Benito Mussolini (WWII – Italy)

Benito Mussolini: 1883-1945

Benito Mussolini is often cited as one of the most notorious dictators of the 20th Century. While the Italian despot is often overshadowed by the likes of Stalin and Hitler, it’s worth pointing out that Mussolini wasn’t just another fascist dictator, he was the original fascist dictator. And although he managed to stay in power for 21 years, coasting off the fumes of his blustering personality, his utter incompetence as a leader eventually caught up with him. Just as the allied forces closed in, during the final days of World War II, Mussolini’s own people turned against him.

The Kingdom of Italy

Following the Fall of the (Western) Roman Empire in 476 CE, the Italian peninsula became fractured into several independent states. It wasn’t until 1861, that the Kingdom of Italy was established, unifying each of these regions under one banner:

• The Papal States (including Rome) – ruled by the Vatican
• The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (including Naples)
• The Kingdom of Sardinia
• The Republic of Florence
• The Venetian Republic
• The Duchy of Milan

The Kingdom of Italy was a Constitutional Monarchy, ruled by a King, who was kept in check by a Prime Minister and Parliament. All of that changed in 1922, when Mussolini came to power…

From Rebel Without A Cause to Socialist Crusader? 

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born to a Roman Catholic school teacher and an atheist blacksmith, in 1883. His father was an outspoken socialist, who spent most of his time at the bar, where Lil Mussolini first learned about the philosophy of Karl Marx. As a rebellious youth, Benito was sent away to a strict Catholic school where he was expelled for getting into fights with the monks before being expelled again from yet another school for pulling a knife on a fellow student. By all accounts he was a horrible student, but he excelled at two things: public speaking and playing the trombone.

Despite his terrible grades, upon graduating he somehow landed a job as a school teacher. Around this time, he began to gain a reputation as a womanizer, often sleeping with other men’s wives, which naturally led to a number of bar fights with their husbands. He soon lost his teaching job thanks to one of his trademark outbursts, and was essentially exiled to Switzerland.

While in Switzerland, Mussolini really delved into the socialist movement and joined a trade union. He was known for going to rival political rallies just to heckle the speaker or start fist fights with the attendees. During one utterly insane incident, Mussolini accosted two elderly women, and like a crazed racoon stole food from them! He was eventually deported back to Italy.

In 1904, Benito Mussolini joined up with the Italian Army, but was discharged in 1906 for his unruly behavior. He spent the next few years heavy drinking, sleeping around, and getting into even more fist fights, before (somehow) landing another gig as a school teacher. He spent his free time writing for socialist papers, where he would often blame the government, religion, and democracy for all the problems in the world. In 1911, his outspoken opposition to Italy’s war with Libya led to his arrest, but shortly after his release from prison in 1912, Mussolini was appointed as the editor of a socialist newspaper, Avanti, where he gained national attention for his bold, controversial, and off the cuff views.

In 1914, Benito married his first wife, Ida Dalser, who gave birth to his first son, Benito Albino. In 1915, he then married his mistress, Rachele Mussolini, whom he later had three more sons with: Vittorio, Bruno, and Romano, as well as two daughters: Edda, and Anna Maria. He continued to have a number of affairs and mistresses throughout his life, most notably, Margherita Sarfatti and Clara Petacci.

The Great War (WWI)

While Mussolini initially took a firm anti-war stance, he soon changed his mind and saw The “Great” War (aka World War One) as an opportunity for revolution. After being kicked out of the socialist party and losing his job as editor for his extreme views, young Mussolini decided to start his own newspaper: “The People of Italy”. In his first publication, he wrote: “Blood alone moves the wheels of history.” 

After helping to spur Italy’s involvement in the war, Mussolini himself re-enlisted in the Army in 1915. Italy’s fight against Austria-Hungary devolved into a fiasco plagued by inexperienced officers, and poorly trained soldiers, and inexperienced officers, like Corporal Mussolini. In 1917, he was badly wounded in a trench when one of his buddy’s grenades went off by accident. When the dust settled, a million Italians were wounded, half a million were missing, and at least 650,000 were dead in a pointless war of attrition.

Benito returned from war a changed man, but not for the better. In just a few years, Mussolini had mutated from an extreme left-wing, anti-war socialist to an extreme right-wing, ultra-nationalist patriot!?

Mussolini: The Father of Fascism

In 1919, Mussolini founded the world’s first Fascist Party. Despite losing consistently, the fascists slowly began to gain a small cult following as people became disillusioned with the status quo, between the country’s rampant unemployment and rising inflation. These proto-Nazis would march down the streets with their black flags assaulting rival political parties like a gang, and basically kicked the shit out of anyone they didn’t like, while the cops turned a blind eye. The Fascist Party soon teamed up with a coalition of far-right conservative parties known as the National Block.

