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HISTORY In April 1925 Benito Mussolini agreed to the Fascist unions’ demands to set up the OND, with Mario Giani, a former director of Italian Westinghouse, at its head. The trade unions initially saw the provision of leisure facilities for workers as a way to compete with the Socialists , who already had a network of cultural organizations. The OND originally had an apolitical and productivist image, helping it gain the support of employers. There was nothing "inherently fascist" about the OND and it had been modelled on institutions like the YMCA . However, in April 1927 Augusto Turati , the Fascist party Secretary, dismissed Giani and became OND leader, turning the OND into an auxiliary of the party. In the 1930s under the direction of Achille Starace the OND became primarily recreational, concentrating on sports and other outings. It is estimated that by 1936 the OND had organized 80% of salaried workers. de Grazia, Victoria. ''The Culture of Consent: Mass Organizations of Leisure in Fascist Italy.'' Cambridge, 1981. Nearly 40% of the industrial workforce had been recruited into the Dopolavoro by 1939 and the sports activities proved popular with large numbers of workers. The OND had the largest membership of any of the mass Fascist organizations in Italy. Kallis, Aristotle, ed. (2003). ''The Fascism Reader,'' London: Routledge, pages 391-395. ISBN 0-415-24359-9 SOCIETAL EFFECTS The ''Dopolavoro'' had little trouble attracting members, but according to historian Tobias Asbe, while the activities sponsored by the OND were popular with the working class, these activities "did not turn workers into ideologically convinced supporters of the Fascist regime." Kallis, Aristotle, ed. ''The Fascism Reader,'' page 395 As Adrian Lyttelton wrote, "attempts to use the ''Dopolavoro'' as a medium for direct political indoctrination or cultural uplift were usually defeated by the failure of these cadres to use a language which their auidence could understand." Lyttelton, Adrian. ''The Journal of Modern History'', Vol. 54, No. 3 (Sept., 1982), pp. 602-604 The organization never achieved the scope or scale of Nazi movements, like the "Strength through Joy" organization. Davis, John A. ''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 99, No. 390 (Jan., 1984), pp. 223-224 REFERENCES NOTES For more information on Fascism, the OND and the working class, see:
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