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164-572: The Soviets and Italians had maintained contacts since 26 December 1921 through the signing of a trade agreement and full diplomatic relations since 7 February 1924, making Fascist Italy one of the first Western nations to recognize the Soviet Union. A broader rapprochement occurred between the two countries in 1929 and 1930. Some members of the Italian Communist Party , such as Luigi Tolentino from Palermo , lived in exile in

328-533: A rapprochement with the Roman Catholic Church . According to historian Stanley G. Payne , "[the] Fascist government passed through several relatively distinct phases". The first phase (1922–1925) was nominally a continuation of the parliamentary system, albeit with a "legally-organized executive dictatorship". In foreign policy, Mussolini ordered the Pacification of Libya against rebels in

492-546: A trade union or an association, to soldiers and to members of the clergy . Consequently, only 9.5 million people were able to vote. In 1870, the newly formed Kingdom of Italy annexed the remaining Papal States , depriving the Pope of his temporal power . Relations with the Roman Catholic Church improved significantly during Mussolini's tenure. Despite earlier opposition to the Church, after 1922 Mussolini made an alliance with

656-404: A " Jewish Question " and the article also stated that "Italy knows no antisemitism and we believe that it will never know it" and then, the article elaborated "let us hope that Italian Jews will continue to be sensible enough so as not to give rise to antisemitism in the only country where it has never existed". In 1932, during a conversation with Emil Ludwig , Mussolini described antisemitism as

820-638: A "German vice" and stated: "There was 'no Jewish Question' in Italy and could not be one in a country with a healthy system of government". On several occasions, Mussolini spoke positively about Jews and the Zionist movement . Mussolini had initially rejected Nazi racism, especially the idea of a master race , as "arrant nonsense, stupid and idiotic". In 1929, Mussolini acknowledged the contributions which Italian Jews had made to Italian society, despite their minority status, and he also believed that Jewish culture

984-399: A "strong and disciplined state." General Sanjurjo would be the head of this new regime, due to being widely liked and respected within the military, though his position would be a largely symbolic due to his lack of political talent. The 1931 Constitution would be suspended, replaced by a new "constituent parliament" which would be chosen by a new politically purged electorate, who would vote on

1148-699: A 10% drop in real income and a fall in exports. Italy fared better than most western nations during the Depression: its welfare services did reduce the impact of the Depression. Its industrial growth from 1913 to 1938 was even greater than that of Germany for the same time period. Only the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian nations had a higher industrial growth during that period. Italy's colonial expansion into Ethiopia in 1936 proved to have

1312-578: A Nationalist assault in November 1936, and frustrated subsequent offensives against the capital at Jarama and Guadalajara in 1937. Soon, though, the rebels began to erode their territory, starving Madrid and making inroads into the east. The north, including the Basque country, fell in late 1937, and the Aragon front collapsed shortly afterward. The bombing of Guernica was probably the most infamous event of

1476-486: A civil war. The involvement of forces of public order and a lack of action against the attackers hurt public opinion of the government. No effective action was taken; Payne points to a possible veto by socialists within the government who shielded the killers who had been drawn from their ranks. The murder of a parliamentary leader by state police was unprecedented, and the belief that the state had ceased to be neutral and effective in its duties encouraged important sectors of

1640-670: A famous Italian Jewish mathematician, into the Pontifical Academy of Science. Despite Mussolini's close alliance with Hitler's Germany, Italy did not fully adopt Nazism's genocidal ideology towards the Jews. The Nazis were frustrated by the Italian authorities' refusal to co-operate in the round-ups of Jews, and no Jews were deported prior to the formation of the Italian Social Republic puppet-state following

1804-607: A general stoppage in Madrid , other strikes did not endure. This left Asturian strikers to fight alone. Miners in Asturias occupied the capital, Oviedo , killing officials and clergymen. Fifty eight religious buildings including churches, convents and part of the university at Oviedo were burned and destroyed. The miners proceeded to occupy several other towns, most notably the large industrial centre of La Felguera , and set up town assemblies, or "revolutionary committees", to govern

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1968-467: A landslide victory for republicans. Two days later, the Second Republic was proclaimed, and King Alfonso XIII went into exile. The king's departure led to a provisional government of the young republic under Niceto Alcalá-Zamora . Catholic churches and establishments in cities like Madrid and Sevilla were set ablaze on 11 May. In June 1931 a Constituent Cortes was elected to draft

2132-468: A major step towards being completely taken over by the agenda of indoctrination. In that year, the Fascist government took control of the authorization of all textbooks, all secondary school teachers were required to take an oath of loyalty to Fascism and children began to be taught that they owed the same loyalty to Fascism as they did to God. In 1933, all university teachers were required to be members of

2296-430: A negative impact on Italy's economy. The budget of the colony of Italian East Africa in the 1936–1937 fiscal year requested from Italy 19.136 billion lire to be used to create the necessary infrastructure for the colony. Italy's entire revenue that year was only 18.581 billion lire. In 1933, Italy made multiple technological achievements. The Fascist government spent large sums of money on technological projects such as

2460-680: A new constitution, which came into force in December. The new constitution established freedom of speech and freedom of association , extended suffrage to women in 1933, allowed divorce, and stripped the Spanish nobility of any special legal status. It also effectively disestablished the Roman Catholic Church , but the disestablishment was somewhat reversed by the Cortes that same year. Its controversial articles 26 and 27 imposed stringent controls on Church property and barred religious orders from

2624-461: A number of captured priests, businessmen and civil guards were summarily executed by the revolutionaries in Mieres and Sama . This rebellion lasted for two weeks until it was crushed by the army, led by General Eduardo López Ochoa . This operation earned López Ochoa the nickname "Butcher of Asturias". Another rebellion by the autonomous government of Catalonia, led by its president Lluís Companys ,

2788-413: A police truck. His body was dropped at the entrance of one of the city's cemeteries. According to all later investigations, the perpetrator of the murder was a socialist gunman, Luis Cuenca, who was known as the bodyguard of PSOE leader Indalecio Prieto . Calvo Sotelo was one of the most prominent Spanish monarchists who, describing the government's actions as Bolshevist and anarchist, had been exhorting

2952-670: A policy of non-interventionism, as exemplified by the actions of the Non-Intervention Committee . Imposed in the name of neutrality , the international isolation of the Spanish Republic ended up favouring the interests of the future Axis Powers . The Siege of the Alcázar at Toledo early in the war resulted in the rebels winning after a long siege. The Republicans managed to hold out in Madrid, despite

3116-667: A policy which was extremely unpopular within Italy as well as within the Fascist Party itself. As a result of this policy, the Fascist regime lost its propaganda director, Margherita Sarfatti , who was Jewish and had previously been Mussolini's mistress. A minority of high-ranking Fascists were pleased with the antisemitic policy such as Roberto Farinacci , who claimed that Jews had taken control of key positions in finance, business and schools through intrigue, accused Jews of sympathizing with Ethiopia during Italy's war with it and accused Jews of sympathizing with Republican Spain during

3280-629: A revolutionary strike action was seen in Málaga the same year. A Catholic church in Zaragoza was burnt down in 1933. In November 1932, Miguel de Unamuno , one of the most respected Spanish intellectuals, rector of the University of Salamanca, and himself a Republican, publicly raised his voice to protest. In a speech delivered on 27 November 1932, at the Madrid Ateneo, he protested: "Even

3444-600: A role in Italy's "place in the sun" through special courses created to train them for a future as colonial wives. The government tried to achieve "alimentary sovereignty", or total self-sufficiency with regard to food supplies. Its new policies were highly controversial among a people who paid serious attention to their food. The goal was to reduce imports, support Italian agriculture and encourage an austere diet based on bread, polenta, pasta, fresh produce and wine. Fascist women's groups trained women in "autarkic cookery" to work around items no longer imported. Food prices climbed in

