Mussolini's consolidation of power Key Facts (1922-26)

Question 1

when did Pius XI become Pope

Answer 1

Jan 1922

Question 2

when was Bonomi replaced by Facta as PM

Answer 2

Feb 1922

Question 3

What happened in Aug 1922

Answer 3

General strike collapsed

Question 4

what happened in 27 Oct 1922

Answer 4

Fascists seized control of provincial cities and walked outside Rome

Question 5

what happened on the 28 Oct 1922

Answer 5

King approved martial law and changed his mind, facta resigned as PM

Question 6

what happened in the 29 oct 1922

Answer 6

salandra unable to form government so the king invited mussolini as PM

Question 7

what happened on 30 oct 1922

Answer 7

mussolini arrived in Rome to accept his appointment as PM

Question 8

what happened on 31 oct 1922

Answer 8

March on Rome

Question 9

when was mussolini issued to be able to rule by decree

Answer 9

Nov 1922

Question 10

when was the fascist grand council established

Answer 10

1923

Question 11

when was the MVSN established

Answer 11

1923

Question 12

when did the nationaists merge with the PNF

Answer 12

1923

Question 13

When was the PPI dismissed from coalition

Answer 13

1923

Question 14

when was acerbo law created

Answer 14

1923

Question 15

Describe the timeline of 1924

Answer 15

april- General election
June- matteotti murder
July- aventine succession
Dec- rossi memorandum

Question 16

when did Mussolini declare dictatorship

Answer 16

jan 1925

Question 17

describe the events of 1925

Answer 17

PNF centralised, trade unions abolished and strikes illegal, press censorship increased, Mussolini head of government

Question 18

describe the events of 1926

Answer 18

Elected mayors replaced with podestas, all other parties banned, purge of civil service and judiciary, special tribunal for poltical crimes

Question 19

when was the OVRA secret police created

Answer 19

1927

Question 20

Facta

Answer 20

PM who obtained the King’s approval and backing for martial law
Resigned when the king refused to order it later

Question 21

Don Sturzo

Answer 21

leader of PPI, joined fascists in a coalition government in oct 1922, dismissed by Mussolini in 1923 when he doubted the coalition, lost support of the Pope and resigned

Question 22

Pope Pius XI

Answer 22

became pope jan 1922, good relationship with Mussolini and supported him during the Matteotti crisis, approved the PPI joining the fascists in oct 1922, accepted the banning of the PPI in 1926, saw Mussolini as a saviour against communism and appreciated his restoration of crucifixes and religious education becoming mandatory

Question 23

Orlando, Salandra, Giolitti

Answer 23

joined government list of candidates in 1924 election, won many seats in the south, were complicit to Mussolini’s destruction of democracy

Question 24

Matteotti

Answer 24

leader of the reformist socialists (PSU), assassinated in 1924, he championed democracy and stood against Mussolini by delivering a speech that condemned the april elections as a fraud, Mussolini’s survival of his crisis showed that he had become above the law

Question 25

Dumini

Answer 25

deputy to Rossi in the Fascist press office, one of Matteotti's murderers, member of Cheka hit squad, Mussolini liked to employ these people as they could do the dirty work for him, the failure to effectively clean their tracks meant that they acted spontaneously

Question 26

Rossi

Answer 26

Mussolini's press officer, wrote a memorandum that accused Mussolini in acts of violence but didnt mention Matteotti, found its way to the press who then published it in dec 1924, couldve been used to destroy Mussolini's power

Question 27

Federzoni

Answer 27

member of the nationalists party and appointed minister of the interior in 1924 to reassure the elite during the Matteotti murder, they were responsible for law and order

Question 28

Rocco

Answer 28

member of nationalist party and appointed Justice minister in 1924 to please the elite during the Matteotti murder, he drafted many laws e.g. banning of trade unions and making strikes illegal, gave Mussolini dictatorial powers

Question 29

Farinacci

Answer 29

Mussolini appointed him, a violent ras, as PNF secretary in 1925, this centralised the organisation and expanded the membership to 900,000 and purged those who disagreed with Mussolini, after he had broken the ras he was then sacked in 1926

