A Fascist Leader: Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)

Early Life and Career

Born in 1883 in Romagna, Italy, to a blacksmith and a teacher.
Mussolini was expelled for stabbing a student and later moved to Switzerland in 1902, becoming involved in socialist politics.
He returned to Italy in 1904, working as a journalist for the socialist newspaper Avanti, but split from socialism over support for Italy in World War I.

The Fascist Party

Mussolini founded the Fascist Party in 1919, using the anger of unemployed veterans and nationalists to gain support.
Supporters, organised into armed squads known as Black Shirts, terrorised opponents.
In 1921, the Fascist Party joined the coalition government.

Rise to Power

In October 1922, Mussolini and the Black Shirts marched on Rome amidst political chaos.
King Victor Emmanuel made Mussolini Prime Minister.
Mussolini dismantled democratic institutions, solidifying power:
1. Acerbo Law (1923): Ensured the party with the most votes got two-thirds of government seats.
2. Giacomo Matteotti, an opposition leader, was murdered in 1924.
3. By 1925, opposition parties were banned, and Mussolini ruled by decree.
4. Political enemies were imprisoned on the Lipari Islands, and the OVRA secret police silenced opposition.

Heading Towards War

In 1935, Mussolini invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
Provided support to Franco in the Spanish Civil War.
Allied with Hitler through the Rome-Berlin Axis (1936) and the Pact of Steel (1939).
Introduced anti-Semitic legislation and declared war on Britain and France in 1940, leading to Italian military defeats.

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Italy's Alliance with Germany

Italy became allies with Germany through two important agreements. The first was the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936, which established a political and military partnership between the two countries. This agreement aligned their foreign policies and strengthened their cooperation. The second agreement was the Pact of Steel in 1939, a military alliance in which Italy and Germany promised to support each other in times of war, making their partnership even stronger.

World War II

In July 1943, Allied troops landed in Sicily, and Mussolini was overthrown and imprisoned.
By September, Italy signed an armistice with the Allies.
The German army occupied Italy, and Mussolini was rescued by German commandos, becoming the leader of a new government with limited power.
Mussolini fled towards Switzerland but was captured and executed by Italian partisans on 28th April 1945.

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Italy's Armistice with the Allies

In September 1943, Italy signed an armistice with the Allies, agreeing to stop fighting against them in World War II. This marked Italy's surrender to the Allies but did not end all conflict in Italy. After the armistice was announced, German forces occupied much of the country, and fighting continued until 1945.

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