Benito Mussolini
Benito Andrea Amilcare Mussolini was a journalist and politician from Italy. Self-proclaimed "socialist heretic", he was nominated prime minister by Vittorio Emanuele III di Savoia, King of Italy, in the time of World War II. He was head of one of the strong forms of government seen in Europe in this time. He created the political structure Fasci Italiani di Combatimento, which is what later would be known as Fascism, a term which was later used to describe the merging of government and corporation. He was responsible for several war crimes in Ethiopia and Yugoslavia.
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| Benito Mussolini | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 29, 1883 |
| Died | April 28, 1945 |
Contents
Early Life
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born July 29, 1883 and died April 28, 1945. Mussolini was born in the north Italian town of Pergine Valsugana in the northern Italian province of Trento. His father was a cobbler and his mother a washerwoman. The Mussolinis were a relatively poor family in comparison with the majority of their neighbors and it is believed that Mussolini was ridiculed by his peers at Valsugana Elementary School due to his shabby clothes and dirty appearance. Many historians attribute Mussolini's aggressive nature to this mistreatment. His father was a socialist and raised Mussolini as a socialist. He was named after Mexican president Benito Juarez. At the age of 12 Benito was sent to an Italian military academy in Turin where he completed his secondary education. Mussolini graduated from school in 1901 and then went on to study at the University of Rome where he completed a degree in Social Sciences. It was during his university days that Mussolini first became exposed to politics. It is reported that Mussolini would spend long afternoons in the university library reading the memoirs of various European kings and other books about political ideologies. At one time he was the editor of "Avanti" (a self declared socialist paper).
Benito Mussolini and Atheism
In his work entitled Mussolini Denis Mack Smith wrote the following:
| “ | From his father he [Mussolini] had learnt to be a thoroughgoing anti-clerical. He proclaimed himself to be an atheist and several times tried to shock an audience by calling on God to strike him dead. He forcibly denounced those socialists who thought religion a matter for individual conscience or had their children baptised. [In Mussolini's opinion] Science had proved that God did not exist and the Jesus of history was an ignorant Jew whose family thought him mad, and who was a pigmy compared to the Buddha. Religion, he said, was a disease of the psyche, an epidemic to be cured by psychiatrists, and Christianity in particular was vitiated by preaching the senseless virtues of resignation and cowardice, whereas the new socialist morality should celebrate violence and rebellion."[1] | ” |
Though privately hostile to the Roman Catholic Church, Mussolini oversaw the Lateran Treaties in 1929, which recognized the independence of the Vatican and even contained a provision that outlawed any display of disrespect for the Pope.
Break with Socialism
He graudally began to have a falling out with his fellow socialists. His final break with socialism came during World War 1, since he changed his former position of neutrality and supported Italy's involvement in the war. He then grew to despise socialism. By February 1918, he was calling for the emergence of a leader "ruthless and energetic enough to make a clean sweep." In May, he hinted in a speech in Bologna that he might be that leader.
Rise to Power
In 1923 after rising through the ranks Mussolini became the elected member for Tuscany in the Italian Parliament. In 1927 he took over from Mario Felloni as the leader of Cullo Cappelli who were the opposition. Leading up to the 1928 election Mussolini began to begin his campaign. During this time Italy was in an economic slump and the Italian public were not satisfied with the president of the time, Francisco Delosini and his Treasurer Guido Michenelli's management of the federal budget. Mussolini preyed on this dissatisfaction and promised to eliminate all debt within the government. In 1922, Mussolini was invited by King Vittorio Emanuele III to form a new Italian government. A law passed on Christmas Eve 1925 changed Mussolini's title from "president of the Council of Ministers" (prime minister) to "head of the government." He was no longer responsible to Parliament, and could only be removed by the king.
Alliance with Hitler
In 1931 Mussolini first came into contact with Adolf Hitler at a meeting of European leaders, and an alliance was formed. For the rest of the 1930's Mussolini began to recklessly spend Italy's money on obsolete arms which he planned to issue to the army if Hitler ever attempted to take over Europe.
World War II
In September 1939 when England and France declared war on Germany after Hitler invaded Poland, Mussolini announced that Italy would join Germany in the war effort against the allied forces. He waited however, until after France had surrendered before invading southern France and officially entering the war. During World War 2, he increased his military, limited free speech and pushed his political views on all of his countrymen even more so.
Mussolini Deposed
When the Allies invaded the Italian island of Sicily in 1943, King Vittorio Emmanuel III panicked at the thought of an Allied invasion of the Italian mainland. He immediately stripped Mussolini of his power and ordered Mussolini to be arrested.
Reinstatement
He was rescued through covert operations by German special forces (most notably Otto Skorzeny) without a single casualty occurring during the rescue operation. Mussolini was then installed as the head of the German puppet state, Repubblica Sociale Italiana (RSI) based at Salo in northern Italy - hence its alternative name of the Salo Republic.
Capture and Death
Mussolini was later recaptured at the end of the war by partisans. He and his mistress were shot and hanged upside down.
War crimes
Mussolini is responsible for several war crimes during the Italian occupation of Abyssinia (today Ethiopia) and Yugoslavia.
During the second Italo-Abyssinian war, Italian troops commited atrocites such as the use of mustard gas, the bombing of Red Cross hospitals and ambulances, the execution of captured prisoners without trial, the Graziani massacre, the killings at Däbrä Libanos monastery, and the shooting of "witch-doctors" accused of prophesying the end of fascist rule.[2]
During the Italian occupation of Yugoslavia in WWII, Italian troops used draconian measures to intimidate the native Slavic population into silence, such as summary executions, hostage-taking, reprisals, internments and the burning of houses and villages.[3]
Many historians consider both of the forementioned an attempt of genocide.
Family Members
His legacy is continued by his neo-fascist granddaughter Alessandra Mussolini, who is a current member of the European Parliament. His daughter-in-law, Anna Maria Scicolone, was the sister of actress Sophia Loren.
See Also
References
- ↑ "Mussolini", by Denis Mack Smith, Vintage Books, 1983, page 8.
- ↑ Richard Pankhurst, Addis Ababa University, Italian Fascist war crimes in Ethiopia ([1])
- ↑ An independent report on Italo-Slovenian relationships in the 1941-1945 period ([2])
External links
- Benito Mussolini NNDB.
