Challenges To, And The Fall Of, The Fascist State 1935-46 Flashcards
1
Q
Foreign policy aims
A
- consolidate Italian rule in Libya + expand imperialism in Africa
- expand into the Med - currently controlled by Britain thus making Italy a prisoner of the sea
- transform Italy into a more militaristic society + become a Great Power + obtain spazio vitale - living space
2
Q
1922 foreign affairs
A
- travels to Switzerland + London to negotiate reparations issues
3
Q
Corfu incident
A
- August 1923 - Italian General Enrico Tellini murdered during inter-allied commission about border between Greece + Albania
- Mussolini accused Greek gov of financing + organising assassination
- ## demanded attendance of Greek gov at funeral in Athens + pay penalty of 50 million lire
4
Q
Italy bombs Corfu
A
- 31 August 1923 - bombs + occupies Corfu without warning
- celebrated by Italian nationalists + many elite + head of navy - Thaon di Revel
- League of Nations demanded end of occupation + deal with issue through international arbitration
- Italy’s Navy would barely last 48 hours if Britain acted
- 27 Sept 1923 - Italy left Corfu + got 50 million lire from Greece
5
Q
Consequences of Corfu Incident
A
- confrontation with Greece led to opposition from Lof N + accept that Italy was weaker than Great Powers
- domestic success = decisive ruler - contrast with weak liberal gov
6
Q
Fiume
A
- Jan 1924 - Yugoslavia recognised Fiume as part of Italy
- increased domestic popularity - historical significance of Fiume = symbolic
- Yugoslavia no longer needed Fiume as they created a greater port at Split
- in return = Italian recognition of Yugoslavian rule st Susak
7
Q
1925 Locarno Treaty Involvement
A
- Germany accepted the pre-war borders with Belgium + France
- ## Il Duce failed to link Locarno to Italian negotiations BUT his presence = accepted as equal to Great Powers
8
Q
Albania - Zogu
A
- Mussolini backed Ahmet Zogu’s accession to President 1925 + Zogu’s self-proclamation as King Zog I 1928
- support + bribery of Zogu = Albania became informal Italian protectorate - extended Italian influence
9
Q
Undermining Yugoslavia
A
- Yugoslavia was a barrier to Italy’s territorial ambitions
- M provided support to Croation Utasha + Macedonian nationalist movements that wanted to separate from the Yugoslav State
- 1934 - Croatian terrorists - financed + trained in Italy - assassinated Yugoslavian king Alexander
10
Q
Pacification of Libya 1929 - 32
A
- slow progress of Italian armies = kept out of media
- hired mercenaries from other African countries to control Libyan forces
- 1929 Marshal Badoglia took control of Italian forces
- began harsh starvation + mass execution + chemical warfare + concentration camps
- over 40k died in the concentration camps + 100k homes destroyed
11
Q
Relation with Britain
A
- 1915 Treaty of London + worked together in 1925 Locarno Pact negotiations
- Britain helped Italy with Albania as Italy pressured Turkey to give up Mosul to British colony of Iraq
- issues with control of Med + Corfu Incident + M gave support to pro-Italian groups in Malta
- 1927 revaluation of lira funded by British gov + world financial system controlled by West
12
Q
Relation with France
A
- majority of antifascist exiles settled in France + OVRA agents in France = suspicious of each other
- rival to Italian aims in Med + Africa
- french worried about Tunisia - French colony with large Italian population
- Italy prepared to work with France - Locarno Treaty
13
Q
Relation with Germany
A
- Mussolini supported nationalist groups who wanted to overthrow the Weimar Republic
- fear of Anschluss
- Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch inspired by Mussolini’s March on Rome
- Hitler + Mussolini exchanged letters in the 1930s - respected + supported each other
14
Q
Four Power Pact
A
- attempt to appease + control Germany + undermine League of Nations
- proposal to Hitler of parity of arms with Italy + possibility of territorial changes to T of V
- France + Britain + Germany + Italy
- signed on 15 July 1933 BUT not ratified by France + Britain - Czechoslovakia + Poland protested against it - fear of German expansion
- Hitler’s withdrawal from L of N + rearmament 1933 undermined the Four Power Pact
15
Q
Englebert Dolfuss
A
- July 1934 - Austrian Nazis assassinated Austrian Chancellor Dolfuss
- attempt to pursue Anschluss - not backed by Hitler - attempt to build relations with Mussolini
- Mussolini mobilised 4 divisions + moved equipment between Austria and Italy to the Brenner Frontier - refused Anschluss
16
Q
The Wal-Wal Incident 1934
A
-Abyssinians fired on Italians 80 miles within the border - Mussolini demanded an apology
- issue referred to the LofN but Italy prepared for war with Abyssinia
17
Q
The Stresa Front 1935
A
- background: Hitler announces rearmament in defiance of Versailles - Mussolini’s resources already dedicated to Africa
- joint resolution for peace + commitment to League of Nations - help with Germany in return for no action with Abyssinia
- Britain didn’t block the Suez Canal - British coal industry struggling - needed trade with Italy
- Laval would argue they had only agreed to Italy’s economic penetration of Abyssinia
18
Q
Why invade Abyssinia?
