Italy,+1919-1945

This page focuses on what students most need to know about this topic in preparation for the IB exam.

1. IB Definition of Topic
For examinations 2010-16:

Interwar years: conflict and cooperation 1919-39
This section deals with the period between the two World Wars and the attempts to promote international cooperation and collective security. Obstacles to cooperation, such as post-war revisionism, economic crises and challenges to democracy and political legitimacy in Italy, Germany and Spain respectively, all require examination and consideration. The policies of the right-wing regimes and the responses of democratic states are also the focus of this section.
 * Germany 1919-33: political, constitutional, economic, financial and social problems
 * Italy 1919-39: Mussolini’s domestic and foreign policies
 * The impact of the Great Depression (case study of its effect on one country in Europe)
 * Spanish Civil War: background to the outbreak of the Civil War; causes and consequences; foreign involvement; reasons for Nationalist victory
 * Hitler’s domestic and foreign policy (1933-39)
 * Search for collective security; appeasement in the interwar years; the failure of international diplomacy; the outbreak of war in 1939

For first examinations in 2017:

European states in the inter-war years (1918–1939)
This section deals with domestic developments in certain key European states in the period between the two world wars. It requires the study of four European countries: Germany, Italy, Spain and any one other country. The section considers the impact of the end of the First World War, then examines the economic, social and cultural changes in each country during the 1920s and 1930s.
 * Weimar Germany: constitutional, political, economic/financial and social issues (1918–1933); initial challenges (1918–1923); “Golden Era” under Stresemann (1924–1929); the crisis years and the rise of Hitler (1929–1933)
 * Hitler’s Germany (1933–1939): consolidation of power; Hitler’s pre-war domestic policies, including economic, social and political policies; nature of the Nazi state; the extent of resistance to the Nazis
 * Italy (1918–1939): rise of Mussolini; consolidation of power; Mussolini’s pre-war domestic policies, including economic, social and political policies; nature of the fascist state
 * Spain (1918–1939): political, social and economic conditions in Spain; the Primo de Rivera regime; polarization and political parties under the Second Republic; Azaña and Gil Robles; causes of the Civil War; foreign involvement; reasons for nationalist victory under Franco
 * Case study of domestic political, economic and social developments in one European country (other than Germany, Italy or Spain) in the inter-war years.

2. Essay Questions from Past IB Exams, Organized Chronologically by Exam Date
2001-N

QUESTION 17 “The key factor was their control of the media.” How far does this statement explain the success of Mussolini and Hitler in retaining power in Italy and Germany respectively?

Questions on Mussolini and Hitler are always popular but the focus of this question on the media caused problems for many candidates. They were unable to define the term “media” and instead wrote rather general essays on the social and cultural policies of Mussolini and Hitler. Some candidates wrote only on Mussolini, and some only on Hitler. Better candidates were able to understand that the quotation could be challenged and these answers showed that, while the media was to an extent important, there were other factors that made the retention of power by Mussolini and Hitler possible.

2002-M

QUESTION 18 Assess the success and failures of Mussolini’s domestic policies.

This produced variable responses. Most candidates were able to analyze some aspects of Mussolini’s domestic policies, but many were limited in scope, and contained dubious analysis, e.g. regarding the supposed success of economic policies. Several candidates misunderstood the nature of the corporate state and Mussolini’s relations with the Church.

Better candidates made some attempt at assessment, but far too many candidates wrote descriptive outlines of Mussolini’s policies with no attempt at evaluation.

2002-N

QUESTION 19 In what ways did Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany differ ideologically?

Candidates did not possess sufficiently sound knowledge of the ideological background of Nazism and Fascism, which was a little surprising as this is a key focus of paper 2. Somewhat predictably many answers were mere comparisons of policies with a superficial mention of ideology in the conclusion.

2003-M

2003-N

QUESTION 16 What were the main factors that enabled Mussolini to rise to power and consolidate his position in Italy between 1918 and 1926?

Very popular - although candidates were generally better on the rise to power than on it’s consolidation.

2004-M

QUESTION 18 To what extent were the aims of Mussolini’s domestic and foreign policies achieved between 1923 and 1939?

This was another popular choice which was well answered. The greatest weakness was the inability of candidates to achieve a balance between the domestic and foreign policies in their responses. Weaker essays failed to identify Mussolini’s aims which led to vague, descriptive and unfocused content. The entire chronology was also ignored, most candidates focusing on only part of the time span.

2004-N

2005-M

QUESTION 18 Compare and contrast totalitarian rule in Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy, up to 1939.

This answer was also generally well done. The vast majority used focused comparative structures, and produced specific evidence on both Hitler and Mussolini.

2005-N

QUESTION 19 Evaluate the domestic policies of Mussolini between 1922 and 1939.

Another popular question on Mussolini’s domestic policies that was generally well known.

2006-N

2007-M

QUESTION 16 Analyse the effects on two European states (excluding Germany), of the Paris Peace Settlements, 1919–20.