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3608-595: A stringent education policy in Italy aiming at eliminating illiteracy, which was a serious problem in Italy at the time, as well as improving the allegiance of Italians to the state. To reduce drop-outs, the government changed the minimum age of leaving school from twelve to fourteen and strictly enforced attendance. The Fascist government's first minister of education from 1922 to 1924 Giovanni Gentile recommended that education policy should focus on indoctrination of students into Fascism and to educate youth to respect and be obedient to authority. In 1929, education policy took

3772-1044: A threat to both Soviet and Italian interests. Despite his distrust of the British presence in East Asia , Potemkin insisted on the need to create a coalition between the USSR, Italy, the British Empire , France and the United States to defend China from the Japanese aggressor. On 13 January 1934 , Mussolini gave a widely published press interview in Rome. This interview was based mainly on Litvinov's speech of 29 December 1933 in which he warned about Japanese expansionism in East Asia. Mussolini quoted Litvinov's warning in which he described Japan as "the darkest cloud on

3936-409: A unit inclusive of all values—interprets, develops, and potentiates the whole life of a people. — Doctrine of Fascism , 1935 With the concept of totalitarianism, Benito Mussolini and the Fascist regime set an agenda of improving Italian culture and society based on ancient Rome, personal dictatorship and some futurist aspects of Italian intellectuals and artists. Under Fascism, the definition of

4100-579: A universal campaign of hatred against the Jews ;... Considering that in many places certain groups of Jews are installed in conquered countries, exercising in an open and occult manner an influence injurious to the material and moral interests of the country which harbors them, constituting a sort of state within a state, profiting by all benefits and refusing all duties, considering that they have furnished and are inclined to furnish, elements conducive to international revolution which would be destructive to

4264-567: Is actually disputed, as some have suggested that as many as a million people died. Over the years, historians kept lowering the death figures, and modern research concluded that 500,000 deaths were the correct figure. On 17 July 1936, General Franco led the Spanish Army of Africa from Morocco to attack the mainland, while another force from the north under General Emilio Mola moved south from Navarre. Military units were also mobilised elsewhere to take over government institutions. Before long

4428-599: Is estimated that by 1936 the OND had organized 80% of salaried workers. Nearly 40% of the industrial workforce had been recruited into the Dopolavoro by 1939 and the sports activities proved popular with large numbers of workers. The OND had the largest membership of any of the mass Fascist organizations in Italy. The enormous success of the Dopolavoro in Fascist Italy prompted Nazi Germany to create its own version of

4592-656: Is not moving forward, then this is what the great Jewish bankers of London and New York have decreed. These bankers are bound by ties of blood to those Jews who in Moscow as in Budapest are taking their revenge on the Aryan race that has condemned them to dispersion for so many centuries. In Russia, 80 percent of the managers of the Soviets are Jews, in Budapest 17 out of 22 people's commissars are Jews. Might it not be that bolshevism

4756-424: Is often considered the catalyst for the further political polarisation that ensued. The Falange and other right-wing individuals, including Juan de la Cierva , had already been conspiring to launch a military coup d'état against the government, to be led by senior army officers. When the antifascist Castillo and the anti-socialist Calvo Sotelo were buried on the same day in the same Madrid cemetery, fighting between

4920-558: Is paralyzed, disorganized, starved, will be a place where tomorrow the bourgeoisie, yes the bourgeoisie, o proletarians will celebrate its spectacular feast of plenty. Mussolini's statement on a Jewish-Bolshevik-plutocratic connection and conspiracy was met with opposition in the Fascist movement, leading Mussolini to respond to this opposition amongst his supporters by abandoning and reversing this stance shortly afterward in 1919. In reversing his stance due to opposition to it, Mussolini no longer expressed his previous assertion that Bolshevism

5084-508: Is responsible to the State for the direction given to production. State intervention in economic production arises only when private initiative is lacking or insufficient, or when the political interests of the State are involved. This intervention may take the form of control, assistance or direct management. Fascists claimed that this system would be egalitarian and traditional at the same time. The economic policy of corporatism quickly faltered;

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5248-571: Is the vendetta of Judaism against Christianity?? It is certainly worth pondering. It is entirely possible that bolshevism will drown in the blood of a pogrom of catastrophic proportions. World finance is in the hands of the Jews. Whoever owns the strongboxes of the peoples is in control of their political systems. Behind the puppets (making peace) in Paris, there are the Rothschilds , the Warburgs ,

5412-644: The 1933 elections was won by the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA). In face of CEDA's electoral victory, president Alcalá-Zamora declined to invite its leader, Gil Robles, to form a government. Instead he invited the Radical Republican Party 's Alejandro Lerroux to do so. Despite receiving the most votes, CEDA was denied cabinet positions for nearly a year. After a year of intense pressure, CEDA,

5576-672: The Armistice of Cassibile . In the Italian-occupied Independent State of Croatia , German envoy Siegfried Kasche advised Berlin that Italian forces had "apparently been influenced" by Vatican opposition to German anti-Semitism. As anti-Axis feeling grew in Italy, the use of Vatican Radio to broadcast papal disapproval of race murder and anti-Semitism angered the Nazis. Mussolini was overthrown in July 1943,

5740-687: The Cosa Nostra in Sicilia and the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria, the Fascist government gave special powers in 1925 to Cesare Mori , the prefect of Palermo . These powers gave him the ability to prosecute the Mafia , forcing many Mafiosi to flee abroad (many to the United States) or risk being jailed. However, Mori was fired when he began to investigate Mafia links within the Fascist regime and

5904-564: The Dopolavoro , the Kraft durch Freude (KdF) or "Strength through Joy" program, which was even more successful than the Dopolavoro . Another organization the Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB) was widely popular and provided young people with access to clubs, dances, sports facilities, radios, concerts, plays, circuses and outdoor hikes at little or no cost. It sponsored tournaments and sports festivals. Between 1928 and 1930,

6068-735: The Italian Racial Laws and the Manifesto of Race were promulgated by the Fascist régime, designed to outlaw and persecute both Italian Jews and Protestant Christians , especially Evangelicals and Pentecostals . In January 1939, The Jewish National Monthly reported "the only bright spot in Italy has been the Vatican, where fine humanitarian statements by the Pope have been issuing regularly". When Mussolini's anti-Semitic decrees began depriving Jews of employment in Italy, Pius XI personally admitted professor Vito Volterra ,

6232-863: The Italian military intervention in Spain and the German involvement in the Spanish Civil War ), and neighbouring Portugal gave the rebels was much greater and more effective than the assistance that the Republicans received from the USSR, Mexico, and volunteers of the International Brigades . While the Axis powers wholeheartedly assisted General Franco's military campaign, the governments of France, Britain, and other European powers pursued

6396-521: The League of Nations , prompting a Grand Council of Fascism vote to withdraw from the League on 11 December 1937 and Mussolini denounced the League as a mere "tottering temple". Until 1938, Mussolini had denied any antisemitism within Fascist Italy and dismissed the racial policies of Nazi Germany . However, by mid-1938 Hitler's influence over Mussolini had persuaded him to make a specific agenda on race,

6560-636: The Matteotti Crisis where Mussolini began pushing for a totalitarian state. In 1926, the Syndical Laws, also known as the Rocco Laws, were passed, organizing the economy into twelve separate employer and employee unions. The unions were largely state-controlled and were mainly used to suppress opposition and reward political loyalty. While the Fascist unions could not protect workers from all economic consequences, they were responsible for

