Benito Mussolini was the fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 until his death in 1945.\u00a0 As such, he led Italy during the major years of\u00a0World War II.\u00a0 Today, Mussolini is remembered for establishing the first\u00a0fascist\u00a0movement in the world.\u00a0 In fact, he seized power over Italy in 1922 following his ‘March on Rome’, which was a violent takeover of the government.\u00a0 Further to this, Mussolini allied his country with\u00a0Nazi Germany\u00a0and its leader\u00a0Adolf Hitler\u00a0during World War II.\u00a0 It should also be noted that Mussolini, and his fascist movement in Italy, inspired Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.\u00a0 Hitler even modeled\u00a0aspects of his government after Mussolini’s.\u00a0 Because of this, Mussolini\u00a0is one of the most famous dictators of the 20th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Benito Mussolini was born on July 29th, 1883 in a small Italian town called Dovia di Predappio.\u00a0 His father, Alessandro Mussolini, worked as a blacksmith and had very socialist leanings, which influenced Benito.\u00a0 In fact, Benito was named after influential socialists of the time.\u00a0 His mother, Rosa Mussolini, worked as a teacher.\u00a0 Together, Alessandro and Rosa had three children, of which Benito was the oldest.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Benito Mussolini was a strong student as a child and eventually trained to be an elementary schoolmaster.\u00a0 However, this was short-lived as he moved to Switzerland in 1902.\u00a0 It is believed that he went to Switzerland in order to avoid military service in Italy.\u00a0 At the time, military service in Italy was compulsory, meaning that all Italians were required to serve.\u00a0 Regardless, Mussolini\u2019s time in Switzerland was significant to his early political and philosophical views.\u00a0 For instance, while in Switzerland, he became active in the socialist movement.\u00a0 Mussolini studied socialist beliefs and gave speeches, organized rallies and worked with unions.\u00a0 Furthermore, in 1903 he was arrested for supporting a violent general strike.\u00a0 He was imprisoned for a short time and returned to Italy in 1904, where he served two years in the military.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the decade that followed, Mussolini moved between Switzerland, Italy and Austria-Hungary.\u00a0 He worked as a schoolteacher and political journalist.\u00a0 During this time, he further developed his socialist beliefs and became one of the most prominent socialists in all of Italy.\u00a0 For instance, he wrote several works at this time and became well known among socialists throughout Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When World War I broke out in 1914, many in Italy were torn between supporting the war or not.\u00a0 For instance, many supported their country fighting in the war due to a growing sense of nationalism in Italy.\u00a0 However, others argued against Italy participating in the war due to disagreement with the government.\u00a0 This was true of the main socialist movement in Italy, which was against the country fighting in the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Mussolini\u2019s early political views agreed with this perspective he soon changed and was expelled from the Italian Socialist Party after supporting Italian military action in World War I.\u00a0 He changed his views based on his support for the socialist movement, which he had hoped could grow stronger if Germany and Austria-Hungary were defeated.\u00a0 This was significant, because it caused his political views to alter at this time.\u00a0 In fact, Mussolini began to develop a stronger sense of nationalism and less of a focus was placed on socialism.\u00a0 Historians agree that it was around 1914 that Mussolini began to develop his fascist beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, Mussolini served in the Royal Italian Army during World War I.\u00a0 During his time in the army, he ended up serving about nine months of time in the frontline trenches of the First World War.\u00a0 However, he was wounded following an explosion in his trench and eventually discharged in 1917.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After World War I, Mussolini continued to develop his fascist beliefs, based on extreme Italian nationalism.\u00a0 By this point in time, he had essentially rejected socialism and his earlier held views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At its heart, Mussolini\u2019s views of fascism focused on a strong sense of nationalism and less on class differences.\u00a0 As such, Mussolini believed it was the duty of all citizens to act in the best interest of the state as a whole and not necessarily their own individualistic wants.\u00a0 Therefore, Mussolini supported the rule over the country by a strong central government and rejected any elements of democracy.\u00a0 Furthermore, he argued in favor a strong military and citizen support towards the goals of the state, including the buildup of a strong military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another element of Mussolini\u2019s fascism was the idea of \u2018spazio vitale\u2019 which translates to \u2018vital space\u2019.\u00a0 It is the belief that Italy required more space to operate.\u00a0 It further related to fascism as, the territory that Mussolini identified was where the Roman Empire had previously controlled.\u00a0 This concept of \u2018vital space\u2019 relates to another important aspect of fascism \u2013 racism superiority.\u00a0 While Mussolini did not necessarily support the racial policies and practise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, he did assert that some people were superior over others.