IB-II History German and Italian Expansion

2.3 Italian expansion, 1933-1940

1. What were the Istituto Mobiliare Italiano and the Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale
(and some other measures) and what effect did they have on the economy of Italy?

As the bank of Italy was about to collapse, due to the effects of the Great depression,
economic problems caused by overlying the lira, as the investment form the USA was
withdrawn and Italian farmers were also badly affected. The industry declined in Italy and
unemployment grew. The government set up the Istituto Mobiliare Italiano, a long term credit
institution, in 1931, which supported industrial development and growth in Italy. Hence, the
allocation of resources were under control of the government and this caused the
government to directly control the major industries. The institutio per la ricostruzione
Industriale, an Italian public holding company, was set up in 1933, to rescue, restructure and
finance banks and private companies that went bankrupt during the Great Depression. The
istituto per la ricostruzione Industriale was responsible for taking over the shares of
companies and banks. It resulted in Italy developing the largest public sector in Europe
(excluding the soviet union). As a result, by the end of the 1930s, the government controlled
20% of the capital key of companies. Additionally the wages that had already fallen before
the Great Depression, were cut further.

Additionally, there were other methods that provided relief from the impact of the Great
Depression on Italy’s economy. These methods included public works programmes and the
removal of the ban on emigration. Furthermore, in order to prevent social and political
upheaval as a result of the economic crisis, Mussolini attempted to distract the italian public
from Italy’s internal political problems by fostering a “revolutionary” spirit that both he and
facism embraced. Mussolini then attempted to make his foreign policy more inspirational.
This resulted in Mussolini’s emphasis on autarky, the self-sufficient economy, additionally
the invasion of Abyssinia and the intervention in the Spanish civil war was expensive for
Italy. Despite the fact there were increased taxes, the wars led to an annual budget deficit of
28 billion lire by 1939. All together, this had a negative political impact on Italy’s economy.

The impact of domestic economic issues in Italy are significant as they affected Italy’s
foreign policy, as Mussolini attempted to make his foreing policy more inspirational, this
included the invasion in Abyssinia and the intervention of the Spanish Civil War. Moreover, a
nation’s economy in Europe is one of the defining factors of whether the nation is capable of
being a great power, having ample influence. Hence for the economy to be stable in Italy
was a necessity as Mussolini had hopes of making Italy ``Great, respected, and feared.”
 2. What was the Four Power Pact (aka Quadripartite Pact)?
Pg. 133

Mussolini vouched for the establishment of a Four Power Pact because he wanted an
alternative to the League of Nations, which gave more of an equal footing to smaller and
bigger nations alike, and to ensure international security. This pact was signed on 15th July
1933 in Rome with the objective to effectively limit the voices of smaller nations and give
them lesser say in “Great Power” relations. The League of Nations allowed sovereign
powers to cooperate in an orderly manner, but Mussolini’s intention was to limit the power of
the smaller nations. The pact was signed by Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, however
the French parliament never ratified it. The pact reaffirmed each signatory nation’s
adherence to Covenant of League of Nations, the Locarno Treaties, and the Kellogg-Briand
Pact.
Its significance lies in the fact that though it allowed “Great Power” cooperation, it was
largely set aside by other powers, but in Italy it won Mussolini a success story. The Four
Power Pact was supposed to prevent the exploitation of “balance of power” so its signing
was significant for Italy and other European powers, especially Britain, a great power.

3. What was the Stresa Front? How did it come about?

The Stresa front was a coalition between Britain, France, and Italy to oppose the actions of
Hitler on the political front. Essentially, it aimed to restrict any attempts by Germany to
change the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. It was conceived during the “Final Declaration”
of Stresa (a town in Italy) Conference on 14th April 1935 which assured the independence of
Austria and reaffirmed the Locarno Treaties. The coalition came about in response to
Germany’s declaration of its intention to rearm itself, and the “Freedom to Rearm Rally”. This
front between Britain, France, and Italy was to prevent the violation of Treaty of Versailles or
to bring any changes into the European settlement.

