Description: Between Pope and Duce: Catholic Students in Fascist Italy traces the fascinating history of young Catholic intellectuals in Italy under Fascism. It is a complex story of courageous resistance to Fascist pressures and periodic willing collaboration. Despite Mussolini's efforts to thoroughly «fascistize» Italy's youth, a significant minority of university students, thanks to the Federazione Universitaria Cattolica Italiana, remained resistant to all but the most generic Fascist appeals. In the process, the leadership of the postwar Christian Democratic party was nurtured and its relationship with the Catholic Church solidified.
Review Quotes: «This work goes to the heart of the irreconcilable conflicts between Catholicism and Fascism which survived the signing of the 1929 Concordat. By highlighting how the persistent friction in the interwar period provided an invaluable political experience for a generation of young Catholic intellectuals who were to fill the cadres of the majority party in postwar Italy, Richard Wolff makes a relevant contribution to the study of the issue of continuity throughout change.» (Margherita Repetto Alaia, The FUCI (Federazione Universitaria Cattolica))