9 Things You May Not Know About Mussolini - History in the Headlines 9 Things You May Not Know About Mussolini October 25, 2012 By Jesse Greenspan Share this: 9 Things You May Not Know About Mussolini Author 9 Things You May Not Know About Mussolini URL On October 29, 1922, fascist leader Benito Mussolini was offered the Italian premiership amid political and social upheaval. Explore nine things you may not know about “Il Duce” and his 21 years in power. 1. Mussolini had a penchant for violence even as a youth. Born on July 29, 1883, Mussolini gained a reputation for bullying and fighting during his childhood. At age 10 he was expelled from a religious boarding school for stabbing a classmate in the hand, and another stabbing incident took place at his next school. He also admitted to knifing a girlfriend in the arm. Meanwhile, he purportedly pinched people at church to make them cry, led gangs of boys on raids of local farmsteads and eventually became adept at dueling with swords.

When the New York Times reported on Mussolini’s May 1922 duel against a rival newspaper editor, it mentioned that he bore over 100 wounds received in battle. 2. Mussolini was a socialist before becoming a fascist. Born to a socialist father, Mussolini was named after leftist Mexican President Benito Juárez. His two middle names, Amilcare and Andrea, came from Italian socialists Amilcare Cipriani and Andrea Costa. Early in Mussolini’s life, for instance, those names seemed appropriate. While living in Switzerland from 1902 to 1904, he cultivated an intellectual image and wrote for socialist periodicals such as L’Avvenire del Lavoratore (The Worker’s Future). He then served in the Italian army for nearly two years before resuming his career as a teacher and journalist. In his articles and speeches, Mussolini preached violent revolution, praised famed communist thinker Karl Marx and criticized patriotism. In 1912 he became editor of Avanti! (Forward!), the official daily newspaper of Italy’s Socialist Party. But he was expelled from the party two years later over his support for World War I.

By 1919 a radically changed Mussolini had founded the fascist movement, which would later become the Fascist Party. 3. Italy’s leaders never called on the military to stop Mussolini’s insurrection. From 1920 to 1922, armed fascist squads faced minimal interference from the police or army as they roamed the country causing property damage and killing an estimated 2,000 political opponents. Many other citizens were beaten up or forced to drink castor oil. Then, on October 24, 1922, Mussolini threatened to seize power with a demonstration known as the March on Rome. Though Prime Minister Luigi Facta knew of these plans, he failed to act in any meaningful way. Finally, when fascists began occupying government offices and telephone exchanges on the night of October 27, Facta and his ministers advised King Victor Emmanuel III to declare a state of emergency and impose martial law. The wavering king refused to sign any such decree, however, and Facta was forced to resign. 4. Contrary to popular belief, Mussolini did not take power in a coup.

With Italy’s leading non-fascist politicians hopelessly divided and with the threat of violence in the air, on October 29 the king offered Mussolini the chance to form a coalition government. But although the premiership was now his, Il Duce—a master of propaganda who claimed the backing of 300,000 fascist militiamen when the real number was probably far lower—wanted to make a show of force. As a result, he joined armed supporters who flooded the streets of Rome the following day. Mussolini would later mythologize the March on Rome’s importance. 5. Mussolini did not become a true dictator until 1925. After becoming prime minister, Mussolini reduced the influence of the judiciary, muzzled a free press, arrested political opponents, continued condoning fascist squad violence and otherwise consolidated his hold on power. However, he continued working within the parliamentary system at least somewhat until January 1925, when he declared himself dictator of Italy.

Following a series of assassination attempts in 1925 and 1926, Mussolini tightened his grip even further, banning opposition parties, kicking out over 100 members of parliament, reinstating the death penalty for political crimes, ramping up secret police activities and abolishing local elections. 6. Mussolini was anti-Church before becoming pro-Church. As a socialist youth, Mussolini declared himself an atheist and railed against the Catholic Church, going so far as to say that only idiots believed Bible stories and that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were lovers. He even authored an anti-clerical pulp novel. But after taking power, Il Duce began working to patch up that relationship. He outlawed freemasonry, exempted the clergy from taxation, cracked down on artificial contraception, campaigned for an increased birth rate, raised penalties for abortion, restricted nightlife, regulated women’s clothing and banned homosexual acts among adult men. Despite having many mistresses himself, he also put in place harsh punishments for adultery. In 1929 Mussolini signed an agreement with the Vatican under which the Church received authority over marriage and was compensated for property that had been seized decades earlier.

Pope Pius XI afterwards referred to Mussolini as the “man whom providence has sent us.” Nonetheless, tensions between the two eventually resurfaced over such things as Mussolini’s racial laws, where were similar to those in Nazi Germany. 7. Mussolini sought to establish an Italian empire. Mussolini launched his first military action in 1923 when he bombarded and briefly occupied the Greek island of Corfu. Several years later, he authorized the use of concentration camps and poison gas to help put down a rebellion in Libya, which at that time was an Italian colony. Poison gas was again used illegally during the conquest of Ethiopia in 1935 and 1936, after which Il Duce declared that Italy finally had its empire. “It is a fascist empire, an empire of peace, an empire of civilization and humanity,” he purportedly said. Three years later, Italy invaded and annexed Albania. In addition to those wars of expansion, conflict-loving Mussolini also propped up right-wing dissidents. During the Spanish Civil War, for example, he supplied troops and arms to General Francisco Franco’s Nationalist movement. 8. Italy’s army performed disastrously during World War II.

For all his bluster, Mussolini did not enter World War II until June 1940, by which time his Nazi Germany allies had already swept through much of Europe. It soon became apparent that Italy lacked adequate military equipment and that its pace of production was pitiful. In fact, the United States could manufacture more planes in a week than Italy could in a year. Mussolini did not help matters by repeatedly changing his war plans and stretching his forces too thin. His poorly executed attack on France made little progress until the French asked the Germans for an armistice. Later that year, Italian troops invaded Greece, only to be pushed back into neighboring Albania. Italy’s North Africa campaign likewise stalled, although in both cases Germany temporarily came to the rescue. 9. Mussolini was deposed without a fight. Having already snatched away Libya and Ethiopia, Allied forces invaded Italy proper in 1943 and began dropping bombs on Rome. On July 25 of that year, King Victor Emmanuel informed Mussolini that he would be replaced as prime minister. Il Duce was then arrested and imprisoned in various places, including a remote mountain ski resort from which German commandos rescued him a month and a half later.

From September 1943 to April 1945, Mussolini headed a puppet government in German-occupied northern Italy. At the end of the war, he tried to sneak over the Swiss border wearing a German greatcoat and helmet. But an Italian partisan recognized him and shouted out, “We’ve got Big-Head!” Mussolini was executed the following day, and his corpse was strung upside down in a Milan square. Tags Benito Mussolini - The Fascist Dictator of Italy Benito Mussolini A Biography of Benito Mussolini, the Fascist Dictator of Italy Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. (circa 1925). (Photo by FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images) By Steve Smith, Contributing Writer Updated July 26, 2016. Who Was Benito Mussolini? Benito Mussolini served as Italy’s 40th Prime Minister from 1922 until 1943. He is considered a central figure in the creation of Fascism and was both an influence on and close ally of Adolf Hitler during World War II .

