Aims and results of policies: Mussolini's domestic policies - social policies Notes

Education and Youth Indoctrination

1. Schools became tools for Fascist propaganda, with the curriculum rewritten to glorify Mussolini, Fascism, and Italy’s imperial past.
2. Teachers were required to swear loyalty oaths to the regime and join Fascist teacher associations, with dismissal for those who refused.
3. Textbooks promoted the cult of Il Duce and discouraged critical thinking, replacing historical complexity with nationalist myths.
4. Youth organisations like the Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB) and later the Gioventù Italiana del Littorio (GIL) trained boys for military service and girls for motherhood.

Religion and the Lateran Agreements

1. Relations with the Catholic Church improved through the Lateran Agreements (1929), which recognised Vatican City as an independent state and Catholicism as Italy’s official religion.
2. The Church gained influence over marriage, education, and moral policy, while Mussolini gained legitimacy among Catholic Italians.
3. Tensions remained, particularly over youth organisations, as the Church resisted full Fascist control over Catholic Scouts.
4. Clergy were encouraged to promote obedience to the regime from the pulpit, blending religious and political authority.
5. While the Concordat initially strengthened Mussolini’s regime, Church opposition grew in the late 1930s over racial laws and interference in Catholic organisations.

Leisure and Mass Mobilisation

1. The regime created Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro (OND) to control workers’ leisure time, providing cheap holidays, sports clubs, and cultural events.
2. The OND reached millions of Italians, helping spread Fascist ideology in non-political settings and reinforcing loyalty through benefits.
3. Sporting events, military parades, and public ceremonies served to showcase Fascist power and unity.
4. Popular culture, music, and film were censored or co-opted to promote national pride and Mussolini’s leadership.
5. These leisure policies were often more successful in building regime loyalty than purely political propaganda.

Social Hierarchies and Gender Roles

1. Fascist policy reinforced traditional gender roles, promoting women primarily as mothers and homemakers.
2. Campaigns such as the Battle for Births offered incentives for large families and penalised bachelors.
3. Women faced restrictions on employment, especially in state jobs, and were excluded from many leadership roles.
4. Social policy prioritised a militarised, disciplined male youth and a domestic female ideal, with education reflecting these values.
5. Despite rhetoric, birth rates continued to decline, and many women entered the workforce during economic hardship.