6724-520: The Nazi Party in Germany. The Fascist regime established propaganda in newsreels, radio broadcasting and a few feature films deliberately endorsing Fascism. In 1926, laws were passed to require that propaganda newsreels be shown prior to all feature films in cinemas. These newsreels were more effective in influencing the public than propaganda films or radio, as few Italians had radio receivers at

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6888-514: The Police Assault Guard and fascist militias broke out in the surrounding streets, resulting in four more deaths. The killing of Calvo Sotelo with police involvement aroused suspicions and strong reactions among the government's opponents on the right. Although the nationalist generals were already planning an uprising, the event was a catalyst and a public justification for a coup. Stanley Payne claims that before these events,

7052-579: The Red Fleet would meet Benito Mussolini , but in the end this did not happen. These developments also coincided with Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany, as there was an element of uncertainty not only between the Soviets and Germans at the time, but also Italy and Germany (not least over the issue of the potential German annexation of Austria and furthermore Italian-controlled territories in South Tyrol ). A third element to this relationship

7216-661: The Reformist Biennium , Manuel Azaña 's executive initiated numerous reforms to what in their view would modernize the country. In 1932 religious orders were forbidden control of schools, while the government began a large-scale school-building project. A moderate agrarian reform was carried out. Home rule was granted to Catalonia , with a local parliament and a president of its own. Soon, Azaña lost parliamentary support and President Alcalá-Zamora forced his resignation in September 1933. The subsequent 1933 election

7380-525: The Soviet Union in creating a new culture. Mussolini's propaganda idolized him as the nation's saviour, and the Fascist regime attempted to make him omnipresent in Italian society. Much of Fascism's appeal in Italy was based on Mussolini's popularity and charisma. Mussolini's passionate oratory and the personality cult around him were displayed at huge rallies and parades of his Blackshirts in Rome, which served as an inspiration to Adolf Hitler and

7544-748: The Soviet government during the Winter War . The Royal Italian Air Force ( Regia Aeronautica Italiana ) sent thirty-five Fiat G.50 fighters, while the Royal Italian Army ( Regio Esercito Italiano ) supplied 94,500 new M1938 7.35 mm rifles for use by Finnish infantry. However Germany, having just signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with the Soviet Union, intercepted most of Italy's aid and only released it once peace had been made. A handful of Italian volunteers also fought in

7708-636: The Spanish Civil War . In 1938, Farinacci became the minister in charge of culture and he also adopted racial laws which were designed to prevent racial intermixing , including antisemitic laws . Until the armistice with the Allies in September 1943, the Italian Jewish community was protected from deportation to the German death camps in the east. With the armistice, Hitler took control of

7872-487: The United States . However, the transfer of agricultural land to wheat production reduced the production of vegetables and fruit. Despite improving production for wheat, the situation for peasants themselves did not improve, as 0.5% of the Italian population (usually wealthy) owned 42% of all agricultural land in Italy and income for peasants did not increase while taxes did increase. The Depression caused unemployment to rise from 300,000 to 1 million in 1933. It also caused

8036-414: The University of Oviedo . In the occupied areas, the rebels officially declared a proletarian revolution and abolished regular money. The rebellion was crushed by the Spanish Navy and the Spanish Republican Army , the latter using mainly Moorish colonial troops from Spanish Morocco . In 1935, after a series of crises and corruption scandals, President Alcalá-Zamora , who had always been hostile to

8200-400: The World's Fair known as the Century of Progress . Stephen Lee identifies three major themes in Mussolini's foreign policy. The first was a continuation of the foreign-policy objectives of the preceding Liberal regime. Liberal Italy had allied itself with Germany and Austria and had great ambitions in the Balkans and North Africa. It had been badly defeated in Ethiopia in 1896 , when there

8364-434: The encyclical Dilectissima Nobis . The legislative branch was changed to a single chamber called the Congress of Deputies . The constitution established legal procedures for the nationalisation of public services and land, banks, and railways. The constitution provided generally accorded civil liberties and representation. The Republican Constitution also changed the country's national symbols. The Himno de Riego

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8528-405: The 1930s and dairy and meat consumption was discouraged, while increasing numbers of Italians turned to the black market. The policy demonstrated that Fascists saw food—and people's behavior generally—as strategic resources that could be manipulated regardless of traditions and tastes. Mussolini and the Fascist Party promised Italians a new economic system known as corporatism (or tripartism ),

8692-665: The 1936 elections were rigged. This view has been criticised by Eduardo Calleja and Francisco Pérez, who question the charges of electoral irregularity and argue that the Popular Front would still have won a slight electoral majority even if all of the charges were true. In the thirty-six hours following the election, sixteen people were killed (mostly by police officers attempting to maintain order or intervene in violent clashes) and thirty-nine were seriously injured, while fifty churches and seventy right wing political centres were attacked or set ablaze. The right had firmly believed, at all levels, that they would win. Almost immediately after

8856-499: The 1936 elections. On 7 January 1936, new elections were called. Despite significant rivalries and disagreements, the socialists, Communists, and the Catalan-and-Madrid-based left-wing Republicans decided to work together under the name Popular Front . The Popular Front won the election on 16 February with 263 MPs against 156 right-wing MPs, grouped within a coalition of the National Front with CEDA, Carlists , and Monarchists. The moderate centre parties virtually disappeared; between

9020-403: The Allies in September 1943. Nazi Germany seized control of the northern half of Italy and rescued Mussolini , setting up the Italian Social Republic (RSI), a collaborationist puppet state which was ruled by Mussolini and Fascist loyalists. From that point onward, the country descended into civil war , and the large Italian resistance movement continued to wage its guerrilla war against

9184-419: The Arab nationalists. Omar Mukhtar led the Arab resistance movement. After a much-disputed truce on 3 January 1928, the Fascist policy in Libya increased in brutality. A barbed wire fence was built from the Mediterranean Sea to the oasis of Jaghbub to sever lines critical to the resistance. Soon afterwards, the colonial administration began the wholesale deportation of the people of the Jebel Akhdar to deny

9348-435: The Bolsheviks and claims (that were later confirmed to be true) that the Bolsheviks and Germany (that Italy was fighting in World War I ) were politically connected, Mussolini made antisemitic statements involving the Bolshevik-German connection as being "an unholy alliance between Hindenburg and the synagogue ". Mussolini came to believe rumors that Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin was of Jewish descent. Mussolini attacked

9512-402: The Catholic Partito Popolare Italiano ( Italian People's Party ). In 1929, Mussolini and the papacy came to an agreement that ended the bitter standoff between the Church from the Italian government going back to 1860. The Orlando government had begun the process of reconciliation during World War I and the Pope furthered it by cutting ties with the Christian Democrats in 1922. Mussolini and

9676-527: The Ethiopians during the war, including the use of aircraft to drop poison gas on the defending Ethiopian soldiers. Ethiopia surrendered in 1936, completing Italy's revenge for its failed colonial conquest of the 1890s. King Victor Emmanuel III was soon proclaimed Emperor of Ethiopia . The international consequences for Italy's belligerence resulted in its diplomatic isolation. France and Britain quickly abandoned their trust of Mussolini but failed to take decisive action. Italy's actions were formally condemned by

9840-522: The Fascist Party was necessary for people to gain "Complete Citizenship"; those who did not swear allegiance to Fascism would be banished from public life and could not gain employment. The Fascist government also reached out to Italians living overseas to endorse the Fascist cause and identify with Italy rather than their places of residence. Despite efforts to mould a new culture for fascism, Fascist Italy's efforts were not as drastic or successful in comparison to other one-party states like Nazi Germany and