In the Declaration, Germany was not specifically named and it was largely an ambiguous
agreement. Additionally, the decoration did not mention the ways in which the objective (of
limiting changes to the Treaty of Versailles) would be brought about. In essence, Italy was
more interested than Britain to prevent Germany from acting on its intentions, whereas
Britain was wary of not wanting to offend Hitler. Neither Britain, France, nor Italy were
allowing for a proper invasion of Germany.
However, this is significant for Mussolini because the Stresa Front gave Italy protection from
the idea of Anschluss (the aim of Hitler to unite Austria and Germany). Additionally, in the
talks leading up to the Stresa front, Mussolini inferred that while working with Britain and
France, he had their consent to expand Italian control in Abyssinia. For Mussolini, a
revitalised Germany would make Britain and France wary, and allow him to move towards
the Italian territorial demands.

The pact ended because in June 1935, the Stresa Front principle was undermined by Britain
when it signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement with Hitler’s Germany. By allowing Hitler
to enlarge his navy through this agreement (without consulting the Stresa Front co-
signatories), Britain violated the principles of Stresa Front. For Mussolini, this action of
Britain ended the Stresa Front agreement. Additionally, the invasion of Abyssinia worsened
the relationship Italy had with Britain and France.

The Stresa Front was significant because its aim was to reaffirm the Locarno Treaties and to
declare the independence of Austria; Mussolini opposed Anchullus (the name given to
Austria’s unification with Germany). It was also an agreement to resist any further attempts
by Germany to change the Treaty of Versailles.

4. How did the Abyssinian invasion steer Italy’s foreign policy on a new course and what
were Mussolini’s objectives?

Initially, Italy had tried and failed to conquer Abyssinia back in 1896. Additionally, after WW1,
Italians felt that they didn’t get a just share of territory when the Treaty of Versailles laid out
who would rule Germany’s former colonies. The invasion of Abyssinia was largely in
response to this. The invasion of Abyssinia steered Italy;s foreign policy on a new course
because though the invasion was condemned by the League of Nations and Italy had to face
sanctions; Italy was praised domestically. While negatively affecting its relation with Western
democracies, on the domestic front, there was a nationalist upsurge further fuelling
Mussolini’s future actions.

Mussolini’s objectives in invading Abyssinia trace back to the longer-term Italian ambition to
have an empire and become an imperial power like Britain and France. He also derived
inspiration from the Roman empire which had territory in Africa as well. The political
objective behind the invasion was to consolidate Mussolini’s personality cult (Il Duce). Since
Abyssinia was not modernised, this war could give Mussolini an easy win. Additionally, as
Mussolini was a proponent of fascism, war for its own sake was an objective in itself. The
abyssinian invasion could undo the failed efforts to capture it back in 1896, and it would give
Mussolini the opportunity to expand his military forces by using the colonial troops.
Economically, the objectives were to mitigate the negative effects of the Great Depression
and channel the attention away from Italy’s deteriorating corporate sector. The occupation of
Abyssinia would allow Italy to gain more territory and provide an export market for Italian
goods. The potential to find oil was also a major reason. Mussolini was also motivated to
show Italy’s strength to Germany. At the crux, Abyssinia;s rich natural resources, sufficient
land to provide Italian emigration, the objective of Mussolini to have his own imperial empire
to the matching of Britain and France all motivated the invasion.

The effect of this was that the League had to impose sanctions on Italy. Italy’s Abyssinian
adventure is also significant because according to some historians this crisis reduced the
credibility of the League of Nations and undermined the principles of peace and collective
security which the League was established upon.

