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5: The Political Dictatorship - Coggle Diagram
5: The Political Dictatorship
Press control and censorship
1923 and 1925 the PNF introduced decrees restricting the freedom of the press
Meant there could be confiscation of whole editions of newspapers, publication could be suspended, editors could be replaced or a whole publication could be shut down
La Critica and Osservator Romano survied
All journalists had to join into a fascist union
1935 Ministry of Press and Propaganda and 1937 Ministry of popular culture
Fascist papers were only 10% of entire sales
Radio, film, theatre and foreign publications came into remit
Propaganda
Cult of Ancient Rome for patriotism, 1937 celebration with over 1 million visiting the exhibition to celebrate 2000 years of Caesar
World Cup winners in 1934 and 1938
World boxing champions between 1933 and 1935
1934 General Directorate for Cinema was created to regulate cinema
Radio had 1 million registered sets by 1938 and during WW2 more than 2 million sets installed (radio required no literacy and were state controlled)
No many heavily fascist films before WW2
1940 many were listening to Radio London
The Cult of Il Duce
Mussolini portrayed a infallible leader with superman-like ability, very masculine
30 million posters of him circulated
Heir to Caesar and Augustus (very patriotic)
Repression and terror
The 2000 between 1920-22 was never repeated
1926 Fascist Law banning all opposition was enforced
Death penalty re-introduced but only 9 sentence pre WW2 but 400 killed in totoal
Tribunals prosecuted over 13,000 cases imposing over 28,000 years of jail time
About 10,000 sent to the South for exile
Political Police division formed in 1926 infiltrated anti-fascist groups and had spies abroad
OVRA (secret police) formed under 1927 spied on institutions, mail and phone calls (130,000 caught)
Antisemetic decrees
1932 Mussolini said 'Anti-semitism does not exist in Italy'
10,000 Jews in the PNF in 1938 and Mussolini has Jewish mistresses, 3000 entered Italy from Germany
Became anti-semitic from 1937/ 1938
1938 Laws meant no Jew was a part of the Italian race, excluded them from the PNF, banned inter-marriage and they couldn't be a part of comprehensive schools
6000 Jews left Italy between 1938 and 1941
Exceptions if Jews had fought in WW1 and Mussolini's son protected his Jewish friends
When Mussolini became a puppet dictator in 1943 he ordered confiscation of all Jewish property and all Jews to be arrested
In last 2 years 9000 sent to death camps only 600 survived
Relationship with political and economic interests
1925 Vindoni Pact banned trade unions and strikes banned in 1926 to try and improve relations with industrialists
1928 declared all party posts would be made from the fascist HQ to try and control own part
Wanted wide power base ('the block of consensus')
Monarchy and the conservative elites
Remained constitutional monarchy until 1943
Keeping good relations with the King
No fascist symbol on the national flag and King remained Head of State so could theoretically remove Mussolini
Mussolini visited the King twice a week
Mussolini made the king Emperor of Abyssinia in 1936 and the King of Albania in 1939
Mussolini eroding the powers of the King
1928 Grand Council granted constitutional right to limit the King power (nominating future PMs)
During WW2 Mussolini deprived the King of role as supreme military commander
Conservative elites
Legal system remained unchanged with judges keeping independence
Armed forces were happy with expansion and aggressive foreign policy
Most civil servants kept their jobs
Podestra were mostly made up of generally old conservatives
Central and local government
Mussolini centralised power meaning he was only accountable to the king
Only Mussolini could initiate legislation and decide what could be discussed
Was no streamlined and dismissed talented ministers like Rocco Minister of Justice in 1933
From 1928 the Chamber of Deputies was made up of 400 deputies chosen by the Grand Council from a list of 1000 fascist nominees
In 1939 the Chamber of Deputies was replaced with the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations (Senate was unchanged)
Fascist Grand Council was formalised in the constitution as the most important legal body
In the local governments traditional prefect position remained whose job was to organise the police, censor the press and crush the left
Local councils were run by the Podestra
PNF and the Nationalists
Mussolini closed the Party Congress in 1925 to minimise the influence of his own party
Farinacci encouraged the violent squads (October 1925 8 liberals murdered) so Mussolini purged Farinacci replacing him with more moderate Turati
Mussolini also threw out 60,000 more hardline fascists out the party by 1929, another 110,000 left on their own accord and Guiriati purged another 120,000
800,000 new fascists joined the party, white collar state workers had to join by 1933
After all exits and entries the PNF was more diluted and therefore easier to swallow
After merging with the ANI in 1923 nationalists ministers like Ciano, Federzoni and Dainelli all played key roles
Economic interest groups
Initial free market policy and promoting big business (Fiat and Pirelli)
Palazzo Vidoni Pact 1925 recognised fascist union as being the only voice of the workers
Most interested in support from elites so 1926 Rocco Law allowed some right to syndicates, but this law also banned strikes, go-slows and lockouts
Intervention in the 1930s helped big business with the IMI and IRI helping big steel and chemical industries