The Rise of Totalitarianism
p. 434
Fascism Begins in Italy
A Winner is a Loser?
• EC: During World War I, Italy made a dishonorable
choice…… (2)
– It changed sides, becoming a traitor to its old allies, Germany
and Austria-Hungary
– It accepted a bribe of lands made by its new allies, France and
Britain
• EC: When the War ended, Italy was mistreated by its
new allies, not respected…..
– Britain and France did not give Italy ALL the land it had been
promised.
• Some lands went to the new Serbian-led nation of Yugoslavia.
• Italians were outraged and spiteful toward France and
Britain.
EC: Other Italian problems in the
early 1920s included: (6)
• Soviet Union sent Comintern agents to help Italian
Communists
– Led strikes and street demonstrations
– Peasants seized lands
– Workers seized factories
•
•
•
•
•
Labor unions demanded better conditions
Trade declined
Returning veterans came home to unemployment
Taxes rose
The coalition government was full of arguing factions and
parties.
Benito Mussolini:
• A lower class man.
– Veteran.
• He formed a new political party,
combining…..
– Socialism:
• using the government to make life better for the
people. Still allowing capitalism.
– Nationalism:
• using the government to protect the people from
internal and external dangers.
EC: 1919
• Mussolini began the ______movement,
• Fascist
– Supported by (2)
• fellow unhappy veterans
• other discontented Italians.
• They began the National Fascist Party. (Partito
Nazionale Fascista; PNF)
• They promoted: (2)
– An end to government corruption
– Social law and order
Fascism:
• a centralized, authoritarian government
that is
– Anti-Communist,
– work for national glory
– Demands individual obedience to the state.
– Human rights are removed so the state can
watch its citizens closely.
• Anti-democracy
EC: Fascism as a practice: (13)
• Extreme nationalism
• Action
– Violence
– Discipline
– War
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Emotional
National expansion
Struggle for survival, “survival of the fittest”
Anti-democracy
Anti-equality
Anti-freedom
Unthinking loyalty to the state
Supremacy of the state
Black Shirts:
• Fascists had teams of “combat squads”, wearing
black.
• They were copying earlier Italian nationalists.
• They:
– Were against democracy
– Favored violent action against people they believed
dangerous to Italy
• Socialists
• Leftist press
• Farmer cooperatives
– Intimidated and terrorized elected officials until they
quit the government
– Were supported by most Italians who no longer
trusted the old society.
March on Rome:
• In 1922, Mussolini and Black Shirts demanded
control of the national government.
• King _________ asked Mussolini to be prime
minister and form a new government.
• Vittorio Emmanuel III
• He became the legal leader of Italy.
EC: Mussolini’s government: (5)
• Suppressed rival parties
• Controlled the press
• Rigged elections
– Put Fascist supporters into the legislature
• Won support from Pope Pius XI
– (Mussolini recognized the Vatican as an independent
nation state)
• Used a secret police to control opposition
– Critics imprisoned, exiled, or murdered
“Cult of Personality”:
• Use of various multimedia propaganda
techniques to make the leader or ruling
party
• “larger than life”
• Win popular support
• Look like are just people, “political theater”
EC: Economic reforms: (10)
• Mussolini sought to end problems between
business and labor and win support from both:
• Government took control of the economy
– Capitalism allowed
– Committees of business, labor, government, and
Fascist representatives called “syndicates” controlled:
• Industry
• Agriculture
• Trade
– Prices were controlled
– Wages frozen
– Workers forbidden to strike
Living for “the State”:
• Loyalty to state more important than individual rights
• EC: Propaganda told all citizens to “____! ____! ____!”
(3)
• Believe! Obey! Fight!
• Men encouraged to be violent, ruthless warriors ready to
fight for Italian glory
• Women lost jobs as government expected them to return
home and raise many Italian babies.
– Mothers of 14 or more got a medal from Mussolini, in person!
• Children put into strict, militaristic youth groups
– Ancient Roman glory
– Patriotic songs, chants, and hymns
• “Mussolini is always Right!”
Totalitarian State:
• One party rules the entire government
• controls much or most of every citizen’s
life.
– Stalin’s USSR
– Hitler, Nazi Germany
– Mussolini, Italy
– North Korea
– Mao Zedong, China
Connection with Past Glory
• EC: Italian Fascists used it to connect
their 20th century nation with the
greatness of the ____ Empire.
• Roman
EC: What made Fascism
appealing to Italians? (6)
• Strong, stable government
• No political parties arguing as in a
democracy
• Quick decisions
• Feeling of power and confidence from the
leader
• Promise to end dangers inside and outside
of Italy
• National pride.
Standards Check, p. 435
• How did postwar disillusionment contribute
to Mussolini’s rise?
• It united Italians in their desire for a new,
more effective government, no matter how
aggressive.
Mussolini’s Italy
• By 1925, Fascists ruled most of the
government.
• Mussolini took the title,
• “Il Duce (The Leader)”
Mussolini’s government:
• Used propaganda to make him popular across Italy. (11)
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–
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–
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–
–
–
–
–
–
Statues,
art
Posters,
banners
Newspapers
magazines
Radio
Rallies (electronic PA systems),
parades
film.
Music
Standards Check, p. 436
• How did the Fascist party transform Italy’s
government and economy?
• Fascist Italy:
– Government a dictatorship
– Terror tactics
– State controlled economy
– Altered domestic life
Thinking Critically, 436-7
• 1 Why did totalitarian governments try to win the
loyalty of their nation’ young people?
• To create a constant flow of people willing to
serve the government
• 2 Why did leaders honor women for having
many children?
• to reinforce traditional roles
• To create as many soldiers and loyal citizens as
possible.
World Opinion
• EC: Many nations, even democracies, initially
applauded Mussolini… (2)
– bringing social order
• Eliminating communists and other radicals
– economic strength
• EC: This feeling would change when (2)
– he began attacking north and east Africa,
– threatened neighbors in Europe.
EC: Mussolini’s totalitarian state and “cult of
personality” will be a model for ___
• Adolf Hitler,
• Germany, 1930s
• Meanwhile, ___ , was his own totalitarian
model in the Soviet Union, 1920s and 30s
• Josef Stalin
– will reign similarly, but develop his own, similar
methods,
– though adapted for his form of Communism.
Standards Check, p. 438
• Describe the similarities between fascism
and communism.
• Intense loyalty to the government and the
leader
• Use of terror,
• promotion of social change
Dictatorship, p. 439
• 1 Why is it difficult for political opponents
to succeed against a dictator?
• Dictators suppress opponents with
violence, imprisonment, and death
Quick Write
• Why were so many Italians willing to
blindly follow Mussolini and his followers?