Consent and Control - Fascist State Flashcards
What powers did Mussolini have by 1925 to show he was a dictator
- Make laws by decree
- Parliament had no power and no political opposition
- OVRA Secret Police
- Press Censorship
When was the Avanguardia Giovanile Fascista formed?
- December 1921 for boys between 14-17 years old
When was the Gruppi Universitari Fascisti set up (GUF)? What was created following this?
- March 1923
- Followed by the balilla for children aged between 8 and 14 years old
How many children were in Fascist Youth Associations by 1924?
3,000
When was the Opera Nazionale Balilla founded? (ONB)
- 3rd April 1926
- Provide youth with ‘physical and moral benefit’
- Education of boys between 8 and 18 years
When was the Ballila restructured and what to?
1934
- Figli della Lupa (Son of She Wolf) 6-8 years
- Ballila for 8-14 years
- Avanguardisti for 14-17 years
What were fascist youth movements for girls?
- Figlie della Lupa (Daughters of the She Wolf) 6-8 years
- Piccole Italiane (Little Italians) 8-13 years
- Giovane Italiane (Young Italian Women) 14-17 years
Organisations were controlled under Ministry of Education (1929)
How was the ONB linked to education?
- Was compulsory for boys and girls at elementary schools from age 6-11 years old
- Membership was not compulsory over the age of 11 until 1939
Why might people still want their kids to be part of the ONB despite it not being compulsory until 1939?
- Made it difficult to enter further education
- Barred employment in the civil service
- Suspect of anti-fascism
- ONB provided jobs and special scholarships
What youth programmes other than the fascist ones remained?
Catholic Youth Programmes
How were boys trained in these youth programmes?
- 8-14 moral and spiritual defence of the country
- 14, special gymnastics and physical training to prepare them for the army
- 18, able-bodied would be military trained
- Told to swore to Mussolini as that was the best Balilla
- Marching, wrestling, shooting practic, boxing and bomb throwing
How were girls trained in these youth programmes?
- Gymnastics to ensure they were healthy and fit mothers who could bear children
What were children taught at schools under the Fascists?
- Lots of patriotic Italians from classical Rome linked to Fascism and linked Caesar to Mussolini
- About poor treatment of WW1 soldiers and Fascism saving from communism
- 101/317 History Textbooks banned in 1926 due to lack of patriotism
What changes were made to teachers? (2 Key ones in 1931)
- Anti-fascist teachers removes 1920’s - 1933 (must be PNF members)
- Only employed teachers who got their diploma after 1923
- Teachers had to take an oath of loyalty to Lateran Pacts (11/1250 refused)
What was the GUF’s main goal?
- To run the Littoriali, national student games involving cultural and debate competitions with fascist themes
Why might uni students want to join the GUF?
- Enhanced Career Prospects
- Use of sport facilities
- Half-price entertainment
- Part exemption from military service
How many members did fascist youth organisations have by 1937?
7 Million
How did young people in the rural south find the youth organisations, include girls too?
- Rural south, many stopped education at 11, due to agricultural work
- Girls less likely to continue over 11, boys found more enjoyment in their activities, girls were just being prepared for motherhood
What did the 1937 survey conducted by the PNF in Rome show?
- Girls were more interested in the type of sports activities given to the boys
When was the OND set up and what was it?
1925, Provided ordinary people with:
- Social events, bars, billiard halls, cycling groups, football teams, libraries and radios
- Plays, concerts and popular films
- Subsidised holidays and excursions
What % of workers were ONB members and how did their membership grow from 1926 –> 1939?
- 80% of all state and private sector workers
- 40% of Industrial workers
- 300,000 1926 –> 4 million 1939
When was Press Censorship formally introduced?
Press Law December 1925 and end of 1926
- Prefects could confiscate anything anti-fascist
What was the circulation of newspapers then?
- Popolo d’Italia only 100,000
- Corriere della Sera and Vatican Newspaper 600,000
- Osservatore Romano 250,000
- La Stampa banned
- Only 10% of newspapers were fascist
What event in 1937 linked fascism to Ancient Rome?
- 2,000th anniversary of Augustus Caesar
- 1 million people visited the exhibition set up
What sporting events did Italy win?
- 1934 and 38, football World Cup
- 1933 - 35, Primo Carnera boxing champion
What was the Minculpop?
- Originally Ministry of Press 1935
- Renamed Ministry of Popular Culture 1937
- Strict censorship of newspapers, radio, film, theatre and foreign publication
How many pictures of Mussolini were circulated? What did he not include in any publications?
- 30 million pictures in 2,500 different poses
- He was imaged as attractive to the opposite sex
- Also imaged as a family man (appeal to everyone)
- He never mentioned his age or that he wore glasses
Was the Cult of Il Duce a success?
- If the goal was to create a militaristic society, then it failed
- It focused on worship of one leader, perhaps unsustained after his death
When was The National Institute of Fascist Culture created and what was it?
1926
- Artists and intellectuals organised into particular associations, e.g artists led by Antonio Maraini
What was the:
- Experimental Centre of Cinematography
- General Directorate for Cinema
- (ECC) trained 100 students a year in Rome 1935, renowned Michelangelo Antonioni
- (GDC) regulates cinema and film in line with Fascist ideology
What organisation did artists have to be a part of?
Syndicate of professionals and artists
What did the film industry developed in the 30’s get named?
Film City
When was the Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution held and what was displayed?
1932 - celebrate a decade of rule of the fascists
- 4 million people visited
- Commissioned artists to show art that represented achievement
- Style of art was never really disputed, just as long as it glorified fascism
