Benimto Amimlcare Andrema Mussolimni (July 29, 1883 - April 28, 1945) - Italian political figure, writer, leader of the Fascist Party (NFP), dictator ("Duce") who led Italy (as prime minister) from 1922 to 1943. First Marshal of the Empire (March 30, 1938). After 1936, his official title became "His Excellency Benito Mussolini Mussolini remained in power until 1943, after which he was removed and arrested, but released by German special forces and then led the puppet Italian Social Republic in northern Italy until his death.
Mussolini was one of the founders of Italian fascism, which included elements of nationalism, corporatism, national syndicalism, expansionism and anti-communism, combined with censorship and government propaganda.
Among the achievements of the internal policy of the Mussolini government in the period 1924-1939 were: successful implementation programs public works such as draining the Pontic Marshes, improving employment opportunities, and upgrading the public transport system. Mussolini also resolved the Rome Question through the Lateran Accords between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See. He is also credited with bringing economic success to Italy's colonies.
The expansionist foreign policy, which initially culminated in the conquest of Abyssinia and Albania, pushed him to an alliance with Germany and participation in the Second World War as part of the Axis, which was the cause of his ultimate death.
Animal lover
In his youth, Mussolini was distinguished by an unpredictable character and was known in the village as a bully. But wild antics happened to him only from time to time. He showed an interest in the sciences and studied quite well.
Mussolini behaved cruelly towards people, but always remained kind to animals. More than others, he liked owls and horses. Mussolini loved to ride in the foothills and spend hours at night watching the flights of owls.
He continued to ride a horse, even becoming the recognized leader of fascist Italy. With this, Mussolini often struck people who unexpectedly met him in the mountains. He did not give up the habit of riding, even when he had political problems. This allowed him to temporarily disconnect from cruel reality and rest your soul.
Fascist violinist
Mussolini fell in love with music early childhood. At school, he was a member of the school orchestra, playing the trombone in it. While in Trento, Mussolini began to learn to play the violin. He often demonstrated his skills in front of family members and associates even after he became the head of the fascist party.
Mussolini maintained friendly relations with Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, author of the operas Madama Butterfly and Tosca. Mussolini often visited the theater for performances of his works.
The famous conductor Arturo Toscanini initially supported the Nazis. After Puccini's death, Toscanini conducted his last, unfinished opera, Turandot, which was praised by Mussolini. But later, Toscanini became disillusioned with fascism and once refused to conduct during the performance of the official anthem of the fascist party. After that, his relationship with the Duce deteriorated.
Mussolini fought very cruelly against any anti-fascist sentiments and speeches. However, he also understood that outstanding masters- not even supporting fascism - plays important role in the development of the Italian national culture, and the attitude towards the fascist regime on the part of other European powers to a large extent depends on their political position.
Benito Mussolini (Mussolini) (1883-1945) - Italian politician, leader (Duce) of the Fascist Party of Italy, Prime Minister of Italy (1922-1943). political career Started in the Socialist Party, from which he was expelled in 1914. In 1919 he founded the Fascist Party. Having carried out the “march on Rome” (October 28, 1922), Mussolini seized power in the country and on November 1, 1922 headed the government of Italy. Being at the same time the leader (duce) of the fascist party, Mussolini had dictatorial powers. The Mussolini government introduced a regime of fascist terror in the country, pursued an aggressive foreign policy (the occupation of Ethiopia in 1936, Albania in 1939, etc.), together with Nazi Germany unleashed 2nd world war. In 1945 he was captured by Italian partisans and shot.
Whoever gives up the fight is the executioner.
Mussolini Benito
The beginning of Mussolini's political activity
Benito Mussolini was born on July 29, 1883, in Dovia. His father was a blacksmith and his mother was a teacher elementary school. After graduating from high school in 1901, he received a teacher's diploma. lower grades.
In 1903, Benito joined the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). He served in the army and was a teacher. In the early 1910s, he actively participated in the actions of the socialist movement, was engaged in journalism, and was arrested several times.
At the beginning of World War I, Mussolini called for Italy to enter the war on the side of the Entente. In this regard, he was expelled from the party and left the post of editor of the ISP Avanti newspaper.
After Italy entered the war (1915), Mussolini was drafted into the army, participated in hostilities, and was wounded.
Religion is a disease of the soul that only a psychiatrist can cure.
Mussolini Benito
In 1919, relying on the nationalist sentiments of former front-line soldiers, Mussolini created the fascist movement "Combat Union", which began to carry out pogroms.
