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120-556: 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

240-518: 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

360-538: 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

480-404: 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

600-629: 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

720-674: 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

840-689: A conventional war. That featured prominently in US strategy following the Vietnam War because of the so-called " Vietnam Syndrome " of extreme war weariness among the American population. That was also a significant factor in motivating the US to enter conflicts such as the Syrian Civil War by proxy actors after a series of costly drawn-out direct engagements in the Middle East spurred a recurrence of war weariness,

960-643: 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

1080-463: 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

1200-685: A national revolt against foreign occupation. For example, the British government partially organized and instigated the Arab Revolt to undermine the Ottoman Empire during the First World War . Many proxy wars began assuming a distinctive ideological dimension after the Spanish Civil War , which pitted the fascist political ideology of Italy and Nazi Germany against the communist ideology of

1320-430: 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

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1440-660: 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

1560-600: 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

1680-595: 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

1800-1002: 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

1920-409: 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

2040-574: 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

2160-513: A variety of negative consequences due to either negative international reaction (see above), punitive provisions listed in the prior agreement, or retaliatory action by the other parties and their allies. In some cases, nations may be motivated to engage in proxy warfare because of financial concerns: supporting irregular troops, insurgents, non-state actors, or less-advanced allied militaries (often with obsolete or surplus equipment) can be significantly cheaper than deploying national armed forces, and

2280-507: Is at a disadvantage, they will often respond by escalating military and/or financial support. If their counterpart(s), perceiving a material threat or desiring to avoid the appearance of weakness or defeat, follow suit, a proxy war ensues between the two powers. That was a major factor in many of the proxy wars during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union , as well as in

2400-583: 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

2520-638: 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

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2640-558: 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

2760-504: 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;

2880-556: 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 ,

3000-464: The proxy ; both belligerents in a proxy war can be considered proxies if both are receiving foreign military aid from a third party country. Acting either as a nation-state government or as a conventional force , a proxy belligerent acts in behalf of a third-party state sponsor. A proxy war is characterised by a direct, long-term, geopolitical relationship between the third-party sponsor states and their client states or non-state clients, thus

3120-645: 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,

3240-544: The Byzantine Empire used proxy warfare as a foreign-policy tool by deliberately cultivating intrigue among hostile rivals and then backing them when they went to war with each other. Other states regarded proxy wars as merely a useful extension of a pre-existing conflict, such as France and England during the Hundred Years' War , both of which initiated a longstanding practice of supporting privateers , which targeted

3360-660: 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

3480-550: 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,

3600-716: 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 ,

3720-513: 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,

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3840-615: 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

3960-484: The Middle Ages , many non-state proxies were external parties that were introduced into an internal conflict and aligned themselves with a belligerent to gain influence and to further their own interests in the region. Proxies could be introduced by an external or local power and most commonly took the form of irregular armies which were used to achieve their sponsor's goals in a contested region. Some medieval states like

4080-509: 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

4200-568: 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

4320-465: 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

4440-521: The Soviet Union without involving these states in open warfare with each other. Sponsors of both sides also used the Spanish conflict as a proving ground for their own weapons and battlefield tactics. During the Cold War , proxy warfare was motivated by fears that an armed conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union by conventional warfare would result in nuclear holocaust , which rendered

4560-730: 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

4680-606: 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

4800-487: 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

4920-648: 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

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5040-487: The " War on Terror syndrome." Nations may also resort to proxy warfare to avoid potential negative international reactions from allied nations, profitable trading partners, or intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations . That is especially significant when standing peace treaties, acts of the alliance or other international agreements ostensibly forbid direct warfare. Breaking such agreements could lead to

5160-405: 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 ),

5280-403: 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

5400-527: The American practice of arming insurgent forces, such as the funnelling of supplies to the mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War . Other examples of proxy war include the Korean War and the Vietnam War . The governments of some nations, particularly liberal democracies , may choose to engage in proxy warfare (despite their military superiority) if most of their citizens oppose declaring or entering

5520-628: 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

5640-598: 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

5760-402: 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

5880-527: 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

6000-522: 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

6120-458: 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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6240-399: 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. Proxy war In political science, a proxy war is an armed conflict where at least one of the belligerents is directed or supported by an external third-party power. In the term proxy war , a belligerent with external support is

