By Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager
As the war in Ukraine endures into its fourth year, Russia’s unremitting campaign of missile strikes, artillery bombardments, and drone assaults continues to devastate Ukrainian towns and villages, leaving a landscape of destruction and displacement across the country. What began with Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 has evolved into a protracted conflict sustained by an increasingly authoritarian regime, whose power rests on a meticulously engineered system of state propaganda and ideological control. Under this neo-imperial vision, Russia has mobilized itself for a brutal and senseless war on European soil, echoing the darkest chapters of the continent’s past. As if the postwar pledge of “Nie Wieder”/“Never Again” had been forgotten, Europe once again finds itself at the center of a struggle that extends far beyond Ukraine, a confrontation waged not only against a sovereign nation but what Putin disparagingly calls the “wicked West” and the very principle of democracy that defines Europe’s moral and political foundation.
Among the many instruments of warfare, education and the mobilization of youth have long held a decisive, though often underestimated, role in shaping and perpetuating authoritarian ideologies such as fascism, which eventually have become cultural axioms. Throughout modern history, the indoctrination and militarization of young people have proven central to the consolidation of non-democratic regimes, transforming ideology into cultural common sense. A return to some of Europe’s darkest historical moments reveals this pattern clearly: from Benito Mussolini’s Italy and Adolf Hitler’s Germany to Vladimir Putin’s Russia today, regimes built on fascist or neo-imperial foundations have weaponized youth as both symbols and agents of ideological warfare. These leaders mastered not only the machinery of propaganda and control but also the manufacture of loyal, ideologically conditioned “child soldiers,” prepared to fight and die for their respective motherlands and the mythicized figures who lead them. Hence, revisiting the phenomenon of fascist youth organizations cross-culturally and cross-generationally can inform our understanding of the European theater of war and encourage attempts towards preserving democracy and peace.
Revisiting Mussolini’s Italy
The earliest and most instructive example of fascist youth mobilization emerged in Mussolini’s Italy, where the regime perfected the fusion of censored communication, manipulative propaganda, and hyper-nationalism to construct a culture of mass obedience. As the cradle of fascism, Italy under the Duce demonstrated how the systematic shaping of public consciousness, particularly through youth education, could transform ideology into lived political reality. Although often overshadowed by Nazi Germany, which Italy joined as a junior partner only after entering the war in 1940, the fascist Weltanschauung had already taken form in Rome long before it became Germano-centric and the world came to know the Führer. Mussolini’s regime thus laid the ideological and institutional groundwork for the twentieth century’s most destructive authoritarian experiment, revealing how media control and mythic nationalism could so swiftly evolve into totalitarian rule.[1] A similar pattern unfolded within the realm of youth organizations. The Opera Nazionale Balilla, established in 1926, served as the principal Fascist youth organization in Italy, designed to indoctrinate children and adolescents into the regime’s ideological and militaristic ethos. Functioning as both an educational and propagandistic instrument, it sought to mold loyal subjects devoted to the Duce and the Fascist state.
In 1937, the organization was incorporated into the Gioventù Italiana del Littorio, the official youth branch of the Partito Nazionale Fascista, thereby consolidating all Fascist youth movements under a unified structure that reinforced total allegiance to Mussolini’s vision of a disciplined, nationalized citizenry.[2] The organization was officially established to provide assistance, as well as physical and moral education for Italian youth. Named after the Genoese boy Giovanni Battista Perasso, known as Balilla, who reportedly instigated the revolt against Habsburg forces in 1746, the Opera Nazionale Balilla celebrated revolutionary fervor and nationalist sentiment. For the Balilla, Rome was revered as the eternal mother-martyr, and loyalty to the genius of Benito Mussolini, the so-called Holy Father of Fascism, was central to its worldview, alongside the vision of Italy’s resurgent empire. Interestingly, the organization’s formation coincided with the Italian cultural movement of Futurism, which served as a catalyst for Fascist ideology. Emphasizing patriotism, physical courage, technological progress, youth, and the glorification of violence, Futurism provided both the aesthetic and ideological foundations that the regime leveraged to mobilize and indoctrinate its youngest citizens.