Fascist dictatorship
Fascist organization Benito Mussolini soon received the support of the ruling circles and quickly gained popularity among those segments of the population who craved order. In the elections of 1921 he was elected a member of parliament, and in 1922 he was appointed prime minister of Italy. In the 1924 elections, the fascists won the majority of seats in parliament. However, the assassination of the socialist deputy Giacomo Matteoti, who publicly exposed the falsified voting results, brought the fascist government to the brink of collapse. Deputies from other parties left the parliament and created the opposition Aventine Bloc. After the assassination attempt on the Duce in 1926, a state of emergency was introduced in the country, all political parties except fascist. A fascist dictatorship was established in the country. The secret police (OVRA) and the Special Fascist Tribunal were created. A personal cult of the dictator was planted. In addition to the post of prime minister, Mussolini simultaneously served as minister of the interior, minister of foreign affairs, military and naval ministers, was the head of the fascist militia, the first marshal of the empire, an “honorary academician” of the Bologna Philharmonic, and had many other titles.
Even best blood can sometimes get hit by a fool or a mosquito.
Mussolini Benito
Mussolini sought to create an empire. In 1935-36, Ethiopia was captured by Italian troops, in 1936-1939 he assisted Franco during civil war in Spain. In November 1937, Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact between Germany and Japan. Following in the wake of German policy, Italy captured Albania in 1939. In May 1939, Italy and Germany signed the Steel Pact.
During the Second World War
In June 1940, Italy entered World War II on the side of Germany. Corruption, economic difficulties and military defeats led to the fact that from the mid-1930s the crisis of the Mussolini regime began to grow. In January 1943, the Italian army was defeated in Russia, and in May Mussolini's troops capitulated in Tunisia. July 25, 1943, after the landing of the Allied troops (USA and Great Britain) in Sicily, Mussolini was arrested and he was forced to resign.
If I advise, follow the advice; if I renounce, kill me; if I die, avenge me.
Mussolini Benito
On September 3, 1943, the Italian government signed an armistice with the Allied command. In response, Germany occupied a large part of Italy. Hitler ordered Mussolini to be kidnapped and taken to Germany. As a result of a daring sortie by an SS detachment under the command of Otto Skorzeny, the Duce was released. Until 1945, Mussolini headed the fascist puppet government in the town of Salo. He was captured by partisans and shot on April 28, 1945.
Benito Mussolini - quotes
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Italian politician, writer, leader of the fascist party, nicknamed the Duce, dictator who led Italy from 1922 to 1943. He is the author of the term "fascism".
Mussolini was born on July 29, 1883 in the village of Predappio (Italian: Predappio) in the province of Forli-Cesena in Emilia-Romagna. He was named Benito after the Mexican reformist president Benito Juarez (Benito Ju?rez); he received the names Andrea and Amilcare in honor of the Italian socialists Andrea Costa and Amilcare Cipriani. His mother Rosa Maltoni was a teacher. Father, blacksmith Alessandro Mussolini (1854-1910).
Mussolini with young years played the violin. It was his favorite instrument.
In 1902, to avoid military service he emigrated to Switzerland. There he took part in the socialist movement and was deported to Italy, where he was to serve in the army. He immediately returned to Switzerland. The next attempt to deport him was suspended due to the fact that the Swiss socialists urgently brought the question of their attitude towards him to parliament. In 1902, in Lausanne, he met the prominent economist and socialist Professor Vilfredo Pareto, attended his lectures (Pareto theory teaches that power is always taken by a minority). Here he gets acquainted with the works of Nietzsche, Marx, Stirner, Babeuf. His articles are published by Proletario and Avvenire del Lavoratore, Mussolini, honing his style, becomes an unsurpassed polemicist. Here, partially formed Mussolini's ideology.
Mussolini's personal flag
He wrote the novel Claudia Particella, l'amante del cardinale - Claudia Particella, mistress of the cardinal, which was published with a sequel during 1910 (he later retracted the novel [source not specified 193 days]), the purpose of this novel was to defame the religious authorities. By the time the novel began to be printed, Mussolini had already returned to Italy. The preface to the first Russian edition of the novel states that “in 1927, a certain Italian lady, a fan of the Duce, found all the feuilletons, cut them out of the newspaper, bound them and presented them to the author as a gift. Mussolini was delighted." Russian edition published in Riga by the publishing house "Literature" in 1929.