On the 15th of May, 1921, the fascists won a small minority of 35 seats in Italy’s House of Parliament, including Mussolini himself. He flip-flopped positions once again in attempt to win over more followers, this time claiming to be both pro-church and pro-monarchy, regardless of all the times he denounced both throughout his career. Mussolini’s “National Fascist Party” claimed that they were going to “Make Italy Great Again” and often blamed all their problems on the “barbaric” Slavic immigrants from Yugoslavia. Mussolini promised to return Italy to the greatness of the Roman Empire, restoring order to chaos, and stated that either the government would hand over power, or he would seize it by force.

Mussolini’s Rise to Power – Failing Upward 

In 1922, Benito staged a coup against the Italian government by leading a march on Rome! The Prime Minister, Luigi Facta, first attempted to appease Mussolini’s followers by offering him a position in his administration. When that didn’t work, Luigi urged the King, Victor Emmanuel III, to send in the army to stop the insurrection. The King refused to instate martial law and Luigi resigned in outrage. Mussolini’s mob of ‘black shirts’ marched on the capitol, where Mussolini took a number of photo ops for the newspapers to bolster his support, despite actually taking the train rather than actually marching with his fervent supporters.

Eventually, King Emmanuel relented and appointed Mussolini as the new Prime Minister of Italy…

Within just 8 weeks of assuming office, Mussolini formed “The Grand Council of Fascism” – where he hand-picked a group of yes men to prop up his own image and shifted power away from parliament. In 1923, the Grand Council passed a law (The Acerbo Law) which essentially rigged the electoral system to give the fascists an edge, winning them 374 out of 535 seats. Despite the fascists being an unpopular, but loud minority, they managed to obtain power by cheating the system, changing the rules to suit them, and even coercing or bullying voters at the polls.

Any politicians who spoke up or opposed the fascists were targeted by Mussolini’s followers – riots broke out at their events, and in some cases they were violently attacked into submission. Following the fascists gaining a surprise majority overnight, the socialist party leader, Giacomo Matteotti, publicly denounced both Mussolini and his movement. He was assassinated 11 days later by Amerigo Dumini – under orders from one of Mussolini’s closest allies, Cesare Rossi…

The public was outraged, leading to nationwide protests, but Mussolini feigned ignorance, throwing his own men under the bus, all while the King refused to depose the Prime Minister. When several members of parliament resigned in protest, Mussolini managed to spin it in his favor, and held a ‘vote of confidence’ on January the 3rd, 1925, to which his opposition refused attend, making it seem as though he had the full support of the country behind him.

Thanks to his strict control over the media, Mussolini was able to shift public opinion with his rampant propaganda machine. Mussolini even took credit for things he had nothing to do with, like the improvements to the post-war railway system, which began long before he was appointed to office, which led to the slogan, “Say what you like about Mussolini, he made the trains run on time.” (Even though he didn’t.)

A Series of Assassination Attempts

There were a series of attempted assassinations against Mussolini throughout the 20’s, including: Tito Zaniboni – who was arrested as he was setting up his rifle, and Gino Lucetti – who threw a bomb at Mussolini’s limousine (and missed), but the most famous incident occurred on April 7th, 1926, when an Irish pacifist, Violet Gibson, pulled out a pistol and shot at Mussolini, on the streets of Rome. The bullet barely grazed Mussolini’s nose, but the gun jammed just as she went to finish the job! Gibson was promptly arrested as Mussolini was rushed to safety, but he appeared shortly after to a crowd of supporters, sporting a comically large white bandage over his nose.

Rather than stopping the fascist leader, the frequent assassination attempts only helped to bolster his support, and like any good opportunist, he took full advantage of the publicity, stating “The bullets pass, Mussolini remains.”  Some historians have even speculated that some of these attempts were staged to earn sympathy. Regardless, Mussolini used the string of attacks against him as justification to implement a series of “Laws for the Defense of the State”, which slowly transformed Italy from a Democracy to a regime over the next decade…

Mussolini: The Dictator

Il Duce (pronounced “El Douche”)

Under the guise of establishing security and maintaining stability, on October 28th, 1926, the “Vito Mussolini Law” was passed, which dissolved the Italian Parliament, legally transforming Italy into a one-party dictatorship, with Benito Mussolini as its sole ruler, calling himself “Il Duce” meaning “The Leader” in Latin. Within just a few years, Mussolini had gone from authoritarian to full on totalitarian.

Like so many dictators that followed his example, from Franco in Spain to Kim Il-Sung in North Korea, Mussolini built a “Cult of Personality” around himself, often dropping his first name, promoting himself like a brand, and often speaking in the third person. His audiences were captivated by his bluntness, his humorous insults, and his exaggerated gestures and expressions. And regardless of his numerous health issues, he projected an image of strength.

