After World War 1, Italy was facing major economical problems. Mussolini formed the National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista) in 1919 in hopes that his political party would come to power. He promised to revive Italy’s economy, rebuild the military, and to expand and rebuild the Roman Empire. “The support for Fascism came from a wide spectrum of Italian society” (Evans, 55). The people believed in what Mussolini was telling them because they hoped that he could help the Italians get out of their economical struggle. The party came to power in 1922 after the “March on Rome”. Mussolini gave the government two options; the government would be given to him, or the fascists would seize it. On October 29th, 1922, Mussolini met the King in Rome, and on October 30th, 1922 he was sworn as Prime Minister. The Fascists then marched through Rome in pride. Citizens had many new policies that they had to follow. This included the National Defence policy; which stated that every citizen is expected to do compulsory military service. Mussolini declared himself an atheist, and had written a pamphlet called “God Does Not Exist” targeting Roman Catholics. The school systems in Italy were then designed to …show more content…
At the end of WW1, Italy did not receive much gain for the many lives lost. As a result, many Italians developed a deep displeasure toward the other European countries. This set the stage for Mussolini’s Fascist Party to take power in Italy. In Germany, there were severe economical problems as well, due to the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty stated that Germany was the main instigator of WW1, and left them responsible for damages done during the war. Because Italy and Germany were facing similar problems, Mussolini and Hitler soon became allies. Both leaders viewed their country to be superior, and both had an idea of creating an Empire, or pure race. Benito Mussolini’s Fascism was very similar to Adolph Hitler’s Nazism. Some major similarities include that the economy is to be led by the state, and the state is lead by a dictator; which is one leader with complete power. Both countries abandoned democracy, and neither Fascism or Nazism could grasp the idea of religions. Hitler wanted to expand the German Empire, and believed that the people of Germany (Aryans) needed more room to expand (Lebensraum). Italy had conquered Ethiopia, and like Germany was also was looking to expand their empire. Another major similarity between Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini is that they both encouraged a “cult of youth” to impose their Fascist/Nazi beliefs on children. The idea was to create a generation that would support their beliefs.