Everyone Looks More Innocent When They're Younger
Hitler, Hussein, and Stalin headline a list of deranged dictators known the world over. Often forgotten but equally crazed was Benito Mussolini who took a textbook route on his way to ruthless tyranny. Like the dictators before him, Mussolini ruled with a hypocritical hand, changing his beliefs to fit his perverse and illogical view of the world.
Mugshot and fingerprints of a young Marxist named 'Benedetto' Mussolini. Bern, Switzerland, 1903
Born in 1883, to a blacksmith and fervent supporter of socialism, the young Italian showed signs of psychotic behavior even in childhood. On Mussolini’s way to power, many leaders neglected their opportunities to staunch a rising tide of atrocities in favor of the path of least resistance.
A Bizarre Youth
Benito Mussolini inspects the troops in Rome. (wikipediacommons)
Before Mussolini even made it high school, the dictator to be was charged with multiple stabbings. At age 10 he was expelled from a religious boarding school for stabbing a classmate in the hand. He repeated this offense at his next school while also knifing a girlfriend in the arm during a separate incident.
According to a New York Times report, Mussolini received over 100 wounds from his life as marauding youth in gangs. Following his father’s beliefs, he spent his early life writing for Socialist newspapers in Switzerland from 1902 to 1904.
Collecting Beliefs
Although he was born in the Northern Central Italy on July 29, 1883, extreme poverty forced him to move to Switzerland in 1902. (wikipediacommons)
As a writer and editor for a variety of Socialist publications, Mussolini espoused support for violent revolutions, Marxist ideals, and criticized patriotism. Eventually, he was fired and deported back to Italy for violating laws pertaining to freedoms of the press. In 1912, after a six-month incarceration for inciting violence at another socialist newspaper in Italy, the radicalization of Mussolini began.
While in prison he wrote his autobiography, detailing his troubling school life and his many romantic conquests. After a short stint on the frontlines of World War I, he was discharged due to an injury. His strong support for World War I earned him an expulsion from the socialist party. In 1919, a completely changed Mussolini founded the Fascist movement.
From Socialism To Fascism
Benito Mussolini giving the Roman Salute. (Wikipedia)
Once socialism turned its back on Mussolini, he turned to Fascism, which perfectly fit his penchant for violent behavior. Working at a newspaper he used his platform to make repeated calls for a dictator to take power. It’s unknown whether Mussolini always planned to become the dictator he publicly pined for but he did stockpile weapons and explosives in his office.
His Fascist organization, called the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, rallied around their leader enabling him to earn a place on the general election ticket. He lost in a landslide but rather than accept the results, he began collecting violent supporters and weapons to overthrow the government. Mussolini was then arrested and released despite plotting to overthrow the government by force. The failure of the Italian government to stop the worst dictator in their history at every turn would become an all too familiar theme.
Mussolini Takes Power
Mussolini returned to Italy in 1904 and joined the army. (Wikipedia)
After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles turned into a point of serious contention. In Germany, Hitler used the perceived unfairness of the pact to rise to power. In Italy, in response to growing discontentment and chaos, King Victor Emmanuel III dissolved Parliament. Another round of elections in 1921 brought home victories for the Fascists, who celebrated by burning and raiding the offices of communists, socialists, and anyone who disagreed with their beliefs.
As Mussolini’s black shirt-wearing “squad members,” modeled after the Roman army, terrorized the country, Prime Minister Luigi Facta did little to stop them. It wasn’t until the Fascists began occupying government offices did Facta advise the King to declare a state of emergency and invoke martial law. The King demurred and literally offered Mussolini the opportunity to form a coalition government and the seat of prime minister.
Mussolini Shows His Colors
Mussolini and Hiter, brothers of dictatorship. (thetimes.co.uk)
For a few years, Mussolini worked within the system to gag the press, persecute political opponents, and build his following of Fascist hit squads. It wasn’t until 1925 that Mussolini came out of the closet as a full-blown dictator. After a number of assassination attempts, he went even further, expelling 100 members of parliament, reinstating the death penalty for political crimes, creating his own secret police, and abolishing elections. Essentially, he created the Fascist playbook which many future dictators employed.
Catering To Stay In Power
Mussolini didn’t like Hitler initially. But Hitler’s constant support throughout gradually convinced him for an alliance with the Nazi Germany.(thetimes.co.uk)
In keeping with his hypocritical roots, Mussolini found religion after declaring himself an atheist for most of his life. To appease the Catholic Church, he cracked down contraception, restricted nightlife, regulated women’s clothing, banned homosexual acts, and despite engaging with many mistresses, made adultery illegal. Pope Pius XI called Mussolini a “man whom providence has sent us.”
Mussolini The Monster
In an era for dictators, these two monsters rose to power.(prologue.blogs.archives)
Once his rule was firmly cemented, he attempted to expand Italy’s domain. He utilized poison gas in his conquest of Ethiopia, established concentration camps, and declared Italy “a fascist empire, an empire of peace, an empire of civilization and humanity.” After forming a strong relationship with Nazi Germany, Mussolini floundered as a military leader.
At the height of World War II America produced more planes in a week than Italy could in a year. He continually changed his war plans which led to failures in France, Greece, and North Africa. Hitler and Germany were repeatedly forced to come to his aid and did so thanks to Mussolini’s agreement with Hitler’s plans for genocide and their “master race.”
A Rapid Fall From Power
Hitler’s constant success against Poland and France made Mussolini frustrated. He was not happy with the fact that Hitler used to keep all his military plans a secret. (prologue.blogs.archives)
His fall from power happened quickly as Germany’s over-expansion left much of Italy at the mercy of America. King Victor Emmanuel removed Mussolini as prime minister and imprisoned him in various parts of the country. Eventually, German commandos rescued him from a mountainous ski resort and installed him as a puppet leader in German-occupied northern Italy. When Germany fell, he attempted to cross over into Switzerland wearing a German uniform but was seized by Italian troops. They executed him the next day by firing squad and strung his corpse upside down in a Milan square. Nevertheless, his tomb in Italy still receives 80,000 to 100,000 visitors each year.