A
- last African country free of colonial rule - add to Cult of Il Duce
- planning for war helped economy - war-related contracts created jobs
- autarky - Abyssinia would provide raw materials + area for agricultural expansion + create export market
- southern Italian peasants would move and farm - ease pressure for land reform
- part of the greater radicalisation of policy to make Italy a more militaristic society - demonstration of aggressive fascist policy
- restore pride from defeat at battle of Adwa 1896 + dissuade Anschluss
19
Q
Hoare-Laval Pact
A
- December 1935 - British foreign minister Samuel Hoare + French foreign minister Pierre Laval
- secretly offered Italy 2/3 of Abyssinia in return for continuation of the Stresa Front
- offer was leaked = Hoare forced to resign - replaced by Eden who was hostile to Italy
- public outrage
20
Q
Invasion of Abyssinia
A
- October 1935 - Mussolini launched force of 400k men - seized Adwa + border towns quickly BUT progress slowed
- Nov 1935 - head of army De Bono replaced with Marshal Badoglia who led Libyan invasion
- mass aerial bombings +illegal chemical warfare + murder of prisoners of war
- 5 May 1936 - army entered capital of Abyssinia - Addis Ababa - 20 million Italians listened to 9 May Mussolini radio broadcast about victory of Abyssinia
21
Q
Positive consequences of invasion of Abyssinia
A
- LofN’s limited sanctions used as Italian propaganda = Mussolini was defying attempts to limit Italian power = great leader
- established Italy as a great power
- Church approved invasion as a civilising mission - even thought Abyssinians were Christian
- confirmed Mussolini’s belief that aggressive actions enhances his power - domestically + internationally
22
Q
Gold for the Patria
A
- December 1935 - Gold for the Patria campaign launched by Royal Family
- Queen Elena gave her wedding ring to melt into metal to help against sanctions
- thousands of women gave their rings - given steel rings to signify marriage to the nation
- idea of being wedded to nation = key concept of fascism
23
Q
Negative consequences of invasion of Abyssinia
A
- only approx 130k Italians settled in Abyssinia
- the colony didn’t provide much oil + raw materials for AUTARKY
- export markets never materialised - ONLY 2% of Italian trade went to Abyssinia
- illegal use of chemical warfare - changed perception of Mussolini as dangerous to European peace
- exposed weakness of LofN - encouraged Hitler’s ambitions
24
Q
Economic consequences of invasion of Abyssinia
A
- 2/3 of country not conquered - high costs to supply 250k troops
- lira devalued 40%
- budget deficit rose 2.5 Billion to 16 Billion
- problems from sanctions caused Italy to rely heavily on Germany
25
Supposed weakness of France + Britain
- **weak sanctions** for Abyssinian invasion
- lack of punishment in *March 1936* - **Hitler moved troops into demilitarised Rhineland** - defying Treaty of Versailles
26
Reasons for intervention in the Spanish Civil War
- Hitler had committed forced to helping **General Franco** - leading **right-wing forces against republican gov - backed by France + USSR**
- move towards Germany = **Britain would make concessions on Africa + Med** for Italy - to **stop Germany gaining power**
- if Franco successful - **Italy would gain strategic ally in the Med** + gain **naval bases in Balearic Islands**
- help fuel the spread of **authoritarian nationalist regimes** = weaken communism + socialism
- Abyssinian war showed **domestic benefits of war** + increase cult of Il Duce
27
Intervention figure
- **50k soldiers sent**
- thousands of artillery and tanks
- **1.4K pilots**
- **400 fighter planes**
- **200 bombers**
- **3k Italian soldiers dead + 11k wounded**
28
Economic consequences of Spanish Civil War
- cost approx **14 Billion lire** - gov had to implement **special taxes**
- lira devalued further
- Italy’s **foreign currency reserves halved**
- caused further economic dependence on Germany
29
