The Duce’s Cheerleaders and the Führer’s Vanguard: The Dynamics of a Fascist Network of Girls’ Organizations

Regimes in the interwar years went to great lengths to educate young girls into their ideology. Fascist Italy had a few years head start—its Accademia fascista di educazione fisica femminile [Fascist Academy of Female Physical Education] was regarded as innovative from likeminded governments of the time, including Nazi Germany, and was the object of visits and attention. This article explores the arc drawn by relationships between Italian and German girl organizations, focusing on encounters between Orvietine and Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM) members. It focuses on two exemplary moments in the history of the network: the 1937 trip to Berlin by 150 students of the Orvieto Academy, and the one-month observation visit in winter 1941 by Ursel Stein, a rising star of the BDM administration. By analyzing and comparing the dynamics, rituals, and actors of the two occasions the article points out at the different roles given to girl organizations by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy and raises questions concerning the agency of the members of this women network.