To what extent was the Fascist control in Italy during the years 1925 - 45 a result of effective propaganda?
by
wenderz (student)
To What extent was the Fascist control of Italy during the years 1923 – 1945 the result of the effective use of propaganda?
The use of propaganda between the years 1923 – 1945 was a essential factor, if not the main reason, for the unrivalled Fascist control of Italy, driven under it leader Benito Mussolini. However, although propaganda was of critical importance to Mussolini during this time, it is not the sole reason for this unequivocal control over Fascist Italy.
The first factor is to point out is that with out the thorough use of propaganda, Fascism would still be in its infancy. Mussolini and his Fascist party were able to gain control over society through the creation of new organisations. Through the means of film and radio, education and activities the Fascists were able to provoke Fascist ideologies into the young and the old. Schools were instructed to educate young Italian students to live according to the fascist revolution. In December 1925, Mussolini conducted an official purge of ‘politically incompatible’ teachers and by 1929, primary and secondary faculty had to take an oath of loyalty to the PNF (Fascist party) and show their support for the regime by wearing ‘Blackshirt’ uniforms. It wasn’t just the views the teachers had to change but the method as well, as the curriculum changed to incorporate more Fascist ideologies. In 1928, a single primary textbook was introduced, covering all subjects in an approved manner – questions in maths would consist of ideological undertones such as ’10 Italian soldiers are needed to attack Africa, if there are 3 already, how many more are needed before the attack can begin?’ Lessons also had to adapt to the regimes polices and therefore started celebrating the Duce, militarism and imperialism. It wasn’t just in school that these young children were exposed to this mass propaganda. Films were made and released to, unsuccessfully rival Hollywood’s pictures at the time, however the formation of LUCE in 1924 was more successful as by law a documentary or newsreel with Fascist related political content had to be screened before the feature film. Radio was much more popular and used on a grander because it was cheaper and more widely available to people in public places to instil these ideas. In 1938 over 1million Italians had privately owned radios and therefore over 5million people were listening, many more listened in public. Finally, two organisations were created to further incorporate Fascist ideologies into the Italian people. The ‘Opera Nazionale Balilla’ or ONB designed for Children and the ‘Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro’ or OND for adults were Italian Fascist leisure and recreational organizations. The ONB, established by the ministry of Education under the slogan of ‘believe, obey, fight’ set out to turn young Italians aged between six and 18 into Fascists. The youth clubs offered sport, summer camps and pre-military training. Although the youth were probably more attracted to the facilities than the propaganda message the regime was still boosted, with over 1,236,000 members within a year. The OND also followed but in a more beneficial to society way. It offered welfare to poor families and created a national network of subsidised Fascist leisure clubs for public and private sector workers.