10004-458: The Fascist movement was Toeplitz, whom Mussolini had earlier accused of being a traitor during World War I. Early on there were prominent Jewish Italian Fascists such as Aldo Finzi , who was born of a mixed marriage of a Jewish and Christian Italian and was baptized as a Roman Catholic. Another prominent Jewish Italian Fascist was Ettore Ovazza , who was a vocal Italian nationalist and an opponent of Zionism in Italy. 230 Italian Jews took part in

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10168-424: The Fascist regime moved away from its previous promotion of colonialism based on the spread of Italian culture to a directly race-oriented colonial agenda. Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (Spanish: República Española ), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (Spanish: Segunda República Española ), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic

10332-421: The Fascist regime of Italy set a course to becoming a one-party state and to integrate Fascism into all aspects of life. A totalitarian state was officially declared in the Doctrine of Fascism of 1935: The Fascist conception of the State is all-embracing; outside of it no human or spiritual values can exist, much less have value. Thus understood, Fascism is totalitarian, and the Fascist State—a synthesis and

10496-429: The Fascists' March on Rome in 1922. In 1932, Mussolini made his private attitude about Jews known to the Austrian ambassador when discussing the issue of the antisemitism of Hitler, saying: "I have no love for the Jews, but they have great influence everywhere. It is better to leave them alone. Hitler's anti-Semitism has already brought him more enemies than is necessary". At the 1934 Montreux Fascist conference which

10660-492: The February 1936 elections, a group of Guardia de Asalto and other leftist militiamen mortally shot the opposition leader José Calvo Sotelo on 12 July 1936. This assassination convinced many military officers to back the planned coup. Three days later (17 July), the revolt began with an army uprising in Spanish Morocco , followed by military takeovers in many cities in Spain. Military rebels intended to seize power immediately, but they were met with serious resistance as most of

10824-415: The German and RSI forces. Mussolini was captured and killed by the resistance on 28 April 1945, and hostilities ended the next day. Shortly after the war, civil discontent led to the 1946 institutional referendum on whether Italy would remain a monarchy or become a republic. The Italians decided to abandon the monarchy and form the Italian Republic , the present-day Italian state. After rising to power,

10988-432: The German-occupied territory in the North and he also launched an effort to liquidate the Jewish community which was under his control. Shortly after the entry of Italy into the war, numerous camps were established for the imprisonment of enemy aliens and Italians suspected to be hostile to the regime. In contrast to the brutality of the National Socialist-run camps, the Italian camps allowed families to live together and there

11152-431: The Germans moved to occupy Italy, and they also commenced a round-up of Jews. Thousands of Italian Jews and a small number of Protestants died in the Nazi concentration camps . Until he formed his alliance with Adolf Hitler , Benito Mussolini always denied the existence of antisemitism within the National Fascist Party (PNF). In the early 1920s, Mussolini wrote an article which stated that Fascism would never elevate

11316-481: The Inquisition was limited by certain legal guarantees. But now we have something worse: a police force which is grounded only on a general sense of panic and on the invention of non-existent dangers to cover up this over-stepping of the law." In 1933, all remaining religious congregations were obliged to pay taxes and banned from industry, trade and educational activities. This ban was forced with strict police severity and widespread mob violence. The majority vote in

11480-437: The Italian Army and the Italian Navy , including a Brigadier General, toured the Soviet Union for two weeks, though the Italian Air Force did not, as Italo Balbo blocked the plan. There were further friendly exchanges in 1933 as an Italian submarine visited Batum on the Black Sea and three Soviet vessels visited Naples . This was in preparation for the visit of Maxim Litvinov . There were plans that Soviet captains from

11644-457: The Italian colonies of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica (eventually unified in Italian Libya ), inflicted the bombing of Corfu , established a protectorate over Albania , and annexed the city of Fiume into Italy after a treaty with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . The second phase (1925–1929) was "the construction of the Fascist dictatorship proper". The third phase (1929–1935) saw less interventionism in foreign policy. The fourth phase (1935–1940)

11808-552: The Italian government requested more territory for Libya from British-held Sudan . The United Kingdom allowed Italy to gain some territory from Sudan to add to Libya. In 1935, Mussolini believed that the time was right for Italy to invade Ethiopia (also known as Abyssinia) to make it a colony. As a result, the Second Italo-Abyssinian War erupted. Italy invaded Ethiopia from the Italian colonies of Eritrea and Somaliland . Italy committed atrocities against

11972-404: The Italian nationality was to rest on a militarist foundation and the Fascist's "new man" ideal, in which loyal Italians would rid themselves of individualism and autonomy and see themselves as a component of the Italian state and be prepared to sacrifice their lives for it. Under such a totalitarian government, only Fascists would be considered "true Italians", and membership and endorsement of

12136-1008: The Jewish banker Giuseppe Toeplitz of Banca Commerciale Italiana by claiming that he was a German agent and traitor of Italy. In an article in Il Popolo d'Italia in June 1919, Mussolini wrote a highly antisemitic analysis on the situation in Europe involving Bolshevism following the October Revolution , the Russian Civil War and war in Hungary involving the Hungarian Soviet Republic . In June 1919, Mussolini wrote on Il Popolo d'Italia : If Petrograd (Pietrograd) does not yet fall, if [General] Denikin

12300-675: The Mediterranean Sea and Adriatic Sea . The Fascists launched wars to conquer Dalmazia , Albania and Greece for the Italian Empire. Colonial efforts in Africa began in the 1920s, as civil war plagued Italian North Africa ( Africa Settentrionale Italiana , or ASI) as the Arab population there refused to accept Italian colonial government. Mussolini sent Marshal Rodolfo Graziani to lead a punitive pacification campaign against

12464-709: The National Fascist Party. From the 1930s to 1940s, Italy's education focused on the history of Italy displaying Italy as a force of civilization during the Roman era, displaying the rebirth of Italian nationalism and the struggle for Italian independence and unity during the Risorgimento . In the late 1930s, the Fascist government copied Nazi Germany 's education system on the issue of physical fitness and began an agenda that demanded that Italians become physically healthy. Intellectual talent in Italy

12628-729: The OVRA were responsible for far fewer deaths than the Schutzstaffel (SS) in Germany or the NKVD of the Soviet Union , they were nevertheless highly effective in terrorizing political opponents. One of their most notorious methods of torture involved physically forcing opponents of Fascism to swallow castor oil , which would cause severe diarrhea and dehydration, leaving the victim in a physically debilitated state that occasionally resulted in death. To combat Italian organized crime , notably

12792-535: The Schiffs, the Guggenheims who are of the same blood who are conquering Petrograd and Budapest. Race does not betray race ... Bolshevism is a defense of the international plutocracy. This is the basic truth of the matter. The international plutocracy dominated and controlled by Jews has a supreme interest in all of Russian life accelerating its process of disintegration to the point of paroxysm. A Russia that

12956-458: The Soviet Union, which caused some political friction and accusations of the Soviets harbouring "subversives." On 6 May 1933, the two powers moved closer together by signing an economic pact supporting industrialisation goals; Italy required access to Soviet oil and coal, while the Soviets were interested in Italian innovations in the aviation, automobile and naval industries. The ideological conflict between Italian Fascism and Soviet Bolshevism

13120-744: The Soviet mission by the Italian command and government," while a general from the Italian military stated, "the Italian Army has feelings which go deeper than the usual professional ones toward the Red Army . These feelings have been strengthened as a result of the Italo-Soviet Pact." Potemkin sent an invite to the Undersecretary of State, Fulvio Suvich , for an Italian mission to visit the Soviet Union in return. Representatives of

