ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter I outlined the main features of the new‘Fascist State’, stressing – perhaps overstressing – the undeniable continuity of many institutions. But, equally undeniably, the Fascists did not merely form a government. They claimed to have set up a ‘regime’; and the regime was, or purported to be, ‘totalitarian’, affecting every aspect of ordinary people’s lives. The Fascists also preached an ideology of national solidarity and individual self-sacrifice, and tried to train a new generation of true believers in patriotism and war. This chapter will examine how far their policies were successful.
