Benito Mussolini was a Fascist dictator who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943. He created the concept of fascism, which included nationalism, class collaboration, populism, militarism, totalitarianism, dictatorship, social interventionism, economic planning, and statism. Mussolini came to power through a coup in 1922 and ruled with absolute control, suppressing opposition with torture, intimidation, and violence. He initially considered siding with France in World War II but eventually joined the Axis, leading to his deposition and Italy’s loss in the war. Mussolini was executed in 1945 while trying to flee the country.
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) was a Fascist dictator who became Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and dictator in 1925. He ruled until Italy came under intense attack by the Allies during World War II and progressively more control by Nazi Germany. On 23 July 1943 he was dismissed by the Grand Council of Fascism and by the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III. Held in various locations for the next two months, he was rescued by Nazi commandos and taken to an audience with Hitler. Hitler asked him to set up another Italian fascist state, which he did. The state survived until its collapse in 1945. On July 29, 1945, while trying to flee the country, Mussolini and his mistress were discovered by Italian Communist partisans and summarily executed.
Mussolini created the concept of fascism together with the neo-Hegelian philosopher Giovanni Gentile in the late 1910s. The word comes from the Italian fasces, meaning “union” or “bundle”, and is ultimately derived from the Latin fascis. The symbol of the movement was an ax surrounded by a bundle of sticks. The tenets of Italian fascism included nationalism, class collaboration, populism, militarism, totalitarianism, dictatorship, social interventionism, economic planning, and statism. Fascism is strongly opposed to communism and liberalism. Mussolini’s fascism was marketed as a “third way” between socialism and capitalism. By establishing a militaristic and expansionist totalitarian state, Mussolini aimed to revive the former glory of the Roman Empire.
Mussolini was born to working-class parents in the city of Forlì in Italy. Influenced by his father’s socialist beliefs, Mussolini worked as a political journalist and initially as a socialist activist. He often got into trouble for his politically charged editorials. Upon the outbreak of World War I, Mussolini enlisted in the Italian army as a soldier. When the war ended, he came to believe that socialism was a useless philosophy and began to develop fascist ideas. In early 1918, he called for the emergence of a man “ruthless and energetic enough to make a clean sweep” to revive the Italian nation and founded a fascist league in Milan, called the Blackshirts.
On March 23, 1919, Mussolini formed the “Italian Combat Squad”, also known as the Blackshirts, to promote his fascist vision as a paramilitary group. Although the group initially had only 200 members, by 1922 it numbered 200,000. The group had so much power that it staged a coup in the March on Rome from October 27 to 29, 1922, deposing Prime Minister Luigi Fracta and installing Mussolini as the new Prime Minister. Mussolini had the support of the military, the business class and the liberal right and, most importantly, the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III. Mussolini’s first governments were a coalition of various political parties, but in 1925, under pressure from his own militants, Mussolini abandoned any semblance of democracy and took absolute control, suppressing the opposition with torture, intimidation and violence.
Mussolini then governed Italy for about twenty years, from 1925 to 1943. His government was characterized by extensive programs of public works, such as the reclamation of the Agro Pontino, the creation of jobs, price controls, the heavy propaganda and the improvement of public transport. It is known that Mussolini made the trains run on time. Although he initially considered siding with France in World War II, in 1940 he decided to side with the Axis, eventually leading to his deposition and eventually Italy starting to lose the war. Ever since Mussolini and Hitler died in 1945, the Fascist system of government has been considered taboo. The word “fascism” is also considered to be one of the most overused and widely applied words in the English language, coming to mean just about anything negative. Hence, most political movements are reluctant to call themselves fascist.
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