13284-566: The Soviets after Hitler’s rise to power. Italy violated the pact three times during the period it was in effect. First, Italy staunchly supported Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War in his fight against the Second Spanish Republic , which was supported by the Soviet Union in a proxy war . Second, Italy promptly responded to requests by the Republic of Finland for military assistance and equipment for use against

13448-405: The USSR exported to Italy (iron ore, manganese, and chromium), and Soviet exports of other goods increased during the sanctions period, so that total Soviet exports to Italy only dropped to 83.5% of their pre-sanctions levels, which was a slight reduction compared to other countries such as Britain which dropped its exports to 8.6%. Soviet oil sales to Italy increased slightly after the war began, but

13612-786: The Winter War on the side of Finland. The third violation was Italy joining the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1937, an anti-Communist pact concluded between Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan the year prior. The Soviet Union called for League of Nations sanctions on Italy "as a matter of principle" over its aggression in Ethiopia , and complied with the sanctions on specific commodities after they went into effect, but overall Soviet-Italian trade remained close to pre-sanctions levels. The sanctions only affected three products which

13776-462: The advantage of liberty." In June 1936, Miguel de Unamuno , disenchanted with the unfolding of the events, told a reporter who published his statement in El Adelanto that President Manuel Azaña should commit suicide as a patriotic act. On 12 July 1936, Lieutenant José Castillo , an important member of the anti-fascist military organisation Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista (UMRA),

13940-476: The advent of the "new Italian woman" ( nuova italiana ). The policies revealed a deep conflict between modernity and traditional patriarchal authority, as Catholic, Fascist and commercial models of conduct competed to shape women's perceptions of their roles and their society at large. The Fascists celebrated violent "virilist" politics and exaggerated its machismo while also taxing celibate men to pay for child welfare programs. Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 and

14104-574: The aftermath of these exchanges, Mussolini mobilised Italian troops in the summer of 1934 and had them placed on the Brenner Pass , aiming to ensure Austrian independence against the July Putsch . Mussolini hoped the pact would signal to Germany and Hitler that Italy would not support Germany against the Soviet Union and would bring back “reason” in Berlin, and reduce Germany’s antagonism towards

14268-513: The army to intervene, declaring that Spanish soldiers would save the country from communism if "there are no politicians capable of doing so". Prominent rightists blamed the government for Calvo Sotelo's assassination . They claimed that the authorities did not properly investigate it and promoted those involved in the murder whilst censoring those who cried out about it and shutting down the headquarters of right-wing parties and arresting right-wing party members, often on "flimsy charges". The event

14432-710: The color of their Royal Italian Army , Navy , and Air Force uniforms. Most of the Blackshirts were members from the Fasci di Combattimento . A secret police force called the Organizzazione di Vigilanza Repressione dell'Antifascismo ("Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism") or OVRA was created in 1927. It was led by Arturo Bocchini to crack down on opponents of the regime and Mussolini (there had been several near-miss assassination attempts on Mussolini's life in his early years in power). Although

14596-452: The conflict assumed the dimension of a war of religion, and military authorities increasingly deferred to the Church and to the expression of Catholic sentiment. However, Mola's program was vague and only a rough sketch, and there were disagreements among coupists about their vision for Spain. Franco's move was intended to seize power immediately, but his army uprising met with serious resistance, and great swathes of Spain, including most of

14760-453: The construction of the Italian ocean liner SS Rex , which in 1933 made a transatlantic sea crossing record of four days, funded the development of the Macchi M.C.72 seaplane , which became the world's fastest seaplane in 1933 and retained the title in 1934. In 1933, Fascist government member Italo Balbo , who was also an aviator, made a transatlantic flight in a flying boat to Chicago for

14924-424: The country. The revolt was remarkably devoid of any particular ideology. The major goal was to put an end to anarchical disorder. Mola's plan for the new regime was envisioned as a "republican dictatorship", modelled after Salazar's Portugal and as a semi-pluralist authoritarian regime rather than a totalitarian fascist dictatorship. The initial government would be an all-military "Directory", which would create

15088-416: The coup, though it seems Mola did not envision the mass atrocities and repression that would ultimately manifest during the civil war. Of particular importance to Mola was ensuring the revolt was at its core an Army affair, one that would not be subject to special interests and that the coup would make the armed forces the basis for the new state. However, the separation of church and state was forgotten once

15252-493: The creation of profession-wide corporations, in which the trade union and employers organisation belonging to the same profession or branch are organized into professional corporations. In 1935, the Doctrine of Fascism was published under Mussolini's name, although it was most likely written by Giovanni Gentile . It described the role of the state in the economy under corporatism. By this time, Fascism had been drawn more towards

15416-427: The elections, Lerroux's group fell from the 104 representatives it had in 1934 to just 9. American historian Stanley G. Payne thinks that there was major electoral fraud in the process, with widespread violation of the laws and the constitution. In line with Payne's point of view, in 2017, two Spanish Scholars, Manuel Álvarez Tardío and Roberto Villa García, published the result of a research where they concluded that

15580-579: The encyclical Non abbiamo bisogno ("We do not need") that denounced the regime's persecution of the Church in Italy and condemned "pagan worship of the state". The 1929 treaties with Mussolini partially recovered the Papacy's spiritual primacy in Italy, making the Pope sovereign in the Vatican City state, and restoring Roman Catholicism as the State religion . In March 1929, a nationwide plebiscite

15744-655: The failure of the Asturias miners' uprising, led to a more radical turn by the parties of the left, especially in the PSOE (Socialist Party), where the moderate Indalecio Prieto lost ground to Francisco Largo Caballero , who advocated a socialist revolution. At the same time, the involvement of the Centrist government party in the Straperlo and Nombela scandals deeply weakened it, further polarising political differences between right and left. These differences became evident in

15908-482: The form of a referendum on 24 March 1929. By this time, the country was a single-party state with the National Fascist Party (PNF) as the only legally permitted party. Mussolini used a referendum to confirm a fascist single-party list. The list put forward was ultimately approved by 98.43% of voters. The universal male suffrage , which was legal since 1912, was restricted to men who were members of

16072-467: The fulfillment of the Constitutional mission of the first legislature, the second one had been a simple bid to trigger early elections. The right reacted as if radical communists had taken control, despite the new cabinet's moderate composition; they were shocked by the revolutionary masses taking to the streets and the release of prisoners. Convinced that the left was no longer willing to follow

16236-536: The government before the outbreak of the Civil War. The Constitution guaranteed a wide range of civil liberties, but it opposed key beliefs of the right wing, which was very rooted in rural areas, and desires of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, which was stripped of schools and public subsidies. The 1931 Constitution was formally effective from 1931 until 1939. In the summer of 1936, after

16400-486: The government introduced pensions , sick pay and paid holidays . In 1933, the government established unemployment benefits . At the end of the 1930s, 13 million Italians were enrolled in the state health insurance scheme and by 1939 social security expenditure accounted for 21% of government spending. In 1935, the 40-hour working week was introduced and workers were expected to spend Saturday afternoons engaged in sporting, paramilitary and political activities. This

16564-465: The government, called for new elections, instead of inviting CEDA, the party with most seats in the parliament, to form a new government. The Popular Front won the 1936 general election with a narrow victory. The Right accelerated its preparations for a coup, which had been months in the planning. Amidst the wave of political violence that broke out after the triumph of the Popular Front in

16728-524: The handling of social security benefits, claims for severance pay, and could sometimes negotiate contracts that benefited workers. After the Great Depression hit the world economy in 1929, the Fascist regime followed other nations in enacting protectionist tariffs and attempted to set direction for the economy. In the 1930s, the government increased wheat production and made Italy self-sufficient for wheat, ending imports of wheat from Canada and

