Figure 1.--Mussolin's invasio of Ethiopia caused economic problems. Mussolini increased taxes and food prices increased. There wre no economic benefits to the war. 【Sbacchi, p. 126.】 Mussolini had to ask Italans to make sacrifices. One of those sacrfices was for Italian mothers to donate their wedding rings. And many did so. For propaganda purposes, Queen Elena did so in a public ceremony. We are less sure about Mussolini's wife. One has to marvel at the power of state propaganda to convince mothers in a family-oriented Catholic society to give up their wedding rings. Here Mussolini is accepting the rinds. Clck on the page to see another ceremony with mothers dropping their rings into giant kettle.

Italy was a major European country in terms of populatiom, but economically it was a mid-level economy, half the size of Britain and the Soviet Union and nearly a third of that of Germany. And a small fraction of the Ameican economy. 【Harrison】 So in any wide-scale major war, Italy would not be a major player. Italy was at the time a leader in aviation, but Mussolini built his air force before many stunnng advances were made in the late-30s, leaving the Itlaian airforce nearly obsolete when Mussolini took Italy into World War II (1940). Italy was a deeply-divided country with an industrilized north and an almost feudal south. It was, however, able to take on backward Ethiopia with no industry at all. But even the war in Ethiopia was not only a severe test militarily, but a severe strain on the weak Italian economy. Italy had o ibcrease the iprtant of strategic mateials needed for the war effort. Mussolini increased taxes and food prices increased. There wre no economic benefits to the war. 【Sbacchi, p. 126.】 Mussolini had to ask Italans to make sacrifices. One of those sacrfices was for Italian mothers to donate their wedding rings. And many did so. For propaganda purposes, Queen Elena did so in a public ceremony. We are less sure about Mussolini's wife. One has to marvel at the power of state propaganda to convince mothers in a family-oriented Catholic society to give up their wedding rings. Musolini proclimed 'Faith Dayi 1935. He asked Italian wives to donate their gold wedding rings to support Italy's war effort in Ethuiopia (December 18, 1935). The women donated their rings so hey could be melted down. he ceremony was usually held at war monuments or World War I grave sites. The women in exchange were given iron rings. Unmarried women could partcipae by purchasing gold rings which hey could donate. Mussolni also suggested that Italianns asked relatives in America to send their gold to Italy. Astonishingly, over 100,000 American wives donated their rings to the campaign. It was all part of the Fascist 'Oro alla Patria' ("Gold for the Fatherland") campaign. The campaign was in response to the economic roblems associted with the invaion of Ethiopia--war isexpensve. Musolini blamed the problems on ythe lagely neffctul League of Nations sanctions.

Sources

Harrison, Mark. "The economics of World War II: An overview," in "The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers" in Mark Harrison, ed. International Comparison (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 1. (University of Warwick). You can see the international comprisonsat World War II National Economies: World Comparisons (1939-45).

Sbacchi, Alberto. "The Italians and the Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935-1936," Transafrican Journal of History Vol. 5, No. 2 (1976), pp. 123-38.

Created: 4:09 PM 2/22/2025
Last updated: 4:09 PM 2/22/2025