\u00a0 For instance, he argued that it was justified for superior people to rule over inferior people.\u00a0 This is exemplified in a speech from 1920 that he gave, where he said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWhen dealing with such a race as Slavic\u2014inferior and barbarian\u2014we must not pursue the carrot, but the stick policy… We should not be afraid of new victims… The Italian border should run across the Brenner Pass, Monte Nevoso and the Dinaric Alps… I would say we can easily sacrifice 500,000 barbaric Slavs for 50,000 Italians…\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, the beliefs of \u2018vital space\u2019 and racial superiority also led to Mussolini\u2019s support of Italy practising imperialist practises in Africa.\u00a0 Africa had long been the site of European imperialism, in the form of the Scramble for Africa.\u00a0 However, Italy had not been a major player in the earlier decades, and Mussolini supported Italy carving out its own territory on the continent.\u00a0 His beliefs on this matter were heavily related to his racial ideology, that was previously discussed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eventually, Mussolini\u2019s growing fascist movement resulted in him and his close supporters creating their own private army of soldiers.\u00a0 This paramilitary group were referred to as the \u2018blackshirts\u2019 due to their distinctive uniforms.\u00a0 For the most part, they were Italian veterans from World War I who supported the ideals of Mussolini\u2019s fascism.\u00a0 The \u2018blackshirts\u2019 were important to Mussolini\u2019s growth of the fascist movement because they helped to suppress their political opponents.\u00a0 With the help of the blackshirts, the fascists in Italy grew in numbers and political influence.\u00a0 Eventually, this resulted in Mussolini establishing the National Fascist Party on November 9th in 1921.\u00a0 In that same year, the National Fascist Party was elected to the Italian parliament, which is called the Chamber of Deputies.\u00a0 Mussolini\u2019s rise to power was nearly complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nBENITO MUSSOLINI – MARCH ON ROME<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
One of the most significant events in Mussolini\u2019s rise to power was the \u2018March on Rome\u2019.\u00a0 It occurred on the evening of October 27th in 1922, and saw approximately 30,000 blackshirts support Mussolini\u2019s bid to be the next leader of Italy.\u00a0 At the time, the country had been ruled over by Prime Minister Luigi Facta, who was a relatively liberal leader.\u00a0 However, the control of the Italian Military was held by King Victor Emmanuel III.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the evening of October 27th, the blackshirts stormed into the Italian capital of Rome and demanded that Prime Minister Facta resign.\u00a0 Facta tried to maintain control by using the Italian Military to stop the uprising, but was denied by King Victor Emmanuel III.\u00a0 As such, Facta quickly resigned and Mussolini was handed the reigns of power.\u00a0 This decision by King Victor Emmanuel III was important, as it made Mussolini\u2019s bid to be leader relatively easy.\u00a0 Many historians believe that the King made this decision in fear, because Mussolini had quite a bit of support from members of the Italian Military.\u00a0 Regardless, Mussolini was now the Prime Minister of Italy, and had gained power through a coup d\u2019\u00e9tat.\u00a0 This means he gained power through a violent overthrow of the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nBENITO MUSSOLINI – THE DICTATOR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u200bThroughout the 1920s, Mussolini worked to dismantle the parliament and democracy of the Italian state and replace it with fascism.\u00a0 In fact, he favored totalitarianism.\u00a0 A totalitarian state is one in which power is held by one single party, that rules with absolute authority.\u00a0 Typically, in a totalitarian state, the dictator of the country rules over all aspects of the country, and the individual rights of the citizens are denied or ignored.\u00a0 Essentially, Mussolini\u2019s goal was to establish himself as a dictator. For instance, he would eventually be referred to as \u2018Il Duce\u2019 or \u2018the Leader\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Mussolini, the Italian totalitarian state would operate a few key elements.\u00a0 First, Mussolini constructed the Italian parliament such that it benefitted the fascists.\u00a0 This essentially, turned Italy in a single-party state.\u00a0 At the same time, his blackshirts continued to oppress other political leaders.\u00a0 Eventually, in 1926, all other political parties were banned.\u00a0 The second element was the establishment of Mussolini\u2019s cult of personality.\u00a0 A cult of personality is a form of propaganda in which the leader of the country is presented in a positive manner.\u00a0 In fact, cult\u2019s of personality usually present the leader as almost god-like in nature.\u00a0 This is evidence in how Mussolini had himself presented to the people of Italy.\u00a0 For example, he was always displayed as a strong and powerful figure that commanded the authority of the people.\u00a0 His name of \u2018Il Duce\u2019 also was part of this cult of personality.\u00a0 Furthermore, Mussolini grew his cult of personality by controlling the media.\u00a0 For instance, during his time as dictator, Italy\u2019s main newspaper (\u2018Il Popolo\u2019) was run by Mussolini\u2019s brother and only published stories that were positive towards Mussolini\u2019s leadership.\u00a0 The third element of Mussolini\u2019s dictatorship was his use of secret police to carry out terror against his own people.