Fascist Italy - 1926-1945: Fold This Column Over - Test Yourself On What You Know! Fascist Society - 1926-40. Propaganda

Fascist Italy – 1926-1945
Fold this column over – test Identify two key features of… (you’re not looking for Evidence (quote), event or example that Shows that… Significant because…
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Fascist society – 1926-40. Propaganda
ID two key features of how
radio was used/controlled

cinema was used/controlled
ID two key features of how the

school curriculum was
used/controlled
rallies and mass activities were
used/controlled
newspapers were
used/controlled
architecture/building was
used/controlled
art/sculpture was
used/controlled
ID two key features of the use
of the libro unico
©leif.jerram@outlook.com 1
ID two key features of the use
of the Ministry of Popular
Culture
ID two key features of the
aspirations of the Dopolavoro
ID two key features of the real

impact of the Dopolavoro
ID two key features of

workers’ responses to the
Dopolavoro
limits to these propaganda
tools – examples where they
failed to hit home, and people
rejected their ideas
illiteracy in the south limited
the impact of propaganda
influence of the Church limited
propaganda
influence traditions of trade
unions and socialism limited
propaganda
difference between ‘support’
and ‘conformity’ – including
how we might evaluate both
ID two key features of 1929
election and its
meaning/significance
ID two key features of limits to
these propaganda tools
stemming from their poor
organisation or funding
messages developed by these
organisation which genuinely
seem to have been accepted
by people
Repression
censorship mechanisms
ID two key features of special

tribunals

MVSN

OVRA
ID two key features of confino

as a tool
ID two key features of Levi’s

‘Christ Stopped at Erboli’
ID two key features of exile
(self-imposed or otherwise) as
a tool)
early phases of the race laws

application/development of
the race laws
Overall, should we emphasise the
ambition of the propaganda
machine, but stressing its limits or
where people opted out of its
messages?
Or should we be genuinely
impressed by the ways the Fascist
‘machine’ managed to change
people’s minds and views?
Remember, you’d have to have

more – or more significant –
examples on one side than the
other, and explain why they
matter more.
Should we emphasise the somewhat
limited nature of Italian repression –
compared to, say, Stalinist Russia, or
‘societies in civil war’ like Spain?
Or should we recognise that,

actually, you don’t have to kill/beat a
lot of people to spread fear, and
compel people to ‘self-censor’?
Remember, you’d have to have more

– or more significant – examples on
one side than the other, and explain
why they matter more.
The Fascist Economy
What are the defining features
of ‘corporatism’?

Mussolini’s own views on the
nature of the economy
Palazzo Vidoni Pact

development of corporatism
around 1930
development of corporatism in
the mid 1930s
development of corporatism in
1939
impact of the Great
Depression in Italy – especially,
larger/smaller impact than
elsewhere?
Fascist policy response to the
great depression
ID two key features of the IMI,
and its activities
ID two key features of the IRI

and its activities

public works schemes

Confindustria

syndicates

battle for grain, and its
effectiveness
battle for the lira and its
effectiveness

battle for the marshes and its
effectiveness

changing working hours 1926-
40
changing real wages 1926-40
ID two key features of rural

depopulation 1926-40

changing living standards
1926-40
each of the following were
used to prevent opposition/
challenge emerging in
economic difficulties:
Propaganda
Repression
Welfare, esp. EOAs
Leisure, esp. OND

What was ‘autarky’?
When/why was it adopted as

policy?

impact of rearmament on the
Italian economy – especially
Abyssinia, Spain, Albania
ID two key features of changes
in the Lira balance of
payments 26-40
ID two key features of Italy’s
growing economic
dependence on Germany
Overall, should we emphasise that
the Fascist regime did reasonably
well in the field of economics,
considering the catastrophic impacts
of the Great Depression elsewhere?
Or should we emphasise that Fascist

responses were little more than
tinkering at the edges?
Or put another way, was Fascist

economic policy a ‘third way’ or an
‘elaborate fraud’?