The organization’s scope and structure were extensive. It encompassed Balilla boys, who would later advance to gli Avanguardisti (the Avanguardists) at age 18; Piccole Italiane (Little Italian girls), aged 8 to 14; and even younger children, the Figli della Lupa (Children of the She-Wolf), aged 6 to 8.[3] This hierarchical and age-graded system ensured ideological indoctrination from early childhood through young adulthood, embedding loyalty to Mussolini and Fascist principles at every stage of development. Membership in the Opera Nazionale Balilla was initially voluntary but quickly became mandatory for boys between 6 and 18, and girls between 8 and 14.[4] Eventually, in 1936, even a pre-Balilla kindergarten was created for even younger children under 6. The organization quickly became a very powerful cultural institution.
Over time, a distinctive form of indoctrination and collective conformity became normalized, in which italianità (or Italian-ness), patriotism, and Fascism were treated as virtually synonymous. The youth were heralded as “the Fascists of tomorrow” and, with the systematic banning of all other youth organizations, were left without meaningful alternatives or competition. Children donned uniforms reminiscent of the infamous camicie nere (black shirts) and, beyond regular organizational meetings, were expected to participate in Fascist Saturdays as well as highly ideologized summer camps, further embedding the regime’s values into daily life and social identity.[5] This carefully cultivated ideological conditioning set the stage for the nation’s trajectory, ensuring that the future of the fascist state would unfold along a predetermined path aligned with regime objectives.
Remembering Hitler’s Germany
Similarly to Mussolini’s Italy, Hitler’s Germany established a network of elite boarding schools that combined rigorous, Spartan-style educational practices with elements drawn from the ethical frameworks of Prussian cadet corps and the social prestige associated with select British public schools. These institutions were known as the Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalten (National-Political Education Institutes), or Napola for short, and served as central instruments for cultivating loyalty, ideological conformity, and leadership aligned with Nazi objectives.[6] Founded in 1933, reportedly as a symbolic birthday gift for Adolf Hitler, the Napolas were designed to train and educate the future elite of the Third Reich, beginning with children as young as ten. Their curriculum encompassed every aspect of social, political, and cultural life, aiming to produce ideologically loyal and capable leaders. By the end of World War II, the Großdeutsches Reich, which was spanning the territory from present-day France to Poland, hosted more than forty such institutions, reflecting the regime’s systematic investment in shaping its next generation of ruling cadres.
According to Nazi propaganda, the Napolas embodied the most “socialist” elements of National Socialism and were deemed essential for realizing the ideal of the Volksgemeinschaft. Students from working-class and farming backgrounds were particularly favored, as their social standing was considered advantageous for the regime’s goals. Original regional and ethnic identities were systematically subordinated to a singular, all-encompassing German identity, mirroring the political absorption of their regions into the Großdeutsches Reich. Many pupils were also sent to work in factories and mines, gaining firsthand experience of the German worker’s life and fostering connections across social classes in service of the Nazi cause. Die bürgerliche Bildung (the cultivation of the middle class) remained central to the Napolas’ educational mission. Hitler emphasized the principle of “Herrschaft durch Schulung” (domination through schooling/training), ensuring that education became a vehicle of ideological control. A crucial cultural task of the Napolas was Germanisierung (Germanization) of newly conquered European territories, particularly in the East. Even before the outbreak of war, many Napola students participated in the Osteinsätze (Eastern missions), living alongside local farmers for extended periods to assist with agricultural labor while simultaneously indoctrinating and acculturating the populations to Nazi ideology through a combination of propaganda, labor, and prolonged social integration.
The Napolas were not only instruments of domestic indoctrination but also served to disseminate, explicate, and implement Nazi ideology abroad. To this end, students participated in exchange programs with elite US and British academies and boarding schools, engaging with top-tier educational institutions while subtly projecting and reinforcing the regime’s ideological agenda on an international stage.[7] Initially, both British and American participants in the Napola exchange programs approached the initiative with cautious openness, often granting the Nazis the benefit of the doubt, even as they remained skeptical of the Third Reich’s objectives and ideological foundations. Predictably, Mussolini’s Italy emerged as the most frequent destination for the several-week-long visits undertaken by Napola pupils. These trips functioned as a subtle form of “cultural diplomacy,” designed to reinforce the cult of fascism and legitimize the Axis alliance, while simultaneously positioning Napola students as cultural ambassadors bridging Fascist Italy and the rapidly expanding Third Reich. The program proved remarkably effective in fostering cross-cultural integration among fascist youth, consolidating ideological bonds across national borders.
