Ministry of Popular Culture

Minister of Popular Culture
Ministro della Cultura Popolare
Longest serving Dino Alfieri 11 June 1936 – 31 October 1939
Abbreviation	MinCulPop
Member of	Council of Ministers Grand Council of Fascism
Reports to	Duce
Seat	Rome
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	23 June 1935 (1935-06-23)
First holder	Galeazzo Ciano
Final holder	Fernando Mezzasoma
Abolished	25 April 1945 (1945-04-25)

The Ministry of Popular Culture (Italian: Ministero della Cultura Popolare, commonly abbreviated to MinCulPop) was a ministry of the Italian government from 1937 to 1944.

History

It was established by the Fascist government in 1922 as the Press Office of the Presidency of the Council, before being renamed to Press Office of the Head of Government in 1925. In 1934 it became the Secretariat for Press and Propaganda. It became a ministry in 1935 and was given its definitive designation in 1937.[1] During its existence, it controlled most of the literary and radio channels in Italy.[2] It was the Italian analogue of the German Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.

The Ministry financed various Fascist publications, including La Difesa della Razza.[3] It famously outlawed the importation and translation of all American comic books, with the lone exception of Mickey Mouse, in 1938.[4]

The Ministry was officially suppressed by the Kingdom of Italy on 3 July 1944, having remained vacant ever since the overthrow of Benito Mussolini in the 25 Luglio coup a year earlier. During the Italian Social Republic, Mussolini revived the Ministry of Popular Culture and appointed Ferdinando Mezzasoma as its head.

List of ministers

Kingdom of Italy

Parties

•   National Fascist Party

Coalitions

•   Fascist

Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Term of office			Party		Government	Ref.
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
Minister of Press and Propaganda
	Galeazzo Ciano (1903–1944)	23 June 1935	11 June 1936	354 days		National Fascist Party	Mussolini
	Dino Alfieri (1886–1966)	11 June 1936	27 May 1937	350 days		National Fascist Party
Minister of Popular Culture
	Dino Alfieri (1886–1966)	27 May 1937	31 October 1939	2 years, 157 days		National Fascist Party	Mussolini
	Alessandro Pavolini (1903–1945)	31 October 1939	6 February 1943	3 years, 98 days		National Fascist Party
	Gaetano Polverelli (1886–1960)	6 February 1943	25 July 1943	169 days		National Fascist Party

Italian Social Republic

Parties

•   Republican Fascist Party

Coalitions

•   Fascist

Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Term of office			Party		Government	Ref.
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
Minister of Popular Culture
	Ferdinando Mezzasoma (1907–1945)	23 September 1943	25 April 1945	1 year, 274 days		Republican Fascist Party	Mussolini (Social Republic)

See also

• Propaganda of Fascist Italy
• Censorship in Italy
• Reichs Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda

References

1. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany: the 'fascist' style of rule By Alexander J. De Grand
2. Ezra Pound: the tragic years, 1925-1972 By James J. Wilhelm
3. Francesco Cassata (2011). Building the New Man: Eugenics, Racial Science and Genetics in Twentieth-Century Italy. Budapest: Central European University Press. pp. 223–284. ISBN 9789639776838.
4. "Eccetto topolino" di F. Gadducci, L. Gori, S. Lama - Il Foglio.it › Una fogliata di libri Archived 8 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

• Mackenzie, Alexander Johnston (1938). Propaganda Boom. London: John Gifford.