16892-488: The idea of patriotism and Christian civilization, the Conference denounces the nefarious action of these elements and is ready to combat them. Italian Fascism adopted antisemitism in the late 1930s and as a result, Mussolini personally returned to his earlier invokation of antisemitic statements. From 1937 to 1938, during the Spanish Civil War , the Fascist regime circulated antisemitic propaganda which stated that Italy

17056-409: The idea of rebellion by army officers against the government had weakened; Mola had estimated that only 12% of officers reliably supported the coup and at one point considered fleeing the country for fear he was already compromised, and had to be convinced to remain by his co-conspirators. However, the kidnapping and murder of Sotelo transformed the "limping conspiracy" into a revolt that could trigger

17220-557: The increasing popular opposition, the Radicals and Socialist majority postponed the regular elections, therefore prolonging their way in power for two more years. This way the republican government of Manuel Azaña initiated numerous reforms to what in their view would "modernize" the country. Landowners were expropriated. Autonomy was granted to Catalonia, with a local parliament and a president of said parliament. Catholic churches in major cities were again subject to arson in 1932, and

17384-476: The international political horizon." Mussolini added that the international community did not have enough determination to stop Japan and the militaristic mentality of its ruling elite and praised Stalin 's USSR for its firmness against the Japanese. Soviet-Italian relations were badly hurt by the Spanish Civil War from 1936–39, and almost all trade between the two countries stopped for several years. Relations improved slightly after 1939. Italy finally tore up

17548-413: The issue of republic versus monarchy. Certain liberal elements would remain, such as separation of church and state as well as freedom of religion. Agrarian issues would be solved by regional commissioners on the basis of smallholdings, but collective cultivation would be permitted in some circumstances. Legislation prior to February 1936 would be respected. Violence would be required to destroy opposition to

17712-539: The largest party in the congress, was finally successful in forcing the acceptance of three ministries. However the entrance of CEDA in the government, although being normal in a parliamentary democracy, was not well accepted by the left. The Socialists triggered an insurrection that they had been preparing for nine months. A general strike was called by the UGT and the PSOE in the name of the Alianza Obrera . The issue

17876-421: The leading Fascists were anti-clericals and atheists , but they recognized the advantages of warmer relations with Italy's large Roman Catholic element. The Lateran Accord of 1929 was a treaty that recognized the Pope as the head of the new city-state of Vatican City within Rome, which gave it independent status and made it an important hub of world diplomacy. The Concordat of 1929 made Roman Catholicism

18040-467: The left-wing elements of the Fascist manifesto were opposed by industrialists and landowners who supported the party because it pledged to defend Italy from socialism, and corporatist policy became dominated by the industries. Initially, economic legislation mostly favoured the wealthy industrial and agrarian classes by allowing privatization, liberalization of rent laws, tax cuts, and administrative reform; however, economic policy changed drastically following

18204-490: The main cities remained loyal to the Republic. An estimated total of half a million people would die in the war that followed. During the Spanish Civil War, there were three Republican governments. The first was led by left-wing republican José Giral (from July to September 1936); a revolution inspired mostly by libertarian socialist , anarchist and communist principles broke out in its territory. The second government

18368-479: The main cities, remained loyal to the Republic of Spain. The leaders of the coup (Franco was not commander-in-chief yet) did not lose heart with the stalemate and apparent failure of the coup. Instead, they initiated a slow and determined war of attrition against the Republican government in Madrid. As a result, an estimated total of half a million people would die in the war that followed; the number of casualties

18532-546: The movement's early years, there were a small number of prominent openly antisemitic Fascists such as Roberto Farinacci . There were also prominent Fascists who completely rejected antisemitism, such as Italo Balbo , who lived in Ferrara , which had a substantial Jewish community that was widely accepted and suffered few antisemitic incidents. Mussolini initially had no antisemitic statements in his policies. However, in response to his observation of large numbers of Jews amongst

18696-459: The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War , it became largely irrelevant after the authority of the Republic was superseded in many places by revolutionary socialists and anarchists on one side, and Nationalists on the other. With the new constitution approved in December 1931, once the constituent assembly had fulfilled its mandate of approving a new constitution, it should have arranged for regular parliamentary elections and adjourned. However, fearing

18860-662: The pact on 22 June 1941, when it joined the other European Axis Powers to launch a surprise invasion of the Soviet Union . Fascist Italy (1922%E2%80%931943) Fascist Italy ( Italian : Italia fascista ) is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy when it was governed by the National Fascist Party from 1922 to 1943 with Benito Mussolini as prime minister and dictator . The Italian Fascists imposed totalitarian rule and crushed political opposition , while simultaneously promoting economic modernization , traditional social values and

19024-483: The participation of the left in the revolt: "The uprising of 1934 is unforgivable. The argument that Mr Gil Robles tried to destroy the Constitution to establish fascism was, at once, hypocritical and false. With the rebellion of 1934, the Spanish left lost even the shadow of moral authority to condemn the rebellion of 1936." The suspension of the land reforms that had been attempted by the previous government, and

19188-803: The positions of power of countries and claimed that Jews were a "ferocious" tribe who sought to "totally banish" Christians from public life. In 1937, Fascist member Paolo Orano criticized the Zionist movement as being part of British foreign policy which designed to secure British hold of the area without respecting the Christian and Islamic presence in Palestine . On the matter of Jewish Italians, Orano said that they "should concern themselves with nothing more than their religion" and not bother boasting of being patriotic Italians. The major source of friction between National Socialist Germany and Fascist Italy

19352-449: The post-election environment could become violent and was trying to quell the perceived leftist threat. Valladares resigned, even before a new government could be formed. However, the Popular Front, which had proved an effective election tool, did not translate into a Popular Front government. Largo Caballero and other elements of the political left were not prepared to work with the republicans, although they did agree to support many of

19516-642: The presence of pro-Italian Jews in the region would weaken pro-British sentiment and potentially overturn the British mandate. On the issue of antisemitism, the Fascists were divided on what to do, especially after the rise of Hitler in Germany . A number of members of the Fascist Party were Jewish and Mussolini affirmed that he was a Zionist , but to appease Hitler, antisemitism within the Fascist Party steadily increased. In 1936, Mussolini made his first written denunciation of Jews by claiming that antisemitism had only arisen because Jews had become too predominant in

19680-423: The professional Army of Africa had much of the south and west under the control of the rebels and by October 1936, Time Magazine declared that "façade of the Spanish Republic was crumbling". Bloody purges followed in each piece of captured "Nationalist" territory in order to consolidate Franco's future regime. Although both sides received foreign military aid, the help that Fascist Italy , Nazi Germany (as part of

19844-457: The proposed reforms. Manuel Azaña was called upon to form a government before the electoral process had come to an end, and he would shortly replace Zamora as president, taking advantage of a constitutional loophole: the Constitution allowed the Cortes to remove the President from office after two early dissolutions, and while the first (1933) dissolution had been partially justified because of

20008-414: The ranks of educators. Scholars have described the constitution as hostile to religion, with one scholar characterising it as one of the most hostile of the 20th century. José Ortega y Gasset stated, "the article in which the Constitution legislates the actions of the Church seems highly improper to me." Pope Pius XI condemned the Spanish government's deprivation of the civil liberties of Catholics in

20172-633: The rebels the support of the local population. The forced migration of more than 100,000 people ended in concentration camps in Suluq and Al-'Aghela where tens of thousands died in squalid conditions. It is estimated that the number of Libyans who died – killed either through combat or starvation and disease – was at least 80,000, including up to half of the Cyrenaican population. After Al-Mukhtar's capture on 15 September 1931 and his execution in Benghazi,