In 1911, Mussolini opposed the colonial war in Libya, organized strikes and demonstrations to prevent the sending of troops to the front: “the military continues to indulge in orgies of destruction and murder. Every day a huge pyramid of sacrificed human lives more and more impudently raises its bloody peak ... ". In November, he goes to jail for 3 months for this.
With the outbreak of the First World War, in contrast to the official pacifist position of the socialists, he began agitation for Italy's entry into the war. Places in "Avanti!" article in this spirit, which caused a scandal and led to expulsion from the party. However, in November, Mussolini began to publish the newspaper Del Popolo d'Italia (The People of Italy), which led active pro-war propaganda, and as a result turned into the most popular pro-war publicist in the country. After entering the war, in August 1915 he was drafted into the army, falls into the barsaglieri regiment and is sent to the front section near the river. Isonzo. Comrades in arms appreciate Mussolini for his responsiveness, optimism, exemplary courage - during the attacks, he was the first to jump out of the trench with exclamations of "Long live Italy!" At the end of November, he was admitted to the hospital due to typhus. In February 1916, he received the rank of corporal (in the order: "... for exemplary service, high morale and courage ..."). In February 1917, when the mortar was fired, the mine exploded in the barrel, and Mussolini was seriously injured, which was why he was demobilized.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs starts a case against him, where it says in particular: “Mussolini is a voluptuous man, as evidenced by his numerous connections with women ... Deep down, he is very sentimental, and this attracts people to him. Mussolini is not interested in money, which gives him a reputation as a disinterested person. He is very smart, kind and well versed in people, knows their shortcomings and virtues. He is prone to showing unexpected likes and dislikes, sometimes he is extremely vindictive.
On October 27, 1922, the "black plague" begins a campaign against Rome. By the evening of October 30, with the permission of the frightened King Victor Emanuel III, Mussolini completes the formation of the cabinet.
"March on Rome" of the Italian fascists led by Mussolini, 1922.
- December 5 Mussolini in his speech on the Catholic religion: "fascism respects the God of ascetics, saints, heroes and faith, which fills the heart with prayer ordinary people from the people. Unlike Bolshevism, fascism does not try to expel God from human souls.”
- On December 31, the Duce orders the Ministry of Internal Affairs (head Luigi Federzoni) to seize opposition-minded journalists and search the homes of the leading leaders of the anti-fascist movement. Police disband Free Italy, close over 100 "subversive" institutions and arrest several hundred people. Mussolini delivers a speech
- January 31, 1926 published new law, which gives the government the right to make laws without the consent of parliament. And already on December 24, Minister of Justice Alfredo Rocco issues a number of laws aimed at eliminating the administrative and political institutions of the democratic system. The Duce acquires all the fullness of executive power and will no longer answer to anyone except the king.
- April 7 Violeta Gibson (subject of Great Britain) shoots Mussolini with a revolver. The bullet grazes his nose. medical expertise recognizes her as insane. Wanting to maintain good relations with Great Britain, Mussolini orders to send her to her homeland.
- In October, anarchist Gino Luchetti (from France) threw a bomb at Mussolini's car, she injured 4 passers-by, but the Duce was not injured. On December 31, 15-year-old Anteo Zamboni fired at Benito's car, after which he was seized on the spot and torn to pieces by the crowd.
- In November, the Organization for the Observation and Suppression of Anti-Fascist Activities is created. Duce gets political police.
Mussolin for a long time was very skeptical of Hitler's ideas about the superiority of some races over others. In 1932, during a conversation with German writer Emil Ludwig Mussolini strongly condemns Nazi theory racism and anti-Semitism: “... I do not believe in any biological experiments that supposedly can determine the purity of a race, nor in the superiority of one race over others. Those who proclaim the nobility of the Germanic race, by an amusing coincidence, have nothing in common with the Germanic race... Such a thing cannot happen in our country. Anti-Semitism does not exist in Italy. Italian Jews have always behaved like true patriots. They bravely fought for Italy during the war…”…but after 6 years, for the sake of an alliance with Germany, his opinion will change to the opposite.
June 14, 1934 Mussolini receives Hitler in Venice. At the end of the visit, the Duce spoke of his guest in the following way: “This importunate person ... this Hitler is a fierce and cruel creature. It brings to mind Attila. Germany has remained since the time of Tacitus a country of barbarians. She is the eternal enemy of Rome."
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Berlin.
- In October 1935, Italy unleashes a war of conquest against Ethiopia.
- In November, the member states of the League of Nations (except the United States) undertake to boycott Italian goods, refuse loans to the Italian government, and prohibit the import of strategic materials into Italy. Upon learning of this, the Duce is furious. Germany supports Italy.
