...Mussolini in Africa Going Solo, Roald Dahl's memoir of his work in East Africa and his service in the RAF, covers much of the buildup to World War II. In the book mention is made of Mussolini. Mussolini plays a large role in the memoir as he is allies with Hitler who started World War II. Dahl says about Mussolini that, "Hitler and Mussolini were entertaining to watch them do their antics." (Dahl 39). In fact, Mussolini is important because of the role he plays in World War II. Mussolini was an Italian dictator. According to History.com, "Originally a revolutionary Socialist, he forged the paramilitary Fascist movement in 1919 and became prime minister in 1922." After that he sought out military glory in Italy. After all his military conquests from 1935-1939 his military was exhausted. So, in 1939, he became allies with Hitler. He did this to try and get his leadership position to grow. When Hitler first decided to declare war in September 1939, Mussolini was not ready for that. According to History.com, "Mussolini planned for war in 1943-1945. But Hitler started World War II in September 1939, giving only one week’s warning to the Italians and forcing an enraged, humiliated Mussolini to declare non-belligerence." After this occurred he watched Hitler very closely and eventually decided to join the war. According to Britannica, "When Germany...
Words: 433 - Pages: 2
...Kaitlyn Daignault December 2, 2012 Research Paper Hitler and Mussolini The relationship between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini helped to instill fear throughout the rest of Europe through the 1930s and 1940s. The powerhouse duo was very similar in many ways including persuasion and public speaking; however they also had different key qualities to make them unique. Having risen to power years earlier during the 1920s, Benito Mussolini was the senior of the two, and an initial inspiration and mentor for a young Adolf Hitler. Mussolini’s ideas of a fascist Italy became a building block for Hitler and Nazi Germany. However, early on their relationship was not a good one as Mussolini saw himself as superior. Mussolini had little respect for Hitler and the Nazi Germany as a whole. He did not agree with Hitler’s beliefs regarding racialism and his desire of an Aryan race. As time continued Mussolini’s view of Nazi Germany and Hitler would change completely. As the Germans became the powerhouse of Europe, Mussolini was forced to take a backseat to Hitler throughout World War II. A young Benito Mussolini began his rise to power in Italy as early as 1918. It is then that he realized that in order for Italy to grow as a dominant force in Europe, a dictatorship was necessary. With his good looks and his persuasive speeches, a young Mussolini was able to gain the support of the Italian people. Although the content of his speeches was often incorrect, opinions contradictory...
Words: 2190 - Pages: 9
...from the Italian rule. Since there was no great theoretical writer during this age who would have explained the philosophies clearly in the way that Karl Marx had did for Communism. Mussolini had been frequently changing his policies and aims before 1923 which suggested that his main aim was to acquire power. Some of the basic principles of Fascism can be listed as follows: • Extreme Nationalism: Emphasis on the re-birth of the Nation after a period of decline and also establishing that one’s own Nation is superior to all. • A totalitarian system of Government: In this the Government attempted to arouse and mobilize the ordinary people and to organize them with strong disciplinary measures and to control as many aspects of human life as possible. According to the ‘fascists’, this was necessary in order to promote the interest of the State. • A one party state was essential: there was no place for democracy and especially communism. The fascist party members were the elite class of the Nation and the leader would win mass support thrilling speeches. • Importance of economic self-sufficiency (autarchy): This was required in order to develop the greatness of the state. • Military strength and violence: This was an integral part of the way of life in fascism. Mussolini himself remarked, ‘Peace is absurd: fascism does not believe in it’. What benefits did Fascism bring for the Italians? What mattered to the people was that whether the...
Words: 1748 - Pages: 7
...Benito Mussolini was head of the Italian government from 1922 to 1943. 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. Early life and career Benito Mussolini was born at Dovia di Predappio, Italy, on July 29, 1883. 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 1901 he briefly taught secondary school. He went to Switzerland in 1902 to avoid military service, where he associated with other socialists. Mussolini returned to Italy in 1904, spent time in the military, and engaged in politics full time thereafter. Mussolini had become a member of the Socialist Party in 1900 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 1912 Socialist Party Congress...
Words: 475 - Pages: 2
...Miles Bernhard Honors History 11 Mr. Eric Fulmer 18 September 2012 Mussolini’s Way Benito “Il Duce” Mussolini was one of Italy’s most prominent leaders. His political ingenuity ushered Italy into a new decade. The party he formed was a medium many Italians valued; this party was and is still known today as Fascism. The following dissertation will explore the definition of this newly formed party, study his rise to power, and analyze the issues that commenced his fall from it. Europe had just hosted a war on a grand scale, involving countries from every corner of the world. Many of Europe’s imperial superpowers lay in absolute ruins whether it was physically, politically or economically. The Kingdom of Italy was no exception. There was little physical destruction in comparison to France or the United Kingdom, however the empire remained in great debt, and civilians were worried about a communist revolt that would mirror that in Russia. Benito Mussolini, a former journalist turned parliament member capitalized on this situation by instituting a new kind of government called Fascism. Today we interpret fascism as a leftist sort of government. Mussolini defined it as the following: the government is put before anything or anyone; “everything inside the state;” everything encompassed within the nation adopting fascism as its means of rule must abide to the governing entity, in this case, a dictator; “nothing outside the state;” the nation must develop as much as possible and...
