Mussolini's Rise to Power

If you plan on answering an essay question on Mussolini, understanding how he came to power post-WW1 is essential. A few key events are well worth mentioning if you wish to maximise your context output in the exam. Here are some of the events, and below, key additional context:

1. The March on Rome
2. Acerbo Law is Passed
3. The Murder of Giacomo Matteoti
4. Becoming Il Duce in 1925
5. Church-State Relations

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The March on Rome

In October 1922, Mussolini demanded that Prime Minister Luigi Facta resign and appoint a Fascist-led government. To support his demands, Mussolini organised a March on Rome, assembling 30,000 Blackshirts. Facta, fearing a Fascist coup, asked King Victor Emmanuel III to use the Italian Army to deal with the threat.

Becoming Dictator

• As Prime Minister, Mussolini utilised legal means to dismantle democracy and establish a dictatorship. Initially, he faced challenges due to having only 35 Fascist deputies out of 535, making him reliant on other parties' support.
• In January 1923, Mussolini transformed the Blackshirts into a voluntary state militia, legitimising their attacks on political opponents. By November 1923, Mussolini passed the Acerbo Law, granting the party with the most votes in elections (if over 25%) two-thirds of the seats in the chamber. Mussolini claimed this law would stabilise the government by eliminating weak coalitions.
• In January 1924, Mussolini secured the port of Fiume for Italy through negotiations with the Serbs, enhancing his popularity. In April 1924, a general election saw Fascists and their allies win a 64% landslide, securing a majority in the Chamber of Deputies.

Matteotti's Murder

• Shortly after the election, Socialist Party leader Giacomo Matteotti delivered powerful speeches in the Chamber of Deputies, denouncing the Fascist Party's electoral misconduct and violence.
• In June, he published "The Fascists Exposed: A Year of Fascist Domination," detailing these accusations. Shortly after, Matteotti was murdered by members of the Fascist Party's secret police, the Ceka (modelled after Lenin's Cheka).
• Mussolini distanced himself from the murder, claiming it was the work of extremists. Despite this, public outrage led to the Aventine Secession, where Socialist deputies withdrew from the Chamber. This played to Mussolini's advantage as it removed his most vocal opponents.
• In January 1925, Mussolini took responsibility for the murder, declaring he assumed full responsibility for what had happened.

Il Duce

• By 1925, Mussolini was referred to as Il Duce (the leader). That year, parliament passed a law allowing Mussolini to rule by decree. He was no longer responsible to parliament; only the King could remove him. In 1928, the Grand Council of Fascism was given the authority to nominate parliamentary candidates.
• Several assassination attempts were made on Mussolini's life, including those by Violet Gibson in 1926 and Anteo Zamboni in 1926. These attempts, though unsuccessful, were used in Fascist propaganda to portray Mussolini as invincible.
• In early 1927, Mussolini established OVRA, a secret police force to suppress political dissent. By 1940, OVRA had arrested 4,000 people and sentenced 10 to death for political crimes.

Propaganda

• Upon becoming dictator, Mussolini fostered a cult of personality.
• He was depicted as the embodiment of Italy's strength and greatness. Propaganda showed him in various roles—working in fields, in military uniform, and even as a sportsman.
• His image was omnipresent in the Fascist press, including Il Popolo d'Italia (The People of Italy). Strict censorship laws ensured the suppression of any criticism against the Fascist regime.

Church-State Relations

While portraying himself as a totalitarian dictator, Mussolini maintained the monarchy to secure industrialists' and the Vatican's support. In June 1929, Mussolini negotiated the Lateran Treaty with the Vatican, resolving a decades-long dispute and enhancing his domestic and international standing. The treaty declared:

• Catholicism was the state religion, with clergy paid by the state.
• Recognition of the Pope's sovereignty and the creation of Vatican City. Despite these agreements, relations soured in the 1930s as Fascists limited Church freedoms and attempted to control youth groups. Pope Pius XI condemned Mussolini's policies, and by 1938, relations had deteriorated significantly, especially following Mussolini's adoption of Nazi-style race laws.

Summary Points from the Lateran Treaty

• Rome was declared the centre of the Catholic world.
• The Italian state compensated the Vatican for lost territories with £30 million.
• The Vatican City was created as an independent state.
• Religious education was permitted in state schools.
• The Vatican recognized the Italian state.
• Bishops in Rome had to be of Italian birth and approved by the state.
• The Church agreed to support Fascist anti-socialist policies. Despite this agreement, the Vatican remained a critical voice against Mussolini's regime, particularly rejecting his race laws and attempts to control Church activities. The Vatican's influence was too powerful for Mussolini to suppress entirely.

Key Terms/People Defined

Luigi Facta

• Italian Prime Minister from February to October 1922. He faced pressure from Mussolini and the Fascists, eventually requesting King Victor Emmanuel III to use the military against the March on Rome.

March on Rome

• A planned mass demonstration and coup by Mussolini's Fascist Party in October 1922 led to Mussolini's appointment as Prime Minister and the start of his dictatorship.

King Victor Emmanuel III

• King of Italy from 1900 to 1946. He played a crucial role in Mussolini's rise to power by appointing him as Prime Minister after the March on Rome.

Acerbo Law

Passed in 1923, this Italian electoral law granted the party with the most votes, provided it exceeded 25%, two-thirds of the seats in parliament. This allowed Mussolini's Fascist Party to consolidate power.

Giacomo Matteotti

• Leader of the Socialist Party, he was an outspoken critic of the Fascists. His assassination by Fascist thugs in 1924 sparked a political crisis and outrage in Italy.

The Fascists Exposed: A Year of Fascist Domination

• A pamphlet written by Giacomo Matteotti in 1924, detailing the Fascist Party's violence and electoral fraud, leading to his subsequent murder.

Ceka

• The secret police of the Fascist Party, modelled after Lenin's Cheka, responsible for political repression and the assassination of Giacomo Matteotti.

Aventine Secession

• A protest by Socialist deputies in 1924 who withdrew from the Chamber of Deputies in response to Matteotti's murder, intending to delegitimise Mussolini's government.

Il Duce

• Italian for **"**The Leader," Mussolini adopted this title to emphasise his absolute authority and leadership of the Fascist state.

Grand Council of Fascism

• The top decision-making body in Mussolini's Fascist government, responsible for nominating parliamentary candidates and consolidating Mussolini's power.

Violet Gibson

• An Irish woman who attempted to assassinate Mussolini in 1926. Though she failed, her actions were used in Fascist propaganda to depict Mussolini as invincible.

Anteo Zamboni

• A 15-year-old Italian anarchist who attempted to assassinate Mussolini in 1926. He was immediately killed by Mussolini's supporters, further fuelling Fascist propaganda.

OVRA

• The secret police force established by Mussolini in 1927 to suppress political dissent and enforce Fascist policies was known for its extensive network of informants and brutal tactics.

Il Popolo d'Italia

• A newspaper founded by Mussolini in 1914, used as a propaganda tool to promote Fascist ideology and Mussolini's leadership.

Lateran Treaty

• An agreement signed in 1929 between Mussolini's government and the Vatican resolved longstanding disputes, recognising Vatican City as an independent state while making Catholicism the state religion of Italy.

Vatican City

• An independent city-state established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, serving as the spiritual and administrative centre of the Roman Catholic Church.