- On May 8, 1936, in connection with the victory in Ethiopia, Mussolini proclaimed the rebirth of the Roman Empire. King Victor Emmanuel III assumed the title of Emperor of Ethiopia.
- On November 6, Benito Mussolini announced his country's accession to the Anti-Comintern Pact, previously signed by Germany and Japan. He stated that Stalin and the communists were a threat to Europe and that he was "tired of defending the independence of Austria". December 11 Italy withdraws from the League of Nations.
- On February 19, 1938, the Italian ambassador in London made a statement about the need to prevent the Anschluss - the capture of Austria by the Nazis. Mussolini is trying to prevent the creation of a "Greater Germany", but no specific statements have been made by Britain or France. March 12, 1938 Hitler, confident that the Duce will not dare to act alone, orders his troops to cross the border with Austria.
- Through the efforts of Mussolini and Hitler in 1938, the Munich Agreement was concluded on the division of Czechoslovakia.
Benito Mussolini on the cover of Time magazine
On March 18, 1940, the Duce meets Hitler at the Brenner Pass. Mussolini promised to enter the war, but only after the main forces of France were defeated by the Germans. He laid claim to the historically Italian lands, once torn away by France - namely Corsica, Savoy and Nice, as well as Tunisia.
In May, the Germans launched a successful offensive against Western front, and Mussolini decided that the decisive hour had struck. June 10, 1940 from the balcony of the Venice Palace, in front of a crowd of thousands Duce announces Italy's entry into the war. However, 32 Italian divisions were unable to significantly push the 6 French divisions from their positions in the Alps. As a result, Italy received nothing under the Compiègne truce. Mussolini tried to compensate for this shame by conquering Greece, which he, without warning Hitler, attacked on October 28, 1940. However, even here he failed to win laurels: after the first successes, the Italians were defeated in November and driven back to Albania at the line of Lake Ohrid - Mount Tamar. Only Germany's intervention in the war in the spring of 1941 made it possible to defeat Greece.
- On October 23, 1942, the counter-offensive of the British troops near El Alamein began, ending in the complete defeat of the Italo-Germans. On November 8, the Americans began landing in Morocco.
On September 12, Mussolini, who was held at the Albergo Rifugio Hotel in the Apennine mountains, was released by German paratroopers under the command of Otto Skorzeny. He was taken to a meeting with Hitler, from there to Lombardy, where he headed the puppet "Italian Social Republic" with its capital in the town of Salo (the so-called "Republic of Salo"). In fact, all power in this formation belonged to the German military.
On the morning of April 27, Mussolini, along with his mistress Clara (Claretta) Petacci and other leaders of the Republic of Salo, joined the column of German trucks heading north. At noon, the column was stopped by a picket of the 52nd Garibaldi Brigade (commander - "Pedro" - Count P. Bellini della Stelle, commissar - Bill - W. Lazzaro). After a skirmish, the partisans agreed to let the convoy through on the condition that they be given the Italian fascists. Mussolini tried to pass off as a German, dressed in the form of a non-commissioned officer of the Luftwaffe. However, Commissioner Bill and communist partisan D. Negri identified Mussolini, after which he was arrested. Mussolini and Clara Petacci were sent to the village of Giulina di Mezzegra, where they spent their last night in peasant house under strict secrecy. The allied command, having learned about the arrest of Mussolini, persistently demanded that the Committee of National Liberation transfer the dictator to him. For their part, the communist members of the KNO decided to shoot the dictator and all the fascist leaders arrested with him. For this purpose, Colonel Valerio (Walter Audisio) was sent to Giulina di Mezzegra with a detachment, equipped with a mandate vesting him with emergency powers on behalf of the KNO. Mussolini and Petacci were taken to Villa Belmonte, at the fence of which it was decided to shoot Mussolini. Audisi invited Petacci to step aside, but she grabbed Mussolini's sleeve and tried to shield him with her body. Mussolini and Petacci were shot on April 28, 1945.
Clara Petacci - beloved of Benito Mussolini, who chose heavy death life without a lover
While there is strange story about the place of execution of the Duce. 10 years before his death, he was driving near Mezere, and his car almost fell off a cliff. Mussolini then said: "Damn this place." It was there, years later, that he was shot.