\u00a0 Early on this was the mission of the blackshirts, who regularly attacked Mussolini\u2019s enemies.\u00a0 Later, in 1927, Mussolini established the Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism (OVRA).\u00a0 OVRA was essentially, the secret police of Italy that carried out actions against the people of Italy that were considered to be acting anti-fascist.\u00a0 The fourth and final aspect of Mussolini\u2019s dictatorship as the promotion of extreme Italian nationalism.\u00a0 He did this in several ways, including large public works projects that were intended to build up nationalistic pride.\u00a0 As well, Mussolini developed a youth version of the \u2018blackshirts\u2019 to promote national unity around fascism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond maintaining control over his own people, Mussolini also carried out several significant foreign policy actions.\u00a0 First was his invasion of Ethiopia in 1935.\u00a0 Also known as the Abyssinia Crisis, it saw Italian forces invade the Empire of Ethiopia.\u00a0 This was a central component of Mussolini\u2019s imperialist policies in Africa, as he hoped to establish a larger empire for Italy.\u00a0 However, the Abyssinia Crisis is now viewed as a major event in the lead up to World War II.\u00a0 This is because, the League of Nations failed to stop Italian aggression and proved to ineffective at maintaining peace.\u00a0 The League of Nations was established after the end of World War I, as a part of United States President Woodrow Wilson\u2019s famous Fourteen Points.\u00a0 The goal of the League of Nations was to prevent another crisis similar to World War I.\u00a0 However, during the Abyssinian Crisis, the League failed to hold Mussolini accountable for his actions and pushed Europe closer towards a large conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nBENITO MUSSOLINI – RELATIONSHIP WITH ADOLF HITLER<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Adolf Hitler, the fascist dictator of Nazi Germany, came to power in 1933.\u00a0 Initially, Mussolini did not think much of Adolf Hitler or the Nazi Party.\u00a0 In fact, he was relatively angered by some of the actions of the Nazi\u2019s, especially in relation to Italy\u2019s northern border.\u00a0 Mussolini believed that Nazi Germany was trying to gain more influence and territory.\u00a0 With that said, Adolf Hitler considered Mussolini to be a major influence on his own movement in Germany.\u00a0 In fact, Hitler had tried to gain power in Germany in a very similar manner as Mussolini, and even modeled aspects of his own dictatorship after Mussolini\u2019s.\u00a0 It should be noted however, that Hitler\u2019s brand of fascism was not entirely similar to Mussolini\u2019s.\u00a0 Nazism (or National Socialism) shared many qualities with Mussolini\u2019s fascism but differed slightly in terms of racial ideology.\u00a0 As stated earlier, Mussolini supported the notion that some ethnicities were superior to others.\u00a0 However, he differed from Hitler in the approach towards Jewish citizens.\u00a0 Mussolini did not support attacks against the Jewish and referred to the persecution of the Jewish as a German issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regardless, the growing sense of tensions in Europe in the 1930s eventually pushed Germany and Italy into an alliance.\u00a0 In fact, Mussolini believed that France and Britain had weakened themselves in the years after World War I and preferred an alliance with Germany as it was growing in strength.\u00a0 As such, on October 25th in 1936, Italy and Germany announced the \u2018Rome-Berlin Axis\u2019.\u00a0 The alliance between the two countries set the stage for a divide in Europe and foreshadowed the outbreak of World War II.\u00a0 In fact, in 1938, Mussolini attended the Munich Conference, where he supported Hitler\u2019s claims that Germany should gain control over the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia.\u00a0 The alliance strengthened further in 1939, when Italy and Germany agreed to the \u2018Pact of Steel\u2019 on May 22nd. \u00a0This agreement joined Italy and Nazi Germany together in a military alliance.\u00a0 World War II erupted just months later in September of 1939.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nBENITO MUSSOLINI – WORLD WAR II<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
World War II began in September of 1939, following Nazi Germany\u2019s invasion of Poland on September 1st.\u00a0 Europe was again divided, and Italy found itself at war with France and Britain.\u00a0 Although the Soviet Union was allied with France and Britain, it had signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, which made it a relative non-player at the start of the war.\u00a0 Regardless, Italy entered the war when it declared war on Britain and France on June 10th in 1940.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200bItaly faced a severe problem in the years of World War II \u2013 it lacked the necessary industrial capacity to wage war.\u00a0 Mussolini knew his country was not prepared for major wartime operations and worked to try to get the country to increase its industrial pace in order to create weapons and vehicles.\u00a0 Regardless, the country struggled, and this led to its poor performance militarily in the fighting of World War II.\u00a0 For instance, while Italy enjoyed some early success in the Battle of France and its African Campaign, it was never really able to establish itself militarily.\u00a0 In fact, much of Italy\u2019s military successes were due to fighting alongside the much more powerful Nazi forces.\u00a0 However, as the war progressed, Italy suffered several major defeats, especially in Africa, where the British forces had captured large sections of Italy\u2019s territory.