THE RISE AND RULE OF BENITO
MUSSOLINITopic 1
BENITO MUSSOLINI•Born in 1883
•Son of a blacksmith
•Before WWI: professional revolutionary, left wing socialist, and radical journalist
EARLY YEARS•School master by 1901.
•Arrested in 1903 for stirring up controversy in Switzerland.
•Inspired by the writing of Sorel and Nietzsche.
CORPORAL MUSSOLINI Abandoned Socialism
in December 1914.
During the war he became an intense nationalist.
He demanded the conquest of Italia irredenta (Italian territory inside of Austrian borders)
THE MARCH ON ROME The Blackshirts
The March on Rome
Mussolini becomes Prime Minister
The Totalitarian State
Il Duce
NEW LAWS The Acerbo Law
Reasons for the law
The assassination of the socialist deputy Giacomo Matteotti
TAKING COMPLETE CONTROL Taking over ministries
The MVSN (Blackshirts)
OVRA (Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism)
The Christmas Eve Law (1925)
THE ECONOMY OF ITALY: 1922-1943
Public Construction Programs
The “Battle for Wheat”
Mussolinia
The “Battle for Land”
“Gold for the Fatherland”
MANIPULATION Propaganda
Replacing liberalism and democracy
The role of teachers and professors
“Free Press”
THE ROLE OF EDUCATION “reorganizing the
youth from a moral and physical point of view”
“fascist education is moral, physical, social, and military: it aims to create a complete harmoniously developed human, a fascist one according to our views”
THE ITALO-ABYSSINIAN CRISIS
Building an Italian Empire
Avenging past defeats
Battle of Adowa (March 1896)
“A Place in the Sun”
THE ITALO-ABYSSINIAN CRISIS
The new fort at Wal Wal
The Wal Wal Incident
Border Clashes
Response of The league of Nations (Great Britain and France)
THE ITALO-ABYSSINIAN CRISIS
Emperor Haile Selassie
The Abyssinian Army
Types of Equipment
The Imperial Guard
THE ABYSSINIAN CRISIS October 1935
The Hoare-Laval Pact (December 1935)
The Christmas Offensive
Chemical Warfare
“the terrible rain that burned and killed”
ITALY GAINS AN EMPIRE Selassie flees Abyssinia
The New Emperor of Abyssinia
Mussolini’s moment of glory
Italy gains its empire
Selassie’s speech
“It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.”