Fascist state
Education and youth
- 3rd April 1926 = Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB) created by formal decree
- boys = to produce young fascist soldiers – sons of she wolf, balilla and avanguardisti
- girls = to increase fitness – daughters of she wolf, little Italians and young Italian women
- education compulsory 6 to 11 – membership not compulsory beyond 11 until 1939, without membership lack of jobs
- university = culture and debate
- every day at school started with fascist slogans
- motivation didn’t come from fascism - enjoyment of being outdoors, playing sport instead of being in a classroom
- by 1937 = 7 million members
Leisure for workers
- Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro (OND) – provided social and supporting opportunity
- each OND section had a clubhouse and recreation ground
- holidays and excursions for virtually no cost
- 1939 = 4 million members – never used to indoctrinate 4 million Italians
- 80% of state and private sector and 40% of all Italy’s industrial workers were members
Propaganda, cult of il Duce and culture
- no specific ministry to organise propaganda until formation of ministry of press in 1935
- 30 million pictures of il Duce in around 2500 different poses were circulated throughout Italy
- goal was to transform the Italians into a more militaristic culture but instead focused on worship of 1 leader
- National Institute of Fascist Culture 1926 – organised cultural events, free concerts
- 1932 = Exhibition of Fascist culture – 4 million visited
Press censorship
- end of 1926 = decrees restricting the freedom of press were formalised into official laws, sanctioned by parliament
- told not to publish articles on crime, suicides or traffic accidents
- fascist newspapers only accounted for 10% of the entire newspaper sales in Italy
Repression and terror
- Nov 1926 = banned political parties, death penalty, special tribunals could send political dissidents into exile
- secret police OVRA 1927 spied with 1500 informers operating in Italy – successful in stopping anti-fascist activities
- regime carried out 9 death sentences before WW2
- Bocchini held files on 130,000 Italians
Anti-Semitism
- 1937 = Jews 1% of population
- 1938 = anti-Jewish legislation – banned from marrying pure Italians, holding public office jobs, owning 50+ hectares of
land, running business with 100 employees
- harsher policy helps build a more militaristic, radicalised society – united by hatred of internal and external enemies,
mirrors Germany’s totalitarian state
- same time as reform of customs – forced all civil servants to wear uniforms and army/milita to adopt goose step,
couldn’t shake hands
Relationship with monarchy and conservative elites
- Dec 1928 FGC had been granted the constitutional right to limit the King’s power
