AQA_2024: A-level History - Component 2L Italy and Fascism, c1900–1945 (Merged Question Paper and Marking Scheme)

AQA_2024: A-level History - Component 2L Italy and Fascism, c1900–1945 (Merged Question Paper and Marking Scheme) A-level HISTORY Component 2L Italy and Fascism, c1900–1945 Friday 7 June 2024 Materials For this paper you must have:  an AQA 16-page answer book. Instructions Afternoon  Use black ink or black ball-point pen. Time allowed: 2 hours 30 minutes  Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is 7042/2L.  Answer three questions. In Section A answer Question 01. In Section B answer two questions. Information  The marks for questions are shown in brackets.  The maximum mark for this paper is 80.  You will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist vocabulary where appropriate. Advice  You are advised to spend about: – 1 hour on Question 01 from Section A – 45 minutes on each of the two questions answered from Section B. IB/M/Jun24/7042/2L 3 Key areas: 1. The Context of Early 20th Century Italy (1900–1914):  Political Instability: Italy was politically fragmented with weak governments and social unrest. The country faced challenges in establishing a stable democracy.  Social and Economic Problems: High levels of poverty, especially in the south, and a largely agrarian economy led to social dissatisfaction and class conflict. 2. World War I and Its Aftermath (1914–1919):  Italy in WWI: Initially neutral, Italy entered the war in 1915 on the side of the Allies, hoping for territorial gains, which were promised in the Treaty of London.  Economic and Social Impact: The war left Italy economically weakened, with high casualties, inflation, and strikes. This led to widespread disillusionment and a sense of betrayal after the Treaty of Saint-Germain in 1919, which Italy felt did not fulfill the promises of war.  Post-War Unrest: Following the war, Italy faced political instability, with a rise in socialist movements and worker strikes, and fascist squads began using violence to combat left-wing groups. 3. The Rise of Mussolini and Fascism (1919–1922):  Fascist Movement: Benito Mussolini founded the Fascist Party in 1919, emphasizing nationalism, anti-communism, and reviving Italy's power. The Fascists used violence and intimidation to suppress opposition.  March on Rome (1922): Mussolini’s Fascists marched on Rome, and the king, Victor Emmanuel III, fearing civil war, appointed Mussolini as Prime Minister. This marked the beginning of Fascist rule. 4. Consolidation of Power and the Fascist State (1922–1939):  Mussolini’s Dictatorship: Mussolini established a totalitarian regime, dismantling democracy and eliminating political opposition through violence, censorship, and repression.  Corporatism: Mussolini implemented a corporatist economy, where workers and employers were organized into state-controlled corporations, limiting strikes and creating a controlled form of labor relations.  Fascist Ideology: Mussolini promoted fascist values such as militarism, expansionism, and loyalty to the state. The regime emphasized Italian nationalism, control over the media, and the glorification of Mussolini as the Il Duce (the leader).  Aggressive Foreign Policy: Italy pursued an imperialist foreign policy, including the invasion of Ethiopia (1935) and participation in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), aligning with Nazi Germany in the late 1930s. 5. World War II and the Decline of Fascism (1939–1945):  Italy in WWII: Mussolini entered the war on the side of Nazi Germany in 1940, but Italy's military struggles were disastrous. The Italian campaign was marked by defeats in North Africa and the invasion of Italy by Allied forces in 1943.  Italian Collapse and Mussolini’s Fall (1943): In 1943, Mussolini was ousted after Italy’s surrender to the Allies. He was briefly rescued by Hitler, but eventually captured by Italian partisans and executed in 1945 IB/M/Jun24/7042/2L 7042/2L Turn over ► IB/M/Jun24/G4006/E4 4 IB/M/Jun24/7042/2L Section A Answer Question 01. Source A From a speech to the workers of Milan by Benito Mussolini, 6 October 1934. The speech followed the creation of 22 corporations for the major industries. Comrade workers! Five years ago, in this month, the capitalist economy crashed with a terrific noise. Countless fortunes were destroyed. This was the end of the liberal-capitalist economy. The Fascist economy will no longer aim at individual profit; it will act in the interests of everyone. The solution is the Corporate State. This means the self-discipline of production is entrusted to producers. When I say producers, I do not mean only industrialists or employers, I also mean the workers. Fascism establishes the real equality of individuals in work and in the nation. The object of the Fascist regime in the economic field is to ensure higher social justice for the whole Italian people. This means guaranteed work, fair wages, decent homes, and the possibility of continuous improvement. Nor is this enough. It means that the workers must enter more and more closely into the productive process and share its necessary discipline. Since 1929, the mass of the Italian workers has come to support the Fascist Revolution. 5 10 Source B From ‘Lectures on Fascism’ given in Moscow by Palmiro Togliatti in 1935. Togliatti was an Italian Communist in exile; he was speaking to other Italian Communists. The Corporate State is nothing but a series of words, of slogans, with which Fascism tries to cover up the dictatorship. The Corporate State is not only a propaganda tool, it is also a system of political control which restricts every democratic liberty and every possibility for the workers to organise for themselves. Even if the corporations had some importance, they would not be able to do anything which was not approved by the Fascist Party. Along with the representatives of the employers, there are the same number of representatives of the workers, but also representatives of the Fascist Party. Even if the employees’ representatives were truly representative of the workers, the upper hand would still be given to the bosses by the Fascist Party. There is only one president of the corporations: Mussolini. It is a mistake to think that because Fascism is able to influence the masses it means that the masses support Fascism. There is no great support from the Italian people for corporatism. 5 10 3 Source C From ‘Inside Europe’ by John Gunther, published in London, 1936. Gunther was a journalist who travelled widely in Europe, investigating the political situation in the mid-1930s. In Italy, the state controls the economy for its own benefit. Fascism has made Italy a prison. Mussolini said, “I declare that the capitalist method of production is finished”. There is a seemingly impressive list of anti-capitalist measures in the Corporate State. No employer can sack workers without government consent. Wages are determined by the government. The employer may only hire labour at government labour exchanges. However, the disadvantages to labour under Fascism are infinitely more severe. Liberty, in a Fascist system, ceases; the question for the individual is whether the merits of the regime compensate for its loss. Workers have lost their right to bargain; their trade unions have been dissolved. They are the weaker party compared to the employers in the corporations; their wages may be mercilessly deflated by decree. Above all, they have lost the right to strike. Yet the capitalist maintains the privilege of earning private profits. Mussolini’s Fascism was probably not deliberately intended to prop up the capitalist structure, but it has that effect. 5 10 0 1 With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying the Corporate State in Italy. [30 marks] Turn over for Section B IB/M/Jun24/7042/2L Turn over ► 6 IB/M/Jun24/7042/2L Section B Answer two questions. 0 2 ‘In the ten years before entering the First World War in 1915, Italy was politically stable and economically strong.’ Assess the validity of this view. [25 marks] 0 3 To what extent was Mussolini’s rise to power, in the years 1919 to 1922, due to Fascist opposition to Socialism?