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Fascist italy
- 1. The Defining Characteristicsof Fascism By: Brayden Carlson Sam Fath Skyler Sargeant
- 2. Powerful and ContinuingNationalism All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state. - Benito Mussolini The fascists were taught to: Credere! (Believe) Obbedire! (Obey) Combattere! (Fight) Benito Mussolini appealed to the common person’s belief that Italy was the best nation in the world to create a strong sense of nationalism. He employed slogans such as his salute (to the right) and repeated showing of the national flag. Mussolini would also use school children to paint himself in a better light with the public, getting them to repeat phrases or slogans about Mussolini so they would idolize him. Cash rewards were given for parents who named their children after Benito Mussolini
- 3. Disdain for theRecognition of Human Rights The major disagreement between Mussolini and the Church was in July 1938, when Mussolini introduced the Charter of Race which took away the Italian Jews right of Italian nationality. Italian Jews were not allowed to teach, to have state jobs, to be in the Fascist Party and no Jew could work for a bank or insurance company. Jews were forbidden from marrying non-Jewish Italians and they were not allowed to join the army. Mussolini put fear into people’s hearts because of the threat of enemies and the need for security; the people are persuaded that human rights can be ignored out of need. He even ignored the fact Hitler sent many Italian Jews to concentration camps. His people would approve of torture, summary executions, and long incarcerations of prisoners or assassinations such as mass-rapes, rounding up of civilians to concentration camps, mass starvation and use of chemical weapons against civilians It's good to trust others but, not to do so is much better. - Benito Mussolini
- 4. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats Mussolini,in another attempt to impress Hitler, tried to adapt the idea of an Aryan nation therefore identifying Jews as an enemy. In 1938, he passed anti- Semitic laws which excluded foreign Jews (most of them were sent to German death camps), forbade all Jews from teaching, and excluded Jews from serving in the government or in the military. Mussolini attacked Jews for their alleged Zionist sympathies, their championing of degenerate avante- garde cultural expressions and for their doubtful loyalty to the Fascist regime and its imperial claims.
- 5. Supremacy of theMilitary “War alone brings up to their highest tension all human energies and imposes the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have the courage to make it.” - Benito Mussolini When Mussolini had gained enough power, he wanted to show off his regime and take over the country. He had a dream to the make the Mediterranean “mare nostrum” (our sea). In 1935, Mussolini launched a campaign to conquer Abyssinia. He sent 400, 000 troops to Ethiopia and in May 1936, they captured Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. He used terror tactics such as mass-rapes, rounding up of civilians to concentration camps, mass starvation and use of chemical weapons against civilians. Mussolini was essentially trying to obtain territory but he also bombed civilians to create mass terror to prove how powerful and dominant he was. He tried to impress Hitler by claiming he had an Aryan nation in which Mussolini’s eyes was a strong military and an explanation why Germany had a strong military. To keep up with Hitler, Mussolini seized Albania in April 1939. In May 1939, the Pact of Steel was signed, this required Italy to go to war when Germany did. Mussolini state of mind was “We need a few-thousand dead, in order to sit at the conference table” so in June 1940, Mussolini declared war on Britain and France. However, the Italian army made very little progress in the invasion of France. He planned on running a parallel war with Germany while Hitler grabbed territory north of the Alps, Mussolini would grab territory around the Mediterranean. He eventually invaded Britain which withdrew from the battle and with joy; Mussolini decided to invade Greece without informing Hitler. The Italians had very little planning, the weather was awful which resulted in the invasion to be a failure. Hitler had to send German troops to save Mussolini which humiliated him and then again, blamed his people for the loss. Germany decided to attack Soviet Union, in which Italy sent 230 000 troops ill-equipped troops to join the German invasion which marked the tombstone of Mussolini’s ambition and Fascist Italy. In December 1942, Soviet forces defeated Italian troops with 85 000 killed. July 25, 1943, Mussolini handed constitutional power back to the King,
- 6. Rampant Sexism “War isto man what maternity is to a woman. From a philosophica l and doctrinal viewpoint, I do not believe in perpetual peace.” - Benito Mussolini 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 also disapproved of the use of contraceptives and he wanted to ban divorce in Italy, this was also a similar idea of the Roman Catholic Church. This is a sign of sexism, but more importantly he wanted to put these ideas into place to keep the Roman Catholic Church on his side considering the majority of Italy’s population was Catholic. Italy was almost exclusively male- dominated. He made sure traditional gender roles were made more rigid. In an attempt to impress Hitler and support the Roman Catholic Church divorce, abortion and homosexuality were suppressed.
- 7. Controlled Mass Media Thisis a propaganda convincing people to not spread any inside information All teachers in schools and universities had to swear an oath to defend the Fascist regime. Newspaper editors were all personally chosen by Mussolini and no one who did not possess a certificate of approval from the fascist party could practice journalism. These certificates were issued in secret; Mussolini thus skilfully created the illusion of a free press. The trade unions were also deprived of any independence and were integrated into what was called the "corporative" system. It was to place all Italians in various professional organizations or corporations, all of which were under governmental control. One of the reasons why Mussolini was able to gain support from the people was the use of propaganda. Mussolini and his government controlled the media including radio, press, newspaper and education to force people to think that fascism was the right and the best doctrine. Propaganda was also used to ensure the national spirit for the people in Italy and remind people how powerful Mussolini was.
