Why would Mussolini's passionate embrace of heroism and voilence appeal to Italians in 1922-1943?

Answer 1

Mussolini's passionate embrace of heroism and violence was supported by the Italians because of the chaos that erupted after the stock markets crashed. The Italians entered World War I on the side of the allies in hopes of winning Austrian territory in the Alps and along the Adriatic Sea. The Treaty of Versailles, however, did not give Italy as much land as they had wanted. Many people believed felt betrayed for not getting much, after the sacrifice of 650,000 dead and 1 million wounded in the war. When the stocks crashed, Italy was in utter devastation, the war drove up prices and unemployment was rising. To many Italians, their democratic government seemed helpless to deal with the country's problems. Growing numbers of people demanded action and waited impatiently for a strong leader. This demand led to the rise of Mussolini. Because of the helplessness they faced, Mussolini gave them a sense of hope after coming to power. The people would now do anything to restore their stability.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Passionate Embrace

Answer 4

that wasn't the appeal for most Italians at the time. He was looked upon as a great leader until the time when he joined hitler and began performing ruthless acts in the open. My great grandmothers on each side of my italian families had portraits of moussolini in their living rooms. Many italians in america kept those portraits up until well into world war two, because he was seen in the light of a brilliant leader. His dispicable acts only became known after the war dragged on and he loaded more and more jews on trains to be taken to germany.

Answer 5

People were afraid to differ with him, just like Hitler, Mussolini murdered people who disagreed with his political rhetoric. Mussolini was hanged by his own people at the end of WWII in Italy, his mistress was also hanged.

Answer 6

His only real passionate embrace was of his mistresses. The rest was operatic guff and accepted as such.
Italians wanted their country to be accepted as a country of more than organ-grinders, gigolos and operatic tenors.

Answer 7

2

Answer 8

the one that appeals to me is a wild passionate one but at the moment ive got a quite calm one on the go.

Answer 9

The term Fascism is derived from the word "Fascio" which had existed in Italian politics for some time. A section of revolutionary syndicalists broke with the Socialists over the issue of Italy's entry into the First World War. These syndicalists formed a group called Fasci d'azione rivoluzionaria internazionalista in October 1914. Mussolini violently opposed intervention at first, but changed his mind. He soon became as violent a supporter of the war as he had been an opponent.

Massimo Rocca and Tulio Masotti asked Mussolini to settle the contradiction of his support for interventionism and still being the editor of Avanti! and an official party functionary in the Socialist Party. Mussolini responded by resigning from the paper, and was expelled from the party. Two weeks later, he joined the Milan fascio. Mussolini claimed that it would help strengthen a relatively new nation (which had been united only in the 1860s in the Risorgimento), although some would say that he wished for a collapse of society that would bring him to power.

With the help of a publisher who favored entering the war, Mussolini founded a new paper, Il Popolo d'Italia (The People of Italy). Italy was a member of the Triple Alliance, thereby allied with Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary. It did not join the war in 1914, but did in 1915, as Mussolini wished, on the side of Britain and France.

Called up for military service, Mussolini served at the front between September 1915 and February 1917. During that period he kept a war diary in which he prefigured himself as a charismatic hero leader of a socially conservative national warrior community. In reality, however, he spent most of the war in quiet sectors and saw very little action.[6] It has always been thought that he was seriously wounded in grenade practice in 1917 and that this accounts for his return to Milan to the editorship of his paper. But recent research has shown that he in fact used what were only very minor injuries to cover the more serious affliction of neurosyphilis.[7]



Birth of Fascism
By the time of his return from the front, there was very little left of Mussolini the socialist (though for a time, his paper still called itself "a Socialist paper"). By February 1918, he was calling for the emergence of a leader "ruthless and energetic enough to make a clean sweep." In May, he hinted in a speech in Bologna that he might be that leader.

On February 23, 1919, Mussolini reformed the Milan fascio as the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento (Italian Fighting League), comprised of 200 members. Its first manifesto promised broad reforms. It became an organized political movement a month later. The Fascisti, led by one of Mussolini's close confidants, Dino Grandi, formed armed squads of war veterans called Blackshirts (or squadiristi)to terrorize anarchists, socialists and communists. The government rarely interfered. The Fascisti grew so rapidly that within two years, it transformed itself into the National Fascist Party at a congress in Rome. Also in 1921, Mussolini was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the first time.

