Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)

Benito Mussolini was born on July 29th, 1883 in the town of Varnano dei Costa near the village of Predappio. His mother, Rosa Maltoni, was married to a blacksmith named Alessandro Mussolini. Alessandro, being an admirer of the Mexican revolutionary Benito Juarez, named his son after the patriot and hero. Benito Mussolini was a devoted writer and after he finished his schooling, he became an editor for the Milan socialist paper "Avanti". He became well known among the Italian socialists, but soon started promoting his views for war against Germany in World War I.

This infuriated the Socialists who were against Italy's entry into the war. In 1915 he formed his own paper, Il Popolo d'Italia, and continued his promotion for war. When Italy finally joined the Allies to fight Germany, Mussolini enlisted into the "Esercito" (Army). Mussolini achieved the rank of Corporal, the same rank as Adolf Hitler, but was discharged in 1917 due to shrapnel wounds from a grenade.

He returned to his career in journalism in which he began to develop his ideas that would soon become known as Fascism. After the war, Italy was in turmoil. The economy was shattered and there were strikes and protests everywhere. On March 23, 1919, Mussolini and several other veterans formed the National Fascist Party. This party grew in popularity among the people of Italy, who were disappointed with the chaos surrounding them. Mussolini seemed to have the answers to bring their country into order. During this time, he adopted the Roman salute and the Black Shirt militia, which Hitler later copied from him as the Brown Shirts. On March 15th 1921, Mussolini along with 35 other Fascists were elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies.

On October 29, 1922, King Vittorio Emmanuele III (1869-1947) phoned Mussolini to come to Rome and form a government. Mussolini boarded a train to Rome and was greeted by thousands of Fascist Blackshirts awaiting his arrival. His first act was to send the strikers back home to their families and their jobs. Mussolini managed to assume the powers of all the government offices in order to regain control of the economy. In a short period of time, he was successful in stabilizing the economy and taking his country out of economic turmoil. He became known as "Il Duce" (the leader)

His first international crisis as head of Italy made him an Italian hero. The crisis was a border dispute between Greece and Albania. Mussolini sent several men to the area representing Italy as part of an International Commission to dispute the issue. On August 23, 1923, all the Italians were murdered and discovered in Greek territory. In a rage, Mussolini sent the Greek government a list of demands, including a public apology, immediate inquiry into the killings, death sentence to those convicted and payment of 50 million Lira within 5 days. The Greeks refused the demand, since they did not know if it was Greeks who committed the murders.

Mussolini ordered the Italian navy to bombard Corfu (Kerkyra) off the Greek coast. The landing of Italian marines then followed the shelling. After the League of Nations (International diplomatic and peace organization created in the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I) condemned the act, Mussolini threatened to pull Italy out of the League.

Mussolini insisted that the Conference of Ambassadors, who formed the original mission in the first place, must settle the dispute. France, wanting Italy's support over the mineral rich Ruhr Valley, sided with Italy. As a result, the Conference of Ambassadors endorsed most of Italy's position. The Greek government gave in and agreed to Il Duce's demands. Mussolini sending elements of the Italian Army into the city of Fiume and seizing it from Yugoslavia immediately followed this victory. Mussolini was eventually