- The bodies of Mussolini and Petacci were brought to Milan. At a gas station near Piazza Loretto, where 15 partisans were executed on August 10, 1944, they, along with the bodies of 5 other executed members of the fascist party, were hung upside down. After that, the ropes were cut, and the bodies lay for some time in the gutter. On May 1, Mussolini and Petacci were buried in Milan's Muzocco Cemetery (Simitero Maggiore), in an unmarked grave on a plot for the poor.
Benito and Clara hanging from meat hooks after the execution
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini - Italian political and statesman, publicist, leader of the National Fascist Party (NFP), dictator, leader ("Duce"), who led Italy as prime minister in 1922-1943. First Marshal of the Empire (March 30, 1938). After 1936, his official title became "His Excellency Benito Mussolini, Head of Government, Duce of Fascism and Founder of the Empire". After the overthrow in 1943-1945, he headed the puppet Italian Social Republic, which controlled part of Italy with the support of the Germans.
Mussolini was one of the founders of Italian fascism, which included elements of cooperatism, expansionism and anti-communism, combined with censorship and state propaganda.
Among the domestic policy achievements of the Mussolini government during the period 1924-1939 were the successful implementation of a public works program such as the drainage of the Pontine Marshes; improving employment of the population, as well as modernizing the public transport system. Mussolini also resolved the Rome question through lateran agreements between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See. He is also credited with bringing economic success to Italy's colonies.
During the reign of Mussolini, part of the rights and freedoms of the population was limited, a totalitarian regime. Known use cases political repression. Heading seven ministries (including the ministries of defense and internal affairs) and being at the same time the prime minister, he eliminated almost all restrictions on his power, thus building a police state. On his orders, a fairly successful attempt was made in Sicily to defeat the mafia, while cities were besieged, torture was used, women and children were held as hostages.
The expansionist foreign policy, justified by the need to restore the Roman Empire, initially culminated in the conquest of Ethiopia and Albania and forced him into an alliance with Nazi Germany and participation in the Second World War as part of the Axis, which Italy entered on June 10, 1940, attacking France. The war proceeded extremely unsuccessfully for Italy, which in 1940-1941 suffered a series of crushing defeats in Libya, Egypt and Greece, forcing Germany to constantly come to the aid of its ally. Mussolini's positions were finally undermined in the spring of 1943 after the defeat of the German-Italian troops in North Africa and Stalingrad, as a result of which Italy lost all the colonies and the corps on Eastern Front. After the Allied invasion of Italy in the summer of 1943, Mussolini was removed from power and arrested by the Great Fascist Council with the support of King Victor Emmanuel III, but was soon released as a result of a German special operation. Under pressure from Hitler, Mussolini, as an alternative to the royal government that had gone over to the side of the Allies, proclaimed the Italian Social Republic in northern Italy, completely dependent on the support of the Germans and not recognized internationally, which continued the war on the side of Germany. In April 1945, the German and Mussolini-loyal troops in Italy were finally defeated by the Allies, and Mussolini himself was captured and executed by Italian partisans two days before Hitler's death.
On July 29, 1883, in the Italian village of Dovia, in the province of Forli-Cesena, a boy was born, to whom his father, Alessandro Mussolini, gave three names at once - Benito, Andrea, Amilcare. Alessandro himself was a blacksmith, an uneducated man, but very active in political life. Historians attribute him to the militant anarchists, although Alessandro's views were mixed with everything in excess, including from socialists and republicans. For his speeches at rallies, Alessandro Mussolini was arrested and imprisoned several times. His wife, Rosa Maltoni, had Teacher Education and, of course, was a devout Catholic, although her son Benito was not baptized.
IN childhood Benito often helped his father in the forge, and when the boy was nine years old, he was sent to school. The educational institution belonged to the monastic order of St. Francis de Sales. Mussolini's student turned out to be the same - in the first grade, he stabbed an older boy and was expelled from school. Only the intervention of the Bishop of Forli and the tears of Benito's mother forced the director to change his mind. However, three years later, due to the complete uncontrollability of the boy, he was nevertheless transferred to another school.
Politics Benito became seriously interested in 1900, while studying at the gymnasium. In 1901 he graduated from the gymnasium and began working as an elementary school teacher in the village of Pieve Saliceto. Here he very quickly became the head of the local socialist committee. To avoid military service in 1902, Benito Mussolini left for Switzerland. In Geneva, he sometimes worked as a bricklayer and wandered. True, in Switzerland, Benito studied French and German languages, and besides, he met many revolutionary-minded people, including even Vladimir Lenin, and attended lectures by the prominent economist and socialist Professor Vilfredo Pareto. After such contacts, Mussolini began to seriously study Stirner, Nietzsche, Marx, Sorel and Babeuf.