In one speech he declared, “I, and I alone, assume political, moral, and historical responsibility for all that has happened. […] If Fascism has been a criminal association, I am the head of that criminal association. […] Gentlemen, Italy wants peace, quiet, work, and calm. […] We will give it by love, if possible, or by force, if necessary.” 

Fascist architecture took its cues from the former Roman Empire, but with a more brutalist in-your-face bent. Mussolini ordered the construction of a gigantic 300-tonne obelisk with his name etched into it in large bold letters, while his giant creepy stone face adorned the fascist headquarters in Rome. Mussolini’s ego was on full display for all to see.

While in power, Mussolini became paranoid about any bad PR, denying anything that could potentially tarnish his reputation. He suppressed knowledge of his past, including information regarding his first wife and son. Going so far as to having them placed under police surveillance, before eventually ordering their imprisonment, to keep them quiet. Ida, his ex-wife, died in captivity in 1937, while her son, died in an insane asylum in 1942, all because he refused to denounce claims that Mussolini was his father.

Any and all criticism of the regime was deemed illegal, Anti-Fascist parties were banned, and a private para-military secret police was installed to spy on the citizens of Italy. Thousands of his own people were imprisoned, tortured, and executed. While his administration went about dismantling democracy, he rallied his supporters behind three key message: “Believe. Obey. Fight.”  

Big Brother is watching…

During one mock election that was held, voters were encouraged to vote “Yes” on the ballots with a single candidate, and the government made it very clear that they were keeping track of anyone who voted “No”. Unsurprisingly, Mussolini came out on top with 98%.

A Series of Failed Invasions

Then came “Black Monday” – October 28th, 1929 – when America’s Wall Street crashed, kickstarting the “Great Depression” which plunged the global economy into disarray. In response to this economic crisis, Mussolini decided to rally his people against foreign adversaries, and began drawing up war plans with the intent of recapturing the glory of the Roman Empire, starting with Ethiopia in 1935.

Mussolini’s brutal invasion of Ethiopia was a catastrophic disaster. It was an unprovoked attack on a vulnerable African nation that led to significant casualties, and the decimation of cultural landmarks. Mussolini ordered the elimination of entire towns resulting in the deaths of 8% of the nation’s population! As a result of these atrocities, Italy was barred from the League of Nations and were condemned by the international community at large.

In 1939, Mussolini ordered the invasion of Albania, a small European country. While this was an easy win, the move was seen as insignificant, and somewhat pointless.  This was then followed by another disastrous invasion in 1940, this time in Greece. The Italian Army had their asses handed to them by fierce Greek resistance fighters. After a series of foreign debacles, it was starting to become clear that Mussolini may not have been the tactical genius that he had so often claimed to be.

Enter: The Axis Powers (WWII)

Meanwhile, in Germany, another despot was coming into his own: Adolf Hitler. Benito Mussolini found a kindred spirit in the failed artist-turned-psychopathic Nazi leader, and the two hit it off instantly, bonding over their shared hatred of the west and “those pesky Jews”. In the lead up to WWII, Mussolini and his new bff turned their attention to supporting another fascist copycat, General Franco, during the Spanish Civil War.

The two leaders cemented their bromance by signing the “Pact of Steel” on May 22nd, 1939, promising to have each other’s back in the event of a war. Just a few months later, Hitler invaded Poland and it was off to the races. The Second World War had begun, and the sequel was already shaping up to be bigger and badder than the first.

While Mussolini projected strength and support for the war effort, and coming to the aid of the Nazis, in private he was freaking out to his cabinet members. Benito was at least smart enough to realize that they were in no condition to fight a war, much less another World War. In fact, Mussolini even considered joining on the side of the Allies! However, he once again changed his mind when it seemed as though the Nazis had a fighting chance, and so on June 10th, 1940, Italy officially declared war on Britain and France, and began deploying troops to France, Africa, and Greece, thinking it would be an easy win. (Spoilers: It wasn’t.)

Imperial Japan joined “the Axis Powers” on September 27th, 1940, with the signing of The Tripartite Pact. The following year, in 1941, things quickly went from bad to worse (for the Axis Powers) when Hitler turned on Stalin and invaded the Soviet Union (aka Operation Barbarossa), while Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, leading America to join the fight.

Mussolini’s government was so comically inept that Nazi Germany was consistently forced to bail them out. At one point, they sent in supplies to their soldiers in North Africa, including a shipment of 10,000 boots… however it was entirely made up of left foot boots!

In most cases, the soldier had to make due with old, used equipment from the first World War! Not only that, but their war industry failed to standardize their weapons manufacturing, meaning that Italian soldiers weren’t just ill-equipped, they sometimes had the wrong ammunition for their rusty, worn-out rifles! As a result, these poorly trained troops were often preoccupied with the best way to surrender.

