Example Essay for DBQ 2002 Form B
A totalitarian state is defined as a one-party dictatorship that attempts to regulate every aspect of
the lives of its citizens. Mussolini and his Fascist Party were successful in establishing a totalitarian state
in Italy from 1924-1943. The "black shirts" controlled the economic, political and social aspects of
Italian society. One social aspect they tried to manipulate was the size of the population. Through
decrees, speeches and mass media the fascists tried to erase the liberal evolution of women and create a
subservient class of females ready to produce new generations of fascists youth. Although the fascists
found support in some ways for their population planning they found much resistance from outspoken
feminists, academics and general economic realities - their attempt at social engineering was a failure.
The fascists used legislation, word of mouth and magazines to argue and implement their
population policy. The Italian Parliament, which was controlled by the fascists, established the "National
Organization for the Protection of Mothers and Children" to help mothers of all walks of life have as
many children as possible. This organization, whose main goal was to help produce a new generation of
fascists, was funded by a "progressive personal tax on bachelors." This tax makes sense because it not
only tries to foster the fascist ideal of the state above the individual but also encourages bachelors to
marry and have kids (Doc 1). In a speech Benito Mussolini argued that "with work, a woman becomes a
man..." and in women working the man is "castrated in every sense." Mussolini, being a far right wing
ideologue, obviously sees one place for a woman and that is in the home making and raising a family. He
also echoes the fascist belief of the state being more important than the individual by challenging feminist
ideals of the time (Doc 5). Finally, we see in a fascist party magazine for women, Motherhood and
Childhood an article that celebrates motherhood, having children and Social Darwinism. The article
states that "a nation without mothers and cradles... is certainly headed for slavery." This clearly
promotes the fascist ideal of survival of the fittest and argues the only way to avoid subjugation by
another "race" is ever growing fascist population (Doc 6).
The fascists did have some success in getting families to have as many children as possible. A
letter to Edda Mussolini from L.D.B. describes a "mother who gave birth to 11 children" whose family
was "poor and needy" and requested help to "alleviate the "disastrous and pitiful conditions" that the
family endures. This member of the lower class who most likely had socialist tendencies - expecting
support from the state - surprisingly bought into the fascist call for nationalism since her husband was
fighting in the war and the family had eleven kids (Doc 10). Another "success story" is shown in a
photograph of an urban middle class family with twelve children. This is no surprise since the fascists
had strong support from upper and middle class families who sought protection for their wealth and
property from a communist takeover (Doc 12).
The fascists were challenged by liberals and feminists. Gaetano Salvemini, a political refugee
and liberal writer, in an article from Birth Control Review, stated the fascist "battle for births was a
failure," mocked the fascist belief that slender women were "barren" and gave a glimpse into how the
fascist society worked by writing that slender women will be put "before a firing squad" for "treason"
(Doc 4). Edda Mussolini, Benito's daughter in her memoirs My Truth, recalled being "furious!" when she
was "pregnant again" after only one child (Doc 7). Both individuals were progressives living in the
United States and guided by liberal beliefs. They put feminism - equality of men and women - and
individualism - the right of women to be what they want - above the Italian fascist state which sought to
control them.
The fascists were also challenged by academics and general economic realities. Pietro Battera in
his article Economy argued that "economic conditions influence family size in many ways" and that a
poor person "only sees limitations on family size." (Doc 2) A. Molinari in his report for the Central
Institute of Statistics supported Battera's theory in stating "the desire to improve one's economic standing"
will always have an effect on the decision to have children." (Doc 3) Both were academics and social
scientists who did not believe in fascism and their obsession with social engineering. They believed in
facts and statistics. Both academics were correct - the fascist population policy was a failure. A Century
of Statistics in Italy shows declining birthrates in Italy from 1926-1945. The reality was that family size
was driven by the sluggish Italian economy in the 1920s, a failing economy in the 1930s driven by the
Great Depression and economic collapse after the beginning of World War II. (Doc 12)
One of social aspects the fascists tried to manipulate was the size of the population. Although the
fascists found some support for their population planning they found much resistance from outspoken
feminists, academics and general economic realities. The fascist population policy was a complete failure
as was the entire totalitarian experiment which began with Mussolini in the 1920s and ended with the
Soviet Union in 1989.
Some DBQ Tips
Point of View (POV) (for at least 3 Docs.) is simply the ability to make "the connections."
Template: " It makes sense that ______ (person) _____________ (holds this position) because he is
______(ideology, class, gender, nationality, religion...etc.) and they believed ________________."
Grouping (in at least 2-3 different ways) is simply putting relevant documents together in the same
paragraph. You can group by:
1. Type (e.g., letter, book, diary, political platform, government document, statistics, newspaper
account, business records, etc.)
2. Period - in which the documents were written
3. Point of view (e.g., you may also make a group of two or more documents whose points of view
disagree with each other; the idea is to show that you can combine and juxtapose the ideas and
you recognize that the documents are talking to each other.)
4. Documents can also be grouped by their authors gender; education, occupation, or social or
economic class; nationality; religion; location (e.g., rural, urban, Paris, etc.); ideology