In the autumn of 1904, an amnesty was declared for those who evaded conscription into the army. The Swiss authorities deported Mussolini, and he volunteered for the Italian army. He served in the tenth Verona Infantry Regiment for two years, and in September 1906 he again began to work as a teacher. On November 15, he was appointed deputy director in Tolmezzo. A year later, he received the right to teach French, and in the spring of 1908 he received the title of professor at the French College, where he taught along with Italian geography and history. At the same time, he edited La Lima, a socialist weekly, and also wrote articles for this publication that criticized the government and the Vatican. This weekly quickly became popular, and Mussolini concluded that journalism can be a powerful political tool.
In Predappio, Benito Mussolini organized a strike of peasants in the summer of 1908, and on July 18 he was arrested and sentenced to three months' imprisonment. imprisonment, but fifteen days later he was released on bail. Already in September, Mussolini again went to prison for participating in the rally, this time for only ten days. One of milestones of that period was Mussolini's article "Philosophy of Force", where Benito told how he relates to the work of Nietzsche. At the beginning of the winter of 1905, Mussolini left for Austria-Hungary and began working in Trento - he took the post of secretary of the Labor Center and began to publish the newspaper The Future of the Worker. At the same time, Benito Mussolini and Santi Corvaia co-authored a novel of a clearly anti-clerical trend - Claudia Particella, mistress of the cardinal. The novel was published in the newspaper "People" for a whole year (1910). In the same year, Mussolini became known in Italy as one of the most prominent socialist politicians.
In November 1911, Benito Mussolini served five months in prison for speaking out against the Libyan colonial war. In December of the following year, he took up the post of editor-in-chief of the Italian Socialist Party's publication Avanti!, moving to Milan in connection with this appointment. Under his leadership, the circulation increased four times - up to eighty thousand copies. In 1913 Mussolini published a biography of Jan Hus, a Czech church reformer. By the way, during this period, Benito used the pseudonym "Genuine heretic." An unexpected change of attitude towards the war and an article demanding to speak out against Germany led to the dismissal of the editor-in-chief. Mussolini, literally being on the street, began to study public speaking in many cities of Italy, in their speeches accusing the socialists who stood for military neutrality of retreating from national ideas and aspirations of the people.
In 1914, Benito Mussolini entered into his first marriage. Ida Dalzer became his wife, and a year later the couple had a son, Albino. Despite the birth of a child, Mussolini already at the end of 1915 married a second time - to his mistress with five years of experience, Raquela Guidi. In this marriage, Mussolini had two daughters and three sons. After he came to power, the first family was repressed and all information about this marriage was destroyed. In addition to legal wives, Benito Mussolini had many mistresses, which was well known among the people.
In the summer of 1915, Italy entered the war. Mussolini, drafted into the army, ended up in a regiment of bersoliers sent to the front. The soldiers greatly appreciated Mussolini for his courage, optimism and responsiveness. But he did not serve long. In late autumn, Benito fell ill with typhus and was sent to the hospital. For exemplary service, courage and high morale, Benito Mussolini was promoted to the rank of corporal in the winter of 1916, and a year later, as a result of a mine explosion, he was seriously wounded in the leg and demobilized.
Assessing the results of the First World War, Benito Mussolini came to the conclusion that the doctrine of socialism had failed, and therefore he began to conduct his own political activity. It should be noted that this did not prevent him from receiving four hundred English pounds a month from the British intelligence service MI5. In the early days of 1918, Mussolini made a statement that a cruel, intelligent and energetic person was needed for the revival of Italy and its people. On March 23, 1919, Mussolini held a meeting in Milan new organization. This is how the "Italian Union of Struggle" appeared - Fasci italiani di combattimento, part of the name of which - "fascis" - was later used by Hitler, also calling his associates fascists.
In May 1921, elections were held in which Mussolini secured support for the leader of the Liberal Party, Prime Minister Giolitti. The result was thirty-five mandates for the Italian fascists in the Chamber of Deputies. On November 7 of the same year, the "Italian Union of Struggle" became the National Fascist Party. In the fall of 1922, the Fascist Party of Italy organized a symbolic campaign of many thousands to Rome. Italian king Victor Emmanuel III, afraid of the possible palace coup refused to sign the act declaring the state of emergency. Instead, he met with Mussolini and declared him prime minister. As a result, Benito Mussolini, together with the king, met the fascist detachments entering Rome. Now the name "Duce" - "leader" has become a complete reality for Mussolini.