General Patton to the rescue!

The Italians sustained a series of brutal defeats throughout 1942. After losing to Allied Forces in Egypt and Morocco, the Americans then added insult to injury by capturing the island of Sicily in July of 1943 – led by General George S. Patton and the 7th Army. It soon became obvious, the walls were closing in for Benito Mussolini…

Death of the Duce: Mussolini’s Gruesome End

Thanks to strained supplies, poor planning, and utter mismanagement on Mussolini’s part, Fascist Italy became impoverished and people were starving in the streets. The enraged public began marching on Rome in protest against “Il Duce”. The Italian King (Victor Emmanuel III) finally relented to the will of the people, and ordered the arrest of Benito Mussolini, removing him from office. He was replaced by Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio who quietly signed an armistice with the Allies, behind Hitler’s back.

Hitler was furious and immediately put all of his resources into invading Italy. Nazi troops stormed Rome, forcing the King and Prime Minister to flee. Mussolini was being held prisoner in the Alps where he was surprised to find Nazi soldiers coming to his rescue, announcing, “Il Duce, the Fuhrer has sent me to set you free.”

(For some weird reason I imagine Benito asking, “Aren’t you a little short to be a Storm Trooper?”)

Although Hitler had been a rabid fanboy of Mussolini, the man who inspired him, Adolf was disappointed when he came face to face with his former hero, who was now a defeated, bitter old man. While Hitler was a true believer, Mussolini no longer cared about the fascist cause, and wanted nothing more than to retire, but Hitler refused his request, and set him up as a puppet ruler of northern Italy, giving him his old job back, whether he wanted it or not.

Surrounded by enemies on all sides, with disgruntled Nazi troops guarding him, an Italian public that hated him, and Allied Forces en route as the war was coming to an end, Mussolini did what he had always done best: he attempted to run away from his problems, and escape to Switzerland, with his latest mistress, Clara. However, before Mussolini could make his escape, he was spotted and captured by an angry mob on April 27th, 1945…

Mussolini had attempted to disguise himself as a Nazi soldier by wearing a German helmet and coat – it wasn’t very effective. Both Mussolini and his mistress were executed the following day, along with 15 fascist leaders who had been behind the 1922 insurrection. Their bodies were dragged to Milan where they were dumped unceremoniously in the middle of the town square, as the angry citizens took out their rage on the self-centered ego-maniac and his greedy enablers, against the man who had led their nation to ruin. After a few hours, the bodies of Mussolini, his mistress, and five others were strung up, and hung upside down in front of a gas station.

A group of American GI’s arrived just in time to witness the grizzly display…

The New York Times declared, “A fitting end to a wretched life.”

Mussolini: A Legacy of Hate 

After being paraded on display, Mussolini’s corpse was unceremoniously dumped in an unmarked grave. When word of what transpired made its way to Hitler, while cowering in his bunker, the Fuhrer spiraled into a panic. Adolf shot his mistress before committing suicide, in an attempt to escape the same fate as Mussolini. Russian soldiers later found remnants of his teeth, from the charred remains left behind.

American troops liberating Rome

Shortly after the end of WWII, with the defeat of the fascist forces, the newly appointed Prime Minister, Alcide De Gasperi, disbanded the monarchy and established the Italian Republic in 1946. Italy signed a peace treaty with the Allies in 1947 before joining NATO in 1949, becoming an ally of the United States, leading to the revitalization of the Italian economy under the Marshall Plan. Today, Italy is one of the key members of the European Union, and far more prosperous than ever before, no thanks to the self-proclaimed Duce.

Unfortunately, fascism didn’t die with the likes of Mussolini and Hitler. In fact, far-right extremists and white supremacists have since seen a slight resurgence in recent years, thanks in part to the creation of the Internet and Social Media, coupled with a global wave of weaponized disinformation strategically orchestrated by Russian hackers. And in 2022, Russian President (for life) Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine – the single largest military action in Europe since World War II.

Benito Mussolini is yet another in a long line of cautionary tales about the allure of “the strong man” archetype, and the destructive nature of ultra-nationalism. Like so many other copycats that have followed in his footsteps goose steps, Mussolini was all talk and no substance. A man without morals or conviction, who lied constantly to get his way, and demanded unyielding loyalty, while his ardent followers refused to question his made-up narratives. He was a colossal failure who plastered his name on larger-than-life monuments, betrayed his closest allies on a whim, locked up his political opponents on trumped-up charges, and always put himself first.

We should always be wary of those who relentlessly demonize their opposition, and blame minorities for their problems, with empty promises to turn back the clock, all while claiming that they alone can save us.

And if all that doesn’t sound eerily familiar, you haven’t been paying attention.

 – Erik Slader