• Fascism
• Black Shirts
• Il Duce

Benito Mussolini

• Italians outraged by Paris Peace Conference
– Didn’t get promised land
• Disorder
– Peasants seizing land and factories
– Veterans faced unemployment
– Trade declined – taxes rose
– Government feuding within itself
• Seemed powerless to solve problems

• Son of a socialist blacksmith and a school teacher
• A socialist in his youth – rejected it for intense nationalism
• 1919 organized the
Fascist Party

• Took the name from the Latin fasces meaning a bundle of sticks wrapped around an ax
• A symbol of authority in ancient Rome

• Fiery Speaker – very charismatic
• Promised to end corruption
• Replace turmoil with order
• Revive Roman greatness!

• Organized his supporters into “black shirt” squads – paramilitary group
• Rejected the democratic process in favor of violent action
• Terror and intimidation:
– Socialist , Communist and Democratic officials
• 1922 Marched on Rome to demand changes

• Thousands of Fascist backed Mussolini as he marched into Rome
• Italian King feared civil war
– Asked Mussolini to form a govt. as Prime Minister
• Without firing a shot, Mussolini had gotten a legal appointment from the King –
– Undermining the Constitutional democracy

• By 1925 – He took the title
“Il Duce” or the leader
• Still a parliamentary monarchy –in fact was a dictatorship upheld by terror.
• Critics silenced; press controlled, suppressed rival parties, rigged elections.

• Brought the economy under state control:
– Preserved capitalism
– “corporate state” – government, business, labor, and the Fascist party controlled it all.
• Production Increased but at the expense of workers:
– Forbidden to strike
– Wages lagged

• Individual was unimportant except as a member of the state
• Bombarded with propaganda glorifying the state.
• Men urged to be ruthless, selfless warriors for the state
• Women urged to have babies –
– 14 kids got you a medal from Il Duce!
• Children indoctrinated to fight for Italy (Il Duce)

• No single unifying set of beliefs
• Term to describe an authoritarian government that is not communist
• Rooted in extreme nationalism
• Glorified:
– Action, violence, discipline, blind loyalty to the state.

• Antidemocratic
• Rejected the ideas of equality and liberty
• Emphasized the need for the citizen to serve the state.
• Glorified war as a necessary and noble struggle for survival.

• Fascist were sworn enemies of Communism
• Differences:
– Communist hoped for international change – Fascist pursued nationalistic goals
– Fascist had support of business and the wealthy while
Communist had support of workers.
• Similarities:
– Flourished in difficult economic times
– Use of totalitarian government to bring about change

• Mussolini built the first totalitarian state
– Served as model for others
• Basic Features:
– Single-party dictatorship
– State control of the economy
– Use of spies or secret police – terror to enforce will
– Strict censorship of the media
– Use of schools to indoctrinate the children/people
– Unquestioned obedience to a single leader

• Promised a strong, stable government
• End to political feuding of a democracy
• Revived national pride
• Mussolini projected a sense of power and confidence
– In a time of disorder and despair

• “He got the trains running on time”
• Western leaders admired the order and discipline of his government

1. What problems did Italy face after WWI?
2. How did these problems help Mussolini win power?
3. Describe two economic or social goals of
Mussolini and explain the actions he took to achieve each goal.
4. What values did Fascism promote?
5. List two similarities and two differences between fascism and communism.