6360-421: 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

6480-429: 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

6600-415: 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,

6720-432: 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

6840-431: 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

6960-437: 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

7080-457: 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)

7200-472: 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

7320-404: 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

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7440-527: 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

7560-439: 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

7680-524: 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

7800-512: 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

7920-421: 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

8040-458: 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

8160-444: 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

8280-436: 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

8400-405: 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

8520-549: 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

8640-476: 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

8760-558: 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

8880-693: 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

9000-449: 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

9120-488: 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

9240-565: 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

9360-472: 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

9480-486: 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

9600-516: 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

9720-482: 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

9840-476: 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

9960-421: 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

10080-467: 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

10200-541: 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

10320-687: The ongoing series of conflicts between Saudi Arabia and Iran , especially in Yemen and Syria . Proxy wars can have a huge impact, especially on the local area. A proxy war with significant effects occurred between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Vietnam War . Operation Rolling Thunder , a U.S bombing campaign in North Vietnam destroyed significant amounts of infrastructure. Many bombs were also dropped on North Vietnamese supply routes in Cambodia and Laos . Equally, if not more, significant

10440-991: The other's merchant shipping. France used England's turmoil of the Wars of the Roses from their victory as a proxy, siding with the Lancastrians against the Yorkists who were backed by the Burgundian State . The Ottoman Empire likewise used the Barbary pirates as proxies to harass Western European powers in the Mediterranean Sea . Frequent application of the term "proxy war" indicates its prominent place in academic research on international relations. Distinct implementations of soft power and hard power have proved to be unsuccessful in recent years. Accordingly, great failures in classic wars increased

10560-657: 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

10680-444: The political sponsorship becomes military sponsorship when the third-party powers fund the soldiers and their matériel to equip the belligerent proxy-army to launch and fight and sustain a war to victory, and government power. However, the relationship between sponsors and proxies can be characterized by principal-agent problems whereby the sponsor may be unable to control the actions of the proxy. During classical antiquity and

10800-788: 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

10920-637: 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

11040-680: The proxies usually bear the brunt of casualties and economic damage resulting from prolonged conflict. Another common motivating factor is the existence of a security dilemma . A nation may use military intervention to install a more favorable government in a third-party state. Rival nations may perceive the intervention as a weakened position to their own security and may respond by attempting to undermine such efforts, often by backing parties favorable to their own interests (such as those directly or indirectly under their control, sympathetic to their cause, or ideologically aligned). In that case, if one or both rivals come to believe that their favored faction

11160-618: 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,

11280-477: 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

11400-496: 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

11520-683: 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

11640-504: 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

11760-453: 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

11880-428: The tendency to use proxy wars. Since the early twentieth century, proxy wars have most commonly taken the form of states assuming the role of sponsors to non-state proxies and essentially using them as fifth columns to undermine adversarial powers. That type of proxy warfare includes external support for a faction engaged in a civil war, terrorists, national-liberation movements , and insurgent groups, or assistance to

12000-451: 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

12120-612: 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

12240-478: The use of ideological proxies a safer way to conduct hostilities. The Soviet government found that supporting parties antagonistic to the U.S. and other Western nations was a cost-effective way to combat NATO 's influence compared to direct military engagement. Additionally, the proliferation of televised media and its impact on public perception made the U.S. public especially susceptible to war-weariness and being skeptical of risking life abroad. That encouraged

12360-514: 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

12480-569: 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

12600-477: 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

12720-687: 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

12840-463: 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

12960-462: 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

13080-569: 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

13200-559: 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

13320-540: 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)

13440-619: 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,

13560-534: 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

13680-610: 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

13800-537: 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

13920-440: 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

14040-433: 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 ,

14160-494: Was the Soviet–Afghan War , which saw the U.S. fund the Afghan mujahideen against the invading Soviet forces (see Operation Cyclone ). This war cost hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars, bankrupting the Soviet Union and contributing to its collapse . The conflict in the Middle East between Saudi Arabia and Iran is another example of the destructive impact of proxy wars. Since 2003, nearly 500,000 have died in

14280-761: 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

14400-747: 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

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