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The dictator seizes power
Now a thorough antisocialist, Mussolini started advocating the
concept of dictatorship. In 1918 he organised his followers into a
party. His supporters, always clad in black, increased in number
attracted by his magnetic personality and his sensational oratory
power and public presence. His fascist squads started attaching
socialist institutions and people systematically and soon the better
part of Italy was under their sway. He soon raised a cry and
demanded that power at the national level be handed over to him lest
he seize it by force. The day October 31, 1922 saw him become
Italy’s youngest Prime Minister. His authority was welcomed in the
initial stages by the masses that were fatigued by the rigors of
the war.
A network of secret service agents spread
all over the country and Mussolini started many ambitious public
work projects. Reality however was harsh, with the existence of wide
social disparities and a troubled economy unable to cope with the
new demands made on it. Fascist propaganda however painted Mussolini
in glowing terms and made him out to be a hero. The picture might
have sustained, had he not indulged in callous activities that
fanned his arrogance and manifested in the form of racial
intolerance. He invaded Ethiopia in 1935. Despite international
pressure, he refused to withdraw and Italy had its ‘empire’.
The ‘friend’ and the end
Meanwhile Mussolini had found a friend with similar ideologies -
Adolf Hitler. He caught Hitler’s anti-Semitic attitude and followed
suit. Italian Jews were sent to German death camps. They then signed
a treaty - the pact of Steel, an alliance that was instrumental in
their downfall.
The beginning of the Second World War
marked the downfall of Mussolini. German dominance worried Mussolini
and his pro-war activities had disastrous results. An overwhelming
majority in Italy was against Mussolini and he was arrested. German
commandos however came to his rescue and helped him escape.
Mussolini then established a new Fascist
regime in northern Italy. Mussolini headed this puppet government
while the Allies advanced. To avoid capture, he tried to cross over
the border disguised as a German soldier but was recognized. He was
shot on April 28, 1945 and his body hung upside down in full public
view. A jubilant Italy celebrated the fall of the harsh dictator and
the beginning of peaceful times. |