In 1943, Mussolini was replaced as Prime Minister and served as the head of the Italian Social Republic until his capture and execution by Italian partisans in 1945. Dates: July 29, 1883 -- April 28, 1945 Also Known As: Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, Il Duce Biography of Benito Mussolini Benito Mussolini was born in Predappio, a hamlet above Verano di Costa in northern Italy. Mussolini’s father, Alessandro, was a blacksmith and an ardent socialist who scorned religion. His mother, Rosa Maltoni, was an elementary school teacher and a very pious, devout Catholic. Mussolini had two younger siblings: a brother (Arnaldo) and a sister (Edvidge). While growing up, Mussolini proved to be a difficult child. He was disobedient and had a quick temper. continue reading below our video Famous Figures of WWII: Axis Powers Twice he was expelled from school for assaulting fellow students with a penknife.

Despite all the trouble he caused at school, Mussolini still managed to obtain a diploma and then, a little surprisingly, Mussolini worked for a short time as a school teacher. Mussolini as a Socialist Looking for better job opportunities, Mussolini moved to Switzerland in July 1902. In Switzerland, Mussolini worked at a variety of odd jobs and spent his evenings attending local socialist party meetings. One of those jobs was working as a propagandist for a bricklayer trade union. Mussolini took a very aggressive stance, frequently advocated violence, and urged a general strike to create change. All of which led to him being arrested several times. Between his turbulent work at the trade union during the day and his many speeches and discussions with socialists at night, Mussolini soon made enough of a name for himself in socialist circles that he began writing and editing several socialist newspapers. In 1904, Mussolini returned to Italy to serve his conscription requirement in Italy’s peace-time army. In 1909, he lived for a short time in Austria working for a trade union. He wrote for a socialist newspaper and his attacks on militarism and nationalism resulted in his expulsion from Austria.

Once again back in Italy, Mussolini continued to advocate for socialism and to develop his skills as an orator. He was forceful and authoritative, and while frequently wrong in his facts, his speeches were always compelling. His views and his oration skills quickly brought him to the attention of his fellow socialists. On December 1, 1912, Mussolini began work as the editor of the Italian Socialist newspaper, Avanti! Mussolini Changes His Opinion on Neutrality In 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand set off a chain of events that culminated in the start of World War I . On August 3, 1914, the Italian government announced that it would remain strictly neutral. Mussolini initially used his position as editor of Avanti! to urge fellow socialists to support the government in its position of neutrality. However, Mussolini's views of the war soon changed. In September 1914, Mussolini wrote several articles supporting those who were backing Italy’s entry into the war.

Mussolini’s editorials caused an uproar among his fellow socialists and in November 1914, after a meeting of the party executives, he was formally expelled from the socialist party. Mussolini Severely Wounded in WWI On May 23, 1915, the Italian government ordered general mobilization of her armed forces. The next day, Italy declared war on Austria, officially joining World War I. Mussolini, accepting his call to the draft, reported for duty in Milan on August 31, 1915 and was assigned to the 11th Regiment of the Bersaglieri (a corps of sharpshooters). During the winter of 1917, Mussolini’s unit was field testing a new mortar when the weapon exploded. Mussolini was severely wounded with more than forty pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body. After a long stay at a military hospital, Mussolini recovered from his injuries and was then discharged from the army. Mussolini and Fascism After the war, Mussolini, who had become decidedly anti-socialist, began to advocate for a strong central government in Italy.

Soon, Mussolini was also advocating for a dictator to lead that government. Mussolini wasn't the only one ready for a major change. World War I had left Italy in shambles and people were looking for a way to make Italy strong again. A wave of nationalism swept across Italy and many people began to form local, small, nationalist groups. It was Mussolini who on March 23, 1919 personally assembled these groups into a single, national organization under his leadership. Mussolini called this new group, Fasci di Combattimento (commonly called the Fascist Party). Mussolini took the name from the ancient Roman fasces , a symbol that contained a bundle of rods with an axe in the center. A key component of Mussolini's new Fascist Party were the Blackshirts. Mussolini formed groups of marginalized ex-servicemen into squadristi. As their numbers grew, the squadristi were reorganized into the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicuressa Nazionale, or MVSN, which would later serve as Mussolini’s national security apparatus.

Dressed in black shirts or sweaters, the squadristi earned the nickname “Blackshirts.” The March on Rome In the late summer of 1922, the Blackshirts made a punitive march through the provinces of Ravenna, Forli, and Ferrara in northern Italy. It was a night of terror; squads burned down the headquarters and homes of every member of both socialist and communist organizations. By September of 1922, the Blackshirts controlled most of northern Italy. Mussolini assembled a Fascist Party conference on October 24, 1922 to discuss a coup de main or “sneak attack” on the Italian capital of Rome. On October 28, armed squads of Blackshirts marched on Rome. Although badly organized and poorly armed, the move left the parliamentary monarchy of King Victor Emmanuel III in confusion. Mussolini, who had stayed behind in Milan, received an offer from the king to form a coalition government. Mussolini then proceeded to the capital supported by 300,000 men and wearing a black shirt.

On October 31, 1922, at the age of 39, Mussolini was sworn in as prime minister of Italy. Il Duce After elections were held, Mussolini controlled enough seats in parliament to appoint himself Il Duce ("the leader") of Italy. On January 3, 1925, with the backing of his Fascist majority, Mussolini declared himself dictator of Italy. For a decade, Italy prospered in peace. However, Mussolini was intent on turning Italy into an empire and to do that, Italy needed a colony. So, in October 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia. The conquest was brutal. Other European countries criticized Italy, especially for Italy's use of mustard gas . In May 1936, Ethiopia surrendered and Mussolini had his empire. This was the height of Mussolini's popularity; it all went downhill from here. Mussolini and Hitler Out of all the countries in Europe, Germany had been the only country to support Mussolini's attack on Ethiopia. At that time, Germany was led by Adolf Hitler , who had formed his own Fascist organization, the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (commonly called the Nazi Party ).

Hitler admired Mussolini; Mussolini, on the other hand, did not even like Hitler at first. However, Hitler continued to support and back Mussolini, such as during the war on Ethiopia, which eventually swayed Mussolini into an alliance with Hitler. In 1938, Italy passed the Manifesto of Race, which stripped Jews in Italy of their Italian citizenship, removed Jews from government and teaching jobs, and banned intermarriage. Italy was following in the footsteps of Nazi Germany. On May 22, 1939, Mussolini entered into the “Pact of Steel” with Hitler, which basically tied the two countries in the event of war. And war was soon to come.

Mussolini’s Big Mistakes in World War II Benito Mussolini | Italian dictator | Britannica.com Benito Mussolini Alternative Titles: Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, Il Duce Benito Mussolini Benito Mussolini, in full Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, byname Il Duce (Italian: “The Leader”) (born July 29, 1883, Predappio, Italy—died April 28, 1945, near Dongo), Italian prime minister (1922–43) and the first of 20th-century Europe’s fascist dictators. Benito Mussolini. H. Roger-Viollet Early life Mussolini was the first child of the local blacksmith . In later years he expressed pride in his humble origins and often spoke of himself as a “man of the people.” The Mussolini family was, in fact, less humble than he claimed—his father, a part-time socialist journalist as well as a blacksmith, was the son of a lieutenant in the National Guard , and his mother was a schoolteacher—but the Mussolinis were certainly poor.

