The Falling Skies Of Benito Mussolini

However, the German’s ideals of expansion were drastically more global than that of the Italians. While both believed that territorial expansion was a necessity for superiority, fascist Italy’s main focus of expansion was based upon that of the once powerful Roman Empire. This began with The Abyssinia Crisis of 1935, in which Italy invaded Ethiopia. The Abyssinia Crisis not only showed the pursuit from Italy towards becoming according to Overy what would be considered an empire, but also showed the lack of enforcement from the League of Nations as it pertains to collective security. British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain stated, “The circumstances in which the dispute between Italy and Abyssinian began appeared to offer an opportunity for the exercise of that policy which could hardly be more favorable for its success. The aggression was patent and flagrant, and there was hardly any country to which it appeared that a policy of sanctions could be exercised with a greater chance of success than upon Italy.” The foreign policy of Italy were explicit and began to be followed through with, due to the lack of influence from the League. So, while the Italian movement focused around becoming a “have” power and regaining their superiority though the Roman Empire, the German foreign policy revolved around the Lebensraum, or the land to

There is no doubt that Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini shared many similar characteristics. They shared movements that were typical of National Socialism: they adopted a radical nationalism, militaristic hierarchies, violence, the cult of charismatic leadership, contempt for individual liberties and civil rights, an anti-democratic and anti-socialist orientation, and a refusal to socialize industries.

Mussolini says that this was on purpose as the “surprise was important and he meant to claim that he was acting in self-defense”. A couple of years, in 1939, Italy invaded Albania, after Albania rejected the ultimatum that demanded that Italy’s occupation be acceded. As a result, Fascists slogans indicated that Albania should became an Italian protectorate. June 10, 1940, Italy declared war on Britain and France when it seemed as if Germany was winning the war.

Throughout all the worlds significant and powerful leaders, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini were two men that similarly abused their powers in ways never seen before.

War is inevitable, as it is simply the manifestation of the strength and vigour of the Italian people that wishes to expand itself, never looking back. Peace was considered as merely a “mask to surrender and cowardice.” Mussolini stressed that Italians required “forces, duty, and sacrifice” in order to rise again to their former greatness, that of the Roman Empire. This is also Mussolini’s rationale for harsh and severe actions against any who would resist or try and undermine fascism.

Mussolini and Hitler’s time in power was around the time its countries were most vulnerable. Their power was so successful because of their full and unconditional support from its people. If they were failing somehow, through their use of propaganda they made it seem like they were booming, socially, economically and politically. Adolf Hitler, born and raised in 1889, Austria. Dying in April 1945 Germany, he commit suicide just two days after Mussolini died by firing squad alongside his mistress, in Italy. Benito Mussolini was born in 1883 Italy where he bullied many kids (Downing, 2001). Hitler was able to successfully work his way up from the inside of government, which overall explains why Hitler’s 12 years in power went more smoothly than Mussolini’s 18 years. Due to both leaders having fascist policies allowed their countries to be alike. Their personality cults did not necessarily help them rise to power but it certainly consolidated their positions once ‘Fuhrer’ or ‘Duce’. Also, their propaganda use strongly encouraged the people to support their leader and gain respect for them. The events prior to their rise played a significant role when analysing their personalities, ideologies, and propaganda. To a large extent, their

Many times during her work as a spy, Josephine considered going back to her normal routine as a dancer but in the end stuck to her decision to become a spy. It all paid of in the end when the war ended in 1945. Josephines work as a spy was recognized when she received the Croix de guerre and the Rosette de la Résistance. Josephine very thankful to receive the awards, she never thought that she would gain anything after her work finished, it was a nice surprise.

