Italian Fascist Youth Group: Girl's Program


Figure 1.-- Italian Fascists also had an organization for girls called the "Fascio Femminile". The girls look to be at camp. The sign behind them does not idebtify the camp, but seems to be a kind of motto, " Credere Obbedire Combattere". That translates as something like, "Believe, Obey, Struggle".

Italian Fascists also had an organization for girls called the "Fascio Femminile". It also included children to age 18, but was divided into only three groups rather than the five groups for the boys. We know very little about the girl's section of the Balilla. Almost all available images show boys and girls separate. The only exception we note are very small groups such as units in foreign countries. The Fascists like the NAZIs had little respect for women. Their appropriate role was to have babies and stay home and cook and look after the children. Thus the program for the girls must have been very different than the program for the boys. We have very little actual information on the girl's program. They apparently went to camp like the boys. The photograph here appears to be a kind of camp uniform. We have little information on the girls uniforms. Hopefully one of our Italian readers will provide some information on her experiences.

Organization

Italian Fascists also had an organization for girls called the "Fascio Femminile". It also included children to age 18, but was divided into only three groups rather than the five groups for the boys. We know very little about the girl's section of the Balilla. Almost all available images show boys and girls separate. The only exception we note are very small groups such as units in foreign countries.

Program

The Fascists like the NAZIs had little respect for women. Their appropriate role was to have babies and stay home and cook and look after the children. Thus the program for the girls must have been very different than the program for the boys. We have very little actual information on the girl's program. They apparently went to camp like the boys. The photograph here appears to be a kind of camp or activities uniform.

Uniform

We have little information on the girls uniforms. It appeared to have varied somewhat by age level. The basic uniform seems to have been a white blouse with a tie and dark skirt. This was the standard uniform we have seen throughout Italy. We have, however, seen some other uniforms. The girls here at camp wear white caps and rompers (figure 1). The girls look to be about 10-11 years old. This appears to be a camp or activities uniform. We also note younger girls wearing colored rompers and a kind of white sun hat. We are not sure to what extent these romper uniforms were standardized thriughout the country.

Experiences

Hopefully one of our Italian readers will provide some information on her experiences or brief us on published accounts. A Brutish reader tells us, "I want to mention that I was at one of my wife's family gathering, I think in the 1980s, when the subject of Mussolini came up. Two of my wife's female cousins (older than she was) said they didn't take Mussolini or the Fascists very seriously. They had to wear black shirts and march around, but they thought it was a big joke at the time. The kids in this picture seem to have taken their uniforms more seriously. Maybe there was a difference in attitudes between boys and girls on the subject."









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Created: January 28, 2004
Last updated: 7:16 PM 4/5/2009