Most candidates struggled with producing accurate details on the countries they had chosen, as few study any other country than Germany, which was excluded.

QUESTION 18 “Mussolini’s greatest skill lay in projecting himself through propaganda as a great leader.” How far do you agree with this assertion?

Also popular, and varied; some concentrated solely on propaganda, whilst others scarcely mentioned it. Few were able to focus their knowledge of Mussolini‟s policies at home or aboard on the quotation.

2007-N

QUESTION 17 “Foreign policy is the area which especially preoccupies us.” To what extent do Mussolini’s actions and policies between 1922 and 1939 reflect this statement?

Also popular but too many were unable to focus their inadequate knowledge of Mussolini’s foreign policies on the quotation.

2008-M

QUESTION 17. Mussolini wrote “war alone drives men to make their greatest efforts”. In what ways, and with what success, did Mussolini seek to put this belief into practice? Knowledge on Mussolini was generally good but not all of it was used to focus on and answer the set question.

QUESTION 18 Analyse the ideologies of two twentieth century European totalitarian states.

This was probably the weakest of the popular questions. Leninist or Stalinist USSR and Nazi Germany were usually chosen, but answers mostly consisted of the rulers‟ policies rather than their ideologies.

2008-N

QUESTION 16

Fairly popular; Germany and Italy were popular choices, but focus was too much on rise of Hitler and Mussolini. Russia was also a popular choice, but there were problems between results of War and Revolution.

2009-N

QUESTION 17

Knowledge of Hitler‟s policies was noticeably better than knowledge of Mussolini‟s. The better candidates made direct comparisons between the two, rather than presenting two separate descriptions. Few candidates could go up to 1943.

QUESTION 18

This showed that some candidates had problems determining what events to cover for the “establishment” of the regimes of their choice. Perhaps the inclusion of the phrase “1919 and 1939” misled some to think they needed to cover the entire period for each selected country.

2010-M

QUESTION 15 Compare and contrast the domestic policies of Hitler and Mussolini.

A popular choice. Answers shared the problems mentioned above in relation to comparative structure. Hitler is better known than Mussolini, for whom samples were very general. The comparative social and family policies were well known.

2010-N

QUESTION 15

Germany was the favourite exemplar with a large number of answers, but the majority of these seemed unclear as to chronology confusing the hyperinflation of 1923 with the recession of 1929-1932. There was some understanding of the problems caused by unemployment, contributing to the rise of the Nazis. The majority of candidates asserted firmly that Hitler gained more support without substantiating their statements, which is easily done with reference the huge increase in the number of Nazi deputies in the Reichstag. Nor was there much consideration of the difficulties faced by Weimar governments because of the polarization of politics and the class based nature of German political parties plus the overuse of article 48. For such a popular area where material could be used in paper 2 responses the level of detailed knowledge was disappointing. There were some excellent exceptions to this comment.

2011-M

2012-N

QUESTION 15

This was a popular question with many candidates showing a good level of knowledge. The 1930s were much better known than the 1920s and there was a limited understanding that Mussolini was on the whole pursuing a foreign policy that linked him to France and Britain rather than Germany until the crisis in Abyssinia. Candidates did, on the whole, keep a focus on the question.

2013-M

QUESTION 15 Evaluate the methods used by Mussolini to gain and retain power in the years 1919–1926.

This was quite a popular question but there were many rather disappointing answers. There was frequently limited knowledge of the Italian context in the years 1918-1922 or of Mussolini’s methods of gaining power which were often confined to his editorship of Avanti and the March on Rome. How power was retained was slightly better known with some detail on political manipulation, use of force etc. Some answers were able to effectively refer to policies such as the various ‘battles’ which enhanced his popularity. Weaker answers went far beyond 1926 and wrote narratives of events such as the battle for Births, or of Abyssinia with no link to the question.

2013-N

2014-M

QUESTION 16

A very popular question with the vast majority of answers writing about Germany which was perfectly acceptable as the question was left open. Unfortunately however there was limited understanding of the depression period with a considerable number of answers suggesting that the Great Depression lasted from 1918 until 1939. Other areas of factual knowledge also proved to be erroneous: there was NO hyperinflation in Germany in the early 1930s. For the most part candidates were content to assert that unemployment rose and Hitler therefore gained support and power and turned Germany into a one-party state. A minority of candidates were able to discuss, quite knowledgeably, the impact of the Depression on Weimar democracy; how the depression polarised politics and how the various Chancellors were increasingly reliant on the use of non-democratic methods of government that would go on to pave the way for Hitler to gain power.

2014-N

2015-M

3. Other Content Review Materials
Here is a detailed outline(s) and other great review materials for this unit, prepared by Shannon Leggett for her IB classes.
 * [[file:Mussolini Outline-Leggett.doc]]
 * [[file:Mussolin-Vocab-Leggett.doc]]