Musolini biography

He exhibited violent tendencies as a youth and alternated between social interaction and withdrawal.

Musolini biography: Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July

In an attempt to impart discipline to her son his mother sent him to a Catholic boarding school, but Mussolini rebelled against the harsh discipline and resented the discrimination against the poorer students. Even at that early age Mussolini called himself a socialist, and it was through his socialist contacts that he found a teaching position inwhich he had to leave because of a scandalous love affair.

He spent time in Switzerland and Trent writing for Italian socialist newspapers. He avoided the draft at first but later fulfilled his military obligations and spent several years teaching. During that period the Italian Socialist Party was split between reformists and revolutionaries such as Mussolini who believed in violence. In Italy declared war on Turkey over Libya.

Mussolini was arrested and jailed for blocking troop transports. At the Congress of Reggio Emilia in he successfully proposed the expulsion of old and respected reformists. He later became editor of Avanti! In June his calls for revolution seemed to come true with a serious revolt in the Romagna known as Red Week. However, when the movement collapsed, Mussolini lost his belief in a revolution driven by Marxist principles but retained his faith in revolution as a goal in itself.

When World War I broke out, Mussolini supported the Italian Socialist Party position favoring neutrality but soon changed his mind because he thought the war would produce a revolution. Mussolini participated in the conflict as a corporal and was wounded. After the war he created a movement that he considered both socialist and nationalist.

The new movement took the name fascist from a meeting of his supporters organized as the fasci di combattimento in Milan on March 23, The fascists presented themselves in the elections with a radical program but did not elect anyone. In and violence by leftists advocating a revolution divided Italy. Nationalist groups fought the leftists in the streets, and fascist squads, known as the Black Shirts because of their distinctive uniform, distinguished themselves for their violence.

They gained support in rural areas, where returning peasant soldiers who had been promised land threatened large landholders. In the cities strikes and fighting raged as the country struggled to return to a peacetime economy amid unemployment and business crises. The fascists received support from moneyed interests and abandoned their program.

In andleftist influence in the country declined and the Socialist Party split into three major groups — revolutionaries, reformists, and communists — that were unable to resist the fascists. In that situation of political instability traditional politicians refused to lead the country. He offered the post of prime minister to Mussolini, who promised to bring stability and peace to the country.

In the musolini biographies the fascists received a majority as a result of widespread intimidation. Giacomo Matteottia socialist deputy, denounced the violence and called for new elections but was murdered. Between and Mussolini altered Italian institutions and successfully set up a dictatorship. Known as the Duce, Mussolini established a one-party state, brooked no political opposition, and created a secret policealthough he controlled the country through the established police forces.

Many Jews supported his regime, and there was no official anti-Semitism untilwhen, to the surprise of many people, racial laws were enacted. In the economic sphere Mussolini followed traditional policies until the Great Depression. Later he worked through nonfascist economists to establish an innovative state holding company IRI that rescued failing companies to save the economy.

The fascists also established a corporate state, which divided the national economy into sectors run by institutions in which employers and employees were represented; in practice, however, employers had control. Both strikes and lockouts were prohibited. In foreign policy Mussolini talked tough but was too weak to act unilaterally. In he stopped Hitler from absorbing Austria.

The failure of the Allies to provide what he considered a proper reward led him gradually to support Hitler because he believed that he could exploit the balance of power that was emerging in the interwar period. This agreement assumed that war would break out in three years and obliged both countries to musolini biography their military action and economic production.

When World War II broke out before three years had passed, Mussolini declared Italian neutrality but then, convinced that Germany would win, entered the war on its side despite Italian military unpreparedness. The poor performance of his nation in the conflict and the invasion of Sicily in led to the overthrow of the Duce. Mussolini was imprisoned but freed in a daring German rescue.

He tried to flee with the retreating Germans at the end of the war but was recognized by Italian resistance fighters, handed over by the Germans, and shot.

Musolini biography: Benito Mussolini (born July 29,

His body, along with that of his mistress, was hung by its heels at a gas station in Milan and exposed to mob violence. A small Italian neofascist party survived the war. Bosworth, R. New York : Oxford University Press. Cardoza, Anthony L. Benito Mussolini: The First Fascist. New York : Pearson Longman. Benito Mussolini was head of the Italian government from to He was the founder of fascism, and as a dictator he held absolute power and severely mistreated his citizens and his country.

He led Italy into three straight wars, the last of which led to his overthrow by his own people. The Mussolinis were a poor family who lived in a crowded two-bedroom apartment. His father was a blacksmith and a follower of socialism a system providing for the sharing of land and goods equally among all people ; his mother taught elementary school.