5. Provide a simple timeline of the events of the Abyssinian invasion, including the issue
with the League of Nations after the invasion (bullet points are acceptable here, I’ve
started it for you).
- 1923: Italy backs Abyssinian entry to League
- 1928: Italy and Abyssinia sign Treaty of Friendship
- 1929: Italy drew a plan to annex Abyssinia
- 1932: Italy drew a plan to invade Abyssinia
- 1934: (December)- Italian forces clashed with the Abyssianians at the disputed wal
wal oasis, which resulted in the death of 30 Italians. Mussolini demanded an apology
and compensation. The emperor of Abyssinia Haile Selassie requested and
investigation by the League of Nations. However, Mussolini didn’t like the idea of the
League interfering and secretly ordered his forces to obtain a “total conquest” of
Abyssinia. Mussolini (Il duce) made a major commitment to the war by sending tan
army with support personnel of 500,000 to east africa. As the Abyssinians had no
modern weapons, they retreated.
- 1935: (september): the league resolved that neither side could be held responsible
for the wal wal incident as the areas had been disputed.
- 1935( October 3rd)- Italy launched its full scale invasion
- 1935: (October 6th)- Italian forces captured Adowa. This had a historic importance to
italy as its forces had been defeated there before in 1896
- 1935: (october 7th)- The League of Nations condemned Italy as the aggressor.
- 1935: (October 11th)- The League of Nations’ Assembly voted to impose sanctions
- 1935: (November 18th)- The sanctions (which were limited were put into effect.
- 1935: (December)- The British and French foreign ministers Samuel Hoare and
Pierre Laval respectively, drew up a secret pact which would offer Italy half of
Abyssinia to bring about a swift resolution to the crisis. However, this plan was
leaked to the press and Britain and France were pressured by public opinion to
withdraw the deal. Italy continued the War.
- 1936: (April 6th)- The Abyssinian army was defeated at Lake Ashangi.
- 1936: (May 5th)- Italian forces took the capital, Addis Ababa and Emperor Haile
Selassi fled to Britain.
- 1936: (May 9th)- Abyssinia was formally annexed by Italy, and it became part of
Italian East Africa with Eritrea and Somaliland.
 6. How had the Abyssinian War affected Italy both nationally and internationally?

The Abyssinian war resulted in Abyssinia being annexed by Italy on 5th may 1936, forming a
part of Italian east Africa. This war had significant impacts on Italy domestically. It bolstered
the nationalist sentiment which further increased after the League of Nations condemned
Italy’s actions. There was immense domestic support as even the Queen mother participated
in funding the war. On the military front, it cost Italy 1000 casualties and a public display of
Italian strength was made possible. The objective of expanding the Italian empire was also
fulfilled. Essentially, it was seen as a foreign policy success. On the economic side, the war
cost Italy a budget deficit of 2.5 billion to 16 billion lira. The lira was also devalued by 40%
severely impacting the middle class.

However, on the international front too there was a significant impact. Because of the
sanctions imposed by the League, trade was shifted to germany. The actions of the Italian
military gave them a reputation for “great brutality”. Post the annexation, a guerrilla war
ensued in Abyssian which the Italians had to face until 1941. The war also led to a
“Mediterranean scare” and Italy was warned of rising tension with Britain. The invasion
jeopardised Italy’s relations with France and Britain but brought it closer to Germany. During
the war on January 6th 1936, Mussolini told the German ambassador that he no longer
objected to Austria becoming a German Satellite, however he stressed that Austria must
remain independent. Additionally on February 22 1936, Mussolini agreed to the German
rearmament of Rhineland, meaning that Italy would no longer uphold its Locarno obligations,
where Italy committed themselves to help to repel any armed aggression across the German
Western frontier.

The results of the Abyssinian war for collective security was that the war had exposed the
weakness of the League of Nations, which had been ineffective in response to Italian
aggression. It was especially humiliating for the League since Italy was a member state.

7. List and explain the reasons Italy intervened in the Spanish Civil War.
Pg. 141

The Spanish Civil (1936-39) was a war fought between the Spanish Republicans who
supported the Left-wing popular front and the Spanish nationalist forces who supported right-
wing groups which included fascists, supporters of the church, the military, and the royal
family. The nationalist forces were led by General Franco who attempted to control Italy in a
coup in July 1936. The civil war broke out when the nationalist forces failed to take the
capital Madrid , where half the army was loyal to the government.