Negative consequences of Spanish Civil War
- Spain didn’t concede **naval bases** to Italy
- military focus on Spain **weakened Italian forces in Abyssinia** + Italian army weaken in *1939* than in *1936*
- **not popular with Italian public** - didn’t understand reason for intervention + concern about Italy’s move towards Nazi Germany
- problems with military visible when **Italian force defeated by republican ray of antifascist Italian volunteers** in the **Battle of Guadalajara** *March 1937*
30
Italy - Britain relation post Spanish Civil War
- failed **Hoare-Laval Pact** + Italy’s intervention in Spanish Civil War undermined France
- during war - Italian submarines **pretending to be Spanish** sunk neutral ships in Med - angered British gov
- *1938 summer* - Italian bombing sunk **11 British ships** in Spanish ports
- *Jan 1937* - **Gentleman’s Agreement** with Britain - confirmed status quo in med + limited Italian intervention - **Mussolini ignored the agreement**
31
Rome-Berlin Axis
- *October 1936*
- Germany would have **freedom of action** in **Eastern Europe + Baltic** + support Italy with attempt to **gain power in the Med**
- followed by **German-Italian Axis** agreement in *Nov 1936*
32
Closer relationship with Germany
- **Italian exports** became **more reliant** on **German markets**
- *Sept 1937* - **Mussolini gives speech in Berlin** - proclaimed **Italian + German values were same** - **800k Germans** came to see
- Mussolini impressed by **German militant society**
33
Anti-Comintern Pact + Italy leaves League of Nations
- *Nov 1937* - Italy + Germany + Japan - established **mutual support in case of aggression from the Soviet Union** - also secretly aimed at Britain
- *Dec 1937* - Mussolini withdrew Italy from LofN - claimed it was against the Italian revolution
- confirmed Italy as a **revisionist power** - wanted to rewrite Treaty of Versailles
- **confirmed end of Stresa Front**
34
Anschluss
- *March 1938* - Hitler crosses Austrian border with troops
- Italy begins to lose independence - doesn’t stop Germany - **becoming German satellite state**
- *April 1938* - Austrian plebiscite was **99%** in favour of **Anschluss**
35
Munich Conference
- *September 1938* - initially arranged to **solve Hitler’s demand for Czechoslovakia**
- Mussolini played role of **mediator** - secretly colluded with Hitler to help Germany
- Britain willing to compromise to stop war
- Germany is given **Sudetenland** - **area of Czechoslovakia** with **large German-speaking population**
36
Domestic tensions
- between *1935 - 39* - military spending accounted for **80%** of increase in **budget deficit**
- increased taxes for Spanish civil war intervention = unpopular
- quest for autarky = **consumer products more expensive** + Battle for Grain worsened diet
- living standards for workers in decline
- Italian economy highly dependent on Germany - *Feb 1939* - **commercial treaty signed**
37
Transfer of Italian workers to Germany
- highly unpopular policy - **500k workers** transferred by *1945*
- **Italian workers treated poorly by Germans** - condescending attitude to immigrants
- the policy **contradicted Mussolini’s speeches about ensuring dignity of workers**
- confirmed subservience to Germany
38
Invasion of Albania
- *April 1939* - foreign minister Galeazzo Ciano proposed **Albania as compensation for allowing Anschluss**
- King Zog had been **encouraging investment** from other countries - **attempt to become less dependent on Italy**
- invasion showed **weakness of Italian army** - **unorganised troops + poor coordination** between forces
39
Pact of Steel
- *May 1939* - acceptance of full alliance with Germany - pact drafted by Germans
- **military + economic cooperation + permanent political consultation between Nazis and Fascists**
- **Article 3** - **committed Italy to support Germany if it went to war** - against diplomatic convention of defensive alliances - ALSO **Italy not ready for war**
