Evocation of Death

"Death was already a dominant image in the formative stage of fascism’s symbolic universe. However, this was not a symptom of a preference for a decadent and nihilistic view of life, nor did it express a wallowing in pessimistic surrender to dissolution. On the contrary, the constant evocation of death was understood as an act of defiance, of a 'tragic and active optimism,' which in this way sought to affirm its own faith in life and immortality. The attitude toward death was, for fascism, the most solid testament to its religiosity…"

— Emilio Gentile