Words: 894 - Pages: 4
...The Great Depression sent shockwaves of poverty and economic ruin all the way to Italy by the 1920’s. Eventually, this set the stage for Benito Mussolini and his fascist party to rule Italy through an authoritarian dictatorship that lasted for many years (1922-1943). Preoccupied with the appalling situation of Italy, Mussolini quickly reacted to the problems caused by the Great Depression by taking many steps to ensure population growth through many public policies of propaganda and social tactics. However, the resulting policy primarily failed as it was sexist and economically nonsensical, receiving negative reactions especially from women and economists. As previously mentioned, the fascist Italy attempted to gain supreme control over the...
Words: 574 - Pages: 3
...HOW SUCCESSFUL WAS MUSSOLINI IN CREATING A DICTATORSHIP IN ITALY BETWEEN 1922-40. When Mussolini became prime minister, in October 1922, he was not faced with a trouble-free position because he had to tackle the same problems that confronted the liberal Italian state throughout its existence. In terms of his domestic policies, it could be argued that Mussolini was more successful than his predecessors including Giolitti. However, historians cannot argue that even with his direct and ruthless political methods, he put an end to the divisions in Italian society that had if anything stunted Italy’s prosperity as a country and in this period Mussolini seemed to be the answer to all their problems. Mussolini’s route to creating his personal dictatorship was all based on his ability for the acquisition and advertisement of power. The most important factors which stood in Mussolini’s way; such as parliament, opposition parties and the monarchy itself were effectively eliminated as real forces in Italian politics. A key reason for Mussolini’s dictatorship was the introduction of the Acerbo Law in 1923 which main principle was which ever electoral bloc received the majority of votes would gain 2/3 of the seats in the chamber and the remaining 1/3 would be allocated to the other opposition parties. Mussolini used this law to his advantage as he knew fascist could not have carried through Acerbo’s policy but for electoral purposes the fascists formed an electoral bloc with leading...
Words: 1467 - Pages: 6
...Mussolini however could not have claimed his rise to power if it weren't for the Liberals crippling themselves due to the split in decisions of the First World War, from then on the Liberals were left with a continuous struggle to maintain the old transformismo system of a coalition government. The introduction of male suffrage in 1918 stemmed the emerge of mass parties adding to the increasing problems of the liberals which again was worsened by Nitti's introduction of proportional representation in 1919 it seemed as though the years went on instead of Italy's political instability being stabelised the Liberals problems worsened making a wider division within the Chamber of Deputies. 1919 went from bad to worse for the Liberals as catholic party (Popalari) emerged, Liberals new support would flood in mass amounts however they also new there co-operation also looked unlikely as the Popalari deplored the Liberals policies. Added stress was inflicted apoun the liberals when the 1919 elections were a disaster they led to the Socialists and the Popalari became the biggest parties in the Chamber of Deputies this however was unconventional as neither of these parties cooperated with one other or the Liberals. 1919 seemed to be the year which Italian politics came to a halt, various prime ministers came and went with numerous failed coalitions to try and salvage Italian politics and in one more bid to save the Liberals Gioltti called for another election in May 1921 however this led...
Words: 779 - Pages: 4
...Benito Mussolini Benito Mussolini is a name you probably hear often, but you don’t really know much about him except that he was an evil man and that he was sort of similar to Hitler. Mussolini was the creator of the Fascist Movement/Fascist Party in Italy in 1919. He made himself prime minister and ruled from 1922-1945. He had ideas pretty similar to Hitler and even started his own anti-Jew laws in Italy. While he may not have done as many horrid things as Hitler, he was still incredibly evil. But, we’ll talk more about that later. Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born on July 29, 1883, in Dovia di Predappio, Forlì, Romagna, Italy. He was the oldest child of three from his parents, Rosa Maltoni Mussolini and Alessandro Mussolini. His father was a passionate socialist and blacksmith. His mother was a Catholic schoolteacher, and she provided most of the family income because the father was busy doing political things and spending money on his mistress (not Benito’s mom, scandalous!). Mussolini was a very bright and...