- German foreign minister **Ribbentrop** initially promised that Germany had no intention of war before *1943* BUT on *11 August* told Ciano that **Germany planning to attack Poland** - BETRAYAL AND LIESSSS
40
Nazi-Soviet Pact
- *23 August 1939* - after Pact of Steel
- non-agression Pact between Russia + Germany
- secret protocols - **division of East Germany into Nazi + Soviet spheres of influence**
- went against **Anti-Comintern Pact**
41
Italian neutrality
- foreign minister Ciano + King urged against intervention
- BUT fascism had been linked with war + agression = going back on his word - same as lib gov in 1914
- Mussolini gave Hitler list of **170 million goods** to join war = **hitler released Italy from Pact of Steel**
42
Italy enters war
- Mussolini didn’t want Italy to be **non-belligerent**
- Mussolini thought only a **few thousand soldiers** would die
- announced to public on *10 June 1940* that Italy joined WWII
43
Parallel concept
- Italy would focus on **Med + Northern Africa** whilst Hitler focused mostly on **Europe**
44
French armistice
- france ask for armistice w/ Germany before Italian troops attack
- Italy wanted to ask for territories from France - **Nice + Tunisia + Sudan + Somalia** - Hitler didn’t want to push France to the Allies
- Italian troops advance into French Alps - reveals army’s problems = **clothing + weapons**
- captured **13 unimportant villages** + lost **631 men**
- armistice signed on *22 June 1940*
45
Military losses
- Mussolini had ordered **partial demobilisation of troops** in *july 1940* - thought war was almost over + waiting for German invasion of Britain
- 19th century tactics against modern British warfare - British counter attack in *December 1940* where **250k Italians lost to 30k Britons** in Egypt
- By 1941 May Italy had lost Eritrea + Somaliland + Abyssinia + 380k troops surrendered and prisoner = contrast with Italian propaganda promise to transform italy into militant nation
- British advance into Libya stopped by German **General Rommel** = signalled end of parallel war
- *May 1943* **German-Italian axis** surrendered in **North Africa + lost Libya**
46
Losses in the Med
- no consistent strategy for attack in Med
- *November 1940* Italian navy crippled by British air attack
- poor coordination between airforce + navy + lacked aircraft carriers
47
Disaster in Greece
- launched attack on *28 October 1940* - attempt to **increase influence in Balkans**
- underestimated Greek army size - **thought 30k vs actual 300k**
- lack of armed forces coordination + poor weather + bad uniform + lack of weapons
- **32k soldiers dead + 100k wounded**
- forced to ask for German help - who defeated Greeks within weeks
- fascism seen as weaker than Greece - not even a powerful European country
48
Mussolini’s poor leadership
• Mussolini was **Minster of War + Navy + Airforce + Supreme Commander** of armed forces
• Head of 5 ministries = concentration of power hampered military effectiveness
• Mussolini made all big decisions WITHOUT consulting others
• Gov shut down when he left Rome - can’t make any decisions
• *May 1940* - focused on opera season rather than on war
• Unable to coordinate armed forces + gave vague instructions to military leaders
• Spent time with mistress Claretta instead of Chief of General Staff **Ugo Cavellaro**
49
Poor state of military
- Italy had 75 division but only enough **equipment for 35 divisions** + lacked tanks + vehicles
- **1/3** of tanks destroyed by British in the Med
- many **rifles + cannons from WWI** + few aircraft carriers + no radar on naval ships
- no long-range bombers + **outdated airforce** vs British spitfires
- low rations + low morale + **19th century tactics outdated**
- **language barrier** in armed forces between officers vs peasant conscripts
50
Economic problems
- USA makes more planes in a week than Italy in a year
- Germany only sent **1 million tonnes coal** monthly + lack of raw materials - oil + rubber + iron
