How popular was the regime?

Question 1

Describe contemporary views on the popularity of the dictatorship?

Answer 1

Mixed

Question 2

What foreign journalists at the time think?

Answer 2

They were impressed by the apparent spontaneous enthusiasm displayed at fascist rallies and believed that M was extremely popular

Question 4

What did Italian anti fascist exiles at the time say?

Answer 4

They stressed the brutal, repressive aspects of the regime and argued that only fear deterred widespread opposition

Question 4

What have historians generally agreed upon?

Answer 4

That repression was not the only reason for the lack of effective opposition to the regime

Question 4

What is there still debate over?

Answer 4

The popularity of the regime

Question 4

What does the prominent Italian historian Renzo De Felice say when writing in the early 1970s?

Answer 4

He argued that M was genuinely popular, particularly between the years of 1929-36 and culminating with victory over Ethiopia

Question 4

What is the popular consensus in terms of what ended M’s popularity?

Answer 4

The ill fated 1940 invasion of Greece

Question 5

How does De Felize describe the vitcory over Ethiopia?

Answer 5

He says it was M’s ‘political masterpiece and greatest success’

Question 5

How controversial was De Felize’s view?

Answer 5

He had a bomb thrown at his house for saying that the regime was genuinely popular in the 1930s and that this popularity was not the result of repression

Question 5

How does Nicholas Farrell back up his view?

Answer 5

He says the truth is that a critical mass of people in Italy actively supported fascism and an even larger proportion, a clear majority, actively supported M

Question 6

What did American journalist Herbert Matthews say in 1946 to support this idea?

Answer 6

‘The duce truly did have in those years an enormous popular consensus’

Question 7

How does Luigi Barzini support this idea?

Answer 7

‘His success seemed incredible. He was more popular in Italy than anyone had been or probably ever will be’

Question 8

What did George Ward Price, the Daily Mail’s correspondent in Rome say in 1937 to support this idea?

Answer 8

‘The overwhelming majority of Italians enthusiastically supported M’

Question 9

What evidence does Nicholas Farrell use to support his idea?

Answer 9

The fact that from 1936-7, M received over 30,000 supportive letters each month from ordinary Italians

Question 10

How did the prominent academic R.J.B Bosworth disagree with this in 2006?

Answer 10

He is much more sceptical of the depth and sincerity of public support, pointing out that most of the letters from Italians were seeking a job or promotion or some other favour from M

Question 11

How does Donald Sassoon’s view differ from both of these?

Answer 11

Because he describes Italians as apathetic towards the regime

Question 12

Explain this apathy as Sassoon sees it?

Answer 12

Life continued to be easy or difficult, but politics had little do with it. In this sense M’s Italy was no worse than what preceded it

Question 13

Why did it not matter that the majority couldn’t vote according to Sassoon?

Answer 13

Because voting makes no visible difference anyway

Question 14

Why did it not matter that the press was censored according to Sassoon?

Answer 14

Because no one reads a newspaper anyway

Question 15

Why were they actually more sympathetic towards fascism than towards liberalism?

Answer 15

Because at least now there was a leader telling them to be proud to be Italian, and promising a radiant future

Question 16

What caused the majority of Italians to turn against fascism according to Sassoon?

Answer 16

When the regime led the country into war that demanded sacrifices which they were not prepared for