Words: 1035 - Pages: 5
...Some people are born to be athletes, think of LeBron James. Others, like Albert Einstein are born to be physicists, and then there are people like Michael Jackson who are born to be performers. Benito Mussolini, the father of Fascism, was born for a life in politics . He was even named after Benito Juarez, who was a Mexican leftist leader. His two middle names, which are Amilcare and Andrea, come from two Italian Socialists named Amilcare Cipriani and Andrea Costa (Greenspan). During the early parts of his life, those names seemed fitting. Before he founded the Fascist party, Mussolini was a harcore Socialist. His political views were greatly influenced by his father, who was the town blacksmith. Aside from being a blacksmith, Alessandro Mussolini was also a writer for a...
Words: 1311 - Pages: 6
...The Growing Support for Hitler and Mussolini HIST December 15, 2012 After the First World War, both Italy and Germany was in an economic down turn. Both countries saw hardship with the addition of high unemployment rates. Workers in both counties were unhappy with how life was, which spurred riots and strikes. A leader emerged from each country, claiming radical ideology was the solution. Mussolini and his Party adopted trending ideology to better appeal in the political environment. Hitler on the other hand, stuck to his radical ideas of a racial cleansing which he expressed in his book Mien Kampf. Both leaders didn’t come into power on their own but with the support and loyalty from many followers, their needs to become dictator was successful. With such radical ideas, it would be less likely they would come to power during these present times, but of course we learn from the past so we may not repeat the mistakes from prior experiences. But why did so many Germans and Italians supported radical dictators that would eventually lead the world to another war? The revolutionary movement after the First World War increasingly grew in Milan, where many far left-wing politicians expressed extreme socialist ideas in revolt of how the current state of Italy. Mussolini knew this movement was what he needed in order to win the public over. Unfortunately the 1919 election only captured two percent of the vote for Mussolini and his Fascist Party. By 1920, socialist revolts and...
Words: 941 - Pages: 4
...a huge debt was amassed, and unemployment soared. Unrest began to spread throughout the lower classes throughout the country when the government began spending three times the money it was making, and refusing to tax the wealthy citizens of Italy. Benito Mussolini preached opposition to discrimination based on social class and was strongly opposed to all forms of class war during the earlier stages of the fascist party’s development to gain popular support. Once the ideology of Fascism was fully developed the fascist began preaching nationalist sentiments such as a strong unity, regardless of class, in the hopes of raising Italy up to the levels of its past, the Roman Empire. Later, Fascism would change its ideas and began to go back on old claims. Fascism began to promote that state as the ultimate end, rule by the elie, rejection of democracy, rejection of the idea that all people are created equal, promotion of the militarization of the state with the establishment of a “warrior” class, demanding citizen to perform...
Words: 611 - Pages: 3
...• Mussolini differed from Hitler in regard to Jews and Homosexuals and other groups from power. • Mussolini faced more opposition from Liberals and leftist groups, while Hitler adopted totalitarianism with a lot of nationalistic pride. • Both used something called Secret policy. • Yet both policies were different in nature. Hitler focused more a pollution of the German state and influences from the Aryan race. While Mussolini utilized bandits and hooligans to keep and strengthen his power. • Hitler and Mussolini placed fear into the hearts of the general public. Trepidation was present but for different reasons. • People beneath Hitler were afraid of not fitting in. conformity took over and wanted to be apart of the Aryan race. Because if you did not fit in, the consequences were grave such as death camps, and so...
Words: 1011 - Pages: 5
...Many would think that two of the most regimented states of the nineteenth century would have very similar platforms. But alas, this is not the case in regards to Mussolini’s and Hitler’s views on the formation of their ideal states. The head of Italy believes in an ethical, Fascist state, while Germany’s totalitarian leader looked to fuse the state under the idea that one group of people were responsible for the world’s worst problems. Mussolini is in favor of “…the state to be strong, organic, and at the same time founded on a wide popular basis” (Mussolini 238). In this state “…the individual is not suppressed, but rather multiplied.” (Mussolini 239). Namely, he advocates for the state of Italy to become strengthened through the collective...
Words: 329 - Pages: 2
...John Stuart Mill and Benito Mussolini: On the Nature of Social and Economic Progress of a Nation. Eric Joo April 27, 2015 SS 102 Professor Marr Word Count: 1659 -Mill: As for the matter of liberty, it’s clear that individual liberties must be upheld as of utmost importance. Its diminution comes at the price of social, economic, and political progress. -Mussolini: What about the state interests? Is that not of utmost importance to you? Social and economic progress can only come when the individual serves the interests of the state. All other alternatives simply a hinderance to the notion of progress. -Mill: It is actually USEFUL for society if its individuals have maximum diversity and variety of opinion. Even if those opinions are dissenting or outright “wrong.” All opinions have value in that they all lead to social progress....
Words: 1837 - Pages: 8