They lived in two crowded rooms on the second floor of a small, decrepit palazzo; and, because Mussolini’s father spent much of his time discussing politics in taverns and most of his money on his mistress, the meals that his three children ate were often meagre. A restless child, Mussolini was disobedient, unruly, and aggressive. He was a bully at school and moody at home. Because the teachers at the village school could not control him, he was sent to board with the strict Salesian order at Faenza, where he proved himself more troublesome than ever, stabbing a fellow pupil with a penknife and attacking one of the Salesians who had attempted to beat him. He was expelled and sent to the Giosuè Carducci School at Forlimpopoli, from which he was also expelled after assaulting yet another pupil with his penknife. He was also intelligent, and he passed his final examinations without difficulty. He obtained a teaching diploma and for a time worked as a schoolmaster but soon realized that he was totally unsuited for such work.

At the age of 19, a short, pale young man with a powerful jaw and enormous, dark, piercing eyes, he left Italy for Switzerland with a nickel medallion of Karl Marx in his otherwise empty pockets. For the next few months, according to his own account, he lived from day to day, jumping from job to job. At the same time, however, he was gaining a reputation as a young man of strange magnetism and remarkable rhetorical talents. He read widely and voraciously, if not deeply, plunging into the philosophers and theorists Immanuel Kant , Benedict de Spinoza , Peter Kropotkin , Friedrich Nietzsche , G.W.F. Hegel , Karl Kautsky , and Georges Sorel , picking out what appealed to him and discarding the rest, forming no coherent political philosophy of his own yet impressing his companions as a potential revolutionary of uncommon personality and striking presence. While earning a reputation as a political journalist and public speaker, he produced propaganda for a trade union, proposing a strike and advocating violence as a means of enforcing demands. Repeatedly, he called for a day of vengeance . More than once he was arrested and imprisoned.

When he returned to Italy in 1904, even the Roman newspapers had started to mention his name. Britannica Stories Scientists Ponder Menopause in Killer Whales For some time after his return little was heard of him. He once more became a schoolmaster, this time in the Venetian Alps, north of Udine, where he lived, so he confessed, a life of “moral deterioration.” But soon tiring of so wasteful a life, he returned to trade-union work, to journalism, and to extreme politics, which led yet again to arrest and imprisonment. During a period of freedom in 1909, he fell in love with 16-year-old Rachele Guidi, the younger of the two daughters of his father’s widowed mistress; she went to live with him in a damp, cramped apartment in Forlì and later married him. Soon after the marriage, Mussolini was imprisoned for the fifth time; but by then Comrade Mussolini had become recognized as one of the most gifted and dangerous of Italy’s younger socialists. After writing in a wide variety of socialist papers, he founded a newspaper of his own, La Lotta di Classe (“The Class Struggle”).

So successful was this paper that in 1912 he was appointed editor of the official Socialist newspaper, Avanti! (“Forward!”), whose circulation he soon doubled; and as its antimilitarist, antinationalist, and anti-imperialist editor, he thunderously opposed Italy’s intervention in World War I . Exploring Italy and France: Fact or Fiction? Soon, however, he changed his mind about intervention. Swayed by Karl Marx ’s aphorism that social revolution usually follows war and persuaded that “the defeat of France would be a deathblow to liberty in Europe,” he began writing articles and making speeches as violently in favour of war as those in which he previously had condemned it. He resigned from Avanti! and was expelled from the Socialist Party . Financed by the French government and Italian industrialists, both of whom favoured war against Austria, he assumed the editorship of Il Popolo d’Italia (“The People of Italy”), in which he unequivocally stated his new philosophy: “From today onward we are all Italians and nothing but Italians. Now that steel has met steel, one single cry comes from our hearts—Viva l’Italia!

[Long live Italy!]” It was the birth cry of fascism . Mussolini went to fight in the war. Rise to power Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies Wounded while serving with the bersaglieri (a corps of sharpshooters), he returned home a convinced antisocialist and a man with a sense of destiny. As early as February 1918, he advocated the emergence of a dictator—“a man who is ruthless and energetic enough to make a clean sweep”—to confront the economic and political crisis then gripping Italy. Three months later, in a widely reported speech in Bologna, he hinted that he himself might prove to be such a man. The following year the nucleus of a party prepared to support his ambitious idea was formed in Milan . In an office in Piazza San Sepolcro, about 200 assorted republicans, anarchists, syndicalists, discontented socialists, restless revolutionaries, and discharged soldiers met to discuss the establishment of a new force in Italian politics.

Mussolini called this force the fasci di combattimento (“fighting bands”), groups of fighters bound together by ties as close as those that secured the fasces of the lictors—the symbols of ancient Roman authority. So fascism was created and its symbol devised. At rallies—surrounded by supporters wearing black shirts —Mussolini caught the imagination of the crowds. His physique was impressive, and his style of oratory, staccato and repetitive, was superb. His attitudes were highly theatrical, his opinions were contradictory, his facts were often wrong, and his attacks were frequently malicious and misdirected; but his words were so dramatic, his metaphors so apt and striking, his vigorous, repetitive gestures so extraordinarily effective, that he rarely failed to impose his mood. Fascist squads, militias inspired by Mussolini but often created by local leaders, swept through the countryside of the Po Valley and the Puglian plains, rounded up Socialists, burned down union and party offices, and terrorized the local population. Hundreds of radicals were humiliated, beaten, or killed.

In late 1920, the Blackshirt squads, often with the direct help of landowners, began to attack local government institutions and prevent left-wing administrations from taking power. Mussolini encouraged the squads—although he soon tried to control them—and organized similar raids in and around Milan. By late 1921, the Fascists controlled large parts of Italy, and the left, in part because of its failures during the postwar years, had all but collapsed. The government, dominated by middle-class Liberals, did little to combat this lawlessness, both through weak political will and a desire to see the mainly working-class left defeated. As the Fascist movement built a broad base of support around the powerful ideas of nationalism and anti-Bolshevism, Mussolini began planning to seize power at the national level. Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest In the summer of 1922, Mussolini’s opportunity presented itself. The remnants of the trade-union movement called a general strike . Mussolini declared that unless the government prevented the strike, the Fascists would. Fascist volunteers, in fact, helped to defeat the strike and thus advanced the Fascist claim to power.

At a gathering of 40,000 Fascists in Naples on October 24, Mussolini threatened, “Either the government will be given to us, or we will seize it by marching on Rome.” Responding to his oratory the assembled Fascists excitedly took up the cry, shouting in unison “Roma! Roma! Roma!” All appeared eager to march. Later that day, Mussolini and other leading Fascists decided that four days later the Fascist militia would advance on Rome in converging columns led by four leading party members later to be known as the Quadrumviri. Mussolini himself was not one of the four. He was still hoping for a political compromise, and he refused to move before King Victor Emmanuel III summoned him in writing. Meanwhile, all over Italy the Fascists prepared for action, and the March on Rome began. Although it was far less orderly than Fascist propaganda later suggested, it was sufficiently threatening to bring down the government. And the king, prepared to accept the Fascist alternative , dispatched the telegram for which Mussolini had been waiting.