- steel production at 1.7 million tonnes vs British 14 million tonnes
- Italian economy at **25% of potential** + only country in war with no GDP increase
- thousands of unemployed workers vs most countires at 100% employment
-food rationing at 1k calories daily for adult
- allied bombions of industrial cities = decreased industrial production
51
Striking
- *1943 March* **100k workers** striking in Turin + spread to Milan and further
- **communist workers helped arrange strikes** = demand for better pay for people forced to evacuate
- **strikes end when gov increase money for evacuees**
- industrial action shows political weakness of fascist regime - first strikes since 1920s
52
Antifascist groups resurface
- communist newspaper **l’Unita** reappeared in *1942*
- **Part of Action** group formed - republicans radicals + left-leaning liberals
- *1942* - antifascist group **Christian Democrats** - made of Catholic Action members backed by Church
- secret police made over *1.4K political arrests** between march and June in *1943*
- *April 1943* - all groups apart from republicans agreed to work against fascism
53
Conservative elite
- 1943 onwards
- **Vatican + military leaders + industrialists + police** considering deposing Mussolini + removing Italy from war
- Mussolini is a weakened figure + ill + stressed + lacked plans
- loss of support of conservative elite
54
Allied invasion of Sicily
- *9 July 1943* Allies land in Sicily - conquered western half of Sicily in a week
- Germany refused Mussolini’s request for help
- allied planes bombed Rome - **1.5k dead**
- Mussolini asked generals if there were any plans to defend Sicily - HE IS THE LEADER IDIOT
- Italian retreat to mainland
55
US peace deal
- Dino Grandi + Ciano begin negotiations with Allies for peace
- Grandi planned for monarchy to take constitutional + military powers + replace Mussolini
- USA would agree to armistice if King dismissed Mussolini
56
Grand Council meeting 24 JULY 1943
- Grand Council hadn’t met since *September 1939* - Allied invasion of Sicily caused fascists to act
- Grandi had canvassed support for his vote to depose Mussolini
- nine hours of discussion - Grandi’s resolution passed with 19 votes to 7 votes
- Mussolini met with king next day - king informed him he was dismissed + replaced by **Marshal Badoglia**
57
Allied invasion of Italy
- Churchill thought obtaining Italy = able to open second front in the Balkans + Aegean + attack German forces
- Italian surrender signed *3 September 1943* - promise to hand over navy + airforce + 60k troops
- Italian soldiers across Europe confused - **1 million** surrendered + continued on German side
- *9 Sept* German invasion of Italy - King + Badoglia + officers fled to Allies in South - refused to tell army to fight Germans = fear of violence against civilians = German takeover of Rome
58
Allies fight Germans in Italy
- Allied advance hampered by weather + geography - **Apennine mountains** = most fighting in mountains
- German army destroyed bridges + mountain passes in their retreat
- allied troops sent to France = depleted army
- *4 June 1955* capture of Rome but entire Italy on *2 May 1945*
- allied fighting in north was parallel to a brutal civil war between antifascists + fascist Italians
59
Setting up of Republic of Salo
- *August 1943* - Mussolini in prison on **Gran Sasso mountain** - rescued by German aerial raid on *12 Sept* + taken to Germany
- Hitler ultimatum - Mussolini lead as head of fascist gov OR Germany destroy Italy
- *25 Sept* - Mussolini set up capital in **Gargano near Lake Garda** - controlled by Germans who spread gov orgs over 100 miles to reduce effectiveness
- **Foreign Ministry + Ministry of popular Culture** set up in Salo
- **RSI known as Salo Republic**
60
German control of RSI
- Germans appointed officials without consulting Mussolini
- deal that RSI pay Germany **7 B lire monthly**
- *October 1943* **Razzia of Rome’s Jews** - 8k Jews rounded up + sent to death camps