In return for the support of a group of industrialists and agrarians, Mussolini gave his approval (often active) to strikebreaking, and he abandoned revolutionary agitation; he even dropped his earlier support for overthrowing the monarchy and transforming Italy into a "social republic." When the governments of Giovanni Giolitti, Ivanoe Bonomi, and Luigi Facta failed to stop the spread of chaos, and after Fascists had organized the demonstrative and threatening Marcia su Roma ("March on Rome") on October 28, 1922); Mussolini--despite commanding the support of only 22 other Fascist deputies--was invited by King Victor Emmanuel III to form a new government. At the age of 39, he became the youngest prime minister in Italian history on October 31, 1922.[8]

Contrary to a common misconception, Mussolini did not become prime minister because of the March on Rome. Rather, Victor Emmanuel feared that if he did not choose a government under either the Fascists or Socialists, Italy would soon be involved in a civil war. Then as now, Italian governments were frequently formed without a majority, resulting in weak and indecisive administrations. Many conservatives saw Mussolini and Fascism as the best answer to the possibility of a Communist takeover. They also feared a Socialist government might take away what the Italian left called excessive war profits, give too much power to labor unions and force higher wages. They also feared possible government control of key industries. The king accordingly, asked Mussolini to become Prime Minister, obviating the need for the March on Rome. However, because fascists were already arriving from all around Italy, he decided to continue. In effect, the threatened seizure of power became nothing more than a victory parade. Fascists from all over Italy came to Rome to cheer the "revolution." Thus, the March on Rome became a piece of fascist legend: that Fascism had taken over through force rather than compromise. However, it is not entirely accurate to say that Mussolini came to power solely through legal means.




Over the next two years, Mussolini progressively dismantled all constitutional and conventional restraints on his power, building a police state. A law passed on Christmas Eve 1925 changed Mussolini's title from "president of the Council of Ministers" (prime minister) to "head of the government." He was no longer responsible to Parliament, and could only be removed by the king. Only Mussolini could determine the body's agenda. Local autonomy was abolished, and podestas appointed by the Italian Senate replaced elected mayors and councils.

Mussolini's skill in propaganda was such that he had surprisingly little opposition to suppress. Nonetheless, he was "slightly wounded in the nose" when he was shot on 7 April 1926 by Violet Gibson, an Irish woman and sister of Baron Ashbourne.[10] He also survived a failed assassination attempt in Rome by anarchist Gino Lucetti,[11] and a planned attempt by American anarchist Michael Schirru, which ended with his capture and execution.[12]

At various times after 1922, Mussolini personally took over the ministries of the interior, foreign affairs, colonies, corporations, defense, and public works. Sometimes he held as many as seven departments simultaneously, as well as the premiership. He was also head of the all-powerful Fascist Party and the armed local fascist militia, the MVSN, or "Blackshirts", that terrorized incipient resistances in the cities and provinces. He would later form an institutionalised secret police that carried official state support, the OVRA. In this way he succeeded in keeping power in his own hands and preventing the emergence of any rival.

All other parties were outlawed in 1928, though in practice Italy had been a one-party state since Mussolini's 1925 speech. In the same year, an electoral law abolished parliamentary elections. Instead, the Fascist Grand Council, selected a single list of candidates to be approved by plebiscite. The Grand Council had been created five years earlier as a party body, but was now "constitutionalized" and became the highest constitutional authority in the state.


Economic projects
Mussolini launched several public construction programs and government initiatives throughout Italy to combat economic setbacks or unemployment levels. His earliest was Italy's equivalent of the Green Revolution, known as the "Battle for Grain", which saw the foundation of 5,000 new farms and five new agricultural towns on land reclaimed by draining the Pontine Marshes. This plan diverted valuable resources to grain production, away from other, more economically viable crops. The huge tariffs associated with the project promoted widespread inneficiencies, and the government subsidies given to farmers pushed the country further into debt. Mussolini also initiated the "Battle for Land", a policy based on land reclamation outlined in 1928. The initiative experienced mixed success - while projects such as the draining of the Pontine Marsh in 1935 for agriculture were good for propaganda purposes, provided work for the unemployed and allowed for great land owners to control subsidies - other areas in the Battle for Land were not very successful. This program was inconsistent with the Battle for Grain (small plots of land were inappropriately allocated for large-scale wheat production) and the Pontine Marsh was lost during World War II. Fewer than 10,000 peasants resettled on the redistributed land and peasant poverty remained high. The Battle for Land initiative was abandoned in 1940.

