The Fascist regime in Italy has been widely criticised as being low on definite principles and instead concerned with behaviour and attitudes of mind. Historians like Tannenbaum have described the system as 'in some ways the reign of journalists'.1 At the head of these propagandists was Benito Mussolini, an already accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and now the leader of Fascist Italy. The 'Duce' as he liked to be known, pragmatically changed his policies to suit his convenience and was a master of disguising his lack of specific aims from the people. In Mussolini's own words 'you can get away with 97 cents of mere public clamour and only three cents of solid achievement'.2 This certainly reflected his attitude towards the policies of his party with an intense pro-Fascist propaganda campaign taking priority over any real issues. The Fascist regime triumphantly promised a brighter future to a post-war Italy, who was reeling from high unemployment, inflation and public unrest. Unfortunately, however they often did not have the policies to fulfil the promises.
From the very beginning of the Fascist regime, lies and propaganda glossed over the facts. Even the methods used to gain office were widely publicised as Mussolini's crowning glory who, simply by the very force of his personality was able to take his rightful place as leader. The famous Fascist march on Rome, the 'glorious' bloodless battle that schoolchildren would learn about in textbooks, was in fact a well orchestrated piece of propaganda. Mussolini had been invited by King Victor Emmanuel III to come to Rome and discuss the rise in Fascist support. In fact the King's own mother and his cousin, the Duke of Aosta were both Fascist supporters, and the King feared had he resisted the Fascist movement they [the Fascists] might have tried to place the Duke on the throne. Fearing the loss of his throne, King Emmanuel offered the position of Prime Minister to Mussolini, who accepted the position without hesitation. The next day, the public watched his triumphant march with 50,000 'Blackshirts' at Mussolini's side, unaware that an amicable decision had already been made.
The main source of propaganda was Mussolini's Press Office, later renamed the Ministry of Popular Culture (MINCULPOP). The Ministry bombarded the common Italian with images of a powerful and Romanesque new Italy, an Italy capable of complete autarky and a regime similar to the great Roman Empires. Posters proclaiming the greatness of the Duce hung everywhere, with slogans such as "WE WILL WIN" and "BELIEVE! OBEY! FIGHT!" painted on walls. Newspapers and radio were controlled by the MINCULPOP who insisted that editorials and news stories reflected their views and passing whims. Reporters were instructed on what to omit, what to highlight and even what photographs to use.
Mussolini utilised the mass media to create the 'Cult of the Duce'. This was a central feature of the Fascist Party's propaganda machine and portrayed Mussolini as a strong, infallible leader who was dedicated to the greatness of Italy. "Mussolini is always right"3, was a phrase coined by the Duce himself and was painted on buildings and posters all over Italy. Many people were taken in by this propaganda such as Churchill, who called him "Roman genius in person".4
Mussolini believed that "All the people could be fooled all the time"5 if the propaganda was powerful and ...
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Mussolini utilised the mass media to create the 'Cult of the Duce'. This was a central feature of the Fascist Party's propaganda machine and portrayed Mussolini as a strong, infallible leader who was dedicated to the greatness of Italy. "Mussolini is always right"3, was a phrase coined by the Duce himself and was painted on buildings and posters all over Italy. Many people were taken in by this propaganda such as Churchill, who called him "Roman genius in person".4
Mussolini believed that "All the people could be fooled all the time"5 if the propaganda was powerful and persistent enough. He began indoctrinating the Italian people from childhood by interfering with history textbooks and rewriting the curriculum to promote his party. Portraits of Mussolini hung in each classroom; children were presented with a copy of Mussolini's biography, which taught them to believe what Emile Henroit said of him, 'The great man was in the process of becoming god'.6
The truth about the man however was somewhat different. Mussolini was plagued with ill health due to his ulcers and infection with syphilis. He had very little knowledge of detailed administrative matters and was often prone to over-simplification and over-confidence. The myth that was "The Great Mussolini" however was a strong enough image to direct the public's attention from these faults and from the fact that the Fascist Party had little or no policies of substance.
One of the items of Fascist parties agenda Mussolini launched was to create an Italy that was completely self-sufficient and did not rely on anyone else for imported produce. To further this dream the "Battle for Wheat" campaign was launched in an attempt to produce enough wheat for the entire population. The campaign was accompanied by a massive propaganda offensive with pictures of the Duce at the wheels of tractors, working in grain fields and awarding stars to the most productive farmers. To a certain extent, the campaign was successful in that wheat production doubled between 1922 and 1939 and wheat imports were therefore reduced by 75%. The cost however was great which was an aspect of the "Battle" that was not widely publicised. As a result of fields being turned over to wheat crops, land for livestock grazing was scarce and therefore became more expensive. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the amount of imported beef and poultry to balance the misuse of agricultural land and resources. This combination of factors lead to an increase in the prices of these products and fewer Italians could afford to include them in their daily diet. As historian D. Mack Smith said, "Success in this battle was...another illusory propaganda victory won at the expense of the Italian economy in general and consumers in particular".7
The Fascist regime toiled not just in the fields of southern Italy, but into the family lives of its followers. One of Mussolini's main goal was to create a military capable of providing and later defending the new 'Roman Empire' that the Fascist party were going create. He promised the people of Italy that he could bring this about and introduced what he considered to be appropriate measures. The intention behind the policies was to boost the population of Italy, providing a greater human resource, and was therefore named the 'Battle for Births'.