Dictatorship Open Door policy Mussolini’s obvious pride in his achievement at becoming (October 31, 1922) the youngest prime minister in Italian history was not misplaced. He had certainly been aided by a favourable combination of circumstances, both political and economic; but his remarkable and sudden success also owed something to his own personality, to native instinct and shrewd calculation, to astute opportunism, and to his unique gifts as an agitator. Anxious to demonstrate that he was not merely the leader of fascism but also the head of a united Italy, he presented to the king a list of ministers, a majority of whom were not members of his party. He made it clear, however, that he intended to govern authoritatively. He obtained full dictatorial powers for a year; and in that year he pushed through a law that enabled the Fascists to cement a majority in the parliament. The elections in 1924, though undoubtedly fraudulent, secured his personal power. Many Italians, especially among the middle class, welcomed his authority.

They were tired of strikes and riots, responsive to the flamboyant techniques and medieval trappings of fascism, and ready to submit to dictatorship, provided the national economy was stabilized and their country restored to its dignity. Mussolini seemed to them the one man capable of bringing order out of chaos . Soon a kind of order had been restored, and the Fascists inaugurated ambitious programs of public works. The costs of this order were, however, enormous. Italy’s fragile democratic system was abolished in favour of a one-party state . Opposition parties, trade unions, and the free press were outlawed. Free speech was crushed. A network of spies and secret policemen watched over the population. This repression hit moderate Liberals and Catholics as well as Socialists. In 1924 Mussolini’s henchmen kidnapped and murdered the Socialist deputy Giacomo Matteotti , who had become one of fascism’s most effective critics in parliament. The Matteotti crisis shook Mussolini, but he managed to maintain his hold on power. Mussolini was hailed as a genius and a superman by public figures worldwide. His achievements were considered little less than miraculous.

He had transformed and reinvigorated his divided and demoralized country; he had carried out his social reforms and public works without losing the support of the industrialists and landowners; he had even succeeded in coming to terms with the papacy. The reality, however, was far less rosy than the propaganda made it appear. Social divisions remained enormous, and little was done to address the deep-rooted structural problems of the Italian state and economy. Mussolini might have remained a hero until his death had not his callous xenophobia and arrogance , his misapprehension of Italy’s fundamental necessities, and his dreams of empire led him to seek foreign conquests. His eye rested first upon Ethiopia , which, after 10 months of preparations, rumours, threats, and hesitations, Italy invaded in October 1935. A brutal campaign of colonial conquest followed, in which the Italians dropped tons of gas bombs upon the Ethiopian people. Europe expressed its horror; but, having done so, did no more. The League of Nations imposed sanctions but ensured that the list of prohibited exports did not include any, such as oil, that might provoke a European war.

If the League had imposed oil sanctions, Mussolini said, he would have had to withdraw from Ethiopia within a week. But he faced no such problem, and on the night of May 9, 1936, he announced to an enormous, expectant crowd of about 400,000 people standing shoulder to shoulder around Piazza Venezia in Rome that “in the 14th year of the Fascist era” a great event had been accomplished: Italy had its empire. This moment probably marked the peak of public support for the regime. Italy had also found a new ally. Intent upon his own imperial ambitions in Austria, Adolf Hitler had actively encouraged Mussolini’s African adventure, and under Hitler’s guidance Germany had been the one powerful country in western Europe that had not turned against Mussolini. The way was now open for the Pact of Steel—a Rome-Berlin Axis and a brutal alliance between Hitler and Mussolini that was to ruin them both.

In 1938, following the German example, Mussolini’s government passed anti-Semitic laws in Italy that discriminated against Jews in all sectors of public and private life and prepared the way for the deportation of some 20 percent of Italy’s Jews to German death camps during the war. Role in World War II While Mussolini understood that peace was essential to Italy’s well-being, that a long war might prove disastrous, and that he must not “march blindly with the Germans,” he was beset by concerns that the Germans “might do good business cheaply” and that by not intervening on their side in World War II he would lose his “part of the booty.” His foreign secretary and son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano , recorded that during a long, inconclusive discussion at the Palazzo Venezia, Mussolini at first agreed that Italy must not go to war, “then he said that honour compelled him to march with Germany.” Mussolini watched the progress of Hitler’s war with bitterness and alarm, becoming more and more bellicose with each fresh German victory, while frequently expressing hope that the Germans would be slowed down or would meet with some reverse that would satisfy his personal envy and give Italy breathing space.

When Germany advanced westward, however, and France seemed on the verge of collapse, Mussolini felt he could delay no longer. So, on June 10, 1940, the fateful declaration of war was made. From the beginning the war went badly for Italy, and Mussolini’s opportunistic hopes for a quick victory soon dissolved. France surrendered before there was an opportunity for even a token Italian victory, and Mussolini left for a meeting with Hitler, sadly aware, as Ciano put it, that his opinion had “only a consultative value.” Indeed, from then on Mussolini was obliged to face the fact that he was the junior partner in the Axis alliance. The Germans kept the details of most of their military plans concealed, presenting their allies with a fait accompli for fear that prior discussion would destroy surprise. And thus the Germans made such moves as the occupation of Romania and the later invasion of the Soviet Union without any advance notice to Mussolini. It was to “pay back Hitler in his own coin,” as Mussolini openly admitted, that he decided to attack Greece through Albania in 1940 without informing the Germans.

The result was an extensive and ignominious defeat, and the Germans were forced unwillingly to extricate him from its consequences. The 1941 campaign to support the German invasion of the Soviet Union also failed disastrously and condemned thousands of ill-equipped Italian troops to a nightmarish winter retreat. Hitler had to come to his ally’s help once again in North Africa . After the Italian surrender in North Africa in 1943, the Germans began to take precautions against a likely Italian collapse. Mussolini had grossly exaggerated the extent of public support for his regime and for the war. When the Western Allies successfully invaded Sicily in July 1943, it was obvious that collapse was imminent . For some time Italian Fascists and non-Fascists alike had been preparing Mussolini’s downfall. On July 24, at a meeting of the Fascist Grand Council—the supreme constitutional authority of the state, which had not met once since the war began—an overwhelming majority passed a resolution that in effect dismissed Mussolini from office. Disregarding the vote as a matter of little concern and refusing to admit that his minions could harm him, Mussolini appeared at his office the next morning as though nothing had happened.

That afternoon, however, he was arrested by royal command on the steps of the Villa Savoia after an audience with the king. Imprisoned first on the island of Ponza, then on a remoter island off the coast of Sardinia , he was eventually transported to a hotel high on the Gran Sasso d’Italia in the mountains of Abruzzi , from which his rescue by the Germans was deemed impossible. Nevertheless, by crash-landing gliders on the slopes behind the hotel, German commandos on September 12, 1943, effected his escape by air to Munich. Rather than allow the Germans to occupy and govern Italy entirely in their own interests, Mussolini agreed to Hitler’s suggestion that he establish a new Fascist government in the north and execute those members of the Grand Council, including his son-in-law, Ciano, who had dared to vote against him. But the Repubblica Sociale Italiana thus established at Salò was, as Mussolini himself grimly admitted to visitors, no more than a puppet government at the mercy of the German command.

