“Say what you like about Mussolini but he did make the trains run on time.” This phrase is the political equivalent of “every cloud has a silver lining” – but does it have any factual basis?
Mussolini’s dictatorship in Italy was full of atrocities, brutal suppression and propaganda. Did it also create a more efficient railway network?
We speak to Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat about the truth of the claim and why the Mussolini regime wanted us to believe it.
Presenter: Lizzy McNeill
Producer: Lizzy McNeill
Researcher: Esme Winterbotham
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound Master: James Beard
Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison.
Image: Benito Mussolini in his train studying maps. (Photo by ullstein picture/ullstein picture via Getty Images)
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