The 'battle' was started with Mussolini aligning himself with the church in stressing the importance of marriage and child rearing. He encouraged mothers to have children by awarding medals and promising better healthcare. To support the 'propaganda machine', the Fascist regime passed new laws to make it more profitable for families to produce offspring. Fathers of 6 or more children were released from taxes, whereas bachelors had a career-hindering tax imposed on them. Abortion was banned and contraceptives were in very limited supply. Finally Mussolini passed laws for a father-biased work force, denying civil service jobs and promotion to bachelors.
However even with the Fascist benefits, propaganda and laws, the 'Battle for Births' was a failure. The birth rate actually fell from 1927 to 1934, along with the marriage rate. In fact the only thing that did increase was the average marriage age, and of course the amount of propaganda surrounding the issue. Mussolini continued to present medals to the most prolific mothers as if the 'battle' was a success, and turned a blind eye to the failure of his methods.
Mussolini was striving to create an Italy that was perceived by the world as a strong nation, which was capable of anything and everything. He instigated a foreign policy to deal with Italy's image and perceived military strength abroad. As shown, many of his home 'battles' were merely for show and served to falsely propagate Italy's greatness among its own people. The same trend can be seen with regards to the Duce's foreign policies. From the period 1926-1935 very minor affairs involving Italy abroad were trumpeted as massive successes for the strong Fascist party, to further Mussolini's domestic position. From 1929, this became even more important as Italy had fallen into a depression and the people were becoming disillusioned with Fascism. To bolster the morale of the public and to divert attention from his failure to deal with rising unemployment and inflation, Mussolini decided to declare war on Abyssinia in 1934. This was the all-important image building campaign for the Prime Minister, and was to be the beginning of his 'Roman Empire'. He planned to create an imperial power like that of both France and Great Britain, which would be the envy of the world.
The propaganda presented to the Italians showed the Fascist troops locked in a desperate battle to free the Abyssians and it attempted to show the world Italy's military capabilities and strength. What it failed to mention was that Abyssinia was a rather desolate near-feudal kingdom, with ill-equipped troops and ill-prepared for the war. Haile Selassie, the leader of Abyssinia had an army armed with spears and vintage rifles. Mussolini had tanks, an air force and some modern machineguns. Furthermore it was the Italian colony of Eritrea that bore the blunt of the fighting force. Despite this one-sided battle the Italian troops claimed to have felt so threatened, that they justified their use of mustard gas in dealing with the 'fierce' resistance. This use of excessive force provoked an outrage from the League of Nations who condemned Italy as an aggressor and applied economic sanctions, severely weakening her position in Europe.
In the twenty plus years of reign, the Fascist regime delivered its '97 cents of mere public clamour and only three cents of solid achievement'.8 If anything is to be said of 'solid achievement', we can look at the resolution of the divide between church and state, which had been a 'stumbling block' for many leaders before him. Through the Lateran Pacts of 1929, Mussolini recognized the Vatican, as it's own sovereign state and declared Catholicism as the national religion. In return, the church gave it's support to Mussolini and the Fascist party. Most of the remaining '97 cents' were indeed empty promises and propaganda induced hype.
The party promised dramatic changes in Italy's economic, industrial and social systems. It promised to make Italy both feared and respected by others and offered a better way of life for all the Italian people. There is no doubt that this propaganda was a vital part of the Fascist regime and Mussolini took a great personal interest to it. However, it is difficult to assess the extent of its success among the hearts and minds of the Italian people, as personal attitudes are difficult to measure. One thing is clear however, and that is that the people became disillusioned with the excesses of the 'Cult of the Duce' and this in turn led to his decline in popularity. Mussolini made the fatal mistake of believing his own propaganda and that he could 'fool all of the people all of the time'.9
J. Hite & C. Hinton, Fascist Italy (John Murray, 1998) pg 108
2 J. Hite & C. Hinton, Fascist Italy (John Murray, 1998) pg 70
3 R. N. L. Absalom, Mussolini and the rise of Italian Fascist (Methuen & Co. Ltd. 1969) pg 61
4 S. Lee, Aspects of European History1789-1980 (Routledge 1983) pg 195
5 R. N. L. Absalom, Mussolini and the rise of Italian Fascism (Methuen & Co. Ltd. 1969) pg 61
6 S. Lee, Aspects of European History1789-1980 (Routledge 1983) pg 196
7 D. Mack Smith, Mussolini (Weidenfield & Nicholson 1981) pg 140
8 J. Hite & C. Hinton, Fascist Italy (John Murray, 1998) pg 70
9 R. N. L. Absalom, Mussolini and the rise of Italian Fascism (Methuen & Co. Ltd. 1969) pg 61