He also combated an economic recession by introducing the "Gold for the Fatherland" initiative, by encouraging the public to voluntarily donate gold jewellery such as necklaces and wedding rings to government officials in exchange for steel armbands bearing the words "Gold for the Fatherland". The collected gold was then melted down and turned into gold bars, which were then distributed to the national banks. According to some historians, the gold was never melted down and was thrown into a lake, found at the end of the war.

Most of Mussolini's economic policies were carried out with his popularity in mind, instead of economic reality. Thus, while the impressive nature of his economic reforms won him support from many within Italy, historians generally agree the Italian economy seriously underperformed under Il Duce's reign.


Government by propaganda
As dictator of Italy, Mussolini's foremost priority was the subjugation of the minds of the Italian people and using propaganda to do so; whether at home or abroad, and here his training as a journalist was invaluable. Press, radio, education, films — all were carefully supervised to manufacture the illusion that fascism was the doctrine of the twentieth century, replacing liberalism and democracy. The principles of this doctrine were laid down in the article on fascism, written by Giovanni Gentile and signed by Mussolini that appeared in 1932 in the Enciclopedia Italiana. In 1929, a concordat with the Vatican was signed, the Lateran treaties, by which the Italian state was at last recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, and the independence of Vatican City was recognized by the Italian state. In 1927 Mussolini had himself baptized by a Roman Catholic priest in order to take away certain Catholic opposition, who were then still very critical of a regime which had taken away papal property and virtually blackmailed several popes inside the Vatican. However, Mussolini never became known to be a practicing Catholic. Nevertheless, since 1927, and more even after 1929, Mussolini, with his anti-Communist doctrines, convinced many Catholics to actively support him.

Under the dictatorship, the effectiveness of the parliamentary system was virtually abolished, though its forms were publicly preserved. The law codes were rewritten. All teachers in schools and universities had to swear an oath to defend the Fascist regime. Newspaper editors were all personally chosen by Mussolini himself, and no one who did not possess a certificate of approval from the Fascist party could practice journalism. These certificates were issued in secret, so the public had no idea of this ever occurring, thus skillfully creating the illusion of a "free press". The trade unions were also deprived of any independence and were integrated into what was called the "corporative" system. The aim (never completely achieved), inspired by medieval guilds, was to place all Italians in various professional organizations or "corporations", all of them under clandestine governmental control.

Mussolini played up to his financial backers at first by transferring a number of industries from public to private ownership. But by the 1930s he had begun moving back to the opposite extreme of rigid governmental control of industry. A great deal of money was spent on highly visible public works, and on international prestige projects such as the SS Rex Blue Riband ocean liner and aeronautical achievements such as the world's fastest seaplane the Macchi M.C.72 and the transatlantic flying boat cruise of Italo Balbo, who was greeted with much fanfare in the United States when he landed in Chicago. Those projects earned respect from some countries, but the economy suffered from Mussolini's strenuous efforts to make Italy self-sufficient. A concentration on heavy industry proved problematic, perhaps because Italy lacked the basic resources.


Foreign policy
In foreign policy, Mussolini soon shifted from the pacifist anti-imperialism of his lead-up to power, to an extreme form of aggressive nationalism. An early example of this was his bombardment of Corfu in 1923. Soon after this he succeeded in setting up a puppet regime in Albania and in ruthlessly consolidating Italian power in Libya, which was loosely a colony since 1912. It was his dream to make the Mediterranean mare nostrum ("our sea" in Latin), and established a large naval base on the Greek Island of Leros to enforce a strategic hold on the Eastern Mediterranean.


Conquest of Ethiopia
Main article: Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The invasion of Ethiopia was carried out rapidly (the proclamation of Empire took place in May of 1936) and involved several atrocities such as the use of chemical weapons (mustard gas and phosgene), and the indiscriminate slaughter of much of the local population to prevent opposition.

