Italy was displeased with the outcome of WWI and the Treaty of Versailles. In 1922, Benito Mussolini and his fascist party took control of Italy in the March on Rome. Mussolini established a fascist government with himself as dictator. He invaded Ethiopia in 1935 in violation of treaties. In the late 1930s, Mussolini allied Italy with Nazi Germany and joined World War II on Germany's side. However, Italy was not well-prepared for war and suffered major losses and defeats. Mussolini was eventually overthrown and killed by Italian resistance forces in 1945.

1. Italy’s WWII Story-Benito Mussolini-Il Duce
1919-1945

2. Italy after WWI
•Italy was very displeased with the Treaty of
Versailles
•Wanted to get more land than they got
•See map on next slide
•Italy joined the League of Nations and was a
member from 1919 until they withdrew in 1937

4. Washington Naval Conference-1921

5. 5 Power Pact
•Signed by Great Britain, the United States, Japan, France,
and Italy
•Designed to prevent an arm’s race
•It limited the construction of battleships, battle cruisers
and aircraft carriers
•Did not restrict cruisers, destroyers or submarines

6. 9 Power Pact
•Guaranteed Chinese independence and upheld the Open
Door Policy
•Signed by the United States, Japan, China, France, Great
Britain, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Portugal

7. Kellogg-Briand Pact
-Countries pledged not to use war as a way
to settle disputes

9. March on Rome-October 1922
• A march by Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party
• Mussolini and the Fascists won and took over Italy

10. King Victor Emmanuel
•Did not fight Mussolini’s take over in
Italy
•Wanted to avoid a civil war and also
wanted to keep communists out of
Italy
•Saw Mussolini as the person that
could do these things

11. Mussolini and the Catholic Church
•In 1929, the Lateran Accords were signed
• Gave the Vatican specific territories in Rome
• Catholicism became the state religion –
• Separation of church and state was stopped
• Recognition of religious marriages for the first time since 1870
• Catholic church was given a lot of money
•What did Mussolini get?
• Official support from the Catholic Church

13. Established Fascism in Italy
•A government led by a strong dictator
•Stresses strong nationalism, militarism and imperialism
•Uses intimidation to get what they want
“All within the state, nothing outside the
state, nothing against the state.”
Benito Mussolini

14. Ethiopia invaded by Mussolini 1935
•Italy lost it’s Ethiopia colony in Africa at the 1896 Battle
of Adwa
•One of the worst colonial disasters of modern history
•In 1935, Italy sends large forces into Ethiopia

17. Italy/Ethiopia Invasion
• Nov. 18 , 1935, League of Nations sanctions begin
-Arms embargo, financial embargo, non-importation of
Italian goods
• Feb. 29, 1936, FDR signed the 1936 Neutrality Act
1. Mandatory arms embargo with warring nations
2. Mandatory ban on loans to warring nations
• May 5 – Italy 1936 occupied Addis Ababa - annexed all
Ethiopia on May 9

19. Generalissimo Francisco Franco and the Spanish Civil
War-1936
•Hitler and Mussolini send
troops and weapons to help
Franco win the civil war
against the communists
•This war served as an
important training ground for
Hitler’s and Mussolini’s troops

20. Rome-Berlin Axis-1936

21. Tripartite Pact is signed forming the Axis Powers-1940
Germany, Italy and Japan

22. Axis Powers
•Main Powers:
Germany, Italy, Japan
•Other Powers:
Albania, Bulgaria,
Finland, Romania,
Thailand, Hungary

25. Italy’s Goals in WWII
• Make a new Roman Empire
• Make the Mediterranean an
“Italian Lake”
• Take over north African
colonies of Britain and
France-especially Egypt
• Take over southeastern
Europe-Greece and Albania
• Take over parts of the Middle
East
• Old Roman Empire-96 AD

26. Italy Invasion of Albania-1940

27. Italy’s Invasion of Greece-1940

29. Operation Avalanche

30. Italy’s Defeat-1943

31. Mussolini & his Mistress,
Claretta Petacci, are hanged
in Milan, 1945

32. Italy and the Holocaust
• In 1938, Mussolini instituted laws discriminating the Jews
• 46,000 Jews in Italy at the time
• After the Fascist government fell when the US invaded(1943), the
Germans moved in and took control and started shipping Jews to
camps outside of Italy

33. Why did Italy Lose?
• Italy was not prepared militarily to fight a
prolonged war
• Germany had to constantly bail Italy out
• Italian troops were spread too thin-Africa,
Mediterranean, Albania, Greece, Soviet
Union, France, Battle of Britain
• The people of Italy were not prepared to
fight or motivated to fight. They were forced
to fight.
• Overall, Italy was just a weak country

34. Impact WWII Had on Italy
• 410,000 dead--330,000 Military deaths
• Spent $94 Billion
• Italy had joined the Allies by 1943 so the big concern for the US was
making sure Italy became a democracy after the war and not fall to
communism
• US gave millions of dollars to Italy(Marshall Plan) to help rebuild after
the war
• Became a member of NATO in 1949
• Became a member of the United Nations in 1955