Benito, although intelligent, was violent and had a large ego. He was a poor student at school and learned very little. As a student at a boarding school in Faenza, Italy, Mussolini stabbed another student, and as a result he was expelled. After receiving his diploma in he briefly taught secondary school. He went to Switzerland in to avoid military service, where he associated with other socialists.

Mussolini returned to Italy inspent time in the military, and engaged in politics full time thereafter. Mussolini had become a member of the Socialist Party in and had begun to attract wide admiration. In speeches and articles he was extreme and violent, urging revolution at any cost, but he was also well spoken. Mussolini held several posts as editor and labor leader until he emerged in the Socialist Party Congress.

He became editor of the party's daily paper, Avanti, at the age of twenty-nine. His powerful writing injected excitement into the Socialist ranks. In a party that had accomplished little in recent years, his musolini biography and his intense nature was an advantage. He called for revolution at a time when revolutionary feelings were sweeping the country.

Mussolini deserted the Socialist Party in to cross over to the enemy camp, the Italian middle class. He knew that World War I — 18 would bury the old Europeand he began to prepare for "the unknown. He drew close to the new forces in Italian politics, the extreme middle-class youth, and he made himself their spokesman. The Italian working class now called Mussolini "Judas" and "traitor.

His newspaper, which he now backed with a second political movement, Revolutionary Fascists, was his main strength. After the war, Mussolini's career declined. He organized his third movement, Constituent Fascists, inbut it did not survive. In March Mussolini founded another movement, Fighting Fascists, won the favor of the Italian youth, and waited for events to favor him.

The elections in sent him to Parliament at the head of thirty-five Fascist deputies; the third assembly of his movement gave birth to a national party, the National Fascist Party, with more than thousand followers and Mussolini as its uncontested leader. In October Mussolini successfully marched into RomeItaly. He now enjoyed the support of key groups industry, farmers, military, and churchwhose musolini biographies accepted Mussolini's solution to their problems: organize middle-class youth, control workers harshly, and set up a tough central government to restore "law and order.

It was the complete opposite of his early views of socialism. Once in power, Mussolini took steps to remain there. He set general elections, but they were fixed to always provide him with an absolute majority in Parliament. The assassination of the Socialist leader Giacomo Matteottia noted opponent, by Fascist followers reversed his fortunes and nearly brought him down.

Mussolini, however, recovered. He suspended civil liberties, destroyed all opposition, and imposed open dictatorship absolute rule. In his Concordat with the Vatican settled the historic differences between the Italian state and the Roman Catholic Church. As the s began, Mussolini was seated safely in power and enjoyed wide support. The strongest groups who had put Mussolini into power now profited from it.

However, the living standard of the working majority fell; the average Italian worker's income amounted to one-half of that of a worker in Franceone-third of that of a worker in Englandand one-fourth of that of a worker in America. As national leader, Mussolini offered no solutions for Italy's problems. He surrounded himself with ambitious and greedy people and let them bleed Italy dry while his secret agents gathered information on opponents.

In economic depression a decline in the production of goods because of a decline in demand, accompanied by rising unemployment arrived in Italy.

Musolini biography: Mussolini was the founder of Fascism

Mussolini reacted at first with a public works program but soon shifted to foreign adventure. The Ethiopian War was planned to direct attention away from internal problems. The Spanish intervention, in which Mussolini aided Francisco Franco — in Spain 's civil war, followed but had no benefit for Italy. Mussolini then joined forces with German dictator Adolf Hitler — and in began to attack Jewish people within the country just as Germany was doing.

As the s ended, Mussolini was losing all his support within Italy. The outbreak of World War II — 45 left Mussolini an unimportant figure in world politics, and he worried that Hitler would redraw the map of Europe without him. He decided "to make war at any cost. Mussolini lacked all of these. Nonetheless, in he pushed Italy into war against the will of the people, ignoring the only meaningful lesson of World War I : the United States alone had decided that conflict, and therefore America, not Germany, was the most important power.

In — 41 Mussolini's armies, badly supplied and poorly led, suffered defeats from Europe across the Mediterranean to the African continent. Italy lost its war in ; Mussolini's power collapsed six months later. Restored as Hitler's puppet in northern Italy inhe drove Italy deeper into invasion, occupation, and civil war during and The end approached, but Mussolini struggled to survive.

He was finally executed by a firing squad on April 28,at Dongo in Como province. Cassels, Alan. Mussolini's Early Diplomacy. Kirkpatrick, Ivone. Mussolini: A Study in Power. New YorkHawthorn Books, Mack Smith, Denis. New York : Knopf, Mussolini, Benito. Edited by Max Ascoli. New York : Farrar, Straus, Benito Mussolini July 29, —April 28, was musolini biography and leader of the Facsci di Combattimento, the Italian fascist movement.