In just two days, the Duce formed a cabinet of ministers and pressed the parliament so hard that he very quickly received a vote of confidence. Soon, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini moved into his personal residence, provided by Prince Torloni for one lira a year - a purely nominal fee. At a meeting with Cardinal Pietro Gaspari on April 10, 1923, Mussolini guaranteed the cleansing of Italy from Freemasons and Communists, and also promised to restore the position of army priests, install crucifixes in all schools and organize the introduction of compulsory religious education in all educational institutions. The Vatican naturally sided with the new prime minister.
As a result of the efforts of Benito Mussolini, fascism became the new political and economic system which combined nationalism, anti-communism, totalitarianism, anti-liberalism and anti-capitalism. The Nazis called for all classes of society to rally under their banner into a single corporate system. Fascist propaganda was delivered so effectively that there was practically no serious opposition in Italy capable of resisting Mussolini's regime. True, there were some excesses - the Englishwoman Violetta Gibson fired a revolver at Mussolini on April 7, but the bullet aimed at Benito's head only scratched his nose. In order to hush up this case, a psychiatric examination was organized, which recognized Gibson as completely insane, and in order to save good relations with Great Britain, Mussolini ordered the terrorist to be sent home. And on December 31, 1926, fifteen-year-old Anteo Zamboni fired a pistol at a car driving through the streets with the prime minister. They did not have time to arrest him - Zamboni was torn to pieces by the crowd. There were many attempts to kill Mussolini, but they all ended in failure, which allowed him to declare himself almost under the protection of God.
In order to calm the Catholic opposition, Mussolini even got baptized - in 1927. It was under Mussolini in 1929 that the Vatican signed the Lateran Accords and effectively recognized the Italian state. In response, the Vatican was recognized by the Italian government and "declared a state within a state."
Mussolini took control not only of the Ministry of the Interior, but also the Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs and others. In some periods of his power, he headed as many as seven ministries - and this is in addition to being the prime minister. However main force Mussolini was the head of the fascist party and the leadership of the Blackshirt militia, which nipped in the bud any resistance. From 1925 to 1927, Mussolini eliminated almost all constitutional restrictions on his own power, carefully building a true police state. In addition, he changed the title of the post "Chairman of the Council of Ministers" to "Head of Government". Now only the king could remove him from the exercise of his powers. In 1928, Mussolini banned the activities of any parties, except for the fascists, in Italy. Then he canceled the parliamentary elections. To combat unemployment and economic difficulties, Mussolini launched several construction programs, but they failed to defeat the famine. IN agriculture The Green Revolution was announced, as a result of which more than five thousand new farms were organized, the Pontic Marshes were drained and five agricultural cities were built. However, huge investments of public money in agricultural projects caused tariffs to rise, which contributed to the inefficiency of investments and, ultimately, drove Italy into huge debts. Attempt to raise wealth peasant families actually benefited only large landowners.
Foreign policy Benito Mussolini in different time ranged from pacifist anti-imperialism to aggressive nationalism. He dreamed of a "great, respected Italy" that would be listened to and feared throughout Europe and even the world. On the island of Leros in Greece, Mussolini established a major naval base, providing a strategic hold on the eastern part of mediterranean sea. In the fall of 1935, Italy launched a war in Ethiopia. In aviation, artillery and other types of weapons, the Italian army was significantly superior to the Abyssinian, and soon the war was victoriously ended - the Italians entered Addis Ababa. In connection with this victory, Benito Mussolini was able to proclaim the rebirth of the Great Roman Empire, and the Italian king was also called the Emperor of Ethiopia.
The rapprochement between Mussolini and Hitler began in 1936. The reason was the joint economic and military support of the Spanish General Franco. But in the early days of 1937, Mussolini held important negotiations with Hitler's emissary, Hermann Göring. In the negotiations, they touched upon the annexation of Austria, and Mussolini declared that he would not tolerate changes in this matter. Five times Benito Mussolini refused to visit Germany. Only in the early autumn of 1937 was he subjected to the most powerful psychological pressure in Germany. Adopting his "friend" Hitler demonstrated for a whole week Italian head government grand parades, powerful weapon Germany, the unity of the people and their own power over the crowd that reveres them. Mussolini was shocked by the discipline and high morale of the German nation. In the spring of 1939, German troops invaded Czechoslovakia, and Mussolini immediately ordered an attack on Albania. This war lasted only five days.