The Church
‘nothing outside the state’
ideology
ID two key features of areas of
natural agreement between
the church and the Fascists
about socialism
ID two key features of areas of
natural agreement between
the church and the Fascists
about women
Lateran pact
‘Roman Question’

growth/role of Catholic Action
ID two key features of the role

of the church in education

extent to which Catholic
Action proposed a genuine
challenge to the regime
Pope’s response to the anti-
Semitic measures of 1938
Overall, should we view the Catholic
church as:
1. Influential, but not highly
significant to governing in the
first place – even before the
war. Exaggerated significance –
after all, Giolitti and Mussolini
could govern without its
support.
2. Significant, but very effectively

neutralised by an expansive
authoritarian/totalitarian state.
3. Significant, and able to preserve

itself and its own critical
interests, offering a sort of
‘opposition arena’ and
demonstrating the weakness of
the Fascist state.
Fascism and Women, Young People and the Working Classes
Approaches to young people –
education
Approaches to young people –

youth movements
Particular strengths of these

approaches
Particular
weaknesses/limitations of
these approaches
Alternative youth
groups/ideologies
Aims when dealing with

women as a social group
Policies towards women –

education, employment
Battle of the births
Particular strengths/successes
of these approaches to women
Particular
weaknesses/limitations of
these approaches to women
Aims when dealing with
peasants
Aims when dealing with the

south more generally
Aims when dealing with the

south more generally
Policies to deal with peasants
Successes/impacts of policies
towards peasants/the south
Limitations of policies towards

peasants/the south
Why/where the working

classes were such a priority
Fascist actions to disrupt

worker organisation/identity
Fascist oppression/force of
workers
Survival of pre-fascist workers’

ideologies and organisation
(maybe illegally)
Attempts to compromise/offer
something to working classes
Successes of policies towards

working classes
Limitations of policies towards

working classes
Approaches to the Jews –
beginnings of persecution
Tools, organisations,
approaches to persecution in
reality
Consequences for Italian Jews
Impact of radicalisation on
levels of opposition to the
government – did Anti-
Semitism cause divisions?
Overall, should we highlight the
extraordinary divisions in Italian
society up to 1922, and therefore the
relative success of the Fascists in
integrating different sections of
Italian society into the Fascist
system?
Or should we highlight the failures

and limitations of the fascists in their
attempts to neutralise potential
sources of opposition, and integrate
them into the Fascist project?

matter more.
Key debate: how extensively had the Fascists changed Italy by 1940?
How popular was the Fascist regime?
Read the debate in Hinton, 192-193.
How and why do historians disagree

about this question? (this is a great
way of readying yourself for
potential essay/ source questions)
How would you resolve the issue?

What would you emphasise?

matter more.
How effective was Mussolini’s
leadership in changing Italy ? Read
the debate in Hinton, 194-195



matter more.
To what extent had the Fascists
modernised Italy by 1940? Read the
debate in Hinton, 197



matter more.
Should we view the Fascist state as
authoritarian or totalitarian? Read
the debate in Hinton, 198-201



matter more.
Foreign Policy 26-40
Mussolini’s personal motives
in foreign policy
Role of WW1 in establishing

key Fascist FP trends
Role of Fascist ideology in FP

objectives
Role of historical symbolism in

Fascist foreign policy
objectives
Role of idea of ‘Mare Nostrum’
in Fascist foreign policy
Italian involvement in
Libya/North Africa in 1920s
British and French attitudes to

Mussolini/Fascism, esp.
Austen Chamberlain
What was the ‘makeweight’

policy/approach?
Mussolini and the Locarno

Pact
Austria: significance of
Brenner Pass
Austria: support for Dollfuss
Austria: Friendship Treaty
Austria: response to
assassination of Dollfuss
Austria: Rome Protocol
Austria: South Tyrol
Should we view Italian foreign policy

in the years 1922-32 as conforming
to contemporary ideals of ‘good
behaviour’ and facilitating smoother
international relations?
Or should we view foreign policy in

these years as assertive, disruptive,
deviating from the norms of
contemporary international
relations?