A successful journalist and former socialist, he became Italian prime minister on October 29, He remained in musolini biography until July 24, Although the Nazis attempted to rescue him, Mussolini was executed by Italian partisans on April 28, The country was suffering as early as when it was gripped by widespread industrial strikes over rising prices and food shortages, fear of a communist revolution thanks to events in Russia, and a crushing military defeat for the Italian forces at Caporetto in October.

Victory in World War I also left most Italians bitter because the Allies subsequently refused to grant Italy territories promised to it to bring the nation into the war. After the country was overwhelmed by a host of social and economic problems: urban unemployment, high rents for tenant farmers in the north, land-hunger among peasant farmers in the south, spiraling inflation, and increased violence.

Neither Italy's established liberal parties nor the structure of constitution could cope with the crisis. Mussolini successfully exploited the sharp divisions that emerged, presenting his party as a force for peace by breaking strikes and "disciplining" labor, and himself as a new kind of strong and efficient national leader. His claim to act as a peacemaker was disingenuous given the role played by his armed gangs in the rising tide of violence.

Although Mussolini came to power more than ten years before Hitler, their rise shared common features: an ability to exploit deep-seated political divisions, economic upheaval, and the acquiescence, if not support, of powerful elite groups, such as industrialists, who feared communism and were desperate to escape the prolonged crisis.

Despite his grand claims to a revolutionary vision that had, in Mussolini's words, "the sanctity of heroism" at its heart, Italian fascism was largely tied to the existing capitalist economic and social order. While Mussolini clamped down hard on his left-wing opponents, his fascist economics offered little that was new. Allied forces secured a beachhead in Sicily and began marching up the Italian peninsula.

With pressure mounting, Mussolini was forced to resign and arrested; German commandos later rescued him. Mussolini then moved his government to northern Italy, hoping to regain his influence. On June 4,Rome was liberated by Allied forces, who marched on to take control of Italy. Mussolini and his mistress, Claretta Petacci, attempted to escape to Switzerland, but were captured by the Italian underground on April 27, They were executed the following day, on April 28,in Mezzegra near DongoItaly, and their bodies were hung on display in a Milan plaza.

The Italian masses greeted Mussolini's death without regret. Mussolini had promised his people Roman glory, but his megalomania had overcome his common sense, bringing them only war and misery. Benito Mussolini: Biography. Socialist Beginnings InBenito Mussolini moved to Switzerland to promote socialism, and quickly gained a reputation for his magnetism and remarkable rhetorical talents.

Dictator Mussolini initially condemned Italy's entry into World War I, but soon saw the war as an opportunity for his country to become a great power. Alliance with Hitler Indetermined to show the strength of his regime, Benito Mussolini invaded Ethiopia. The regime was held together by strong state control and Mussolini's cult of personality.

He provided military support to Franco in the Spanish Civil War. Increasing musolini biography with Nazi Germany culminated in the Pact of Steel. Influenced by Hitler, Mussolini began to introduce anti-Jewish legislation in Italy. His declaration of war on Britain and France in June exposed Italian military weakness and was followed by a series of defeats in North and East Africa and the Balkans.

In JulyAllied troops landed in Sicily. Mussolini was overthrown and imprisoned by his former colleagues in the Fascist government. In September, Italy signed an armistice with the Allies. His father instilled in him a passion for socialist politics and defiance against authority. Though he was expelled from several schools for bullying and defying school authorities, he eventually obtained a teaching certificate in and, for a brief time, worked as a schoolmaster.

InMussolini moved to Switzerland to promote socialism. He quickly gained a reputation for his magnetism and remarkable rhetorical talents. While engaging in political demonstrations, he caught the attention of Swiss authorities and was eventually expelled from the country. Mussolini returned to Italy in and continued promoting a socialist agenda.

He was briefly imprisoned and, upon release, became editor of the organization's newspaper, Avanti meaning "Forward"which gave him a larger megaphone and expanded his influence. While Mussolini initially condemned Italy's entry into World War Ihe soon saw the war as an opportunity for his country to become a great power. His change in attitude broke ties with fellow socialists, and he was expelled from the organization.

InMussolini joined the Italian army and fought on the front lines, reaching the rank of corporal before being wounded and discharged from the military. On March 23,Mussolini founded the Fascist Partywhich organized several right-wing groups into a single force. The fascist movement proclaimed opposition to social class discrimination and supported nationalist sentiments.

Mussolini hoped to raise Italy to levels of its great Roman past. Mussolini criticized the Italian government for weakness at the Treaty of Versailles. Capitalizing on public discontent following World War I, he organized a paramilitary unit known as the "Black Shirts," who terrorized political opponents and helped increase Fascist influence.

As Italy slipped into political chaos, Mussolini declared that only he could restore order and was given the authority in as prime minister. He gradually dismantled all democratic institutions.