Assess the extent to which Fascist indoctrination was the main aim of Mussolini’s leadership.
The question asks for an assessment of the main aim of Mussolini’s leadership, chiefly whether the focus was fascist indoctrination or other factors.

Benito Mussolini coined the term ‘fascism’ in 1919 to describe his political movement. He established the first fascist regime and believed in Absolute Power of the State, Rule by a Dictator, Corporatism, Extreme Nationalism, Superiority of the Nation’s People, Militarism, and Imperialism. Mussolini chose Giovanni Gentile as Minister of Education. He reorganized Italy’s school system and argued that the private desires and interests of the individual came second to the ‘common will’ of the people. He explained that self-sacrifice and obedience to the state enabled the individual to achieve unity with the ‘common will.’ He argued that rights do not belong to the individual but to the people as a whole and that the ‘common will’ of the people is the law of the state. Therefore, individuals must submit to the fascist state in order to be truly free. He declared it is the natural right of the stronger to conquer and rule the weaker. War has another function in the fascist state: It unites the people and proves their superiority as a nation.

Mussolini called new elections for the Italian parliament in 1924 and after the election, Mussolini closed opposition newspapers and banned public protest meetings. He declared all political parties illegal except for his own Fascist Party. He outlawed labour unions and strikes. He also established a political police force, the Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Antifascism. A Fascist Grand Council rubber-stamped Mussolini’s decrees and made parliament irrelevant. By 1925, Mussolini had adopted the title, Il Duce (the Leader). He delivered emotional public speeches, swaying back and forth, puffing his chest, and holding his hands on his hips. The crowds chanted back fascist slogans such as ‘Il Duce is always right!’ and ‘Believe, obey, fight!’ Opponents of Mussolini coined the term ‘totalitarianism’ to describe his quest to control not only the political system but also the economy, schools, police, courts, military, and more. Ironically, Mussolini liked this term and began to use it himself to persuade Italians to come together under his leadership for a rebirth of society.

Mussolini compared the ‘new man’ of Italy to the hardened soldiers of ancient Rome. As for women, Il Duce saw their role as giving birth and caring for a new generation of warriors. The Fascist Party organized youth organizations for all boys and girls aged 8–18. These groups promoted physical training, military drills (for boys), and the ideals of the fascist state. Mussolini had little use for religion. Italy, however, was a strongly Catholic country. Gentile, as minister of education, continued the teaching of Catholic doctrine in the elementary schools. But he replaced it with philosophy at the secondary level. The Catholic Church objected to this reform. Hoping to keep the church from opposing his fascist regime, Mussolini adopted pro-Catholic policies against abortion and divorce. Then in 1929, he signed a treaty with the church that made Catholicism the state religion. This agreement also restored the teaching of Catholic doctrine in secondary schools. For its part, the church accepted Mussolini’s fascist state and ended its involvement in Italy’s political affairs.

Mussolini wanted to create an economic system that provided a ‘third way’ and in the 1930s, he organized industry, agriculture, and economic services into state-controlled labour unions and employer associations called ‘corporations.’ Government officials appointed the heads of each union and employer corporation. They negotiated wages and working conditions with each other. This ‘third way’ corporatism attempted to unify workers and employers by requiring them to set aside their private interests in favour of the best interests of the fascist state. In practice, however, the employers usually benefited more than the workers did. Police crackdowns on dissent were mild compared to fascism in Hitler’s Germany. But a special court tried anti-fascists, those working against Mussolini’s regime.

The Jewish population of Italy was small, and neither Mussolini nor most other Italians were very anti-Semitic. Jews had fought for Italy in the First World War and participated in Mussolini’s march on Rome. Even so, Il Duce came increasingly under the influence of Hitler in the late 1930s. Mussolini finally agreed to anti-Semitic decrees such as banning Jews from certain occupations. When the Germans occupied parts of Italy during the Second World War, they transported 20 percent of Italy’s Jews to Nazi concentration camps. While Italians hid many Jews, Mussolini did nothing to stop the Nazi deportations. Before the Second World War, popular support for Mussolini’s fascist state was high. His charismatic style of leadership convinced many that Italy was on a path to greatness.