National Fascist Party
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| National Fascist Party Partito Nazionale Fascista |
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| Historic Leader | Benito Mussolini |
| Founded | November 9, 1921 |
| Dissolved | July 27, 1943 |
| Preceded by | Fasci Italiani di Combattimento |
| Succeeded by | Republican Fascist Party |
| Headquarters | Rome, Italy |
| Newspaper | Il Popolo d'Italia |
| Youth wing | Gioventù Italiana del Littorio (GIL) |
| Paramilitary wing | Camicie Nere (CCNN) |
| Membership | 6,000,000 (1939) |
| Ideology | Italian Fascism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colors | Black |
| Party flag | |
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The National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista; PNF) was an Italian political party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of fascism (previously represented by groups known as Fasci; see also Italian Fascism). The party ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943.
Along with its recognised successor, the Republican Fascist Party, it is the only party whose reformation is banned by the Constitution of Italy: "it shall be forbidden to reorganize, under any form whatever, the dissolved fascist party" ("Transitory and Final Provisions", Disposition XII).
Founded in Rome on November 9, 1921, it marked the transformation of the paramilitary Fasci Italiani di Combattimento into a more coherent political group (the Fasci di Combattimento had been founded by Mussolini in Milan's Piazza San Sepolcro, on March 23, 1919).
The PNF was instrumental in directing and popularizing support for Mussolini's ideology. In the early years, groups within the PNF called Blackshirts built a base of power by violently attacking socialists and their institutions in the rural Po Valley thereby gaining the support of landowners.
The PNF was the main agent of an attempted coup d'état on October 28, 1922, the March on Rome. Even though the coup failed in giving power directly to the PNF, it nonetheless resulted in a parallel agreement between Mussolini and King Victor Emmanuel III that made Mussolini the head of the Italian government.
After the drastic modifying of electoral legislation (the Acerbo Law), the PNF clearly won the highly controversial elections of April 1924. In early 1925, Mussolini dropped all pretense of democracy and set up a total dictatorship. From that point onward, the PNF was effectively the only legally permitted party in the country. This status was formalized by a law passed in 1928 and Italy remained a one-party state until the end of the Fascist regime in 1943.
After taking sole power, the Fascist regime began to impose Fascist ideology and symbolism throughout the country. Party membership in the PNF became necessary to seek employment or gain government assistance. The fasces adorned public buildings, Fascist mottos and symbols were displayed on art, and a personality cult was created around Mussolini as the nation's saviour and was called "Il Duce", "The Leader". The Italian parliament was replaced in duties by the Grand Council of Fascism solely filled with PNF members. The PNF promoted Italian imperialism in Africa and staunchly promoted racial segregation and white supremacy of Italian settlers in the colonies.
The Grand Council of Fascism, following a request of Dino Grandi, overthrew Mussolini on July 25, 1943 by asking the king to resume his full authority in officially removing Mussolini as prime minister, which he did, and Mussolini was imprisoned; however, the Fascists immediately collapsed and the party was officially banned by Pietro Badoglio's government on July 27.
After the Nazi-engineered Gran Sasso raid liberated Mussolini in September, the PNF was revived as the Republican Fascist Party (Partito Fascista Repubblicano - PFR; September 13), as the single party of the Northern and Nazi-protected Italian Social Republic (the Salò Republic). Its secretary was Alessandro Pavolini. The PFR did not outlast Mussolini's execution and the disappearance of the Salò state in April 1945.
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Secretaries of the PNF [edit]
- Michele Bianchi (November 1921 - January 1923)
- multiple presidency (January 1923 - October 1923)
- Triumvirate: Michele Bianchi, Nicola Sansanelli, Giuseppe Bastianini
- Francesco Giunta (October 15, 1923 - April 22, 1924)
- multiple presidency (April 23, 1924 - February 15, 1925)
- Roberto Farinacci (February 15, 1925 - March 30, 1926)
- Augusto Turati (March 30, 1926 - October 7, 1930)
- Giovanni Giuriati (October 1930 - December 1931)
- Achille Starace (December 1931 - October 31, 1939)
- Ettore Muti (October 31, 1939 - October 30, 1940)
- Adelchi Serena (October 30, 1940 - December 26, 1941)
- Aldo Vidussoni (December 26, 1941 - April 19, 1943)
- Carlo Scorza (April 19, 1943 - July 27, 1943)
Election results [edit]
| Election date | Party leader | Number of votes received | Percentage of votes | Number of deputies |
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| 1921 | Benito Mussolini | 29,549 | 0.4% | 2 |
| 1924 | Benito Mussolini | 4,305,936 | 61.3% | 356 |
| 1929 | Benito Mussolini | 8,517,838 | 98.33% | 535 |
| 1934 | Benito Mussolini | 10,026,513 | 99.84% | 535 |
Party symbols [edit]
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Eagle clutching a fasces, a common symbol of Italian Fascism, regularly used on uniforms and caps.
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Party emblem of the National Fascist Party.
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Flag of the National Fascist Party.
Slogans [edit]
- Il Duce! (The Leader!)
- Viva il Duce! (Long live the Leader!)[1]
- Eja, eja, alalà! (Equivalent in English to Hip, hip, hooray!)
- Viva la morte (Long live death [sacrifice])
- Credere, obbedire, combattere ("Believe, obey, fight")
- Libro e moschetto - fascista perfetto (Book and rifle - make the perfect Fascist)
- Tutto nello Stato, niente al di fuori dello Stato, nulla contro lo Stato (Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State)
- Se avanzo, seguitemi. Se indietreggio, uccidetemi. Se muoio, vendicatemi (If I advance, follow me. If I retreat, kill me. If I die, avenge me)
- Me ne frego (I don't give a damn)
- La libertà non è diritto è un dovere (Liberty is not a right it is a duty)
- Noi tireremo diritto (literally We will go straight or We shall go forward)
- La guerra è per l'uomo, come la maternità è per la donna (War is to man, as motherhood is to woman)[2]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
External links [edit]
- Fascist Italy and the Jews: Myth versus Reality an online lecture by Dr. Iael Nidam-Orvieto of Yad Vashem
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