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Mussolini's positive effect on Italy
Mussolini's impact on WWI
Mussolini's impact on WWI
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A totalitarian state is defined as “a few control everything,” and “the government controls every aspect of the citizens life.” This cannot be better exemplified than by Italy under the rule of the ruthless and violent dictator, Benito Mussolini. What a totalitarian state is, the characteristics it has, and how Italy turned into one are three points that will be studied in this essay. A brief look into Mussolini’s life and his rise to power will also be examined, as well as how his reign resulted for Italy and in turn, how it affected the whole world. An assessment of Italy as a totalitarian state will bring this essay to a close.
A totalitarian state is a highly centralized government controlled by one political group, and usually one leader. The duties of the citizen to the state are all-important. Political, economic and social life are all directed by the official party. Totalitarianism has one official plan that covers all vital aspects of human existence. The government monopolizes police, weapons, all means of mass communication (press, radio and films, art, music and literature), and has tight control of the country’s economy. It is used to train people to think and behave in a specific way.
In Italy, the development of a totalitarian state was made possible because fascism appealed to Italians. There was much unrest in Italy, and it seemed to be the only option. In the summer of 1920, dissatisfied workers caused the unrest, and growing populations of socialist parties worried middle-class Italians. Mussolini used turmoil to gain power.
Benito Mussolini was born on July 29, 1883 in Varnano dei Costa. He was named for the Mexican patriot Benito Juavez. He was the top of his class growing up, but he wasn’t quite a model student - he hated rich children and was almost expelled for stabbing one with a knife. This seems to be the first hint of a very violent future for Mussolini. As a young man, Mussolini worked as a union organizer and was expelled from Switzerland and Austria for Socialist agitation. He was a very talented writer; he wrote poems and a novel, The Cardinal’s Mistress, and edited a newspaper, Avanti. After WWI, in 1922, Mussolini organized a March on Rome with 26,000 followers. This massive display of political support convinced the King to make him Prime Minister. He was the youngest Prime Minister Italy had ever seen.
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... way of what he believed to be a perfect society. Evidently, things didn’t turn out as planned for Mussolini, but during his time as the leader of Italy, he definitely controlled the lives of many Italians and had things done his way. It was said of him “He is not, like Hitler, condemned out of his own mouth, nor by the notoriety and magnitude of his evil deeds. It may be that he began well and meant well, like so many of the Caesars before him, but that he ended ill as they did owing to the corruption of power.”4
1 Josh Brooman, Italy and Mussolini, p.17
2 Josh Brooman, Italy and Mussolini, p.19
3 Josh Brooman, Italy and Mussolini, p.23
4 Derek Heater, Case Studies in Twentieth-Century World History, p.79
Bibliography
Skipper, G.C. Mussolini: A Dictator Dies. Children’s Press: Chicago, 1989.
Brooman, Josh. Italy and Mussolini. Longman Group Limited:
New York, 1985.
Heater, Derek. Case Studies in Twentieth-Century World History.
Longman Group Limited: New York, 1988.
Benito Mussolini. http://history1900s.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.falange.org%2Fbenito.htm.
Mussolini was considered one of the first modern dictators and he essentially paved the way for Hitler and others to follow. Italy was still in chaos after World War I and showed no signs of recovery. When Mussolini attempted his rise to power, he did it through the political channels being voted in by the people. However, rather than seeking to improve Italy, “Mussolini's new cause became personal power; he sought to place himself in the position of dictator” (Gale). The way in which Mussolini spoke captivated crowds and made Italy fall in love with him. What Mussolini lacked in height he made up for in public speaking, as one of his critics describes, “Yet by the power of his public speaking, by his gestures and tone of voice, he was capable of inspiring tremendous enthusiasm in the crowds who gathered to hear him” (Gale). Italy felt as if Mussolini’s cult of personality was never going to leave, like it seemed as if Big Brother was never going to
Ginsborg P (1990). ‘A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics: 1943-1980’ Published by Penguin; Reprint edition (27 Sep 1990).
Fascism is one of the great political ideology in the 20th century. It is a kind of authoritarian government that, according to Wikipedia, “considers the individual subordinate to the interests of the state, party or society as a whole.” Two of the most successful and to be in the vanguard of fascism government is Italian fascism – led by Benito Mussolini, and Nazi Germany – led by Adolf Hitler. Fascism in Italy and Germany, though in many regards very similar - have the same political ideologies, still have many aspects to them that make them different from each other. Before analysing the similarities and differences between the fascism that emerged in Italy and Germany since the very first of 20th century, it is better to discover - what is fascism.