Rethinking Putin’s Russia
In a manner reminiscent of Fascist Rome and Nazi Berlin, official Moscow similarly treats children and young people as central instruments of state ideology, a policy which has evolved into what some scholars now identify as a distinctively Russian form of authoritarianism, often referred to as Ruscism.[8] Accordingly, the Russian government has initiated a series of youth-targeted campaigns designed to cultivate and reinforce patriotic sentiment, framing Russia’s war in Ukraine as a direct continuation of World War II against German Nazism. Much like the Balilla in Italy and the Napolas in Germany, Russian youth are positioned by the state as a key audience for ideological messaging, intended to shape not only perceptions of the past and present but, crucially, to instill a vision for Russia’s future aligned with the Kremlin’s ambitions.
One prominent youth organization, the Volunteers of Victory, was established by the Russian state in 2015, following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, as part of a broader effort to mobilize young people in support of state-sanctioned narratives and patriotic initiatives.[9] It is designed to preserve and promote the state’s interpretation of history and to commemorate Russia’s past military achievements. As of 2025, the organization includes approximately 650,000 members across 89 regional branches throughout the country. Most participants are teenagers who engage in a wide range of activities, from meeting and recording stories of war veterans, to organizing educational events centered on military history, and maintaining military cemeteries and memorials. The organization’s overarching goal is to cultivate a collective consciousness that venerates the heroic actions of Soviet and Russian forces, both past and present, while reinforcing the perception of Russia as a formidable military power and instilling a sense of national pride and continuity among the next generation.
Russia’s largest youth organization is the “Юнармия” (the Youth Army), which serves as a central instrument for cultivating patriotism, military skills, and ideological loyalty among the country’s young population.[10] Often compared to the Hitlerjugend, the Юнармия was established in 2016 under the patronage of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, with the explicit goal of preparing children for future roles within the state-controlled military apparatus. In a manner reminiscent of Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany, the Russian state offers young people a vision of power, self-actualization, and social belonging, encouraging them to see themselves as the heirs of a glorious national destiny. Those who remain apathetic or politically disengaged are left observing this constructed reality from the margins. The Youth Army is far more than an ordinary cadet program; the highly ritualized and intensified indoctrination in patriotism involves concrete training and preparation for military action. Members are instructed in the use of weapons and combat tactics by Wagner Group personnel, while former convicts contribute to their ideological formation. Military uniforms, camouflage nets, and ceremonial practices further reinforce the ritualistic and affective dimensions of their training, embedding the ethos of readiness to “die for the Motherland” into daily life.
Another prominent national children and youth organization is the “Движение первых” (“Movement of the First”), which serves as an additional instrument for fostering patriotism, civic engagement, and loyalty to the state among Russia’s youngest citizens.[11] As of February 2024, this movement included more than five million children, with President Putin noting that roughly seven million participants had already taken part in its various activities. The president characterized the movement as “Это огромная армия!” (“This is a huge army!”) and lauded its initiatives as “Это интересные, красивые дела” (“These are interesting, beautiful deeds!”), emphasizing the scale, significance, and perceived social and patriotic value of the organization in shaping Russia’s youngest generation.[12] President Putin explicitly highlighted the ways in which the “Движение первых” (Movement of the First) seeks to instill national pride through its activities. The movement reportedly planted two million trees in commemoration of Russian National Unity Day, composed three million letters addressed to Russia’s “selfless and courageous freedom fighters” currently engaged in the so-called special military operation, and collected 400,000 books for peers in the Donbass and Novorossia [sic] regions, territories of the newly occupied areas of Ukraine. These initiatives serve both symbolic and practical purposes, reinforcing patriotic narratives while integrating children into state-directed programs that align with Russia’s broader geopolitical and ideological goals. Notably, as of March 2025, the movement has expanded significantly, encompassing nearly twelve million members across all 89 regions of Russia, making it the country’s largest children’s and youth organization. This growth is attributed to the establishment of over 78,000 primary branches and a substantial increase in the number of mentors, which has tripled to over five million.[13] The movement’s activities are diverse, including educational projects, cultural events, and community service initiatives. Notably, in March 2025, the 4th Congress of the Movement of the First convened at the National Centre RUSSIA, with over 1,000 delegates from across the country. During this congress, the organization adopted a “book of values,” emphasizing principles such as mutual assistance, unity, historical memory, patriotism, and service to the motherland.[14]
Rewriting Europe? Never Again… Again?
