From the creation of the Fascist movement, Mussolini organized his supporters through fear and intolerance of Bolshevism after taking power in the East and his hatred of liberal beliefs; said by him to have weakened Italy, which had succeeded in gaining him the support of many other Italian communities.
Mussolini held near total domination of all social, economic, political, and cultural aspects of his citizen’s lives. Utilizing mass state intervention into Italian education, leisure, media, business and society his totalitarian regime aimed to transform the Italian people’s lives through omnipresent propaganda from many waring factions into one unified people. He turned pre-war Italy into an Orwellian thought-crime nightmare, eliminating all non-Fascist thought and opposition by absorbing them into his new society or simply drowning out all dissent.
Wherever people of the Kingdom of Italy went, Fascist ideology was indoctrinated into their minds. Clubs such as the Young Fascists and the University Fascist Group were set up outside of regular schooling for young boys and girls, giving them opportunities for camping, physical training, sports and other competitive events; continuing up to the age of fourteen where military drills were added. stepping stones for fulfilling Mussolini’s vision of an immensely violent and competitive youth. the main factor of his ideological beliefs.
Corporations regularly issued notes from ‘Ill Duce’ to workers who were content with arriving late to their place of work; warning them about the potential repercussions that would follow, leaving them confused and afraid, yet in wonder of their leader who was always watching that single individual. With the of support of the Church, he abolished divorce and encouraged women to stay at home and raise large families; issuing prizes and medals to the bearers of large families of children.
To allow this, he restricted those who wished to work to few high-payed jobs in industry, through the improved relationship between business and state. Teachers wore mandatory uniforms and recited oaths of allegiance to their leader instead of their head of state, the King Victor Emmanuel III. Those who dared to refuse were thrown out from their professions and had all areas of their influence destroyed, effectively wiping them from all memory. School curriculums were rewritten for re-educational purposes with pupils soon spending half their time learning how to be good Fascists. This new society gave people new values. Boys were told from birth that they were born into the Glorious Italian empire to fight her enemies, whereas women were enforced with the belief they had the honor of baring children for Mussolini to lead into expanding the realm.
In contradiction to this, the Fascists were rarely interested in profiling religious minorities for persecution and it was not until halfway through the Second World War when Mussolini succumbed to increasing German pressure did he target the Jewish community. Universities were left almost untouched during his premiership and although history books were altered to promote the new ideology, most teachers of the time rarely followed them and taught as they saw fit. Although he obtained support of the Catholic Church by recognizing the sovereignty of the Vatican and keeping the official state religion as Catholic, the institution and Pope were still present as an alternative deity to worship, and as religious education was made compulsory in schools, this gave a clear contradiction in Mussolini’s attitude and reputation as being the only ‘God-like’ figure of worship.
Mussolini’s society implemented a new economic ‘third way’ system of corporatism, partly to please left-wing supporters by, in theory, having the state more effectively handle their issues previously covered by a union, with Fascists claiming that this would resolve class conflict. Of course, trade unions had to be banned for this to work and Mussolini immediately did just this, harshly dealing with protesters who attempted to organize a national strike in retaliation.
Employees would represent the nation’s economic producers and employers would work alongside the state to meet the needs of it’s people through an extensive program of public works designed to provide an economic stimulus to the country to improve agricultural infrastructure and to generate much needed foreign investment, with the taxation system was revised to encourage this, massively benefiting the image of Italy upon the world stage, though at the expense of it’s own people. To increase the domestic production of grain, the Fascist Government established protectionist policies that heavily discouraged international investment, delivering a major blow to Italy which was wholly dependent upon this trade, however, private foreign land reclamations did in fact result in increased agricultural output, though in the same way the Soviet Union had confiscated massive amounts of land to achieved this. Historian Denis Mack-Smith commented that:
”Success in the Battle for Grain was another illusory propaganda victory, won at the expense of the Italian economy in general, and consumers in particular..”
But, as promised, workers received their promised shortened days and their demand for an official state inquiry into the gains of the industrialists during the World War was met, though to please them, the wealthy enjoyed much reduced taxes in return for their hefty cooperation. Mussolini also encouraged bribery among official ‘prefect’ inspectors who told each corporation what to produce, and was fairly tolerant on the resurging Italian mafia, extracting ‘protection charges’ in exchange for the stand-down of the national police.
Intolerance and Mussolini’s desire for a pure Fascist society silenced all dissenting thought and attitudes of the former leadership contenders, the extreme left-wing parties such as the Socialists. The intelligence service and secret police; the MSVN, gave the Duce the image of being everywhere and all-knowing, keeping his opposition silent in fear of someone listening, ready to report to the squadristi. Civil liberties were ‘temporarily’ suspended in the name of combating Bolshevik terrorism, with attacks and assassination attempts being staged so as justify the implementation of a police state.
Mussolini had never intended to share power with the Liberals who were in the government and upon passing of the Acerbo Act, he introduced a Grand Council which would decide all policy for Italy without approval of the non-fascists in the Parliament first, allowing him to slowly push through the classic features of a dictatorship. He soon outlawed rival political parties and a secret police force was set up called the OVRA to survey them and by 1940, 4000 prominent politicians and activists were falsify accused of serious crimes and arrested, sent to the Lipari state prison or in the case of former socialists who commanded huge followings, lunatic asylums. Mussolini commented on his changes, stating:
”Any possibility of choice is eliminated.. I never dreamed of a, democratic Italy where one group could alter our nation after several years and another then change the direction of policy another (way).. ”
Mussolini however never strongly enforced many of his minor policies; military training remained non-compulsory (though much pressure what put on men to join), and although the death penalty was reintroduced, less than 23 deaths were justified from it between 1926 and the following 2 decades. Minor political factions that opposed the new rule and were forced underground, did rarely bother Mussolini and his most violent followers were kept satisfied by regular beatings of activists and strikers due to the non-intervention of police.