Question 30

de bono

Answer 30

fascist and general in the army, was a bridge between the PNF and the elite, was made chief of police and made member of the fascist grand council, was used as a scapegoat for the Matteotti murder and was sacked in 1924, was replaced as chief of police by a non-fascist

Question 31

Balbo

Answer 31

important ras and rival to Mussolini, was appointed in fascist grand council and put in charge of the MVSN in 1923, sacked in 1924 as another scapegoat for Matteotti's murder, was made governor of Libya to get him out of the way of Mussolini

Question 32

King Emmanuel

Answer 32

claimed in oct 1922 there were 100,000 fascists outside Rome against 8,000 army but there was actually 30,000 each, army was better equipped and trained, supported Mussolini during the Matteotti murder and refused to read the Rossi memorandum that was the key evidence against Mussolini, this gave Mussolini confidence in 1925 to set dictatorship as he was now above the law

Question 33

General Diaz

Answer 33

commander of army 1917-22, Victor or vittorio veneto, expressed uncertainty about army's loyalty during march on rome

Question 34

general badoglio

Answer 34

confident that the army could crush fascist threat during march on rome, was appointed commander of army in 1925

Question 35

rule by decree

Answer 35

november 1922 Mussolini given power to pass laws without parliamentary consent for 12 months, was passed 306/116 votes even though there were only 35 fascists, this shows peoples lack of faith in democracy and the consent they gave to the rise of fascism

Question 36

acerbo law

Answer 36

replaced the system of proportional representation in 1923 by a system that gave 2/3 seats to the largest party as long as they get 25% of votes, this was passed due to a lack of faith in democracy, wasnt needed by fascists in 1924 elections as they got 2/3 of vote anyway

Question 37

MVSN

Answer 37

squads or blackshirts that were organised locally under the control of ras, were now centralised into state militia and paid by the government, became neutralised as shown by decreasing violence, few fascists were convicted of murder which shows that the judiciary were lenient towards them

Question 38

how many deaths caused by fascists between 1919-26

Answer 38

4000 in 1919-22 only 400 in 1923-26

Question 39

aventine succession

Answer 39

100 left wing deputies left the chamber in jul 1924 to set their own parliament in protest to Matteottis murder, this played into Mussolini's hands as it got rid of his opposition,it wouldve only worked if they represented a majority

Question 40

podestas

Answer 40

replaced elected mayors in parliament, were fascists appointed by Mussolini, non-fascist prefects still the most important representative which reassured the elite and they could also keep an eye on troublesome ras

Question 41

fascist grand council

Answer 41

an organisation made in 1923, undermined the authority of the cabinet and allowed Mussolini to "absorb" senior fascists by giving them some power while distracting them from their local power bases

Question 42

head of government

Answer 42

the title Mussolini gave himself in 1925, was answerable to the king and not parliament, made rule by decree permanent

Question 43

purges

Answer 43

some civil servants and judges were purged but only few as there wasnt much resistance to Mussolini, he was reluctant to replace them with fascists as they were more inexperienced and could cause more trouble

Question 44

OVRA

Answer 44

secret police introduced 1927 like an afterthought since there wasnt much opposition he didnt need to use force, OVRA agents werent as ruthless or well-organised as Gestapo as Mussolini's dictatorship didnt have to resort to terror

Question 45

special tribunals

Answer 45

courts that handled political crimes

Question 46

ras

Answer 46

local fascist leaders

Question 47

squadristi

Answer 47

fascist black shirts who used violence against the socialists

Question 48

march on rome

Answer 48

took place after Mussolini became PM, only took 400 policemen to halt the march 50 miles outside capital, victory parade lasted 1 day then Mussolini send them all away so they wouldnt cause chaos and affect his image as the one to restore order

Question 49

quadrumviri

Answer 49

the 4 leaders of the march on rome, Mussolini wasnt an organiser or participator, he stayed in Milan ready to escape to Switzerland if it failed, he was walking a tightrope trying to be reassuring and intimidating

Question 50

dual policy

Answer 50

his policy of compromising with both elites in private and appearing a radical fascist in public

Question 51

martial law

Answer 51

military rule