- Mussolini did set up his own cabinet + Salo controlled most rich areas of Italy - **Liguria + Lombardy**
61
The Verona Manifesto
- *14 November 1943* - first congress of new fascist party
- **anticlerical republic + nationalised industry + classed jews as enemy**
- none of Mussolini’s policies (except jews) were carried out) - lack of support from Germans
——————————-
- *January 1944* - 5 fascist - including Ciano - sentenced to death for treason
- Fascist in RSI helped German plan to send Italian Jews to death camps - 7k executed
62
RSI army vs partisans
- new militia formed **National Republican Guard GNR** - had 200k men by *1944*
-navy 20k + airforce 28k + others = approx **573k** - more than the antifascistes
- RSI mainly in fight against partisans - civilians can’t shelter partisans
- German policy - for each German soldier dead = 10 Italians executed
- *March 1944* partisans kill 33 German soldiers = 335 Italians executed
- **10%** of all civilian deaths in north were executions
63
Italian antifascist partisans
- ex soldiers + students + civilians against German occupation + Salo Republic
- by *June 1944* approx 82k partisans
- sabotage + political assassinations + destruction of transport routes
- PCI were 60% of the partisans + Party of Action + Christian Democrats
- overall killed 5k German soldiers + disrupted 30k
64
Kingdom of the South
- under control of the Allied occupation
- local leadership didn’t change much - **conservatives stayed as prefects + podestas**
- conservative elites were monarchists - helped control social unrest
- Allies encouraged king to include antifascist parties in gov - Badoglia replaced by antifascst lib **Ivanoe Bonomi**
- attempt for conscription met with resistance by public - only **50k** men fought alongside Allies
65
Mussolini’s capture
- *18 April 1945* - Mussolini left Gargano and set up capital in Milan
- Germans were negotiating surrender without informing Mussolini
- *27 April* - partisans stop disguised Mussolini’s convoy in Dongo - they arrest Mussolini + mistress Claretta
- executed near lake Como - bodies put on display at **piazzale Loretto** - crowds attacked his body
66
Surrender of Italy
- *29 April* - Germans sign surrender documents - ceasefire agreed for *May 1*
- *2 May* - war in Italy came to an end
- Hitler is also dead
67
State of Italy post war
- in a worse states than 1918
- economy + infrastructure wrecked by war
- many Italians lacked food + clean water - **500k** Italians dead - including civilians
- after Germany’s surrender - partisan revenge killings killed **30k** Fascist supporters
68
Replacement of Fascist dictatorship
- communists + socialists + Christian Democrats set up new foundation of state - on the **values of the resistance**
- RSI supporters + anti partisan supporters felt excluded
- fighting had been mostly in the north - new state ignored experience of the South
69
Italy republic vote
- *2 June 1946* - Italians voted for **Constituent Assembly to draw up new constitution** + whether italy should be republic
- king’s **support for Mussolini since 1922** + **inadequate action** after removal of Mussolini = unpopular
- **12.7million vs 10.7million** = establishment of republic
- vote divided geographically with north voting republic + south voting retain monarchy
70
New constitution vote
- included female voters for the first time
- Christian Democrats won **207 out of 556 seats** + PCI **104** + PSI **114**
- established **liberal democracy + civil and political freedom guaranteed** + monarchy replaced with president
- **rule of law under independent judiciary system** enshrined in constitution
- **lateran pacts* included
71
Post war politics
- *1947* Christian Democrats set up new gov **excluding PCI** - breaking antifascist front since 1944
- even by 1960 most **prefects + police chiefs + deputies** were same peole who had worked for the previous fascist gov
- *1 September 1957* - crowds saw Mussolini laid to rest in family tomb in **Predappio**