Upon assuming power in 1922, Mussolini’s background of journalism gave him the knowledge of the new importance of media that could heavily influence individuals and emphasized his efforts primary upon propaganda distribution and he immediately nationalized the countries’ entire media industry. Opposition posters were tore down and replaced by charismatic images of Ill Duce that were plastered all over Rome. He initially encouraged boycotts and organized attacks upon hostile media distributors, but by 1926 the last significant anti-Fascist newspaper ended resistance and conformed to Fascist demands after it’s chief editor was brutally beaten and replaced by a Fascist sympathizer.
The state controlled what and what not the papers could say and reporting of major crimes, natural disasters and general government failures was strictly outlawed, with Mussolini’s own agency releasing reports upon the ‘correct’ version of events. The authorities confiscated papers on the grounds they published false information likely to incite hatred or bring the government into contempt, and whilst pro-Fascist journals were heavily subsidized, government permission was needed to publish articles from non-party members. As with all government employees, journalists had to have a state-issued license, which encouraged many bohemians to circulate underground newspapers such as the Corriere Della Sera which had it’s readership base increase ten fold and far more popular than the Party newspapers of that period.
After initially refusing to use radio as a means for promoting his message, the increasing ownership rates of radio units during the Fascist regime, Mussolini soon transformed the radio into the major tool for influencing the population by being used as an instrument used to broadcast Mussolini’s open-air speeches. Film however was not widely used for false reporting, as it was clear the public were not interested in the serious films the government produced, although the far more dominating imports from Hollywood such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, included regular heavy censorship, used to avoid unwanted foreign material. Mussolini ironically enjoyed the Laurel and Hardy show, despite disapproving of international film due to the tariffs placed on them and government support for domestic film producers in the form of high subsidies.
Ill Duce was primary portrayed as the unifying force of the fascist regime; acting as a mediator of various political groups and social classes in the Italian society. He was generally shown in a very masculine manner, although he would also appear as a military or family man, reflecting his presentation as a universal man, capable of loving all his subjects. The monopoly on posters issued propaganda that showed a light left on in his office long into the night to present him as an insomniac, failing to sleep because of his constant work in devotion of his people.
Prior to the much revered Olympic Games, Mussolini was shown as an unyielding athlete of various sports which created an image of a valiant and fearless hero, implying qualities of energy and courage. His youthfulness; promoted as the youngest prime minister in Italian history was immediately recognized with the symbolism of youth used as a metaphor for action, showing fascism as a revolutionary ideology in contrast to the ‘stasis’ of previous Liberal rule. The publicizing of Mussolini’s birthdays and illnesses were banned to give an impression of him not aging to constantly show an illusionary metaphor of vitality. State propaganda also promoted his ‘sexual attraction’ to the opposite gender, implying that every women should be with a man such as himself.
Legends of defying death during the First World War and surviving assassination attempts were not countered, and were in fact circulated to give the dictator an immortal reputation. The Roman Catholic Church was well aware that Mussolini had saved Italy from Bolshevism and in return, protected and promoted him within the Catholic community. He was regularly depicted as being chosen by God and the Vatican presented Mussolini of having ‘God-like’ characteristics, such as being able to work superhuman amounts daily. Religious newspapers even implied even that he had performed miracles such as stopping the lava flow of Mount Etna, and invoking rain in the drought-ridden Libya. Stories of a deaf boys being cured after listening in a crowd to a speech the Duce was making were told in schools.
Though very suspicious of the Vatican, Mussolini helped spread the rumours of the Church when he was compared to religious figures depicted in the Romanithia Areticles newspaper:
”.. (Mussolini’s)body had been pierced by shrapnel shards just like Saint Sebastian had been pierced by arrows; the difference being that our revered Duce had survived this ordeal.”
Mussolini’s determination in creating a totalitarian state was achieved this through his motto ‘Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.’ The former Finance Minister, Francesco Nitti; a strong opponent of Benito Mussolini proclaimed:
”The Fascist government abolished in Italy every safeguard of the individual and every liberty. No free man can live in Italy, and an immoral law prevents Italians from going to a foreign country on pain of punishment. Italy is a prison where life has become intolerable. Everything is artificial – artificial finance – artificial exchange – artificial public economy – artificial order – artificial calm. Without a free parliament, a free press, a free opinion and a true democracy, there will never be peace..”
This statement proves just how intolerant Fascist culture and Ill Duce was, by completely eliminating any outside influence that could potentially plant opposing or ‘irrelevant’ beliefs. The constant threat of MSVN retribution for any anti-Fascist action was enough to eradicate significant resistance to the new order. The war with Abyssinia was glorified as the reintroduction of the Holy Roman Empire, with Mussolini commonly compared to the great Emperors of old. However, unlike some totalitarian regimes, the Fascist government didn’t regulate all aspects of Italian life. Mussolini’s economic policy of corporatism was loosely enforced and so the traditional elitist groups that indirectly controlled Italy before did not suffer greatly under the Fascists, with the old conservative class retaining much control and influence over the army and industry.
What Mussolini did fiercely not tolerate however, was the media and the spread of opposition beliefs, using mass propaganda in retaliation to such an extent that Hitler had acknowledged these successes and utilized unrelenting propaganda throughout his own premiership.
The Uncreative Journalist 