BLACK SHIRTS (ITALY, 1923): ORIGIN, HISTORY AND IDEOLOGY - HISTORY - 2025

The black shirts were a radical Italian group led by Benito Mussolini that was initially born under the name of facii di combatimento. Then it took the name of camiscie nere in allusion to the color of the uniform worn by its members.

With a military structure and operating parallel to the official army, they constituted a force trained to carry out actions of shock, control and neutralization of the enemy: unions, strikers and leftist intellectuals opposed to fascism.

With their motto in their mouths ("Serving God and the Fatherland") they were in charge of doing the "dirty work" to remove from the game anyone who manifested against the fascist ideology, especially the socialists and communists. They were known for their violent actions, ranging from verbal harassment to physical harassment, even to murder.

In November 1918 the First World War ended. From there began a post-war period marked by a deep economic and social crisis in Europe. Hundreds of soldiers returned to their countries of origin without a life plan.

The Italian troops returned in the same conditions and, in addition, carried a victory with the taste of defeat. The Italian unrest was due to the breach of the deals and benefits (territories) that had been promised to Italy as a reward for participating in the First World War supporting the allies.

The Italian soldiers, with no other enemy to confront, were agglutinating and began to deal with countering small insurrectionary socialist foci.

Conformation of black shirts

The Duce (as Mussolini was called) begins to gain strength as leader; some saw in his ideas a break with the past and a promise for the future.

Among these people were retired ex-military men, members of the assault forces, Italian nationalist scholars, and fledgling landowners.

In 1919 this heterogeneous group was recognized as the black shirts. To date it was a body made up of two hundred thousand Italians, aged between 17 and 50 years. The members belonged to the lower middle classes of the country and the city.

The majority of the Black Shirts did not seek social demands, since they did not come from the poorest strata. Their objective was to consolidate the leader who raised those new ideas with which they identified and that bring them together: fascism.

Origin and history

After the war, Italy was left with its economy battered and its society cracked. This created the perfect atmosphere to seek change.

Right-wing groups viewed with horror the strengthening of the communist nation in Russia, and left-wing national unity groups aspired to consolidate into a communist state.

Fascism was preceded by a feat undertaken by the man of letters and also military man Gabriele D'Anuncio. He is considered the ideological father of Mussolini, since from him he learned the basic principles of what would become the fascist movement.

By January 14, 1923, the black shirts were appointed as an official state militia by the Grand Fascist Council. They were given institutional character by being formally classified as the Voluntary Militia for National Security (MVSN).

They were a very useful militancy to the Fascist Party. However, their aggressions were so many and so serious that on June 21, 1925 they were urged to abandon violent ways. This they ignored.

Ideology

Fascism, the ideological force that motorized the Black Shirts, is a political current proposed and practiced by Benito Mussolini in Italy in 1918.

Fascism was considered a third and novel way in the 20th century because it was opposed to the currents of the right, the left and the center. For this reason it was called the antiparty.

The word fascism derives from the old Italian term fascio, which translated into Spanish means "do." A bundle is a bundle of wands that represented authority in the splendor of the republican era of old Rome.

As a symbol, the fasces refers to the strength in the union, since a separate rod is easy to break but in a bundle of rods it is very difficult to break.

Indeed, several groups were outraged by the weak positions of the Italian government. This was passive before the seizure of privileges of the rights gained by fighting alongside the victors in the First World War. Therefore, these outbreaks turned to violent actions.

These foci were unified in December 1914, the date on which Mussolini promoted the creation of the Fasci d'Azione rivoluzionaria. There he gathered among his ranks groups sympathetic to fascist doctrines and those who were unhappy with the policies of the time.

This is how the term fascio becomes the property of a group of extremists led by the Duce who are now going to power. On November 7, 1921, the National Fascist Party (PNF) was created, which led the destiny of Italy for 25 years.

About Mussolini

During his youth Mussolini was a sympathizer of the Socialists; from them he acquired some political notions. He was not a career military man, but he enlisted for a couple of years familiarizing himself with military manners.

In what he did show skills was in the art of public speaking. His speeches, despite not having ideological and intellectual density, managed to capture the attention of crowds to motivate and lead them. For this reason, fascism had a weak political structure in its beginnings.

Over the years, its main characteristics emerged: centralist and totalitarian. It was based on nationalism both in the political arena and in the cultural area.

Characteristics of fascist ideology

- The elimination of opposition parties was sought, rising as an authoritarian one-party government. He used violence and terror as a positive, socially therapeutic and useful element to deter opponents.

- Use of elements, terminology and military symbols, in order to militarize civil society and keep them in an active combat defense attitude. There was an excessive veneration for the virile and the youth as guarantors of the national transformation.

- Repudiation and attack on the Marxist, liberal and right-wing.

- Flagrant violation of human rights.

- National development ambitions with a view to expanding as an empire.

- Fascism was replicated in Hitler's Germany and then in Franco's Spain.

References

1. Dominguez, I (2017) The young Mussolini. Jot Down. Recovered in: jotdown.es
2. Encyclopedia of Features (2017). "Government of Mussolini". Recovered in: caracteristicas.co
3. Mandel, E. (2011) Fascism. Revolta Global Formaciṕ. Recovered at: ernestmandel.org
4. Payne, S (1979) Fascism. Editorial Alliance. Recovered at: ens9004-mza.infd.edu.ar
5. Rosenberg, A. (1976) Fascism and Capitalism. Ediciones Martínez Roca, SA