CASE

STUDY 2:
GERMAN
AND
ITALIAN
Benito Mussolini (left) and Adolf Hitler (right),
the leaders of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany 
respectively, were both fascists.
EXPANSION
img.audiovis.nac.gov.pl

Mussolini and Hilter, partners in crime?

historiek.net
2.1 The impact of fascism on Italian
foreign policy: the origins, 1870-1933
Conceptual understanding

 Key concepts
 Causation
 Significance

 Key questions
 Examine the reasons for the growth of support for Fascism and
Mussolini in Italy after the First World War
 To what extent did Fascism influence Italian foreign policy in the 1920s?
What were the long-term weaknesses of Liberal Italy (1870 – 1923)?

Unification of Italy
gktoday.in

Italy was unified in 1861. The country still lacked a national identity at the turn of the
twentieth century.
Explain why.
The Catholic Church was also a dividing force for Italians.
Explain why.
Working class and peasant protests were more prevalent and were becoming a growing political
force.

In 1930 the franchise (voting) was expanded to all men over 30 years old.

In 1892 the Italian socialist party (PSI) was founded.

The liberal prime minister Giolitti attempted to win support

from the (unruly) masses but his policies were undermined
by:
-Economic recession
-The Italian-Turkish war (1911 -1912)

After the First World War the PSI refused to work with the
Italian liberal party.
Giovanni Giolitti
Wikipedia.org
Another growing force of division in Italian society and politics was the Nationalist opposition.

Marinetti founded the Nationalist Association in 1910. (He was also the founder of the Futurist
movement.)
What were their main points of criticism?

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944) A poster depicting Marinetti and his Futurist movement
wikipedia.org augustomovimento.blogspot
What was the impact of the First World War Italy on Italy (1915 -1918)?
Task one
ATL: Thinking skills
■ Watch the following video:
Italy in World War 1 I THE GREAT WAR Special

Italian troops in the trenches 1916

thinkib.net

1. What are your conclusions about Italy on the eve of the First World War?
2. What were Italy's aims in joining the war on the side of the Entente?
 The Italians fought the Austrians and the Germans across a front in Northern Italy. Between 1915 and
1918 five million men were engaged in military service, mainly as conscripts. Most of the conscripts
were drawn from rural areas as industrial workers tended to be engaged in the production of war
materials. Similar to the practices of the Western Front in France and Belgium, trenches developed on
the Italian front and for most of the ensuing three years the war was static and a war of attrition.
 Italian troops fought bravely, endured appalling conditions and were on low pay. At the Battle of
Caporetto in October 1917 the Italians were surprised by an Austro-German offensive and suffered
huge losses; 700,000 troops were pushed back by the more than 100 km. The commander-in-chief
blamed the cowardice of his troops and had thousands executed. However, the Nationalists blamed
the government.
 Despite the catastrophe at Caporetto the Italian lines
held, and Italy finally achieved a victory at the battle
of Vittorio Veneto against the Austrians in October
1918.  By this time the German army was exhausted
by the Anglo-French offensives on the western front.
Austria then sued for peace and an armistice was
signed on 3rd November, 1918.
 On 11th November, Germany surrendered and the
First World War came to an end.  However, victory
came at a huge human cost for the Italians, more
Map of the Italian Front, the Battle of Caporetto. than 650,000 had been killed and hundreds of
dean.usma.edu thousands wounded.
 The war increased the political divisions in Italy. The five million men that served in its army were politicized
by their experience, and many deeply resented the liberal government for what they saw as the
mismanagement of the war.  Some veterans also resented the socialist PSI’s anti-war stance.  The
government had mobilized the population to fight a ‘total’ war and this led to an increase in the number of
industrial workers and in turn an increase in trade union membership and syndicalism.

Members of the Arditi corps, 1918, wielding daggers

wikipedia.org
What is Fascism?
Watch this introduction: What is Fascism?

Take notes of the points expressed in this short video.

Add the characteristics of Fascism from page 89 to your notes

libcom.org
Why did support for Fascism grow in Italy after the First World War?
What was the impact of D’Annunzio and the Fiume affair on Fascism?
■ Discuss the source skills questions on page 91 – 92.
What was the impact of economic factors on the rise affair on the rise of Fascism?
■ High inflation and mass unemployment (2 million by the end of 1919) caused massive resentment
among the Italian middle and working class.
■ During the “Two Red Years’’ (Biennio Rosso) in 1919- 1920 the Italian socialists tried and failed to
catalyze a Russian-style revolution.
■ Italian communist party (Partito Communista Italiano) was formed in January 1921.

■ Mussolini’s Fascists presented themselves as the sound alternative.

– Who did they gain support from and why?
How important was the March on Rome in 1922?
Watch the first 2 minutes of this short documentary:
1922: Mussolini`s March to Rome - 20th Century Almanac
– What was the significance of the March on Rome?
■ How did Mussolini consolidate his power?
– Take note of the summary on page 96.
■ Did Mussolini create a totalitarian state?
– Explain what a totalitarian state is and answer the source skills question on page 97.

goodreads.com