20336-481: The resistance petered out. Limited resistance to the Italian occupation crystallized around Sheik Idris , the Emir of Cyrenaica. Negotiations on expanding the borders of the colony of Libya took place with the British government. The first negotiations began in 1925 to define the border between Libya and British-held Egypt . These negotiations resulted in Italy gaining previously undefined territory. In 1934, once again

20500-429: The restoration of democracy in Spain, the government-in-exile formally dissolved the following year. On 28 January 1930, the military dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera (who had been in power since September 1923 ) was overthrown. This led various republican factions from a wide variety of backgrounds (including conservatives, socialists and Catalan nationalists) to join forces. The Pact of San Sebastián

20664-496: The resulting League of Nations sanctions shaped the tasks assigned to women within the Fascist Party. The empire and women's contribution to it became a core theme in Fascist propaganda. Women in the party were mobilized for the imperial cause both as producers and as consumers, giving them new prominence in the nation. The Fascist women's groups expanded their roles to cover such new tasks as running training courses on how to fight waste in housework. Young Italian women were prepared for

20828-441: The results were known, a group of monarchists asked Robles to lead a coup, but he refused. He did, however, ask prime minister Manuel Portela Valladares to declare a state of war before the revolutionary masses rushed into the streets. Franco also approached Valladares to propose the declaration of martial law and calling out of the army. This was not a coup attempt, but more of a "police action" akin to Asturias , as Franco believed

20992-495: The right to join the rebellion. Within hours of learning of the murder and the reaction, Franco , who until then had not been involved in the conspiracies, changed his mind on rebellion and dispatched a message to Mola to display his firm commitment. Three days later (17 July), the coup d'état began more or less as it had been planned, with an army uprising in Spanish Morocco , which then spread to several regions of

21156-436: The rule of law and that its vision of Spain was under threat, the right abandoned the parliamentary option and began to conspire as to how to best overthrow the republic, rather than taking control of it. This helped the development of the fascist-inspired Falange Española, a National party led by José Antonio Primo de Rivera , the son of the former dictator, Miguel Primo de Rivera , although it only received 0.7 percent of

21320-647: The seizures of Church property since 1860. The Catholic Church was not officially obliged to support the Fascist régime and the strong differences remained, but the general hostility ended. The Church especially endorsed foreign policies such as support for the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War and for the Italian invasion of Ethiopia . Friction continued over the Catholic Action ( Azione Cattolica ) youth network, which Mussolini wanted to merge into his Fascist youth group. In 1931, Pope Pius XI issued

21484-511: The sole religion of the State (although other religions were tolerated), paid salaries to priests and bishops, recognized religious marriages (previously couples had to have a civil ceremony) and brought religious instruction into the public schools. In turn, the bishops swore allegiance to the Italian Fascist régime, which had a veto power over their selection. A third agreement paid the Vatican 1.75 billion lire (about $ 100 million) for

21648-458: The support of market forces being dominant over state intervention. A passage from the Doctrine of Fascism read: The corporate State considers that private enterprise in the sphere of production is the most effective and useful instrument in the interest of the nation. In view of the fact that private organisation of production is a function of national concern, the organiser of the enterprise

21812-451: The time. Fascist propaganda was widely present in posters and state-sponsored art. However, artists, writers and publishers were not strictly controlled: they were only censored if they were blatantly against the state. There was a constant emphasis on the masculinity of the "new Italian", stressing aggression, virility, youth, speed and sport. Women were to attend to motherhood and stay out of public affairs. General elections were held in

21976-616: The total oil trade volume was small compared to levels one year earlier, when Italy had mostly switched to Romania as its preferred oil supplier. During this time the Soviet Union also supplied 91% of Italy's import of oats, which were used to feed the horses of the Italian military. Soviet imports from Italy were small before the sanctions period and only decreased slightly. Italian and Soviet interests coincided once again in China . In October 1933 , Potemkin warned Suvich that Germany would seek an agreement with Japan , another country perceived as

22140-447: The towns that they controlled. Thirty thousand workers were mobilized for battle within ten days. In the occupied areas the rebels officially declared the proletarian revolution and abolished regular money. The revolutionary soviets set up by the miners attempted to impose order on the areas under their control, and the moderate socialist leadership of Ramón González Peña and Belarmino Tomás took measures to restrain violence. However,

22304-621: The votes in the election. By July 1936, the Falange had a mere 40,000 members among millions of Spaniards. The country quickly moved towards anarchy. Even the socialist Indalecio Prieto , at a party rally in Cuenca in May 1936, complained: "we have never seen so tragic a panorama or so great a collapse as in Spain at this moment. Abroad Spain is classified as insolvent. This is not the road to socialism or communism but to desperate anarchism without even

22468-670: The war and inspired Picasso's painting . It was used as a testing ground for the German Luftwaffe's Condor Legion . The Battle of the Ebro in July–November 1938 was the final desperate attempt by the Republicans to turn the tide. When this failed and Barcelona fell to the rebels in early 1939, it was clear the war was over. The remaining Republican fronts collapsed, and Madrid fell in March 1939. The Second Spanish Republic's economy

22632-521: Was Italy's stance on Jews. In his early years as Fascist leader, Mussolini believed in racial stereotypes of Jews , however, he did not hold firm to any concrete stance on Jews because he changed his personal views and his official stance on them in order to meet the political demands of the various factions of the Fascist movement. Of the 117 original members of the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento founded on 23 March 1919, five were Jewish. Since

22796-529: Was Jewish, but warned that—due to the large numbers of Jews in the Bolshevik movement—the rise of Bolshevism in Russia would result in a ferocious wave of anti-Semitism in Russia. He then claimed that "anti-Semitism is foreign to the Italian people", but warned Zionists that they should be careful not to stir up antisemitism in "the only country where it has not existed". One of the Jewish financial supporters of

22960-485: Was Mediterranean, aligning his early opinion of Italian Jews with his early Mediterraneanist perspective . He also argued that Jews were natives of Italy, after living on the Italian Peninsula for a long period of time . In the early 1930s, Mussolini held discussions with Zionist leadership figures over proposals to encourage the emigration of Italian Jews to the mandate of Palestine, as Mussolini hoped that

23124-710: Was Mussolini's promise to restore the pride and glory of the old Roman Empire. Mussolini promised to revive Italy's status as a Great Power in Europe, carving out a "New Roman Empire". Mussolini promised that Italy would dominate the Mediterranean Sea . In propaganda, the Fascist government used the originally ancient Roman term " Mare Nostrum " (Latin for "Our Sea") to refer to the Mediterranean Sea. The Fascist regime increased funding and attention to military projects and began plans to create an Italian Empire in Northern and Eastern Africa and reclaim dominance in

23288-463: Was a broad program of social welfare and cultural activities. Antisemitism was unpopular within Italy, and it was also unpopular within the Fascist Party. Once, when a Fascist scholar protested about the treatment of his Jewish friends to Mussolini, Mussolini reportedly stated: "I agree with you entirely. I don't believe a bit in the stupid anti-Semitic theory. I am carrying out my policy entirely for political reasons". The Fascist government endorsed

23452-469: Was a strong demand for seizing that country. Second was a profound disillusionment after the heavy losses of the First World War. In the eyes of many Italians the small territorial gains from Austria-Hungary were not enough to compensate for the war's terrible costs, especially since countries, such as Poland and Yugoslavia, who contributed far less to the allied victory but received much more. Third

23616-484: Was also suppressed and was followed by mass arrests and trials. With this rebellion against an established political legitimate authority, the Socialists showed identical repudiation of representative institutional system that anarchists had practiced. The Spanish historian Salvador de Madariaga , an Azaña supporter and an exiled vocal opponent of Francisco Franco, is the author of a sharp critical reflection against