- 8. Obsession with NationalSecurity The Blackshirts were organized by Benito Mussolini as the military tool of his political movement. The founders of the paramilitary groups were nationalist intellectuals, former army officers, young landowners opposing peasants' and country labourers' unions. the Blackshirts terrorized Mussolini’s opponents by harassing or striking industrial workers and rebellious farmers, disrupting meetings of the Italian Socialist Party, intimidating, beating and even murdering Socialist leaders. As Mussolini’s power grew, the more violent the Blackshirts became. Between 1919-1922, the Blackshirts were responsible for nearly 3000 politically motivated murders. It was the Blackshirt’s job to take care of all those who opposed Mussolini’s rule or his actions. People who disagreed would face odd and harsh punishments such as forcing them to drink castor oil or be tied to a tree, and after being punished they may have been sent to a remote island in the Mediterranean.
- 9. Religion and Governmentare Intertwined To gain credibility with the Roman Catholic Church, Mussolini had his children baptized in 1923. In 1926, he had a religious marriage ceremony to his wife Rachele. Their first marriage in 1915 had been a civil ceremony. In 1927, Mussolini was re-baptised by a Roman Catholic priest in an attempt to satisfy certain Catholic opposition, who were still critical. The 1929 treaty included a legal provision whereby the Italian government would protect the honour and dignity of the Pope by prosecuting offenders. After 1929, Mussolini convinced many Catholics to actively support him. Mussolini closed down many wine shops and night clubs. He also made swearing in public a crime to show his dedication for the Roman Catholic Church. The history of saints is mainly the history of insane people. - Benito Mussolini
- 10. Corporate Power IsProtected “Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism as it is a merge of state and corporate power.” - Benito Mussolini All Fascist nation’s corporate power needs to be protected to a point. The support of the strong corporate powers allows the Fascist leaders to be able to come to power. By protecting these corporate leaders through laws and being watched by the secret police, they are able to keep their support. Mussolini was able to keep a hold of political power as well as promoting a strong economy.
- 11. Labor Power IsSuppressed Mussolini’s intense paranoia suppressing the populace from an uprising was key to him. To do this there was severe government regulation of labor groups and unions. As with most totalitarian leaders one of their biggest possible threats is an uprising by the working man. By suppressing the labor power the chances of an uprising were greatly reduced, as it took away a common leader and did not give the populace a common cause for uprising. The function of a citizen and a soldier are inseparable. - Benito Mussolini
- 12. Disdain for Intellectualsand the Arts At every hour of every day, I can tell you on which page of which book each school child in Italy is studying. - Benito Mussolini "Fascist education is moral, physical, social, and military: it aims to create a complete and harmoniously developed human, a fascist one according to our views“ - Benito Mussolini All teachers in schools and universities had to swear an oath to defend the Fascist regime. Newspaper editors were all personally chosen by Mussolini and no one who did not possess a certificate of approval from the fascist party could practice journalism. These certificates were issued in secret; Mussolini thus skilfully created the illusion of a free press. The trade unions were also deprived of any independence and were integrated into what was called the "corporative" system. It was to place all Italians in various professional organizations or corporations, all of which were under governmental control. The first sentence pronounced by children at school was “Let us salute the flag in the Roman fashion; hail to Italy; hail to Mussolini.”
- 13. Obsession with Crimeand Punishment In fascist Italy crime and punishment was very harsh and part of the common life. When Mussolini was in power, all citizens were expected to obey him and his Fascist party and the punishments for failing to do so were often very odd and severe. For example people would be tied to a tree, or forced to drink a pint of castor oils. These harsh punishments not only scared the populace into obeying Mussolini but prevented any further crime. And even though torture and harsh punishments were commonplace, the mass-murder tactics that Hitler employed were hardly ever used. Inactivity is death. - Benito Mussolini
- 14. Rampant Cronyism andCorruption As with most totalitarian powers the temptation to use their power incorrectly is always apparent, the leader’s may promote somebody to a position not for their ability, but for their social standing or to keep their approval. An example of this is the promotion of Galeazzo Ciano, Benito Mussolini’s son- in-law. Soon after the marriage between Galeazzo and Mussolini’s daughter Galeazzo was promoted to the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs, a prestigious position that he was not qualified for.
- 15. Fraudulent Elections Mussolini’s riseto power began when Italy was not able to get much land at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. This encouraged the Italian people to select Fascism opposed to Democracy. Democracy, in Italy, at the time was not working well. The citizens of Italy were looking for a leader who would be able to change their country. Benito Mussolini, who was a newspaper editor and a politician at the time, was trying to get the hold of the people’s support. His name gradually spread throughout the country. In1922 ,between 27–29th of October Mussolini’s private army wearing black shirts attacked his rival parties on the street and this action gave a terror to his opponents. Mussolini’s actions caused the government to start to break down. When he saw this occurring, Mussolini stood up and became the savior. In October 1922, 30,000 fascists marched on Rome, threatening the King Victor Emmanuel III to give Mussolini the power and because the King did not like the former liberal politicians, he agreed to give Mussolini the power. He then enforced fascism throughout his country and to secure his position he forced all the other political parties to be illegal and he also got rid of the democracy. All of his opponents were put to jail by his secret police.
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