-j