\u00a0 These losses began to threaten Mussolini\u2019s authority over Italy, and he became worried about maintaining public support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World War II for Italy took a major turn for the worse when the Allied Powers carried out the Invasion of Sicily.\u00a0 The invasion occurred throughout the summer months of 1943 and saw the British, Americans, French and their allies soundly defeat Italian and Nazi German forces on the island of Sicily.\u00a0 The Allied Invasion of Sicily was significant for the Allied Powers because it allowed them to open a new front in Europe.\u00a0 However, it was disastrous for the Italians, and ultimately Mussolini, because it made Italy one of the major fronts of the war.\u00a0 As stated previously, Italy\u2019s military was not prepared to withstand the Allied invasion and Italy suffered greatly from a lack of supplies and worsening morale among the citizens.\u00a0 This furthered the crisis facing Mussolini\u2019s leadership as he struggled to maintain his authority over the situation.\u00a0 In fact, in late July of 1943, Mussolini was out as Prime Minister of the country by King Victor Emmanuel III, after members of Mussolini\u2019s government pushed for his removal. \u00a0Mussolini was then imprisoned by his own government at a remote mountain plateau called Campo Imperatore in central Italy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mussolini was replaced by Pietro Badoglio who immediately began negotiating an end to Italy\u2019s involvement in the war.\u00a0 In general, most of the people of Italy supported Mussolini\u2019s removal because he had lost their support, and because they were hopeful that it meant an end to Italy\u2019s involvement in World War II.\u00a0 However, the decision to remove Mussolini angered Adolf Hitler and the Nazi\u2019s who viewed Mussolini as essential to maintaining their own influence in Italy.\u00a0 This caused Hitler to order a daring raid at Campo Imperatore in order to rescue Mussolini and reinstate him as leader over the country.\u00a0 The rescue occurred on October 13th in 1943 and led to the development of the Italian Social Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200bThe Italian Social Republic, which was also known as the Sal\u00f2 Republic, was a territory in the northern half of Italy that was still controlled by Nazi forces and Italian fascists that were still loyal to Mussolini.\u00a0 The southern half of Italy was referred to as the Kingdom of Italy and was under the control of the Allied forces and those who opposed Mussolini\u2019s rule.\u00a0 However, Mussolini\u2019s leadership of the Italian Social Republic was little more than a symbolic role.\u00a0 This is because the northern half of Italy was basically a puppet-state for Nazi Germany.\u00a0 For instance, during these remaining years of his life, he wrote parts of his autobiography that were later published under the title \u2018My Rise and Fall\u2019.\u00a0 As such, he was well aware of his downfall and lack of real leadership in his final years.\u00a0 Furthermore, in a 1945 interview he stated that \u201cSeven years ago, I was an interesting person. Now, I am little more than a corpse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nBENITO MUSSOLINI – DEATH AND LEGACY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Throughout 1945, the Allied forces continued their push through the different fronts of the war in Europe, including Italy.\u00a0 This put immense pressure on the Italian Social Republic and caused Mussolini to plan his escape to Switzerland, where he hoped to find freedom.\u00a0 However, on April 27th in 1945, during his escape, he was captured by communist loyalists.\u00a0 These communists kept Mussolini imprisoned over night and executed him and his companions the next morning on the 28th.\u00a0 Mussolini was killed by firing squad in the Italian region of Lombardy.\u00a0 The next day, Mussolini\u2019s body, along with the bodies of the others that were killed, were taken to Milan.\u00a0 Once here, Mussolini\u2019s body was hung upside down from the roof of a gas station.\u00a0 Italian civilians used the opportunity to throw stones and other objects at the bodies.\u00a0 Mussolini\u2019s body was later interned at his birthplace in Dovia di Predappio.\u00a0 His body remains there today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200bBenito Mussolini remains one of the most significant figures of the 20th century.\u00a0 His life is an important topic in relation to the rise of fascism in Europe and the events of World War II.\u00a0 While not necessarily as brutal as other dictators of his time, Mussolini is still remembered for ruling over Italian as a totalitarian dictator who commanded complete authority of his people.\u00a0 He is also famous for giving rise to fascism as an ideology, which became an important aspect of Europe during World War II.\u00a0 In fact, many of the aspects of fascism that Mussolini spearheaded became integral parts of Adolph Hitler\u2019s own leadership in Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Benito Mussolini was one of the most significant figures of the 20th century. He played a significant role in the events of World War II and the growth of fascism. This article details the life and significance of Benito Mussolini.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":14,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,100],"tags":[18,15,22],"class_list":["post-3459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world-war-ii","category-biography","tag-biography","tag-history","tag-world-war-ii"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3459"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3461,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3459\/revisions\/3461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}