When World War I began, Italy was in the forty-third year of its unification. From 1860 until 1871, the Kingdom of Italy wrangled individual kingdoms across the land into one entity, much to the shock of its neighbors. The joining forced the rest of Europe to give grudging respect the land of the Roman Empire. The Kingdom of Italy was just missing the Italian speaking lands of the Alps, held by the Austrian-Hapsburg Empire, and they coveted the land greatly. During his reign, Bismarck saw the rising tension between Austria-Hungary and its new neighboring enemy and brokered a triple alliance that promised Italy support to take French-held territory in and around the Mediterranean Sea. As nationalism rose in citizens across nations, Italy had more than its share of Risorgimento, which was the term for the Italian

After having experienced disastrous losses and radical shifts in power following the end of World War I, Europe became witness to an increase in extreme political ideologies. One such philosophy was presented by Benito Mussolini, who introduced the theory of fascism. This ideology advocated a one-party dictatorship capable of subduing critical opposition and oftentimes endorsing aggressive nationalism. Also a proponent of fascism was Adolf Hitler, who championed anti-semitism, or prejudice against Jews. As history would have it, the most well-known act of anti-semitism was the Holocaust, which was initiated by Hitler and took place during the Second World War. Joseph Goebbels based his doctrine off of socialist nationalism, which promoted social equality, popular sovereignty, and national self-determination. The political strategies presented by Mussolini, Hitler, and Goebbels are illustrated in their respective works, The Doctrine of Fascism, Mein Kampf, and Nazi Propaganda Packet.

Mussolini had a close relationship with Adolf Hitler because they believed many of the same things. “In 1939, Mussolini and Hitler signed the so-called “Pact of Steel,” which committed each country to come to the aid of the other in war. A few months later, Hitler invaded Poland and set off World War II. Mussolini, however, delayed joining Hitler until Nazi troops were just about to defeat France in June 1940.” Therefore, they are partners in war. “ In 1941, he sent 200,000 of his soldiers to aid Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union. The harsh winter and Soviet guerilla fighters killed huge numbers of German and Italian soldiers.”“Even so, Il Duce came increasingly under the influence of Hitler in the late 1930s.“In July 1943, Allied troops

World War I began in August of 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand at Sarajevo, in what is now Yugoslavia. Following this period Italy was in a state of civil war, with the parliament incapable of providing effective leadership. There was a rise in social tension, as well as economic problems. This resulted in a new, more aggressive breed of Italian politicians. They followed a violent anarchic political credo, also known as fascism. Although Italy’s economy was weak, following World War I, it was effected more by political factors, such as the rise of fascism, and social factors as seen through the newspaper, Il Popolo d’Italia.

On September 28, 1938 Chamberlain was insistent on avoiding another world war. He therefore called on Hitler to invite him to Germany to propose a solution through a summit that would involve Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. As Hitler agreed to the meeting, Chamberlain departed for Munich in an attempt to settle land disputes and allow the Czech region of the Sudetenland to be part of the German empire. Upon Chamberlain’s arrival in Munich, he was taken directly to the Fuhrerbau, a representative building where French Prime Minister, Edouard Daladier and Italy’s Prime Minister, Benito Mussolini arrived to meet Hitler as well. The four leaders and their respective translators held an informal meeting, where Hitler openly announced his intentions

The Fascists’ social and economic policies up to 1939 significantly aided their control over Italy yet may not be cited as the sole cause. The Fascist party’s social and economic policies along with other factors attributed to the overall control of Italy. Through such policies it was a certainty that the Fascist party would hold complete power over the population of Italy in each aspect of an individual’s life whether it was their leisure time through the Dopolavoro or at work under the corporate state system which was formally introduced in 1934. This complete domination of the Italian peoples’ lives could be argued to have been the instrumental factor behind the Fascists’ control over Italy up to 1939. Other factors which assisted the

In the early days of Mussolini’s regime (he came to power in 1922), Italian foreign policy seemed rather confused: Mussolini knew what he wanted, which was ‘to make Italy great, respected and feared.’ But he was not sure how to achieve this, apart from agitating for a revision of the 1919 peace settlement in Italy’s favour. At first he seemed to think an adventurous foreign policy was his best line of action, hence the Corfu Incident and the occupation of Fiume in 1923. By an agreement signed at Rapallo in 1920, Fiume was to be a ‘free city’, used jointly by Italy and Yugoslavia; after Italian troops moved in, Yugoslavia agreed that it should belong to Italy. After these early successes, Mussolini became

As a result of how Italy was created but not fully unified, the new Italian state suffered from a variety of weaknesses which the new liberal state was unable to tackle these. This made Italy susceptible to the appeal of fascism, and therefore aided Mussolini’s rise to power.