The Italian intervention in the Spanish Civil war was motivated by the success Mussolini
received in Abyssinia as he wanted to further military greatness. In return for Mussolini's
assistance to General Franco in the Spanish Civil War, Mussolini had hoped to gain naval
bases in the Balearic Island as he had aspirations to re-establish the Mediterranean Roman
Empire. Another motivation for intervention in the Spanish Civil War by Mussolini was also
his ideology, as he responded to request for assistance from militaristic revel to fight against
a liberal democracy and socialism, which were ideas Mussolini agreed with. Mussolini had
also made connections to right-wing groups in Spain since the Spanish Republic was
installed in 1931. Mussolini wanted to stop communism from spreading in Spain to prevent
the communists from gaining an important position in the Mediterranean, as if they did they
would have major control of trade and transportation in Europe. Mussolini presented that
Italy also intervened due to his continuing struggle against Marxism. Another reason for
intervention was that Mussolini intended to weaken France as it was a part of his foreign
policy aims, also since France was close to the left front that Franco and his government
were trying to overthrow. Mussolini’s intervention would mean that France wouldn’t gain
major influence in left-wing Spain, Italy may, and by intervening in the Spanish civil war
Mussolini had an opportunity to strengthen Italy’s position in the mediterranean.

According to Historian Zara Steiner, in the Spanish Civil War, Mussolini saw an opportunity
not only to create a “new Italy” by gaining territory, strength and respect, but also to create
“the new Italian” as for Mussolini to create warlike people, he needed people to want to go to
war.

8. What were the results of Mussolini’s intervention in Spain?

Pg. 142

The result of Mussolini’s intervention in the Spanish Civil War was that unlike the invasion of
Abyssinia, Mussolini had not planned or had strategies when he sent his forces in Spain.
Additionally there weren't any clear nationalist goals which the Italian population could
support. Italy had sent the most assistance (70,000 troops) to support Franco, and the war
had continued on for far longer than Mussolini had anticipated.
While the intervention in Spain was supported by the Church since Franco’s forces were
close with the ROman Catholic Church in Spain, the intervention did not appeal to many
Italians, hence there wasn't much domestic support for the intervention. The results on the
economy of Italy were alarming as the lira was devalued and lost half of its foreign currency
reserves. All together the total cost of the war was 14 billion lire, this led Italy to increase its
trade with Germany. Italy had also lost one third of its arms stocks. Even though Italy was on
the winning side of the war, the right-wing forces’ side, the War showed Italy’s military
weakness as Italian forces were defeated by the International Brigade fighting for the
Republic at the Battle of Guadalajara in March 1937. There was also an increased tension
between Italy, France, and Britain due to the Italian submarine attacks on supply ships. Also
General Franco did not become an Italian Satellite state, meaning an independent state but
under heavy political, economic, and military influence and control from another country. As
a result, Italy drew closer to Germany as Mussolini had now committed himself to a formal
alliance with Germany by the Rome-Berlin Axis Alliance signed on October 25th 1936.
9. Answer the Source Skills “First question, part a” on page 143. Answer as you would in
your Paper 1 exam.

According to the source, the key factors Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany have in
common are that both Weltanschauung, meaning worldview as they have the same
enemies, who are a part of the Third International, or Communist international, an
association of national communist parties, which both Italy and Germany view as an enemy.
Another common factor is that both Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany have common
history as they both believe in will as the major power in the life of a nation, to promote their
history. Additionally, both Mussolini and Hitler had Germany and Italy respectively follow
autarky, a self-sufficient economy demonstrating economic independence, as they believed
it was crucial for political independence for their respective nations.

