Mussolini's attempts at controlling the Italian population

Question 1

How successful were Mussolini’s attempts to control the Italian Population? (Indoctrination of education and the youth)

Answer 1

• One of his goals was to create a loyal generation of Italian fascists, December 1921 - the Fascist Youth Front had been formed for 14-17 y/o boys.
• Following his appointment in March 1923 the Balilla formed for 8-14 y/o’s and later broken down into 3 structures, The Sons of the She Wolf, Balilla and Avanguardisti.
• By 1924 3,000 children actively involved in fascist youth groups, April 1926 (after becoming dictator) he created a more formalised version called ONB - Opera Nazionale Balilla for 8-18y/o boys.
• Girls were also included via Duaghters of the She Wolf (6-8 y/o) etc.
  ONB was linked to the formal education system and was compulsory for all boys and girls from 6-11 in elementary school. Membership w/ ONB provided jobs and scholarships and not having membership meant barred employment.
• All other Youth Organisations except Catholic Church banned. For boys the programme aim was to produce young fascist soldiers and for girls it was to ensure they become fit mothers, antifascist teachers banned. By 1937 fascist youth organisations has 7 million members,
• Many kids found youth group fun, and difference b/w North and South meant that it was harder for children of south and girls to get into them because they didn’t stay in education past 11 y/o.

Question 2

How successful were Mussolini’s attempts to control the Italian Population? (OND - Opera nazionale dopolavoro)

Answer 2

• A popular aspect of the fascist regime.
• Created in 1925 to replace the worker recreation and welfare, provided workers w/ recreation like sports, popular films, bars etc. OND membership entitled workers to discounts ie) on train tickets etc.
  also provided holidays and excursions and by 1939 had around 4 million members.
• OND was purposely made ideologically free? so impact not really measurable.
• But, workers could benefit from it w/o any commitment to ideals of fascism.
• OND never directly used to indoctrinate.

Question 3

How successful were Mussolini’s attempts to control the Italian Population? (Press Control and Censorship)

Answer 3

• B/w 1923-25, PNF introduced censorship decrees on press. At end of 1926 these decrees were formalised into laws.
• Prefects had the power to suspend publication ie) done with Avanti or Partito Popolare.
• Self-censorship as journalists forced to be in a fascist union and told not to print stories on social problems. Mussolini sent strict instructions about what to write about the Duce.
• increased subsides used for newspapers that printed on positive stories of Mussolini. Fascist government was strong at controlling the image of fascist society.

Question 4

How successful were Mussolini’s attempts to control the Italian Population? (Propaganda)

Answer 4

• focused on unifying ideals to create patriotism
• The cult of Ancient Rome was popularised by propaganda by celebrating greatness of Rome, its leaders, destroying medieval buildings to better display Rome and in 1937 a celebration held to commemorate 2,000th anniversary of Augustus Ceasar held in Rome. Mussolini linked as the heir of Augustus, rebuilding Italy.
• Propaganda disseminated via newspapers, radio, sport, cinema, mass rallies etc. Italian supremacy demonstrated via their sporting glory ie) winning the 1934 world cup
• Ministry of Press formed in 1935 (renamed Ministry of popular culture 1937), but hadn’t had massive impact and the lack of mass media in South made it even more difficult.

Question 5

How successful were Mussolini’s attempts to control the Italian Population? (Cult of il Duce)

Answer 5

• the most powerful and successful aspect of fascist propaganda
• image of Mussolini as a great leader, 30 million pictures of il Duce in 2,500 poses spread around Italy.
• Portrayed Mussolini as an internationally respected statesman and a great sportsman
  key problems associated w/ the propaganda.
• cult of il Duce didn’t push idea of Fascist militaristic Italy and instead pushed idea of Mussolini the one ideal dictator
• As Mussolini aged his image as a leader was hard to keep up w/.
• Towards the 1930s Mussolini began to adopt the myth of il Duce as being a truth about himself.

Question 6

How successful were Mussolini’s attempts to control the Italian Population? (Influence of fascist culture)

Answer 6

• PNF believed a cultural revolution was a key part in the transformation of the Italian people into loyal fascists
• between 1925-26 PNF produced policies for artists and intellectuals ie) that all art should serve goals of fascist state and introduced the National Institute of Fascist Culture in 1926 (but Mussolini never attempted to control artistic styles)
• They funded the Italian film industry and created the complex, Film City.
  Architecture: neo-classical Roman style buildings created to show connection with Rome.
• Plays: Giuseppe Forzano made Julius Caesar, and plays like The Seize of Alcazar all glorified fascism.
• Influence of fascist culture was successful, but PNF never focused on a key message all Italian people could resonate with and lacked an intellectual giant who could inspire people ie) Gabrielle D’Annunzio

Question 7

How successful were Mussolini’s attempts to control the Italian Population? (Repression and Terror)

Answer 7

• November 1926 M introduced legislation that: meant death penalty for anyone who tried to assassinate him, the King or state authority, and the Special Tribunals could send political dissidents into exile for as long as they wanted.
• Late 1926 Arturo Bocchini created the Political Police.
• June 1937 Political Police work with SIM to assassinate antifascists, Carlo and Nello Rosselini.
• 1927 Italian secret police formed called ORVA which was successful in stopping the formation of antifascist groups
• Special Reserve Service examined mail and infiltrated calls
• Bocchini had files on over 130,000 Italians, Special Tribunals prosecuted over 13,000 cases and imposed around 27.000 years of jail time, around 10,000 Italians sent to Confino.
• Mussolini’s greatest worry of security wasn’t antifascists as they all fled mostly to Paris, but the Slovenes were the worry.
• Difficult to assess extent to which fascism relied on repression as numbers arrested and sent to Confino make it difficult to judge antifascist feeling in Italy

Question 8

How successful were Mussolini’s attempts to control the Italian Population? (Antisemitic decrees)

Answer 8

• 1936 fascism goes into decline and cult of il Duce reaches its height. Economic issues and the relationship with Germany was the main worry.
• Key issue = 1937 anti-Jewish policy. It forbade Italian Jews from marrying ‘pure Italians’ and from employing pure Italians or owning over 50 hectares of land.
• Foreign Jews to be deported and in 3 years 6,000 Jews left the country.
• Mussolini implemented anti-Jewish policy so that Italy would become a more racially focused society able to deal w/ the war he was sure was soon coming
• This policy was ignored and resented by the Italian people, the pope also condemned it, and it worried the population that Italy was very quickly becoming subordinate to Germany.
• Lost support from conservative elites of the Church, businesses and the judiciary along with causing the direction of fascist policy being questioned.