And there, living in dreams and “thinking only of history and how he would appear in it,” as one of his ministers said, Mussolini awaited the inevitable end. Meanwhile, Italian Fascists maintained their alliance with the Germans and participated in deportations, the torture of suspected partisans, and the war against the Allies. As German defenses in Italy collapsed and the Allies advanced rapidly northward, the Italian Communists of the partisan leadership decided to execute Mussolini. Rejecting the advice of various advisers, including the elder of his two surviving sons—his second son had been killed in the war—Mussolini refused to consider flying out of the country, and he made for the Valtellina, intending perhaps to make a final stand in the mountains; but only a handful of men could be found to follow him. He tried to cross the frontier disguised as a German soldier in a convoy of trucks retreating toward Innsbruck, in Austria. But he was recognized and, together with his mistress, Claretta Petacci, who had insisted on remaining with him to the end, he was shot and killed on April 28, 1945. Their bodies were hung, head downward, in the Piazza Loreto in Milan.

Huge jubilant crowds celebrated the fall of the dictator and the end of the war. Benito Mussolini with two of his sons, Bruno (left) and Vittorio, 1935. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The great mass of the Italian people greeted Mussolini’s death without regret. He had lived beyond his time and had dragged his country into a disastrous war, which it was unwilling and unready to fight. Democracy was restored in the country after 20 years of dictatorship, and a neo-Fascist Party that carried on Mussolini’s ideals won only 2 percent of the vote in the 1948 elections. Benito Obama or Obamalini? Benito Obama or Obamalini? Exclusive: Joseph Farah notes practical similarities between BHO, Italian dictator Published: 07/13/2012 at 6:09 PM Joseph Farah About | Email | Archive Joseph Farah is founder, editor and chief executive officer of WND.

He is the author or co-author of 13 books that have sold more than 5 million copies, including his latest, "The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians, and the End of the Age." Before launching WND as the first independent online news outlet in 1997, he served as editor in chief of major market dailies including the legendary Sacramento Union. × Receive Joseph Farah's alerts in your email BONUS: By signing up for Joseph Farah’s alerts, you will also be signed up for news and special offers from WND via email. error Liberals won’t like this column. But they should read it. Because they keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Maybe they’ll learn something. Liberals and “progressives” loved Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator, who achieved power as a socialist and delivered on his promise in the form of fascism. His political maneuvering proved an inspiration to a younger German protégé by the name of Adolf Hitler – who allied with Mussolini in a bid to conquer all of Europe and much of the rest of the world.

Today, liberals hurl the “fascist” expletive around at people like me – freedom lovers, those who value individual freedom, personal responsibility and self-government. But back in the 1930s, Mussolini was their darling. If you doubt me, take the time to read Jonah Goldberg’s seminal study of the subject, “Liberal Fascism.” Liberals delude themselves into believing fascism is a “right-wing ideology.” It isn’t and it never was. Mussolini was a leftist. So was Hitler. They were both socialists. The definition of fascism is quite simple: “a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry and commerce.” It sometimes encourages racism. Sound familiar? We have a modern-day practitioner of fascism in Barack Obama. We should really call him Benito Obama – or maybe just Obamalini. Obama fits the bill: He has appointed a record number of “czars” to implement his aggressive, top-down management style. “Czar” is the Russian form of the Caesar, which is where Mussolini got his inspiration for fascism – ancient Rome.

He has flouted the Constitution by assuming sweeping powers not only unassociated with the office of the presidency but strictly forbidden the occupant of the White House. He has ruthlessly suppressed and demonized his opposition – defined by his administration as liberty lovers and Americans who take the Constitution literally. And most of all he has regimented industry and commerce – wheeling and dealing in ways that extorts special favors by bestowing special favors in a way that would make Mussolini blush. Mussolini was known reverentially by his supporters as il duce, which means dictator. Obama, too, is worshiped by many of his supporters – mostly members of the controlled corporate media, which understands the way to seek favor in a fascist society. But the similarities hardly end there. More and more, I am noticing some physical traits of Obama that remind me of Mussolini. Have you noticed the posturing, the affectations, the attitudinizing? Make no mistake about what we are seeing in America today. It is not liberalism, in the traditional sense, the Jeffersonian sense. It is a mean-spirited, vicious, hateful, vengeful and dangerous form of fascism in its infancy. It’s not even “left-wing communism,” which V.I.

Lenin described as “an infantile disorder.” What is developing in America today under the leadership of Obamalini is a bid for brute government force – a political system devoid of the checks and balances our founders so meticulously crafted to avoid tyranny and foster self-government. If Obama wins re-election in 2012, there will be no stopping him or his fascist ideology – replete with its own form of anti-white racism. It will be war. Obama and his minions will know no limits to their ambitions. They will have nothing to lose with four more years of power – and perhaps more given their contempt for the Constitution and the law. Their enemies will be persecuted – hunted down like dogs. This is the way it always begins. History is repeating itself. Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Receive Joseph Farah's daily commentaries in your email BONUS: By signing up for Joseph Farah’s alerts, you will also be signed up for news and special offers from WND via email. Name* Benito Mussolini | Uncyclopedia | Fandom powered by Wikia A "Communist bogie" attaches itself to Il Duce's imperial finger.

“One more time, let me really hear the music in it!” ~ Hans Landa on Mussolini ~ Bill Gates on Mussolini Benito Mussolini (a.k.a Il Douche or The Big Bambino) was the Fascist dictator of Italia during World War II . Benito Mussolini was named after a type of Japanese tuna fish. He was born in Madagascar and died of asphyxiation while hanging from a lamp-post, which was attributed to natural causes . Contents edit Political career A representation of Hitler and Mussolini's secret affair. Just be glad you can't see what's going on below the bottom of this picture. Ben Mussolini's innovative policies led to the development of what life would suck without: Fascism. Who doesn't love a good fascist? He soon became known as "Il Duce", which is Italian for "the douche bag". Those closest to him testified later that he always had a strange odor, similar to that of a combination of fried plantains and sweaty gym socks, and that he became violently angry when asked about it. Unbeknownst to most people, the Canadian-born Mussolini didn't really speak Italian, but by waving his arms around wildly while shouting gibberish, he became known as an orator.

His lack of cultural knowledge led to his death, because he believed that being pulled out of a car, hung by the feet and publicly beaten was an Italian gesture of "hust" (The Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei province, China - which has become a world center for husting or displaying). His infamous alliance to Adolf Hitler , resulted in the creation of the Axis Powers, as well as many notable macrame plant holders. This partnership was mainly engineered by Mussolini due to deteriorating relations with the Jewish people, and Mussolini has also been though to have been hitler's bitch. Historians widely agree that the cause of these poor relations was due to the pizza bagel, quickly becoming a culinary giant after its invention by Albert Einstein in 1932 (the pizza bagel would go on to become an integral part of nuclear technology). Italy is home to the largest concentration of people who frequently eat pizza of a higher quality than Pizza Hut, thus creating an environment of animosity whereas the pizza bagel was received well in many other parts of the world.

Like the Bubonic plague and Barry Manilow in the past, this was a problem that was easy to blame on Jews, because they are there and they are not us. Some think a new world war will be the ultimate result of modern things morons do to pizza (such as peanut butter and jelly and E. coli as toppings.) Then an event took place that would shake the foundation of our very earth, Bonito the fish "Moose" Mussolini proved to the entire country of Italy that King "What's his face" was a bitch... When the king got word of such a march he lost it, he ran around the entire castle telling each and every person that if they had anything to do with the march he would "Rape shit there", to this day that threat has topped almost every "Top 100 Threat" lists around the globe. Although Benito did not need to go threw with the March on the Romez, he did it anyway and what a march it T'was. Although taking 45 hundred million years, Mussolini killed 12 French prostitutes and a priest from Alaska.