Origins of the Attack on
Abyssinia – Fascist ideology
Origins of the Attack on

Abyssinia – hints and clues in
earlier Italian foreign policy
Impact of attack on relations

with France
Impact of attack on relations

with Britain
Key features of the conduct of

the war – in particular,
examples of effective and
ineffective military operations
Impact of Abyssinian war on
Italian state finances and the
economy
League of Nations – why
response so weak?
public opinion – supportive

public opinion – negative
Read p. 220 in Hinton – why do
historians disagree about the impact
of the war? What points do they
emphasise? And what will your
argument be in the exam hall?
And what evidence, examples,

events will you use to make that
argument?
Should we view Italian foreign policy
as being largely successful at
transforming Italy’s status and
prestige both for domestic Italian
audiences, and internationally, in the
years 1922-36?
Or should we emphasise the

fundamental weaknesses, limitations
and failures of Italian foreign policy
in this period?

Key features/duration/issues
in Spanish civil war
Italian financial support– and

its impact on the war
Italian political support– and

its impact on the war
Italian military support – and
its impact on the war. Did it
change the outcome of the
war?
Impact of intervention in
Spanish Civil War on wider
international relations – e.g.
British, Soviet, French
attitudes
Origins of Anti-Comintern Pact
Motives for signing
Key features of Anti-Comintern

Pact
Origins of Pact of Steel – why

this shift in Italian foreign
policy? (was it a shift?)
Motives for signing
Key features of the Pact of

Steel – inc. who negotiated it
Did these steps irrevocably cut

Italy off from UK and France?
What was their impact?
Anschluss – what/when was
it?
What does Anschluss tell us

about Italian status within the
developing Axis?
Origins of invasion of Albania –
why? Motives?
Course of invasion – how

effective were Italian forces?
Public responses to Italian

approaches to:
Anti-Comintern Pact
Spanish Civil War
Pact of Steel
Anschluss
Invasion of Albania
Should we emphasise that Mussolini
and/or the Fascists were able to
assert a robust and dynamic foreign
policy between 1936-39?

weaknesses, frustrations, failures
and constraints by foreign powers on
Italian foreign policy in this period?

matter more.
World War II
Key factors why Italy did not
enter war in 1939
What does this tell us about

Mussolini’s confidence in his
own position? Why?
What does this tell us about
the true nature of Italian
power/military by this point?
Why?
Italian military
resources/effectiveness at
time of joining WWII
Italian military strategy/tactics
in WWII
Italian economic preparedness
for in WWII
Attitudes of different groups

of Italians to war e.g.
Workers
Peasants
Business people
Conservative groups like king,

church
Can we be clear about
Mussolini’s war aims?
Why/why not?
Role of ideology in declaring

war
Role of fear/anxiety in
declaring war
Role of greed in declaring war
What important roles (if any)

did Italy play in conquest of
France?
Changing Italian military
strategy in war
Limitations/problems with
military resources in war
Development of the economy

in early war – e.g. production,
rationing
Social problems/unrest in early

war – how well prepared was
Italian society for the strains of
war?
Politics and war – how
significantly did the entry into
the war change Italian politics?
Mussolini’s personal standing
– how did his authority evolve
at the very beginning…
And then a year or two in…
Why?
Greek campaign: why? Why
such a failure? Consequences?
North African campaign: why?

Why such a failure? Key
consequences?
Workers/urban responses to
war and attitude to
Fascists/Mussolini
Peasant/rural responses to
war and attitude to
Fascists/Mussolini
Industrialists/middle-class
responses to war and attitude
to Fascists/Mussolini
Church/Catholic responses to
war and attitude to
Fascists/Mussolini
Impact of bombing
Causes of increased German

intervention/help
Consequences of this
increased influence on Italy –
especially public opinion
Allied invasion – when, where,
why? (More on this below…)
Evolution of Allied invasion –

how did it develop?
German invasion – when,

where, why? (More on this
below…)
Evolution of German invasion
– how did it develop?
Impact of German invasion on

Civilians.
Impact of Allied invasion on

Civilians
Should we argue that, within the

constraints of war, Mussolini was
able to develop an autonomous
Italian foreign policy in the years
1938-43?

fundamental weakness of Italy, and
the subordination of Italian foreign
policy goals to German foreign policy
goals?

