Benito

Benito

Alex Achenbach

• Born as Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini on July 29th, 1883, in the small village of Dovo din Predappio
• He was named after the Mexican reformist president, Benito Juarez
• He admired his father greatly even though his father did not respect him
• By age 8 he was banned from the church for things such as pinching people during the service and throwing stones at people outside
• At age 11 he was also banned from boarding school for stabbing a fellow student
• He still received good grades and became a schoolmaster in 1901
• He then moved to Switzerland in 1902 to escape military service but found no work
• He was forced into the military anyways, and when he returned from his service in World War II, he began to talk to people about how Italy needed a strong new leader (and hinted that he could be that leader)
• He reformed Milan's "Italian Fighting League", which then began hunting down communists, socialists, and Anarchists
• The government rarely interfered with Mussolini's activities
• On October 31, 1922, Mussolini became the new Prime Minister of Italy; he was 39 years old
• He created a government on which Hitler based his new government (which was to come a decade later)
• He put many kinds of people into his parties, such as Fascists, Nationalists, Liberals and Catholics
• July of 1923, Italy became a national constituency
• He ruled his government with a combination of fear and assassination
• This led to the "Matteotti Incident", in which one of Mussolini's critics was assassinated
• Mussolini finally joined World War II on the side of Nazi Germany
• Mussolini made various treaties to solidify his alliance with Germany (such as the "Pact of Steel"
• In 1940 Italy declared war in Britain and France, and also declared war on the U.S. in 1941
• He suffered many casualties and gained very little ground
• He began imitating Hitler with anti-Jew laws and having Italian troops march in the goose step
• After his failures during World War II, he was expelled from office and replaced by Pietro Badoglio, who immediately began peace negotiations with the Allies
• Mussolini was soon after thrown in jail by his own Grand Council of Fascism in 1943, but he was rescued by German Paratroopers in a daring rescue orchestrated by Hitler's top soldiers
• He moved to northern Italy and began to gather followers and begin a new movement in the direction of fascism, but ultimately was unable to recreate his dream of what Italy should be
• He blamed his loss of WWII on the Italian people, saying they "were not great enough to realize his dream"
• Finally, on April 28th, 1945, he was captured on his way to his airplane in which we was going to escape to Switzerland
• He was captured by Italian Partisans, and was executed (along with some of his top advisers and his mistress) on the very next day
• The day after his executed, he was hung up on meat hooks alongside his advisers and mistress in the town square of the city of Milan
• With Mussolini's death, Italy immediately became anti-Fascist and did everything in their power to prevent the rise of Fascism again

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Maxwell S. Smith Benito Mussolini-Fascist dictator of Italy/Known as Il Duce or The Leader

• 1883-July 29-Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini is born in the province of Forli
• 1901-He is a school teacher in Gaulteri
• 1902-Emigrates to Switzerland to escape serving mandatory military time in Italy, but gets arrested and imprisoned
• 1904-He is forced to go to Italy and serve his two mandatory years====moves to Trenito after military
• 1909-Becomes editor of La Lotta Di Classe========expelled from Trenito
• 1910-Appointed secretary of socialist party in Forli
• 1912-Became the editor of Avanti which doubled it's circulation
• 1914-Through Avanti, he says that Italy should not enter WWl========Resigns from Avanti and withdraws from the socialist party=====becomes the editor of Il Popolo D'Italia
• 1915-Had a son from Ida Dalser=====voluntarily joined military
• 1917-A mortar ended his military career
• 1918-An antisocialist believes that you need "a man who is ruthless and energetic enough to make a clean sweep and overcome political and economical problems"
• 1919- Mussolini forms the Fasci Italia di Combattimetto or (The Italian Combat Veteran's League) in a gathering in Milan which consisted of war veterans,revolutionary socialists, and futurists=========ICVL brings facism to the public.
• 1921- Mussolini and 34 other fascists get seats in parliament which leads Mussolini to organise the National Fascist Party
• 1922- October 24 Demands that the government be given to him with the threat that he will march on Rome if it isn't=====October 31-The king gives Mussolini title of prime minister and he now controls government. (known as his fascist regime)
• 1924-Because of alledged corrupted electoral votes, fascists win 64% of the vote and get 374 seats in parliament=====June 10-Fascists murder Giacomo Matteotti because he opposes the regime and the elections=======his murderer (Dumini) is imprisoned for 2 years
• 1925-troubles result from the murderMussolini and the fascists try to make smart economical and social solutions======Mussolini declares himself supreme dictator.
• 1929-He gains popularity when he helps avoid the Great Depression.
• 1933-Withdrew from league of nations
• 1932-Ante Pavelic gets asylum in Italy, He will go on to kill 600,000 to 1,000,000 people in WWII
• 1935-October 3-The 7 month invasion of Ethiopia begins======May 9-400,000 people are made known of Mussolini's victory.
• 1936-Joins the axis with Hitler
• 1938-Mussolini becomes anti-semitic and deports 7 thousand jews to Germany, of which 5,910 are killed======Has to let Austria be annexed and Czechoslavakia dismembered
• 1939-April 7-invades Albania======April 12-Albania becimes part of Italy=======May-WWll starts when Germany invades Poland and====May-Mussolini signs Pact of Steel with Hitler======Britain and France declare war on Germany
• 1940-Joins Hitler in battle after he is sure that Hitler will take Western Europe=======Mussolini invades Greece unknowingly to Hitler======Mussolini attacks Egypt from Libya
• 1941-Italians are forced back into Libya======December 11-Germany and Italy declare war on the US======December-Germany and Italy declare war on Russia
• 1942-Axis controlled part of Africa is defeated by general Bernard Law Montgomery
• 1943-July-The allies invade Sicily======July 24-Fascist Grand Council deposes Mussolini, leading to his arrest the next day======September 3-Italy becomes an ally======Mussolini is moved to 3 prisons until he is rescued to Munich by SS commandos on September 12
• 1945-Mussolini attempts to flee to Switzerland but he is captured on April 27=======The next day Mussolini is shot in the back of the head by a firing squad in Giulino di Mezzegro=======Mussolini and his mistress's dead bodies are hung by the feet for public display in Milan
• 1946-Italy becomes a republic with an antifascist constitution
• 1948-Neo-fascists get a 2% vote in the parliamentary elections

For more info on Benito Mussolini and his involvement with Italy, check out Wikipedia.



Random Facts

• He helped Austria become independent
• He had one younger brother and one younger sister
• Although his house had 2 incomes because of his mom being a teacher and his dad being a blacksmith, they were a poor family
• His father gave him early political background when Mussolini worked with him in the forge
• He grew up in a republicanist, nationalist, and socialist environment
• Named after Mexican president Benito Juarez
• Wasn't baptized
• Got kicked out of church for pinching people
• Got kicked out of school for throwing an inkpot at a teacher and for stabbing someone
• Kept a war diary
• Youngest prime minister of Italy
• Started the "Gold for the Fatherland" program
• Wife's name was Clara Petacci

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