When Rome was finally captured Benito did the robot for the next 68 days, saying "Domo" every time someone tried to interrupt him. edit Benito Mussolini's conquest When the II Douche ran out of prostitutes in Italy, he went mad! He became outraged and started taking out other countries. Each country he conquered, the more prostitutes he did. After taking over Ethiiopia, he stopped. This is because he invented pornhub the store. They sold black and white porn with him featured in it. He got so high one day. It was ridiculous. He drove his ford all the way to Hitler's mansion. When he got there, he raped Hitler. It wasn't actually rape though, because Hitler was gay. They both tryed having sex but both of their butts were stuffed with shit. As a result, when they tried to put their penis in each others buttholes it wouldn't fit. They tried going oral, but in their mouth was more shit. Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie accused Mussolini of hax A popular consumer product. Benito aspired to re-create the Roman Empire, and began by invading the very places that made Rome a super power: Ethiopia and Albania.

The campaign in Ethiopia was relatively easy, but he was accused of hax by Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie . edit Expansion and World War 2 He deployed the Italian Military into Albania, and several months later the completely unarmed country surrounded and captured the Italian army. This put an enormous strain on the Italian forces. Mussolini, being the military genius that he was, chose to stay out of the major combat until it was clear who would win. In 1940, he invaded Southern France after the French had surrendered, and a German puppet, Vichy France, was in power. This military victory gave Mussolini the confidence he needed. He soon tried to push into Greece but forgot that tanks from World War One aren't effective on mountainous terrain and had to ask Hitler for a few guys. Eventually Greece fell. In 1941, Mussolini drove his military into British held Egypt. Unfortunately, water and supplies were forgotten and the entire army was lost before a single British soldier was spotted. As the United States invasion force rolled into Italy in 1943, Mussolini ordered the army to crush the enemies, but before he could finish the sentence he was deposed and sent to jail.

In his only phone call, he called Hitler and asked to be 'bailed out.' Soon enough, the German Army broke him out of jail, took over Northern Italy, and declared Mussolini the leader of the new Puppet State. The Germans forgot that Italy was under attack and left Mussolini in Northern Italy around a bunch of people that hated the fuck out of him. ~ George Formby on Mussolini After Mussolini was shot, he was put in a blender and he is now available to drink. After retiring as supreme ruler of Fascist Italy (for the second time) good ol' Benito decided to embark on a career as a musician. For some with the determination of Mussolini lack of talent was no barrier. His major achievement was his collaboration with George Formby and The Communist Rebels to create the smash hit "Hanging from a Lamppost". After moderate success he decided to try other ventures. His new dream was to become Kojak, but his screen test was ruined by his uncontrollable giggling, so in 1954 he instead created his own wine company.

In 1976, Mussolini retired from the wine business and in 1984 he died on the dance floor of the local "Pasta Inferno" disco. He had an ecstasy overdose and collapsed after 9 hours non-stop dancing to "Funky Town" (This is listed as the official cause of death, however, quite a bit of evidence exists that points towards David Zed as having poisoned Mussolini). Thanks to the advances in technology, scientists working out of Bosnia-Herzegovnia are working hard on creating a new Mussolini, cloned from the DNA of one of Mussolini's pubic hairs. Although he did so many bad things, he famously made the trains run on time, or to be more accurate he forced people to believe the trains were running on time by putting all the clocks in Italy back 3 minutes every hour. In fact, denying that Mussolini made the trains run on time can still get you shot in Italy. Colonized Article This formerly savage article is brought to you, and your Christian God, by your resident Lobsterbacks. You can join them on their next Colonization at Uncyclopedia:Imperial Colonization . Which fascist leader was known as Il Duce? A. Joseph Stalin B.

Benito Mussolini C. Adolf Hitler D. Francisco Franco You have new items in your feed. Click to view. Question and answer Which fascist leader was known as Il Duce? A. Joseph Stalin B. Benito Mussolini C. Adolf Hitler D. Francisco Franco B. Benito Mussolini Which fascist leader was known as Il Duce? A. Joseph Stalin B. Benito Mussolini C. Adolf Hitler D. Francisco Franco Original conversation User: Which fascist leader was known as Il Duce? A. Joseph Stalin B. Benito Mussolini C. Adolf Hitler D. Francisco Franco Weegy: B. Benito Mussolini hanzyboy |Points 2099| User: Which famous economist believed that if governments spend during a depression, they can revive a national economy? A. Adam Smith B. Jules Dupuit C. Karl Marx D. John Maynard Keynes Weegy: D. John Maynard Keynes mchlklck |Points 3672| User: Which fascist leader gained complete control of Spain in 1939? A. Manuel Azaña B. Neville Chamberlain C. Francisco Franco D.

Adolf Hitler Weegy: The answer is C. Francisco Franco. After the war ended in 1939, Franco held complete control of Spain. His regime was similar to a Fascist dictatorship. beabok |Points 870| User: Which country issued loans to Germany after World War I to help minimize the hyperinflation caused, in part, by the unreasonable war reparations demanded in the Treaty of Versailles? A. Great Britain B. United States C. Soviet Union D. Canada Weegy: After World War One Germany received loans from American to rebuild the economy. However, during the depression these loans stopped. This caused unemployment to climb and the political system to turn to extremism. jher000 |Points 4406| User: Under Stalin's plan for Soviet industrialization, large tracts of land were organized as huge farms, which operated like outdoor factories. Workers would cultivate the land and send all produce to the state for distribution in the cities. What was this process called? A. agricultural assembly B. collectivization C. serfdom D. rural stimulus Weegy: B.

collecticization Expert answered| SuperFLyy17 |Points 40| User: Hitler gained control of the German government in what year? A. 1929 B. 1932 C. 1933 D. 1935 Weegy: Hitler took complete power as fuhrer in 1934 and was born in 1889 please rate up thankyou!(: Expert answered| SuperFLyy17 |Points 40| Biography for Kids: Benito Mussolini Born: July 29, 1883 in Predappio, Italy Died: April 28, 1945 in Giulino di Mezzegra, Italy Best known for: Ruling Italy during World War II and founding the Fascist Party Biography: Where did Mussolini grow up? Benito Mussolini was born in Predappio, Italy on July 29, 1883. Growing up, young Benito sometimes worked with his father at his blacksmith shop. His father was involved in politics and his political opinions had a strong influence on Benito as he grew up. Benito also played with his two younger brothers and went to school.

His mother was a schoolteacher and a very religious woman. Benito Mussolini by Unknown Early Career After graduating from school in 1901, Mussolini became involved in politics. He worked for the socialist party as well as for political newspapers. A few times he was put in jail for protesting the government or advocating strikes. When Italy entered World War I, Mussolini was originally against the war. However, he later changed his mind. He thought that the war would be good for the people of Italy. This idea was different from the socialist party who were against the war. He parted ways with the socialist party and joined the war where he fought until he was wounded in 1917. Starting Fascism In 1919, Mussolini started his own political party called the Fascist Party. He hoped to bring Italy back to the days of the Roman Empire when it ruled much of Europe. The members of the party wore black clothes and became known as the "Black Shirts." They were often violent and didn't hesitate to attack those who had different views or opposed their party. What is Fascism? Fascism is a type of political ideology, like socialism or communism.

