Scarica Fascism in Italy (summary in English) e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Storia solo su Docsity! FASCISM IN ITALY Italy at the end of the war A mutilated victory Although Italy was one of the countries which had won the First World War, post-war conditions in 1919 were harsh, similar to those of a defeated country. France and England had guaranteed Italy that it would obtain the territories of Trentino, Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Istria, the whole of Dalmatia and the city of Fiume if it entered the war with them. However, in the end Dalmatia and Fiume were not awarded to Italy during the peace negotiations. Embittered by their meagre result, Italy felt betrayed. Subsequently, the phrase “mutilated victory” was coined to express the sense of unfinished business. In this very tense period, poet and well-known novelist Gabriele D'Annunzio, one of the most ardent supporters of Italian intervention in the war, occupied the city of Fiume in September 1919 with the support of some military units, proclaiming it an Italian city. The Veteran Problem At the end of the war, returning soldiers were looking for work both in the city and in the countryside. They expected compensation for their sacrifice, such as the distribution of land which had been promised to the peasants. But the general situation was very difficult, demonstrated by the reduction of factory production to a minimum. There was a risk of extensive unemployment. New political parties and the Biennio Rosso The Italian People's Party, the Communist Party, the Fascist Party. Before the Great War, the main political groups were the Liberals and the Socialist Party. New parties were formed at the end of the war. Inspired by Catholicism, the Italian People’s Party was established in 1919. It proposed an extensive reform program which included extending universal suffrage to women, partially distributing land to farmers, abolishing compulsory military service, and industrial management agreements between owners and workers. Father Luigi Sturzo , a priest, was considered to be its leader. The Socialist Party divided in 1921. A break-away group led by Antonio Gramsci, Amedeo Bordiga and Palmiro Togliatti wanted to implement a communist revolution similar to what had occurred in Russia, leading to the foundation of the Italian Communist Party. Thanks to the initiative of Benito Mussolini, the Fascist movement started in 1919 (it became known as the National Fascist Party in 1921). It welcomed dissatisfied people from the most diverse political backgrounds. The Biennio Rosso Unemployment, price rises and general crisis that affected the entire Italian society led to massive protest demonstrations between 1919-1921. Peasant attempted to occupy uncultivated lands in Central and Southern Italy throughout 1919. Workers occupied factories in the main Italian industrial cities, in particular Milan and Turin between August and September 1920. This period of unrest, inspired by socialist principles and the Soviet example, is known as the “Biennio Rosso”. The Prime Minister, Giovanni Giolitti, returned to the government between 1920 and 1921. Attempting to stem the great stage of emergency , he had D'Annunzio successfully forced out of Fiume and put a stop to the occupation of the factories by promising reforms.
