2-WWII+Italy+HF


 * Nick Cruess**

Economy of Fascist Italy
During World War II, Mussolini realized that he would have to appeal to the lower class in order to keep the nation stable. Having banned unions and strikes earlier, Mussolini stated that he regretted his decisions to support the larger businesses, but had been forced to do so in order to maintain the Italian war effort at the time. To unify the country economically and morally, he proposed Socialization, in which all companies larger than 100 employees were nationalized and unions were given a say in state planning. Mussolini enacted this, saying that Italy could finally practice a totally fascist system and work together as one. Despite the hopeful appearance of Socialization, it did little to change the economic status of the nation as it was not as effective as most had hoped. The unions did not actually have much say in the government, as the plan had stated they would and as, on paper, it said they did. The nationalization of the industrial section was somewhat of a failure, as the Italian Industrialists did not support the reforms, and the majority of the labor force remained leftist despite the fascist regime. Overall, the Socialization system did little to nothing to improve the economy, and resulted in a net decrease in morale, culminating in a huge strike in March of 1944. This social trouble within the nation slightly weakened the war effort, as Mussolini and the fascist party lost popularity among the majority of the population due to a general failure in domestic policies.

Propaganda and Public Opinion in Fascist Italy
Fascist propaganda in Italy had little success, and was not near as effective as Nazi propaganda in Germany. The majority of the Italian population stayed well informed of the war, not due to action or encouragement of the government, but rather due to long range radio and the “grapevine,” through which they would hear information from neighbors who heard it from neighbors, etc. While Italian Fascist-supporting newspapers were distributed in high quantity, they were not taken seriously by the public and were generally ignored. Those who did pay attention to them largely did so only with humorous contempt, as the information available in the fascist newspapers was warped and biased, if not entirely untrue. Rather than getting news from these newspapers, then, most Italians obtained their news from Swiss and Vatican newspapers, which displayed less biased information and proved a better supplement to the information obtained through the long range radios. The general contempt for the fascist news sources led to an increased disapproval of the government, especially when added to the economic failures. This rift between the general people and the fascist government damaged the war effort, as unity in the home front was not very high. The war caused societal damage on the home front due to the continuing disagreements and lack of unity between the common people and the government. Mussolini’s economic policies during the war were also very ineffective and lead to a general public disrespect for the government. Socialization of the economy was largely unsuccessful, and a very large portion of the population opposed the fascist government. This is not to say that the entire population was in opposition to the fascist ideas, as there were still those who supported Mussolini and his ideas.

Lives of Women and Children
The role of women in Fascist Italy was very similar to the role of women in Nazi Germany, in that their purpose, from the view of the government, was to get married and have many children to help the growth of the country. Mussolini began his Battle for Births in 1927, in which he encouraged as the women of Italy to participate in the war effort by building large, healthy families; his idea was that a larger Italy would be almost impossible to oppose. He used the incentive of tax benefits to encourage larger families—the more children, the better the tax benefits and the less tax the family owed to the state. He set the target for the number of children per household at five, and praised any mothers that produced more than that. In 1933 Mussolini met and congratulated 93 mothers who, all together, had produced 1,300 healthy children. In the end, however, his Battle for Births was a failure, and the birthrate between 1927 and 1934 decreased despite the increase in average lifespan and health due to healthcare improvement. The life of children was focused on productivity. Mussolini wanted as many children as possible, and wanted those children to be raised to help move Italy forward. In school children were instilled with nationalist principles, and taught to support their nation at all costs.

The photo above is of one of many slogans and murals painted on the side of building all throughout Fascist Italy. The slogan in this mural states "We Dream of a Roman Italy," encouraging Italian citizens to think back to the dominance and success of the Roman Empire and strive to achieve that strength once again.

Below is an example of a typical fascist propaganda film, in which citizens are encouraged to come together and strive for a better Italy. media type="custom" key="24475596"