University:
Bradley University
Course:
HIS 340 | Twentieth-Century Europe
Academic year:

2020
Views:

70

Pages:

1
Author:

Gudrunecg9m

Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) Benito Mussolini was born in 1883, to a poor family who lived in Predappio, Italy. His father was a blacksmith, and a follower of socialism; his mother taught elementary school. Although Mussolini was an intelligent boy, he was a poor student. He was violent and had a large ego—he actually stabbed another student at a boarding school he attended and was expelled. When he graduated in 1901, he briefly taught secondary school. He went to Switzerland in 1902 to avoid military service, where he grouped himself with other socialists. He returned to Italy in 1904, spending time in the military and engaging in politics full time. When Mussolini joined the Socialist Party in 1900, he began to attract attention. He was extreme and violent in his speeches and articles, but he was well spoken. He emerged in the 1912 Socialist Party Congress. His powerful writing excited the Socialist ranks. He called for revolution at a time when revolutionary feelings were sweeping the country. In 1914, Mussolini deserted the Socialist Party to cross over to the enemies: the Italian middle class. He foresaw problems that World War I would bring, and thus began to prepare for what was to come. He began his own movement, the Autonomous Fascists. He became close to the extreme middle-class youth and made himself their spokesman. Mussolini began two more movements, the Revolutionary Fascists in 1917 and the Constituent Fascists in 1918. He was defeated when he ran for office in the 1919 parliamentary elections. In March 1919, Mussolini founded a fourth movement: the Fighting Fascists. He finally won over the Italian youth and waited for events to turn in his favor. The elections of 1921 sent him to Parliament where he headed 35 Fascist deputies. The National Fascist Party was born and gained more than 250,000 followers over which Mussolini was the uncontested leader. In October 1922, Mussolini led a so-called March on Rome. This show of force convinced Italy’s king to put Mussolini at the head of Italy’s government—he was the first Fascist prime minister. Mussolini now had the support of important groups, such as industry, farmers, military, and the church. These groups accepted Mussolini’s solution to their problems: organize the middle-class youth, control workers harshly, and set up a tough central government to restore “law and order.” Mussolini ended up attacking the workers and spilling their blood all over Italy—it was the complete opposite of his early views of socialism. Once in power, Mussolini took steps to make certain he would remain in power, such as fixing elections. And he did not want power over only politics—Mussolini wanted to control all aspects of Italians’ lives. This is called totalitarianism. One of his most important programs for spreading his totalitarianism was his use of propaganda to promote Italy’s greatness. He also established festivals and holidays that reminded modern Italians of their proud Roman heritage. Mussolini also attempted to make Italy a strong military power. In order to do so, he searched for an easy target and found one in Ethiopia. Ethiopia was located between two Italian colonies in Africa and was not equipped to fight back. Italian forces gained control of the Ethiopians in 1935.