The Mussolini system: The governance of the dictator from 1922 to 1943 as reflected in his audiences

Between 1923 and 1945, Benito Mussolini, Italian Prime Minister and Duce of Fascism, met thousands of people and granted more than 90 000 audiences. The historiographical appraisal of this politically important system of receptions and visits only began very recently - and is now possible on a whole new level due to the development of a database of the audiences by the German Historical Institute in Rome. For a long time, research relied on the memoirs of (mostly) high-ranking former Fascists, who (after the Second World War) described their personal relationships with Mussolini, often also for exculpatory reasons. Amedeo Osti Guerrazzi shows how historiography was influenced by these narratives, even though their veracity is highly dubious. Obviously these authors tried to create the image of a lenient, even "good" dictator, who was supposed to differ from Adolf Hitler in every possible way. Amedeo Osti Guerrazzi deconstructs the Fascist memoir narratives and reveals contradictions and distortions. Further he examines the organisation, ceremonies and political content of the audiences in order to discover more about the functioning and style of government of the dictator. In this manner, an augmented view of the "Mussolini System" with many more facets arises.