Lecture: World War II
Fascist Italy 
During the 1920s, Italy was a nation disappointed. Italy had hoped to gain substantial colonies and international respect from her participation in the Great War. But at the Treaty of Versailles conference, her representative was ignored as Britain, France and the U.S. designed the peace.
Benito
Mussolini created the ultranationalist concept
known as fascism. The image was of the fascisti,
a bundle of sticks that had represented the
Roman Empire: individually a stick could be
broken, but together the bundle was unbreakable.
Workbook
document:
What is Fascism?
Mussolini created a massive propaganda machine to sell his new ideas after he took power in 1922. Although clearly a dictator, Mussolini worked with the middle-class and the Catholic Church to assure his long reign. His charismatic personality held the nation together under his ruthlessly efficient system. Italians still say that despite undeniable political oppression, he "made the trains run on time".