Fascism is often defined as being a type of "authoritarian nationalism." This means that the government has all the power. The people living in the country should be devoted to supporting their government and country without question. Fascist governments are usually ruled by a single strong leader or dictator. Becoming Dictator The Fascist Party became popular with the people of Italy and Mussolini began to grow in power. In 1922, Mussolini and 30,000 Black Shirts marched to Rome and took control of the government. By 1925, Mussolini had total control of the government and was established as dictator. He became known as "Il Duce", which means "the leader." Mussolini and Hitler Photo by Unknown Ruling Italy Once in control of the government, Mussolini looked to build up Italy's military strength. In 1936, Italy invaded and conquered Ethiopia. Mussolini thought that this was only the beginning. He felt that Italy would soon rule much of Europe.

He also allied himself with Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in an alliance called the "Pact of Steel." World War II In 1940, Italy entered World War II as an ally of Germany and declared war on the Allies. However, Italy was not prepared for such a large war. Early victories became defeats as the Italian army became spread out across a number of fronts. Soon the Italian people wanted out of the war. In 1943, Mussolini was removed from power and put in prison. However, German soldiers were able to break him free and Hitler put Mussolini in charge of Northern Italy, which was controlled by Germany at the time. By 1945, the Allies had taken over all of Italy and Mussolini fled for his life. Death As Mussolini tried to escape from the advancing Allied forces, he was captured by Italian soldiers. On April 28, 1945 they executed Mussolini and hung his body upside down at a gas station for all the world to see. Interesting Facts about Benito Mussolini He was named after liberal Mexican President Benito Juarez. Adolf Hitler admired Mussolini and modeled his Nazi Party after fascism.

He was known as a bully as a child and was once expelled from school for stabbing a classmate. Actor Antonio Banderas played Mussolini in the movie Benito. Learn More about World War II: Overview: What are some of the lesser known facts about Mussolini? - Quora Quora Written Nov 5, 2014 1. Mussolini had a penchant for violence even as a youth. Born on July 29, 1883, Mussolini gained a reputation for bullying and fighting during his childhood. At age 10 he was expelled from a religious boarding school for stabbing a classmate in the hand, and another stabbing incident took place at his next school. He also admitted to knifing a girlfriend in the arm. Meanwhile, he purportedly pinched people at church to make them cry, led gangs of boys on raids of local farmsteads and eventually became adept at dueling with swords. When the New York Times reported on Mussolini’s May 1922 duel against a rival newspaper editor, it mentioned that he bore over 100 wounds received in battle. 2. Mussolini was a socialist before becoming a fascist.

Born to a socialist father, Mussolini was named after leftist Mexican President Benito Juárez. His two middle names, Amilcare and Andrea, came from Italian socialists Amilcare Cipriani and Andrea Costa. Early in Mussolini’s life, for instance, those names seemed appropriate. While living in Switzerland from 1902 to 1904, he cultivated an intellectual image and wrote for socialist periodicals such as L’Avvenire del Lavoratore (The Worker’s Future). He then served in the Italian army for nearly two years before resuming his career as a teacher and journalist. In his articles and speeches, Mussolini preached violent revolution, praised famed communist thinker Karl Marx and criticized patriotism. In 1912 he became editor of Avanti! (Forward!), the official daily newspaper of Italy’s Socialist Party. But he was expelled from the party two years later over his support for World War I. By 1919 a radically changed Mussolini had founded the fascist movement, which would later become the Fascist Party. Benito Mussolini in 1940. (Roger Viollet Collection/Getty Images) 3.

Italy’s leaders never called on the military to stop Mussolini’s insurrection. From 1920 to 1922, armed fascist squads faced minimal interference from the police or army as they roamed the country causing property damage and killing an estimated 2,000 political opponents. Many other citizens were beaten up or forced to drink castor oil. Then, on October 24, 1922, Mussolini threatened to seize power with a demonstration known as the March on Rome. Though Prime Minister Luigi Facta knew of these plans, he failed to act in any meaningful way. Finally, when fascists began occupying government offices and telephone exchanges on the night of October 27, Facta and his ministers advised King Victor Emmanuel III to declare a state of emergency and impose martial law. The wavering king refused to sign any such decree, however, and Facta was forced to resign. 4. Contrary to popular belief, Mussolini did not take power in a coup. With Italy’s leading non-fascist politicians hopelessly divided and with the threat of violence in the air, on October 29 the king offered Mussolini the chance to form a coalition government.

But although the premiership was now his, Il Duce—a master of propaganda who claimed the backing of 300,000 fascist militiamen when the real number was probably far lower—wanted to make a show of force. As a result, he joined armed supporters who flooded the streets of Rome the following day. Mussolini would later mythologize the March on Rome’s importance. 5. Mussolini did not become a true dictator until 1925. After becoming prime minister, Mussolini reduced the influence of the judiciary, muzzled a free press, arrested political opponents, continued condoning fascist squad violence and otherwise consolidated his hold on power. However, he continued working within the parliamentary system at least somewhat until January 1925, when he declared himself dictator of Italy. Following a series of assassination attempts in 1925 and 1926, Mussolini tightened his grip even further, banning opposition parties, kicking out over 100 members of parliament, reinstating the death penalty for political crimes, ramping up secret police activities and abolishing local elections. 6. Mussolini was anti-Church before becoming pro-Church.

As a socialist youth, Mussolini declared himself an atheist and railed against the Catholic Church, going so far as to say that only idiots believed Bible stories and that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were lovers. He even authored an anti-clerical pulp novel. But after taking power, Il Duce began working to patch up that relationship. He outlawed freemasonry, exempted the clergy from taxation, cracked down on artificial contraception, campaigned for an increased birth rate, raised penalties for abortion, restricted nightlife, regulated women’s clothing and banned homosexual acts among adult men. Despite having many mistresses himself, he also put in place harsh punishments for adultery. In 1929 Mussolini signed an agreement with the Vatican under which the Church received authority over marriage and was compensated for property that had been seized decades earlier. Pope Pius XI afterwards referred to Mussolini as the “man whom providence has sent us.” Nonetheless, tensions between the two eventually resurfaced over such things as Mussolini’s racial laws, where were similar to those in Nazi Germany. Mussolini appears with Adolf Hitler in 1937. (Luce/Keystone/Getty Images) 7. Mussolini sought to establish an Italian empire.

Mussolini launched his first military action in 1923 when he bombarded and briefly occupied the Greek island of Corfu. Several years later, he authorized the use of concentration camps and poison gas to help put down a rebellion in Libya, which at that time was an Italian colony. Poison gas was again used illegally during the conquest of Ethiopia in 1935 and 1936, after which Il Duce declared that Italy finally had its empire. “It is a fascist empire, an empire of peace, an empire of civilization and humanity,” he purportedly said. Three years later, Italy invaded and annexed Albania. In addition to those wars of expansion, conflict-loving Mussolini also propped up right-wing dissidents. During the Spanish Civil War, for example, he supplied troops and arms to General Francisco Franco’s Nationalist movement. 8. Italy’s army performed disastrously during World War II. For all his bluster, Mussolini did not enter World War II until June 1940, by which time his Nazi Germany allies had already swept through much of Europe. It soon became apparent that Italy lacked adequate military equipment and that its pace of production was pitiful.

