WhenMussoliniledItalyintoWorldWarⅡ,amongthemostprominentslogansofItalianfascismwerethewords"Believe!Obey!Fight!"ChildrenatschoolbeganeverydaybychantingtheFascisttencommandments,oneofwhichran,"Mussoliniisalwaysright."However,despiteMussolini'seffortstopromotehiscultofviolentaction,Italy'sculturaltraditionsendured.TheliberalphilosopherBenedettoCrocecampaignedagainsttheregimeand,thoughhishomewassackedbyFascistthugs,Mussolinineverdaredtoforbidhimtopublish.
InJuly1943,whennewswasannouncedthatMussoliniwasarrestedbytheking,crowdsdancedinthestreetsofRome.ThewholeedificeofMussolini'sregimecollapsedinthecapitalwithsolittleregretthatnotasinglemandiedtryingtostoptheoverthrow.
墨索里尼率領義大利參加第二次世界大戰的時候，義大利法西斯黨最響亮的一句口號是：「信任！服從！戰鬥！」兒童上學，每天首先要誦讀法西斯十誡，其一是：「墨索里尼永遠正確。」但墨索里尼雖然大力提倡暴力崇拜，義大利的文化傳統不絕如縷。自由主義哲學家貝內代托．克羅切致力反對墨索里尼政權，法西斯黨雖然遣惡棍到他家裏搶掠，墨索里尼卻始終不敢禁止他發表文章。
一九四三年七月，墨索里尼遭國王拘捕的消息傳出，羅馬的群眾擁到街上跳舞。整個墨索里尼政權在國都土崩瓦解，沒有什麼人惋惜，更沒有一人為了維護這政權而捨命。