u This is an extract from a schoolbook given to eight-year-old children in Fascist Italy in 1936.
The eyes of the Duce are on every one of you. No one can say what is the meaning of that look on his face. It is an eagle opening its wings and rising into space. It is a flame that searches out your heart to light there a fire. Who can resist that burning eye, darting out its arrows? But do not be afraid; for you those arrows will change into rays of joy. A child, who, even while not refusing to obey, asks ‘Why?’, is like a bayonet made of milk . . . ‘You must obey because you must,’ said Mussolini, when explaining the reasons for obedience.
Source: Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal by Terence Ball, Richard Dagger, and Daniel O’Neill
Looking at the evidence
In pairs, discuss and answer the following questions: 1. Who would have produced a book such as this? 2. What was the reason for producing such a book? 3. What is the term given to propaganda that is taught to people? 4. What do you think is meant by the phrase ‘like a bayonet made of milk’? 5. What was the purpose of this particular extract? 6. How does this extract increase the sense of Mussolini’s power? Give examples to support your answer.
HISTORICAL EMPATHY
1. Write about what it was like for a teenager growing up in Italy during the time of the Fascists. Use the following headings: ■ The work of your parents ■ Your education ■ Religion ■ Politics and the Fascist Party
CHANGE AND CONTINUITY
2. Examine the similarities and differences between the Roman Empire described in Chapter 2 Ancient Rome) and the policies of the Fascist party.
3. In what ways did Mussolini use the Roman Empire as an inspiration for his Fascist state?