23780-577: Was called Sabato fascista ("Fascist Saturday") and was aimed mainly at the young; exceptions were granted in special cases but not for those under 21. According to Tracy H. Koon, this scheme failed as most Italians preferred to spend Saturday as a day of rest. For security of the regime, Mussolini advocated complete state authority and created the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale ("National Security Volunteer Militia") in 1923, which are commonly referred to as " Blackshirts " for

23944-558: Was called by the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in the name of the Alianza Obrera . The rebellion developed into a bloody revolutionary uprising , aiming to overthrow the republican government. Armed revolutionaries managed to take the whole province of Asturias , killing policemen, clerics, and businessmen and destroying religious buildings and part of

24108-577: Was chaired by the Italian-led Comitati d'Azione per l'Universalita di Roma (CAUR) in an attempt to found a Fascist International, the issue of antisemitism was debated amongst representatives of various fascist parties, some of them were more favorable to it than others were. Two final compromises were adopted, resulting in the official stance of the Fascist International: [T]he Jewish question cannot be converted into

24272-555: Was characterized by an aggressive foreign policy: the Second Italo-Ethiopian War , which was launched from Eritrea and Somaliland ; confrontations with the League of Nations , leading to sanctions; growing economic autarky ; the invasion of Albania ; and the signing of the Pact of Steel . The fifth phase (1940–1943) was World War II itself, ending in military defeat , while the sixth and final phase (1943–1945)

24436-459: Was established as the national anthem, and the Tricolor , with three horizontal red-yellow-purple fields, became the new flag of Spain. Under the new Constitution, all of Spain's regions had the right to autonomy . Catalonia (1932), the Basque Country (1936) and Galicia (although the Galician Statute of Autonomy could not come into effect due to the war) exercised this right, with Aragon , Andalusia and Valencia , engaged in negotiations with

24600-456: Was held to publicly endorse the Treaty. Opponents were intimidated by the Fascist régime, the Catholic Action party instructed Catholics to vote for Fascist candidates, and Mussolini claimed that the only "no" votes were of those "few ill-advised anti-clericals who refuse to accept the Lateran Pacts". Nearly 9 million Italians voted (90% of the registered electorate), and only 136,000 voted "no". The Lateran Treaty remains in place today. In 1938,

24764-417: Was largely considered as an internal matter, and relations were built up nevertheless. Reports in the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union were keen to stress the military aspect of this. In September 1933, a Soviet military mission visited Rome and Vladimir Petrovich Potemkin , who served as the Soviet Ambassador to Italy from 1932 until 1934, expressed "gratitude for the exceptional attention devoted to

24928-492: Was led by the PSOE's Francisco Largo Caballero . The UGT, along with the National Confederation of Workers (CNT), were the main forces behind the social revolution . The third government was led by socialist Juan Negrín , who led the Republic until the military coup of Segismundo Casado , which ended republican resistance and ultimately led to the victory of the Nationalists. The Republican government survived in exile and retained an embassy in Mexico City until 1976. After

25092-461: Was mostly agrarian, and many historians call Spain during this time a "backward nation". Major industries of the Second Spanish Republic were located in the Basque region (due to it having Europe's best high-grade non-phosphoric ore) and Catalonia. This greatly contributed to Spain's economic hardships, as their center of industry was located on the opposite side of the country from their resource reserves, resulting in immense transportation costs due to

25256-455: Was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII . It was dissolved on 1 April 1939 after surrendering in the Spanish Civil War to the Nationalists led by General Francisco Franco . After the proclamation of the Republic, a provisional government was established until December 1931, at which time the 1931 Constitution was approved. During this time and the subsequent two years of constitutional government, known as

25420-560: Was removed from his position in 1929, when the Fascist regime declared that the threat of the Mafia had been eliminated. Mori's actions weakened the Mafia, but did not destroy them. From 1929 to 1943 the Fascist regime completely abandoned its previously aggressive measures against the Mafia, and the Mafiosi were left relatively undisturbed. The Fascists paid special attention to the role of women, from elite society women to factory workers and peasants. Fascist leaders sought to "rescue" women from experiencing emancipation even as they trumpeted

25584-415: Was rewarded and promoted by the Fascist government through the Royal Academy of Italy which was created in 1926 to promote and coordinate Italy's intellectual activity. A major success in social policy in Fascist Italy was the creation of the Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro (OND) or "National After-work Program" in 1925. The OND was the state's largest recreational organizations for adults. The Dopolavoro

25748-415: Was shot by Falangist gunmen. In response, a group of Guardia de Asalto and other leftist militiamen led by Civil Guard Fernando Condés, after getting the approval of the minister of interior to illegally arrest a list of members of parliament, went to right-wing opposition leader José Calvo Sotelo 's house in the early hours of 13 July on a revenge mission. Sotelo was arrested and later shot dead in

25912-440: Was so popular that by the 1930s all towns in Italy had a Dopolavoro clubhouse and the Dopolavoro was responsible for establishing and maintaining 11,000 sports grounds, over 6,400 libraries, 800 movie houses, 1,200 theaters and over 2,000 orchestras. Membership was voluntary and nonpolitical. In the 1930s, under the direction of Achille Starace , the OND became primarily recreational, concentrating on sports and other outings. It

26076-433: Was supporting Spain's Nationalist forces in their fight against a "Jewish International". The Fascist regime's adoption of official antisemitic racial doctrine in 1938 met opposition from Fascist members including Balbo, who regarded antisemitism as having nothing to do with Fascism and staunchly opposed the antisemitic laws. In 1938, under pressure from Germany, Mussolini ordered the regime to adopt an antisemitic policy ,

26240-475: Was that the Left Republicans identified the Republic not with democracy or constitutional law but with a specific set of left-wing policies and politicians. Any deviation, even if democratic, was seen as treasonous. The inclusion of three CEDA ministers in the government that took office on 1 October 1934 led to a country wide revolt. A " Catalan State " was proclaimed by Catalan nationalist leader Lluis Companys , but it lasted just ten hours. Despite an attempt at

26404-498: Was the Turkish Republic . While the Soviet ships were in Naples, the Turkish Ambassador to Italy made a visit to the Soviet admiral on board. A potential Soviet-Italian-Turkish stability alliance troubled the Nazi government . Bernardo Attolico , who had been the Italian ambassador in Moscow since 1930 and helped pave the way for the 1932 agreement, called the military contacts a "tradition" and mutually beneficial, in that it helped to build Italian military and technological prestige. In

26568-470: Was the key to the transition from monarchy to republic. Republicans of all tendencies were committed to the Pact of San Sebastian in overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a republic. The restoration of the royal Bourbons was rejected by large sectors of the populace who vehemently opposed the King. The pact, signed by representatives of the main Republican forces, allowed a joint anti-monarchy political campaign. The 12 April 1931 municipal elections led to

26732-437: Was the rump Salò Government under German control. Italy was a leading member of the Axis powers in World War II , battling with initial success on several fronts. However, after the German-Italian defeat in Africa, the successes of the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front , and the subsequent Allied landings in Sicily , King Victor Emmanuel III overthrew and arrested Mussolini . The new government signed an armistice with

26896-531: Was won by the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA). However the President declined to invite its leader, Gil Robles , to form a government, fearing CEDA's monarchist sympathies. Instead, he invited the Radical Republican Party 's Alejandro Lerroux to do so. CEDA was denied cabinet positions for nearly a year. In October 1934, CEDA was finally successful in forcing the acceptance of three ministries. The Socialists triggered an insurrection that they had been preparing for nine months. A general strike

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