On May 22, Germany, Japan and Italy signed the Steel Pact, an offensive and defensive alliance, although Victor Emmanuel III did not approve of this move. Hitler unfolded a world war in Europe and invited Italy to seize Yugoslavia. Mussolini liked this proposal, but the Italian army was too poorly armed, and therefore, after France, Poland and Great Britain entered the war, the Duce declared Italy's neutrality contrary to the signed treaty. At the same time, Mussolini ordered to speed up work on the construction of defensive structures on the German border. Italy continued to cooperate with France and supplied it with cars and aviation equipment. However, Mussolini rejected the French offer to discuss contentious issues and territorial disputes.
On March 18, 1940, at a meeting with Hitler, the Duce promised him that he would definitely enter the war as soon as Germany defeated French army. Mussolini's conviction in the imminent victory of the Germans prompted him on June 10, 1940 to declare war on France and Great Britain. The so-called "Axis" was formed, the countries of which were Italy, Germany and Japan. Thirty-two divisions of the Italians attacked the French frontier fortifications in the Alps. However, the fortifications were so well built that the Italians could not knock out only six French divisions opposing them. But after eleven days of advance, France surrendered. Nice and some areas of the south-east of France went to Italy. On October 25, 1940, the Italian air corps was sent to Belgium to help German aviation, and in October the Italo-Greek war began.
When Germany invaded the territory of the USSR, Mussolini automatically declared war on this enemy, sending Italian units to help the German units. Similarly, war was declared on the United States of America after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. However, in 1941-1942, the British significantly pressed the Italians in Africa, and in May 1943, a quarter-million Italo-German grouping of troops capitulated in Tunisia. On July 10, 1943, Anglo-American troops landed in Sicily. Mussolini immediately met with Hitler and asked him for troops to defend Sicily, but Hitler was busy at that time Kursk salient and could not help an ally.
By 1943, an opposition had formed in the depths of the Fascist Party in Italy, which considered it necessary to remove Mussolini and withdraw Italy from the war. Before Mussolini was put the question of convening the Grand Fascist Council. On July 24, the Council passed a resolution demanding the resignation of Mussolini and the transfer of command of the army to the king. Mussolini refused to comply with the requirements of the resolution and on July 25, during an audience with the king, he was arrested. The government formed by Marshal Pietro Badoglio immediately entered into secret negotiations with representatives of England and the United States. As early as July 27, newspapers and radio announced the immediate dissolution of the entire Fascist Party. On September 3, Badoglio signed an armistice, one of the clauses of which stated that Mussolini should be extradited to the allies. The landing of Anglo-American troops in Italy began immediately. On September 8, Italy officially withdrew from the war. The Germans in response began the occupation of Italian territory.
All this time, Mussolini was in custody, but on September 12 he was released by German paratroopers, led by Otto Skorzeny. Mussolini was taken to Hitler, then the Duce flew to Lombardy, where he announced the creation of the "Italian Social Republic". But he did not possess any fullness of power, being only a puppet in the hands of Hitler. His only desire then was to retire due to poor health ...
April 17, 1945 Benito Mussolini arrived in Milan. official reason arrival was the organization of resistance in Valtellina, but in addition, the Duce was looking for ways to escape to Switzerland. Here he learned that the Germans decided to surrender to the Anglo-American troops, and with a small detachment of associates went to Lake Como, from where there was a direct road to Switzerland. On the night of April 27, Mussolini's detachment merged with the Germans, who were also trying to cross the border. Not far from the village of Musso, the column was stopped by a partisan barrier and only the Germans were allowed to pass along the road. The German lieutenant hid Mussolini in the back of a truck, giving him a soldier's overcoat, but when inspecting the cars, one of the partisans recognized the Duce.
The news of Mussolini's arrest gave rise to a real competition between the intelligence agencies of the United States and Great Britain - each of them wanted to take the Duce into their own hands. However, the leadership of the partisans handed over Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci to the detachment of Colonel Valerio. On April 28, 1945, they were shot on the outskirts of Medzagr. The corpses were sent to Milan, where they were hung by their feet in Piazzale Loreto. On May 1, Benito Mussolini and Clara Petacci were interred in the Muzocco cemetery. The grave was unmarked and was located on a plot for the poor.
In 1946, Mussolini's body was stolen by neo-fascists, and it was discovered only six months later. The lack of political will and agreements led to the fact that the remains of the Duce remained unburied for ten years. Now they rest in the cemetery of Predappio, in the family crypt.
