Fascist Italy

Have a little read: ... 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