Should we argue that the
fundamental cause of the
weaknesses of Italy in the war were
to do with underlying features of the
economy and society?
Or should we argue that Italy had

real potential in the war, but failed
because of the poor choices of the
leadership?

The End of Mussolini
Role of Victor Emmanuel III in
removal of Mussolini
Role of Fascist Grand Council

in removal of Mussolini
Role of Mussolini’s own

actions in the immediate time
period around his removal
Role of Allied invasion of Sicily
in removal of Mussolini
Role of Communist/partisan
resistance in removal of
Mussolini
Why did leading fascists turn
against Mussolini in 1943? And
which ones?
Why can July 1943 be called a
‘palace coup’?
Why did it ultimately prove so

easy to remove Mussolini from
power?
Badoglio: key background,
motives, viewpoints
Why did he not pursue peace

in 1943?
What were the 45 Days?
What caused them?
What happened at the
Beginning
Middle-ish
End
When/why did the massacre in
Cephalonia happen?
Which key players in

Badoglio’s government, or
what key reasons were there,
for the delay of the ’45 days’?
Who/what prevented an
earlier resolution to the war?
What role did personality and

ideology play in the delay?
What were the key

consequences of the 45-day
delay?
Key features of the Salo

republic
Who/what controlled it?
By what mechanisms/people/
organisations did the Germans
influence it?
What role did the Germans
play in sustaining the Salo
republic?
What role did the militia play
in sustaining the Salo republic?
Why was it called the ‘social’

republic? What was social
about it?
What was the role of hardlines
fascists like Farinacci in the
republic?
Evidence of ongoing support
for Fascism and Mussolini
under the Salo Republic
How extensive was that

support? Which groups in
society was it?
Activities of communist
partisans in Salo republic
Evaluation of their impact –

were they transformative? Did
they change anything
Activities of Palmiro Togliatti in
Salo republic

Activities of Feruccio Parri and
the Action Party in Salo
republic

Causes of the end of the
German occupation
Stages of the end of the

occupation
Should we argue that the creation

and survival of the Salo republic
indicate that the Fascists really had
created something durable, in terms
of ideology, control of the
population, institutions of state?
Or should we argue that it survived

purely because the Germans forced
it to survive?

Should we argue that the liberation
of Italy from the Fascists and/or the
Germans was primarily effected
through the actions of the Allied
invasion, and the impact of Italians
themselves was minimal?
Or should we accept that there were

significant challenges to the
Fascists/German occupation which
also substantially weakened the
regime?


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Fascist Italy – 1926-1945

ID two key features of how

ID two key features of how the

ID two key features of the real

ID two key features of

ID two key features of special

ID two key features of the

ID two key features of the

ID two key features of confino

ID two key features of Levi’s

ID two key features of the

Remember, you’d have to have

Or should we recognise that,

Remember, you’d have to have more

ID two key features of

ID two key features of the

ID two key features of the IRI

ID two key features of the

ID two key features of

ID two key features of

ID two key features of the

ID two key features of the

ID two key features of

ID two key features of rural

ID two key features of

Welfare, esp. EOAs

Leisure, esp. OND

When/why was it adopted as

ID two key features of the

Or should we emphasise that Fascist

Or put another way, was Fascist

Remember, you’d have to have more

ID two key features of the

ID two key features of the role

ID two key features of the

2. Significant, but very effectively

3. Significant, and able to preserve

Approaches to young people –

Particular strengths of these

Aims when dealing with

Policies towards women –

Battle of the births

Aims when dealing with the

Aims when dealing with the

Limitations of policies towards

Why/where the working

Fascist actions to disrupt

Survival of pre-fascist workers’

Successes of policies towards

Limitations of policies towards

Or should we highlight the failures

Remember, you’d have to have

How and why do historians disagree

How would you resolve the issue?

Remember, you’d have to have

How and why do historians disagree

How would you resolve the issue?

Remember, you’d have to have

How and why do historians disagree

How would you resolve the issue?

Remember, you’d have to have

How and why do historians disagree

How would you resolve the issue?