Mussolini the Hero!

I walked into my public middle school library and got more than I bargained for. All around the library, the librarian had placed posters of heroes and quotes from them. Obama, Churchill, Marie Curie, Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth, etc. were featured. Then I saw something that made me stop and look. There was a picture of Benito Mussolini and his quote that said, "It is the State which educates its citizens in civic virtue, gives them a consciousness of their mission and welds them into unity." Either the librarian is a fascist or is very uneducated about world history. I certainly wouldn't put Mussolini up with Abraham Lincoln and other heroes.

According to www.history.com: "Benito Mussolini was an Italian political leader who became the fascist dictator of Italy from 1925 to 1945. Originally a revolutionary socialist, he forged the paramilitary fascist movement in 1919 and became prime minister in 1922." It also states that "Mussolini’s first act as prime minister was to demand special emergency powers allowing him to rig elections in the Fascists’ favor. Soon after, the Italian parliament made suspicion of being anti-Fascist punishable by imprisonment without trial." Also, the website says "In 1926, Fascists created a youth group called the Opera Nazionale Balilla, pressuring children to join. The Catholic Boy Scouts were dissolved and the formation of other youth groups became illegal." Also, "Cinemas were required to screen government propaganda in the form of newsreels. Fascists owned 66 percent of the newspapers and controlled reporting, issuing daily editorial guidelines and threatening editors with arrest. The Order of Journalists was created and membership was mandatory. Newspapers were allowed to criticize the government as long as they generally expressed support."

Www.history.com also states that "Mussolini wrote an article in 1938 that aligned Italians with the German concept of the Aryan race. When anti-Jewish laws began to appear in Italy, Germany felt they were weak, but Mussolini was prepared to increase their severity as needed. Soon after, Mussolini called for the expulsion of foreign Jews from Italy."

I suppose the methods that the State should use to "educate its citizens in civic virtue" were the Fascist youth groups, and the Order of Journalists was how Mussolini gave them "a consciousness of their mission". You can see how he "welded people into unity" by requiring everyone to view the same propaganda newsreels at the movies! I suppose that by being against Jews, he was further "welding his citizens into unity". What a hero!!

Walk into your school library and see what you find!