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Benito Mussolini Research Paper

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The peace settlements after the First World War created a lot of problems, no matter for the victorious powers or the defeated countries. The Inter-war Period (1919-1939) saw the rise of totalitarianism. Fascism and Nazism emerged in Italy and Germany respectively, with Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler as leaders of their countries. The two leaders completely controlled both the domestic and foreign policies of their countries. In this study, the comparison in political, economic and social aspects of the the two countries will be discussed in detail.

To begin with, politically, Fascism and Nazism both believed in dictatorship and were against the republic form of government. Both Mussolini and Hitler led their country into a one-party dictatorship, …show more content…

He organised many unemployed war veterans into armed squads known as Black Shirts. In 1921, the Fascist Party joined the coalition government. By October 1922, the Black Shirts launched the March on Rome and Mussolini presented himself as the only man competent of restoring order. Italian King Victor Emmanuel then invited Mussolini to form a government. In 1923, Mussolini forced the Parliament to pass a new electoral law — the Acerbo Law. The Acerbo Law changed election results. By this Law, a party that gained 25% or more votes in an election would get 66% of the seats in the Parliament. The Fascist Party then used violent methods to threaten its opponents. During the Parliament’s voting on whether to pass the Acerbo Law or not, the hall in which the politicians voted was filled with armed Fascist thugs who kept an eye on anybody who were against the Law. Those who voted against the Law were in danger from the Fascist thugs. The Fascist Party easily won the election with 65% of the votes cast, and became the majority in the Parliament. Further onwards, Mussolini destroyed all opposition by force. All other parties were banned, and opponents were arrested or even killed, such as Giacomo Matteotti — a leading socialist member of the parliament who publicly condemned Mussolini, and was then murdered by

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