Mussolini, Benito. “The Political and Social Doctrine of Fascism.” The Human Record . By Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield. Vol. 2. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2011. 2 vols. 399-400.
militaristic government" (Webster's). March 23, 1919 marked the ascension of the Fascist party in Italy. For many, young Benito Mussolini was a symbol of law and order in a time of political and social turmoil. Mussolini's "Fasci di Combattimento", the re-organization of his Fascia group, was accepted and admired by all, especially those Italians longing for the end of unemployment, inflation, and the fear of a communist revolution. In Italy, many members of the government, as well as a few aspects of society, gained from Fascism. However, despite those who gained, more Italians suffered as a result of Fascist government.
Fascism is defined as, “an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.” Peter Hyland reports that throughout the 1920s and the 1930s, an economic depression was growing and becoming widespread throughout the world. People were losing faith in their democracies and in capitalism. Leaders who gained power supported powerful militarism, nationalism, and initiated the return of an authoritarian rule. J.R. Oppenheimer says that the rise of fascism and totalitarianism in Europe and Russia instigated a “critical step on the path to war.” In 1922, Benito Mussolini held leadership in Italy, promising a proficient and militaristic nationalistic state. During his control as prime minister, he gained a large group of followers, banned the disparagement of government, and used extreme violence against his enemies within the parliament.
When Benito grew up, he became a teacher in an elementary school in his nearby town; he spread the party of doctrine. He was an editor, Fascist leader, laborer, soldier, politician, and revolutionary. He also became a socialist. He graduated at a teacher training school in Forli, Italy. Then he moved to Switzerland to find a better place to work. When he was in Switzerland, he got in trouble with the law for fighting and vagrancy. So he decided to move back to Italy but in Trent. When he returned he worked for a Social Newspaper Company and wrote several literacy works. The newspaper was called "La Lotta di Classe (The Class Struggle). The towns’ people loved his newspaper. He made the editor of "Avanti" (forward); it was published in Milan.
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born in Predappio on July 29, 1883. Son of a socialist blacksmith, he grew up to be a self-proclaimed "anti-patriot" like his father. He hadn't taken to school and rebelled against most things. He had gotten expelled from his first school, which was a catholic school ran my monks, though he did better in his second. He went on to become a qualified school teacher, even though he wasn't interested in teaching. Benito Mussolini had a passion for politics.
It is a term first applied by Benito Mussolini that was used to describe the new Fascist state. It refers that the government allows no freedom and attempts to control the every aspect of individual’s life under its authority. Spielvoge indicated that the western leaders called the Soviet control of both the Eastern European states and the Soviet Union as “totalitarian” (805). The totalitarianism has extended the power of the central state in the past to a
Mussolini’s population policy was a clear effort to exercise his authoritarian control over the people of Italy, regulating the most personal and private details of their lives. In his bid for complete control, he used new laws, propaganda, and sometimes brutal tactics in order for his wishes to be recognized. It is during the 1920’s to the 1940’s that totalitarian control over the state escalated into full dictatorships, with the wills of the people being manipulated into a set of beliefs that would promote the fascist state and “doctrines.”
Benito Mussolini wanted to try and delay a major war in Europe until at least 1942, but Germany invaded Poland in 1939. This means declarations of war by France and the UK and the start of WWII. Mussolini created the Fascist Party in Italy in 1919. He eventually made himself dictator after World War
(2) "The manner in which Mussolini and the Fascist Party gained possession of the government was regarded in most foreign circles as an illegal act of violence." 3. As the nation of Italy began to suffer great debts, Mussolini had been summoned by the King to form a government to aid in the economic needs. This marked the birth of the Fascist Party in Italy.... ...
Hitler and Mussolini looked upon the new form of government, which was Totalitarianism. This form of government means there is only one leader to make decisions and thus they killed or jailed all opponents. Mussolini and Hitler used this form of government after World War One to make their countries into world powers.
Benito Mussolini was the premier-dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. He was the founder and leader of Italian Fascism. Mussolini, along with his Facets government, was able to successfully suppress the Mafia during the time of World War II. However, after the war ended in 1945, the Mafia emerged and ruled once again. Over the next thirty years, the Sicilian Mafia was not only able to gain control Sicily, but all of Italy as well.
Mussolini came into power in 1922 and sought to make Fascism the only party in Italy, because he believed it was superior to all other parties. Both Mussolini and Hitler wanted to create a better economy for their countries, and had big plans to change the way their countries viewed things. Mussolini abolished democracy, and would not listen and shunned any ideas or citizens who opposed his political views. Although the men were quite similar in the ways they set goals for their countries, Hitler was extreme in his plans for future Germany. According to the lecture, Hitler’s plans were to make it known the Germans were the superior race, Jews and Gypsies were subhuman, Hitler promised to take back the land taken from the after the war, and Lebensraum. Both men had their countries became a part of the Axis powers, and along with Japan became Fascist nations. Mussolini’s rise to power came through his influence on the fascists people. According to the lecture it was fascists that marched to Rome in October 1922, and the people demanded that the king put Mussolini in charge of the government. It was through fear that Mussolini gained his power. Hitler on the other hand was