3. Consent and control 1925–40

Question 1

Membership of fascist youth organisations

Answer 1

Membership not compulsory beyond age of 11 until 1939 but non-membership made it difficult to enrol in further education, barred employment in the civil service, made families appear as anti-fascist

Membership of the ONB provided access to jobs and special scholarships

Question 2

How did the focus of youth become more formal

Answer 2

Focus on youth became more formalised - organisations were under control of the Ministry of education and physical training of Italy’s youth

Question 3

Schools

Answer 3

Children were taught lessons on patriotic italians from classical Rome through to the facist regime and encouraged to make links between Italy’s great heroes particularly Ceaser, and Mussolini who was their modern-day embodiment

Textbooks taught children about the poor treatment of italian soldiers in WWI and how facism saved the country from a communist revolution

Question 4

Teachers

Answer 4

Antifacist trachers were removed in 1930s and in 1933 it become compulsory for teachers to belong to the PNF

Question 5

Success of fascist education?

Answer 5

Wheter this created ‘loyal fascists’ is questionable - most dedicated faccist soldiers who fought in WW2 were young italians - products of facist youth policy but antifacist forces were predominately made up of young people as well - who had been brought up in the same facist educational system

Question 6

Boys

Answer 6

In 1926 the Opera Nazionalle Balilia (ONB) linked into the formal education system and was compulsory for all children at elementary schools from the age of 6-11.

Boys were involved in gymnastics and sporting programmes to prepare them physically for military life. Balilla activities involved marching, wrestling, shooting pratice and bomb throwing.

Boys were taught the perfect Balila was one who show loyalty to Mussolini and dreamt of fighting and dying for his country

Question 7

Girls

Answer 7

In 1934 Balilla was restructured and girls were now included

Girls: physical education was also a focus. They did gymnastics which was to ensure they were fit mothers who could bear healthy children and then educate them in the love of Italy and Mussolini

Question 8

Success of youth activities for boys

Answer 8

For many young people the motivation was no a belief in facism but due to the enjoyable social occasions - being outdoors and playing sport instead of studying in a classroom

Question 9

Success of youth activities for girls

Answer 9

A 1937 survey conducted by the PNF in Rome found that girls were more interested to sporting activities provided to boys than the dull activities for girl which constantly focused on learning how to be good mother

Question 10

Universities

Answer 10

Students were expected to join the University Fascist Youth which offered:

• Use of sports facilities
• Half-price admission to entertainment
• Enhanced career prospects

University professors/lectures also joined the PNF

Question 11

Success of universities

Answer 11

Many joined fascist party as a formality whilst others declined

Many joined to avoid employment restrictions non-membership brought and for access to incentives

Question 12

Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro (OND) (National Afterwork Organisation)

Answer 12

In 1925 the OND replaced socialist organisations for worker recreation and welfare that had closed down after the creation of
the facist dictatorship

By 1939 it had over four million members

The OND did not feature any direct promotion of facist beliefs/ideology

Offered Subdised holidays + tickets to plays/concerts

Question 13

Did the OND increase support for mussolini?

Answer 13

Workers were grateful for the benefits and this reflected on Mussolini’s leadership and contributed to his popular appeal however many workers joined because of the mass range of services it provided without any commitment to the ideals of facism

Question 14

Press control and censorship

Answer 14

All journalists were incorporated into a facist union which enforced a form of self-censorship (ensuring their work was positive towards mussolini otherwise they would lose their jobs)

Journalists were told not to print stories on crime, suicides or traffic accidents which woulf disturb the facist image of italy - a country with no social problems

Left-wing newspapers such as Avanti and Parito Popolare were all closed

Question 15

Success of press control and censorship?

Answer 15

Censorship was an effective method in controlling people to some extent as it sheltered people from seeing alternative political ideolgies and anything anti-facist

Question 16

Propaganda - Cult of il duce

Answer 16

image of posters, cinema, news reels and radio broadcasts that sought to portray mussolini as a leader of immense ability leading italy to greatness - represented in slogan ‘mussolini is always right’

30 million pictures of il duce in around 2500 different poses were circulated throughout italy

Question 17

Propaganda - fascist culture

Answer 17

The PNF produced policies for artists and intelllectuals in Italy following the establishment of the dictatorship between 1925 and 1926 - All art should serve the goals of the facist state and help to create and sustain facist myths and images

Question 18

Propaganda - cinema + radio

Answer 18

Cinema: degree of freedom as long as didn’t criticise fascism + films glorying the fascist regime

Radio: Rural Radio Agency set up in 1933, Mussolini expanded Italian radio during WW2 - more than 2 million radio sets installed in marketplaces, schools, factories that played his speeches

Question 19

Propaganda - success?

Answer 19

Cult of il duce focused on the worship of one leader as opposed to ideology that could sustain itself after Mussolini died

Fascist culture never focused on a key message that would resonate with the Italian people however it was successful in controlling what was produced and ensuring it boosted the image of Mussolini.

Question 20

Repression and terror - political parties

Answer 20

In november 1926, Mussolini introduced legislation that banned all other political parties and supressed any Italians who tried to protest against the dictatorship

Question 21

Repression and terror - political opposition

Answer 21

The Special Tribunals 1926 for the defense of the state could send political dissidents into exile for an unspecified amount of time - a process called Confino (10,000 Italians were sent).

used against Italians judged as potentially dangerous antifascists despite there not being any evidence of antifascist association or activity

Question 22

Repression and terror - Italian secret police

Answer 22

OVRA was formed in 1927 by Bocchini to spy on italians across italy and ensure they were successful in stopping the organisation of antifascist sentiment by infiltering universities, businesses, fascist unions and could be anywhere where people met

extensive powers of arrest. hold people without trial, tap telephones and intercept post

Question 23

Repression and terror - success?

Answer 23

Bocchini’s organisations were successful in suppressing opposition to the PNF - estimated that Bocchini had files on over 13,000 italians

Ensured antifascism did not culminate + ensured compliance

Question 24

Anti-Semitic decrees

Answer 24

discontent - little to no anti-Semitic Rhetoric
In 1938 anti-Jewish legislation introduced that forbade Italian Jews from marrying ‘pure’ Italians, holding public office jobs such teaching, owning more than 50 hectares of land and running businesses with over 100 employees/employing ‘pure’ italians as servants.

Mussolini believed that a harsher policy towards the jews would help create a more militaristic radicalised society united by hatred for both external and internal enemies thereby mirroring Germany

Question 25

Reform of customs

Answer 25

ideological campaign:

• forced all civil servants to wear uniforms
• army/militia to adopt the passo romano (goose step) -which mussolini witnessed believed made the Germany army look more imposing
• Italians were also forbidden to shake hands (seen as foreign and bourgeosie) and instead had to greet each other with the ‘Roman Salute’

Question 26

Opposition to anti-Semitism

Answer 26

discontent - little to no anti-Semitic Rhetoric before

polices = worrying sign of Italy’s growing weaknesses and subordination to German policy so Mussolini’s goal to unite the italians in a more radial fashion was a failure

lost support from the conservative elites of the church, business and judiciary which mussolini relied on for power

Question 27

Result of the reform of customs?

Answer 27

ridculed by italians as a pointless and ridiculous exercise that simply copied the germans and had no relevancy to their lives and most choose to ignore it