10. What new alliances does Mussolini form after the Spanish Civil War?
Pg. 143

After the Spanish Civil War as Italy drew closer to Germany, Mussolini had now committed
himself to a formal alliance with Germany by the Rome-Berlin Axis Alliance signed on
October 25th 1936. Additionally, Italy had joined the Anti-Comintern Pact in November 1937
with Germany and Japan which was directed against the Communist International (an
association of national commist parties pounded in 1919) and stated that in case of the
Soviet Union attacks, the signatories would respond by safeguarding their common interests.
By joining the pact, Italy, and the member states of Germany and Japan formed a group
known as the Axis Powers who fought in WWII. Italy had also left the League of Nations in
December 1937 as the League had imposed economic sanctions on Italy after the
Abyssinian crisis which Italy ignored.
These alliances were significant for Italy’s foreign policy as it began to side with Germany
and Japan, with whom Italy later fought in WWII with.

11. Mussolini had a change of mind about Austria. What happened?

Pg. 143

As Italy drew closer to Germany and signed the Rome-Berlin Axis Alliance with them, and
the Anti-Comintern pact with Japan and Germany, Mussolini told the Austrian government in
1936 to deal with Germany directly, thereby implying that Italy would no longer protect
Austria. Previously Italy had protected Austrian independence and successfully warned
Hitler off Anschluss which was the name of Austria’s unification with Germany. In 1938,
Mussolini accepted Anschluss when Hitler invaded Austria, which depicted a major change
of Italy’s position on Austria and its foreign policy. As Austria has been a gain for Italy at
Versailles, Mussolini’s foreign policy change was not favoured by Italians domestically.

12. Describe Mussolini's role in the Sudetenland crisis of 1938 and the opportunity he
thought it presented to Italy.
Pg. 145

The Sudetenland crisis of 1938 was provoked by the Pan-Germanist demands of Germany
that the Sudetenland be annexed to Germany, which later by the Munich Agreement
permitted German annexation of the Sudetenland, in western Czechoslovakia.
Earlier, Hitler began to support the demands of Germans living in the Sudetenland region of
Czechoslovakia who were seeking closer ties with Germany, thereafter Hitler expressed his
desire to unite the region with Germany.

Italy’s role in the Sudetenland Crisis of 1938 was that during the Munich Crisis in September
1938, Mussolini assumed a high profile, as he wanted to be seen as a great peacemaker by
helping avert a war. After Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Britain had failed to fain
peace over the sudetenland issue after two meetings with Germany, Mussolini intervened as
a “Peacemaker” and was praised in Europe as the architect of peace.

However, as Mussolini had put forward Hitler’s own plan for Sudentendland, it showed that
Mussolii was subservient to Hitler. The result of this was that in May 1939, Hitler broke the
Munich agreement and invaded the rest of Czecholovakia.

Mussolini attempted to cease an opportunity he thought was presented to Italy as the

Munich agreement highlighted the weakness of Britain and France, Mussolini instructed the
Italian parliament to demand the annexation of Corsica, Nice, and Tunis from France.
Mussolini believed that Italy was capable of winning war against France, and would be able
to do so with German support. This was an advantageous opportunity as Britain did not want
war at any cost, so this was a method for Italy to gain French territories without bloodshed
and effect on the economy or the potential fear of losing a war.

13. How successful was Italy’s Albanian invasion?

Pg. 146, 147, 149

Mussolini invaded Albania on 7th April 1939, which was meaningless as the state was
already a satellite state, however Mussolini did so in order to assert strength and power in an
attempt to imitate Hitler’s successful expansion, intimidate yugoslavia and continue is goal of
dominating the adriatic sea. By pursuing Albania, according to Dino Grandi, Mussolini’s Italy
would gain the paths of Roman conquests, meaning Italy would be following the steps of the
Roman Empire to success. By Italy pursuing Albania, Britain would be threatened as it would
result in the loss of Britain’s naval bases, and the domination of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Italy invaded Albania with a force of 100,000 men and 600 aircraft. The Albanian army on
the other hand only had 15,000 men which had in fact been trained by the Italians. Italy
gained quick victory as they were able to outdo the Albanians and their limited equipment.
Italy gained the ports from Albania within the first day of fighting. The King of Albania, King
Zog and his family fled to Greece.