Beyond the initiatives of various youth organizations and movements, Russia has meticulously shaped the ideological landscape across all levels of education, from kindergartens and primary schools to colleges and universities, leaving little to chance. Already in 2023, all schools in Russia and in Russian-occupied territories adopted new, mandatory high school history textbooks designed to present Kremlin-approved narratives, in line with what can be described as a Nietzschean-style “use and abuse of history.” These textbooks glorify the Soviet totalitarian regime and rehabilitate the legacy of Stalinism, while systematically omitting or downplaying state-sanctioned genocides, purges, pogroms, and the existence of forced labor camps. The result is an education system that reinforces a tightly controlled historical perspective, fostering ideological conformity and loyalty from the earliest stages of formal schooling.
As early as September 2022, schools across Russia began implementing “Разговоры о важном” (“Conversations That Matter”), ideologically intensive lessons designed to cultivate patriotism and reinforce state-approved narratives among students.[15] By mid-2023, officials in the Far Eastern regions of the Russian Federation launched another patriotic initiative, the “Азбука о важном” (“The ABC of the Important Matters”), aimed at kindergartens and elementary schools. This patriotic alphabet introduces children to foundational concepts such as “армия”, “вера”, “честь”, “отечество”, “родина”, and “традиции” (“army,” “faith,” “honor,” “fatherland,” “homeland,” “traditions”), embedding state-sanctioned values from an early age. Across schools nationwide, educators have been encouraged to develop age-appropriate strategies to connect children and youth with Russian soldiers currently deployed in Ukraine, reinforcing narratives of patriotic duty and national service.[16] The youngest children are assigned simple, symbolic tasks, such as drawing and coloring pictures of the letter “Z” ribbon or arranging themselves in formations that form the shape of this letter. The letter “Z,” though non-Cyrillic, has been transformed into a symbol of the war, effectively serving as a badge for those who support it. Older students are tasked with writing letters to soldiers deployed in Ukraine, particularly those from their own towns or regions, and preparing care packages for them. Classrooms have been outfitted with desks featuring images and biographical information of distinguished soldiers, serving as a constant visual reminder of Russia’s military heritage and the heroic ideals young people are expected to emulate. Additionally, in commemoration of graduates who have died while fighting in Ukraine, schools have introduced so-called “hero desks,” further reinforcing the intertwining of education, patriotism, and militarized symbolism in the formative experiences of Russian youth.
In the long term, much like Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany, patriotic education in Putin’s Russia seeks to instill a profound and enduring sense of patriotism, duty, and love for the nation in the next generation of citizens, alongside deep respect for the military as a central institution. A critical mechanism in this process is the “use and abuse of history”: the systematic presentation of a state-sanctioned version of history, memory, and justice to young people, while deliberately restricting exposure to alternative perspectives. Mussolini and Hitler both demonstrated the effectiveness of this strategy in shaping compliant generations. In Russia, the creation of such a Weltanschauung is producing a generation of highly disciplined, ideologically molded youth—figuratively, “toy soldiers”—who are primed to internalize and enact the visions of a charismatic leader, demonstrate unquestioning loyalty and obedience, and help normalize an increasingly militarized and authoritarian political culture. The consequences are stark: the historical promise of “never again” faces renewed peril as these strategies recreate conditions reminiscent of earlier fascist regimes, making the resurgence of authoritarian mobilization and ideological conformity a tangible reality. So that “never again” might happen… again.
Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager is Professor at Colorado State University. She specializes in critical cultural communication and international studies. She is Director & Leader of Education Abroad programs in Italy and Austria, and Program Director of ACT Human Rights Film Festival.
[1] Marco Maria Aterrano and Karine Varley ed., A Fascist Decade of War, 1935-1945: In International Perspective, (Routledge, 2021), 1-218.
[2] Victor Emanuele III, “LAW N. 2247 OF 3 APRIL 1926: Establishment of the National Organization ‘Balilla’ for the Assistance and Physical and Moral Education of Youth,” The Consolidation, April 3, 1926, http://www.97legione.siena.it/L_2247_1926.html.
[3] “Figli Della Lupa (Dizionario di Storia),” Enciclopedia Italiana, 2024, https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/figli-della-lupa_(Dizionario-di-Storia)/.
[4] “Opera Nazionale Balilla (Dizionario di Storia),” Enciclopedia Italiana, 2024, https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/opera-nazionale-balilla_%28Dizionario-di-Storia%29/.
[5] Piero Crociani and Piero Paolo Battistelli, The Black Shirts: 1935-1945, (Gorizia: Libreria Editrice Goriziana, 2011), 1-140.
[6] Helen Roche, “Second Book Project: The Third Reich’s Elite Schools—A History of the Napolas,” Helen Roche, August 12, 2015, https://helenroche.com/work/2015/08/12/second-book-project-the-third-reichs-elite-schools-a-history-of-the-napolas/.
[7] Helen Roche, “Young Nazis: How I Uncovered the Close Ties Between British Private Schools and Hitler’s Germany,” The Conversation, November 18, 2021, https://theconversation.com/young-nazis-how-i-uncovered-the-close-ties-between-british-private-schools-and-hitlers-germany-172017.
[8] Timothy Snyder, “The War in Ukraine Has Unleashed a New Word,” The New York Times Magazine, April 22, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/22/magazine/ruscism-ukraine-russia-war.html.
[9] “Всероссийское общественное движение” [International Team of Volunteers for the 75th anniversary of the Victory], ВОЛОНТЁРЫ ПОБЕДЫ [Volunteers of Victory], 2024, https://xn--90abhd2amfbbjkx2jf6f.xn--p1ai/.
[10] Daria Egorova, “В школах ищут солдат для путинской войны. Пропаганда и дети” [Schools are Looking for Soldiers for Putin’s War: Propaganda and Children], Радио Свобода, June 15, 2024, https://www.svoboda.org/a/v-shkolah-ischut-soldat-dlya-putinskoy-voyny-propaganda-i-deti/32994058.html.
[11] Alexander Kislov, “Путин предложил приглядеться к «пионерам» в качестве названия для детского движения” [Putin Suggested Looking at “Pioneers” As a Name for a Children’s Movement], Kommersant, April 19, 2023, https://www.kommersant.ru/?from=logo.
[12] “Путин заявил, что в “Движении первых” состоит уже почти 5 млн ребят” [Putin said that the “Movement of the First” already has almost 5 million members], Tass News Agency, February 1, 2024, https://tass.ru/obschestvo/19878367.
[13] “Kremlin expands Putin’s “Movement of the First”, Center for Countering Disinformation, October 1, 2025, https://cpd.gov.ua/en/results/rf-en/kremlin-expands-putins-movement-of-the-first/.
[14] “At the Congress of the Movement of the First at the National Centre RUSSIA, the book of values was adopted, and the symbol of the Year of Friendship was approved”, The National Center Russia, October 10, 2025, https://en.russia.ru/news/na-zasedanii-sieezda-dvizeniia-pervyx-v-nc-rossiia-priniali-knigu-cennostei-i-utverdili-simvol-goda-druzby
[15] Карина Меркурьева, “Лекции наемников, военная подготовка для школьников и уголовные дела. Как война отразилась на детях в России” [Lectures By Mercenaries, Military Training for Schoolchildren and Criminal Cases. How the War Affected Children in Russia], Настоящее Время [Current Time TV], June 1, 2023, https://www.currenttime.tv/a/kak-voina-otrazilas-na-detyah-v-rossii/32437404.html.
[16] Меркурьева, “Лекции наемников.”
