Rise of Fascism in Italy 1919-1922

Rise of Fascism in Italy 1919-1922

1. 1919

   • March 1919
     • first meeting - 100 members
     • list of demands
       • replace Monarchy with a Republic
       • confiscate property of the Catholic Church
       • peasant ownership of land and worker management of industry
       • high taxation on the rich
       • National Minimum Wage
       • votes for women
   • failed in 1919 election
     • 5,000 out of 270,000 votes in Milan
     • only 4,000 registered supporters
   • Mussolini observed that the Liberals couldn't deal with Socialist threat - very important

2. Rural Italy

   • 'Socialist Leagues' recruited poor farm workers
   • Socialism was a threat to landowners and richer farmers
     • in Tuscany, Emilia and Bologna squadrisimo (Fascist groups) were invited to attack Socialist groups
   • 1920-21 - Fascists destroyed 80 Socialist trade union offices - 200 dead and over 800 wounded

3. Fascist supporters

   • farm managers, landowners, richer farmers
   • 50% were soldiers
   • Middle-class students (10%)
   • 25% were below voting age
   • 1921 - over 200,000 supporters
   • those who despised the 'Mutilated Victory'

4. Was Fascism a strong contender in 1922?

   • had 500,000 members by 1922 and unofficially controlled some areas of Italy
   • Successive Liberal governments had allowed Fascism to grow - too afraid to fight it
   • July 1922 - looked as though Socialists, Liberals and Catholics would join together to form and anti-Fascist government
     • Giolitti withdrew his support
       • Anti-Fascist alliances failed
   • 1920 - Socialists are facing a decline in power - damaged by Fascist attacks and growing unemployment decreased their popularity
     • A decline in socialism could have killed off Fascism - Fascists had to exaggerate Socialist threat to survive
     • August 1922 Socialists try to strike but it collapses after 2 days - Fascists still took credit for crushing it
   • 1922 - Still disagreements regarding how to take power - the Ras (squadristi) leaders wanted to seize it by force but Mussolini wanted to gain power legally