On April 8th, 1939, Italian forces seized control of all government buildings in Tirana, and on
12th April, the Albanian government deposed King Zog and voted to unite with Italy in
“personal union”. Albania also withdrew from the League of Nations as a result on April 15th
1939 and the Italiansa then set up a Facist Government in ALbania under Shefqet Verlaci.
The Albanian army was under Italian command and Musolini declared Albania to officially be
a part of the Italian empire, and King Victor Emannuel III, who was already the Emperor of
Ethiopia, became the King of Albania.

Albania was also significant to Italy as Mussolini would later use the state as a base to
launch an invasion in Greece on 28th October in 1940. Italy quickly and successfully
controlled Albania.

14. Answer the Source Skills “First question, part a” on page 150. Answer as you would in
your Paper 1 exam.

According to Over and Wheatcroft, there was resistance in Italy to the idea of a Pact of Steel
with Germany as the Italian generals were hostile to promote such dangerous commitments
with Germany, and the public opinion was also more anti-German. Also, there were secret
police reports which demonstrated the growing opposition to a war, an economic crisis, and
relations with Germany.

(Points I used: Italian generals were hostile to promote such dangerous commitments, the
public opinion was also more anti-German, secret police reports which demonstrated the
growing opposition to a war, an economic crisis, and relations with Germany. )

15. Explain the arguments put forth for Italy remaining non-belligerent in 1939.
Pg. 149

When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, it started a general European war, and during the Pact
of Steel which was signed between Germany and italy, the pact included the terms that the
two nations would completely trust and cooperate each other and there was also a secret
protocol which fostered a union of military and economic policies, Mussolini had suggested
that Italy was not ready for a general War until 1943, and hence, when Hitler was at War with
Poland, Mussolini declared Italy as non-belligerent. This decision contrasted Missolini’s aims
in creating a warlike militarised society which Mussolini thought strengthened his nation.

Some Historians argue that Mussolini had sealed the fate of Italy and was on the path
directed by Nazi Germany. In contrast, according to Renzo De Felice, Mussolini had
continued to consider an alliance with Britain and France against Germany until 1940.
However a limitation of this source is that De Felice has been criticised by left wing
historians in Italy for showing sympathy for Mussolini and apologetic for facism.

Furthermore, Italy may have remained non-belligerent in 1939 to be realistic as Italy had
been continuously waging war for several years in Africa and Europe and could have been
weary of the war or might not have enough economic strength to support a war. This
decision made by Italy is significant as the invasion in Poland by Germany was the first crisis
of WWII in Europe.

16. Considering all of the reasons Italy (eventually) joined the war in June 1940, what was
the final “nail in the coffin”?

Pg. 150

There were several reasons why Italy eventually joined the war in 1940. Because Mussolini
was a fascist leader, to not join the war was seen as an embarrassment and against the
doctrine he followed. It could also taint his image of a confident and decisive leader (keeping
Il Duce in mind). The war would also be an opportunity to eliminate the influence of the
conservatives and the Church, and to bring in an element of radicalization. If Italy was to
stay away from the war, for Mussolini that would be equivalent to degrading itself to a lesser
rank and staying neutral. He did not want to be “another Switzerland”. The war also had the
potential to expand territorially and bring control over the Mediterranean region. There was
also the concern that if Italy stayed out of the war and Germany won it, Europe would be
dominated by German influence and Italy would receive hostility from Germany for staying
neutral.

Despite these reasons, the final “nail in the coffin” were economic reasons. By august 1940
Germany owed Italy $40 million as a buyer of Italian food and textiles (Germany being a
major market for Italy). Italy too was dependent on Germany for coal which was an important
source of energy (⅔ of Italian supply) which had been delivered by sea. In March 1940,
Britain blocked all German coal ports. Hence, in June 1940, Mussolini declared war on
Britain and France.