Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini In my perspective, my biography is based on one of the most
interesting men of the 20th Century. My biography would not have been done
without the knowledge of Edwin Hoyt. He was the author of the biography based on
Benito Mussolini called “Mussolini’s Empire.” This 298-page book describes
Mussolini’s rise and fall of the Fascist Empire. Benito Mussolini also known as
il duce, was born in Predappio, Romagna on July 29, 1883. His father Alessandro
was a blacksmith, and his mother Rosa was a Schoolteacher. Mussolini followed in
his father’s footsteps and became a devoted socialist.
In 1901 he qualified as
an elementary schoolmaster. In 1902 he went to Switzerland to find a job. They
arrested him and kicked him out of the country because he was vagabonding. They
took him back to Italy where he joined a staff of a newspaper in the Austrian
town of Trento in 1908. Mussolini’s contributions to society weren’t really
contributions; they were more like threats to society. One of the biggest
threats that he introduced was in March 1919 when he founded the Fasci de
Combattimento. This brought him up for elections in 1919, where he failed to
enter the parliament. In 1921, Mussolini was introduced to the parliament as a
right-wing member. Italy was growing in revolutionary confusion, and it was up
for the liberal governments to prevent the spread of anarchy because Mussolini
gave his approval in strikebreaking, so that meant that the Fascisti also known
as armed squads would be stagnant and not try to prevent any revolutionary
agitation. The liberal governments failed to stop the spread of anarchy. Due to
their failure the king had no choice but to ask Mussolini to form his own
government. In 1925-1926 he was able to assume dictatorial parties and dissolve
all other political parties.
Now you might ask yourself “How is this a threat to
society?” Well, this was not only a threat to society but also a threat to his
society. This man had power to control the whole country. He was able to choose
and make any rules that he wanted. Now if you ask me, this man was incredible.
Started out as an editor of a socialist newspaper and ended up as a dictator
controlling Italy. This man controlled the armed Fascist militia, this power
gave him the ability to declare war and use them in any way he wanted. Now that
their was dictatorship there was no need for the parliamentary system, so it was
practically abolished, law codes were rewritten, teachers in schools and
universities had to swear an oath to defend the Fascist regime. Newspaper
editors were chosen by Mussolini himself. If you didn’t have a certificate
approved by the Fascist party you could forget about having a journalism career.
All industries went from public to private ownership. Everything was under
governmental control. As you can see Italy’s society was hit hard. I mean their
whole history was wiped out like it was never there, and all of a sudden Italy
was introduced to a beginning of a new era. Dictatorship also affected society
itself outside Italy. In Mussolini’s footsteps followed Adolf Hitler dictator of
Germany. Mussolini had an imperial dream, and Hitler had no dream he just wanted
to wipe out Jews and take over as many lands as possible. Everything was going
well for Mussolini until 1943 when the Italian’s got defeated by Anglo-Americans
landing in Sicily. After this happened Mussolini’s colleagues turned against him
at a meeting of the Fascist Grand Council on July 25, 1943. This enabled the
king to dismiss and arrest him. Hitler being the subordinate partner of
Mussolini ordered his troops to rescue him. Mussolini infuriated that his
Fascist leaders let him down, he got some to get executed including his son in
law, Galeazzo Ciano. Another conflict that he was faced with was trying to make
it to Switzerland without getting caught by any Italians.
In April 1945 just
before the allied armies reached Milan, Mussolini along with his mistress Clara Petacci, were caught by Italian partisans as he tried to take refuge in
Switzerland. Unfortunately they were both executed by getting Shot. Even after
Mussolini got shot he got beat up. That just shows how much anger the Italians
had toward him. A very horrific picture of Mussolini and his mistress Clara
Petacci after being executed. They were hanged for display for everybody to see.
These Italians really had no love for him. They were displayed like if they were
a Christmas tree. What I really liked about him was that he knew how to talk to
people. He knew how to communicate, and that’s got him all the way to the top.
He started in his newspapers and ended up in a balcony over thousands of people.
He would intoxicate them with his powerful speeches. I really like that in a
person, he spoke his mind and these Italians absolutely loved what was coming
out of that man’s mouth. It was really incredible how a single person could have
the gift to persuade thousands of people to do absolutely anything. As I read
the book this author showed me no humor. He was straight to the point and very
scholarly with his stuff. I bet you any money that the impression that this man
gave me, was the same that the author received. This author really put a lot in
to the book because I read other books about Mussolini and they do not compare
to Edwin Hoyt’s. I guess that once you get hooked on an interesting person you
stay with him the whole way. Life being so interesting an all. What survived of
Mussolini were his wife Rachele, two sons, Vittorio and Romano, and his daughter
Edda, widow of Count Ciano. A third son, Bruno had been killed in an air
accident. This was just a brief story about his life, but this why he fascinates
me because of his ambition and devotion. This is why I think he is one the most
interesting men of the 20th Century.
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