The armed forces disposed of a vast arsenal of grenades and bombs loaded with mustard gas which were dropped from airplanes. This substance was also sprayed directly from above like an "insecticide" on to enemy combatants and villages. It was Mussolini himself who authorized the use of the weapons: "Rome, 27 October '35. A.S.E. Graziani. The use of gas as an ultima ratio to overwhelm enemy resistance and in case of counterattack is authorized. Mussolini." "Rome, 28 December '35. A.S.E. Badoglio. Given the enemy system I have authorized V.E. the use even on a vast scale of any gas and flamethrowers. Mussolini." Mussolini and his generals sought to cloak the operations of chemical warfare in the utmost secrecy, but the crimes of the fascist army were revealed to the world through the denunciations of the International Red Cross and of many foreign observers. The Italian reaction to these revelations consisted in the "erroneous" bombardment (at least 19 times) of Red Cross tents posted in the areas of military encampment of the Ethiopian resistance. The orders imparted by Mussolini, with respect to the Ethiopian population, were very clear: "Rome, 5 June 1936. A.S.E. Graziani. All rebels taken prisoner must be killed. Mussolini." "Rome, 8 July 1936. A.S.E. Graziani. I have authorized once again V.E. to begin and systematically conduct a politics of terror and extermination of the rebels and the complicit population. Without the legge taglionis one cannot cure the infection in time. Await confirmation. Mussolini."[9] The predominant part of the work of repression was carried out by Italians who, besides the bombs laced with mustard gas, instituted forced labor camps, installed public gallows, killed hostages, and mutilated the corpses of their enemies.[9] Graziani ordered the elimination of captured guerrillas by way of throwing them out of airplanes in mid-flight. Many Italian troops had themselves photographed next to cadavers hanging from the gallows or hanging around chests full of decapitated heads. One episode in the Italian occupation of Ethiopia was the slaughter of Addis Ababa of February, 1937 which followed upon an attempt to assassinate Graziani. In the course of an official ceremony a bomb exploded next to the general. The response was immediate and cruel. The thirty or so Ethiopians present at the ceremony were impaled, and immediately after, the black shirts of the fascist Militias poured out into the streets of Addis Ababa where they tortured and killed all of the men, women and children that they encountered on their path. They also set fire to homes in order to prevent the inhabitants from leaving and organized the mass executions of groups of 50-100 people.[13]


Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler stand together on an reviewing stand during an official visit to occupied Yugoslavia
Spanish Civil War
Main article: Spanish Civil War and Foreign Involvement
His active intervention in 1936 - 1939 on the side of Franco in the Spanish Civil War ended any possibility of reconciliation with France and Britain. As a result, he had to accept the German annexation of Austria in 1938 and the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in 1939. At the Munich Conference in September 1938 he posed as a moderate working for European peace. But his "axis" with Germany was confirmed when he made the "Pact of Steel" with Hitler in May 1939. Members of TIGR, a Slovene anti-fascist group, plotted to kill Mussolini in Kobarid in 1938, but their attempt was unsuccessful.


The Axis of Blood and Steel
Main article: Pact of Steel
The term "Axis Powers" was coined by Mussolini, in November 1936, when he spoke of a Rome-Berlin axis in reference to the treaty of friendship signed between Italy and Germany on October 25, 1936. His "Axis" with Germany was confirmed when he made another treaty with Germany in May 1939. Mussolini described the relationship with Germany as a "Pact of Steel", something he had earlier referred to as a "Pact of Blood".

From this point, Germany's influence on Italian policy increased, something which even alarmed high-ranking Fascists. For example, in 1938 Italian soldiers began marching using the German goose step, which Mussolini called the passo romano ("Roman step") Also in 1938, the government passed anti-Semitic laws. Jews were fired from government jobs and barred from marrying "Aryans."


World War II
Main article: Military history of Italy during World War II

Mussolini and Hitler.As World War II (WWII) approached, Mussolini announced his intention of annexing Malta, Corsica, and Tunis. He spoke of creating a "New Roman Empire" that would stretch east to Palestine and south through Libya and Egypt to Kenya.

In April 1939, after a brief war, he annexed Albania. Mussolini decided to remain 'non-belligerent' in the larger conflict until he was quite certain which side would win.


War Declared
From the start, Mussolini did not do well in World War II. Indeed, many Fascists had opposed entering the war.

On 10 June 1940 Mussolini finally declared war on Britain and France. Italian forces on the French border were able to make extremely limited gains before France surrendered to Germany. The Italians suffered over 4,000 casualties in this brief campaign (the French lost just over 200 men).[14] From the start, Italy wa