In fact, the United States could manufacture more planes in a week than Italy could in a year. Mussolini did not help matters by repeatedly changing his war plans and stretching his forces too thin. His poorly executed attack on France made little progress until the French asked the Germans for an armistice. Later that year, Italian troops invaded Greece, only to be pushed back into neighboring Albania. Italy’s North Africa campaign likewise stalled, although in both cases Germany temporarily came to the rescue. 9. Mussolini was deposed without a fight. Having already snatched away Libya and Ethiopia, Allied forces invaded Italy proper in 1943 and began dropping bombs on Rome. On July 25 of that year, King Victor Emmanuel informed Mussolini that he would be replaced as prime minister. Il Duce was then arrested and imprisoned in various places, including a remote mountain ski resort from which German commandos rescued him a month and a half later. From September 1943 to April 1945, Mussolini headed a puppet government in German-occupied northern Italy. At the end of the war, he tried to sneak over the Swiss border wearing a German greatcoat and helmet.

But an Italian partisan recognized him and shouted out, “We’ve got Big-Head!” Mussolini was executed the following day, and his corpse was strung upside down in a Milan square. Benito Mussolini: a dictator for all seasons in Italy? | World news | The Guardian Italy Benito Mussolini: a dictator for all seasons in Italy? Reverence for Il Duce, who adorns calendars and T-shirts, is spreading from neo-fascist youths to the Italian mainstream Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is responsible for starting the rehabilitation of Mussolini (above) in Italy. Photograph: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images Italy Benito Mussolini: a dictator for all seasons in Italy?

Reverence for Il Duce, who adorns calendars and T-shirts, is spreading from neo-fascist youths to the Italian mainstream Tuesday 1 January 2013 08.07 EST First published on Tuesday 1 January 2013 08.07 EST Close This article is 4 years old Pasquale Moretti pulls the latest Benito Mussolini calendar off the shelf at his Rome cafe and flips it open to a photo of the pouting, strutting dictator taking part in a grain harvest. "I was born in that era and he put bread on the table," said the 78-year-old. "I cannot betray my culture." A 2012 calendar. This year will bring a new crop featuring the dictator. Every year, around this time, Mussolini calendars appear in newspaper kiosks up and down Italy , offering a year's supply of photos of the fascist leader. They are often tucked away with the specialist magazines, but according to the manager of one firm that prints them, they are much in demand. "We are selling more than we did 10 years ago," said Renato Circi, the head of Rome printer Gamma 3000.

"I didn't think it was still a phenomenon, but young people are now buying them too." Sixty-eight years after the fascist dictator was strung up with piano wire from a petrol station in Milan following his crushing of Italian democracy, his racist laws and his disastrous alliance with Adolf Hitler, Mussolini has quietly taken his place as an icon for many Italians. Among his adherents today are the masked, neo-fascist youths who mounted raids on Rome schools this autumn to protest against education cuts, lobbing smoke bombs in corridors and yelling "Viva Il Duce". A masked mob that ambushed Spurs fans drinking in a Rome pub in November , was also suspected of neo-fascist sympathies. When Spurs played Lazio the following night, Lazio fans chanted "Juden Tottenham", using the German word for Jews in reference to the club's Jewish heritage. But the cult of Il Duce has also slipped into the mainstream. The decision by a town south of Rome to spend €127,000 (£100,000) of public funds this year on a tomb for Rodolfo Graziani, one of Mussolini's most blood-thirsty generals, was met with widespread indifference.

Other more mundane examples include the leading businessman who proposed renaming Forli airport in Emilia Romagna – the region of northern Italy where the dictator was born – as Mussolini airport, or the headmaster in Ascoli Piceno who tried to hang a portrait of the dictator in his school. The man who gets some credit for dusting off Mussolini's reputation is Silvio Berlusconi , who famously described the dictator's exiling of his foes to remote villages as sending them on holiday. Berlusconi's subtle rehabilitation of Mussolini came as he brought Italy's post-fascists, led by Gianfranco Fini, into his governing coalition in 1994 and 2001, following the "years of lead" in the 1970s and early 80s, when neo-fascists and communist sympathisers battled in the streets. "Today, Mussolini's racial laws against Jews remain an embarrassment, but people don't care about his hunting down anti-fascists," said Maria Laura Rodotà, a journalist at Italy's Corriere della Sera. "That became one of Berlusconi's jokes." Admiration for Mussolini is common in Berlusconi's circle.

Showbusiness agent Lele Mora, who is now on trial for allegedly pimping for the former prime minister, downloaded an Italian fascist song as his mobile ring tone, while Berlusconi's long-time friend, the senator Marcello Dell'Utri, has described Mussolini as an "extraordinary man of great culture". After Mussolini's murder by partisans in 1945 – as the Allies pushed up through Italy – the country did not exorcise the ghosts of fascism, as Germany sought to. A 1952 law forbidding fascist parties or the veneration of fascism has never been seriously enforced. "It was not used partly because banning parties was potentially anti-constitutional, and also due to a sneaking admiration for fascism," said James Walston, professor of politics at the American University of Rome. Decades on, the memory of Mussolini as the strong man who put a post office in every piazza and made the trains run on time has been decoupled from the ideology of fascism, said writer Angelo Meloni. "He is now a pop icon, an arch-Italian, a personality whose legend is linked to the years of consensus in Italy," he said.

"Just as people who don't go to church like Padre Pio, so 90% of those who buy Mussolini calendars will never have voted for a fascist party," he said. Gamma 3000 promotes Mussolini calendars on its website alongside ones featuring the Catholic saint and mystic Padre Pio, guerrilla leader Che Guevara, topless models and cute kittens. But for Italy's modern neo-fascist groups, including CasaPound , Il Duce is still very much about ideology. "Whoever buys the calendar admires his work – the two things cannot be separated," said the group's vice-president, Simone di Stefano. "There is a need today for his politics, for someone who will put the banks and finance at the service of Italy," he said.

"Youngsters who come to us already see Mussolini as the father of this country." CasaPound's student offshoot organisation, Blocco Studentesco, is a mainstay in Rome youth politics, polling 11,000 votes in school council elections in 2009 and even enrolling the mayor of Rome's 17-year-old son, who was photographed on holiday in 2012 giving a straight-armed fascist salute with friends. The well-to-do streets around Piazza Ponte Milvio, north of Rome's football stadium, are today plastered with posters and graffiti by numerous neo-fascist groups, including CasaPound, and the local bars have become a hangout for gangs of rightwing lads in regulation Fred Perry shirts and Ray-Ban Wayfarers. "Many teenagers now avoid Ponte Milvio since the people who go there have shifted further to the right," said Rodotà. Further down the road, the entrance to the stadium is marked by a massive fascist-era obelisk, still standing, with "Mussolini" written in huge letters down the front.

Nearby, the bar run by Pasquale Moretti, where Lazio fans meet before games, contains a mini-supermarket of fascist memorabilia, from bottles of wine with Mussolini's portrait on the label, to fascist flags and T-shirts, and oil portraits of Il Duce. "He built housing for workers, something no Roman emperor did," said Moretti. "How can I not respect that?"

Question: Which dictator was known as "Il Duce"?
Answer: Mussolini