17. Drumming up nationalistic fervor among the Italians
Mussolini’s creation of the new Italian man needed an outlet for its masculine virility and willingness to fight, and throughout his regime, he promised the means to create it internationally. Official Fascist doctrine referred to the Mediterranean Sea as the Mare Nostrum, the name it was given by the ancient Roman Empire, and which meant “Our Sea”. The name was a reference to the Fascist goal of creating a New Roman Empire, through which the Mediterranean region would be brought under the control of the Italian government in Rome, and which would have included North and East Africa, the Middle East, Abyssinia, Greece, Dalmazia, and the islands of the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas. Mussolini created jobs for the Italian people through the expansion of the air force, navy, and army.
In speeches and through the use of the Fascist propaganda machine, Mussolini exhorted the Italians to increase their pride by calling himself and his people nationalists, in a manner which was adopted by Adolf Hitler in Germany. Nationalism percolated through all levels of Italian society, and the nation was forged together as being one of the Great Powers of Europe, at least in the promises of the Fascists. It was taught in the schools, exhibited in films, and permeated Mussolini’s frequent addresses to the people and the Italian parliament, which was little more than an audience for Fascist exhibitions. When Mussolini launched his quest for empire in the Mediterranean it quickly became apparent that his self-vaunted military machine was far less capable than the people had been told.