Photos of members of the Italian youth organization ONB

An original and quite rare picture in excellent condition. There are traces of pasting into the album on the back. Size 6*9 cm. Guarantee of authenticity.

Balilla (ital. Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB) was a youth organization in fascist Italy in 1926-1937. The name comes from the nickname "Balilla" by Giovan Battista Perasso, a boy from Genoa, who in 1746 threw a stone at an Austrian soldier and thus began an uprising against the Austrian troops occupying the city. The image of Perasso was used by fascist propaganda as an example of patriotic behavior for Italian children.

One of the ideologists of Italian fascism, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, proposed back in 1919 to create special "schools of physical courage and patriotism" for the patriotic education of young Italians. After coming to power in 1922, Mussolini declared that schools should educate, not teach. In the lower grades, the law of God was introduced as a subject, and the first word that Italian children learned to write was the fascist cry Eia!. By 1926, the Duce had come to the conclusion that it was necessary to create a national youth organization, and entrusted this issue to Renato Ricci. Ricci, while preparing the creation of a youth organization, met in England with the founder of the Scout movement, Robert Baden-Powell.

The law of April 3, 1926, established Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB), which was officially intended for the "physical, spiritual and moral education of young people." In fact, ONB was used not only for physical and spiritual, but also for primary military, vocational and technical education. The ONB's real task was to form the "fascists of tomorrow." The ONB accepted children aged 8 to 18 years, divided into two age groups: the younger — "Balilla" and the older — "Avant-gardists".

In 1927, all non-fascist youth organizations in Italy were dissolved, including the Italian Scout Organization.], The Association of Young Pioneers of Italy[ital.] (ARPI), and others. Many Scouts continued their activities underground and subsequently actively participated in the anti-fascist struggle. One of the largest underground scout organizations was Aquile randagie.] in Milan.

By 1930, an age chain of fascist youth organizations was finally formed in Italy (an analogue of the Soviet system of "Octobrists-pioneers-Komsomol members"). After first going through the Children of the Wolf elementary school organization, the child was supposed to join the Balilla primary organization at the age of 9-10, take an oath of allegiance to the duce, and then march through the streets and parade grounds for the next 4 years under the guidance of a police officer.

By 1937, Mussolini decided to reorganize youth work, for which, on October 29, 1937, a new youth organization, the Italian Lictor Youth (GIL), was created, succeeding the ONB.