Benito Essay, Research Paper

Benito Mussolini Like his father, Benito became a burning socialist. Mussolini had huge goals ofrunning a political machine based on his own beliefs. Born in the poverty-stricken village ofRomagna, Italy, he was wild, nomadic, and defiant as a young adult lived the life of a bum. Showingfierce aggression at such a young age, he was expelled from two schools for knife-assaults on otherstudents. His father a village blacksmith and his mother a schoolmistress, he lived life in poverty thatseemed inscapable. By moving from Italy to Austria he devoted himself to the battle for human andeconomic freedom. Mussolini had become an impassioned Socialist. He had been appointedsecretary to the Socialists of the Chamber of Labor in Trent, Austria. He also headed a weeklynewspaper that was a major Socialist channel in Trent. Practicing journalism, in which he had alwaysthought as his first passion. This gave Mussolini an opportuninty to establish a name in the SocialistParty and with the people in general. He wrote articles that would get the people’s blood racing onchurch issues. One thing Benito Mussolini was not afraid of was the rage of other men. For thesearticles he spent time in prison and was then deported back to Italy. In Italy he persisted and gavepublic speeches, the people loved his ideas. He became one of Italy’s most intelligent and menacingyoung Socialist. In November 1914 he published, Il Popolo d’Italia, and the prowar group Fascid’Azione Rivoluzionaria. Mussolini’s lifeblood went into Il Popolo d’Italia. Benito Mussolini becamea national force; groups supporting intervention in the war sprang up everywhere. His expectationsfor the war, was the collapse of society that would bring him to power. His socialist comrades wereenraged by his article committing Socialist support to Italy’s entry into the World War. Just yearsearlier he had been protesting Italy’s entry in war. Called up for military service, he was woundedand returned in 1917. In 1919 he founded the facist di combattimento, which in 1921 became theItalian Facist party. With facist party backing and Mussolini’s own tactics he rose to power between1919 and 1922. Mussolini entered parliament in 1921 as a right-wing member. The Fascisti formedarmed squads to boss around Mussolini’s former Socialist colleagues. The Italian government rarelyinterfered. In return for the support of a group of industrialists, Mussolini gave his approval tostrikebreaking, and he abandoned revolutionary disturbance. When the liberal governments of others

had failed to stop the spread of anarchy, King Victor Emmanuel III invited Mussolini to form acoalition government in 1922. With the support of the Liberals in parliament, he introduced strictcensorship and altered the methods of election so that in 1925-1926 he was able to assumedictatorial powers and end all other political parties. By 1926 the facist leader had transformed Italyinto a single-party, tolalitarian regime. He was also head of the all-powerful Fascist party and thearmed Fascist militia. The regime was overcentralized, inefficient, and corrupt. His plans for theeconomy suffered from his exaggerated attempt to make Italy self-sufficient. In foreign policy,Mussolini moved from anti-imperialism to an extreme aggressive nationalist. He succeeded to set uppuppet governments in Albania and Libya. It was his dream to make the Mediterranean Italy’s sea.He helped Austria create an anti-Hitler front in order to defend their independence. But without thesupport of the League of Nations, because their opposition of his war against Ethiopia, Mussoliniwas forced to seek an alliance with Nazi Germany. Mussolini followed the Nazis in adopting a racialpolicy that led to the oppression of the Jews. His declaration of war on Britain and France exposedItaly’s military unpreparedness, and was followed by a series of defeats. Following the Alliedinvasion of Sicily, and with his supporters deserting him, he was overthown and arrested. Rescuedfrom imprisionment by German paratroopers, he forced to make the Liberal Italy into the puppetItalian Social Republic for Hitler. This showed his defeat, he lost his good-natured reasons for evenbecoming a socialist. In 1945 he was captured by the Italian Resistance and shot. After Mussolini’sdimise, the new Italian republic would repudiate everything he had stood for and redifine Italy’sinterests drastically. Even his own people had come to hate him. The era of Mussolini has had aprofound effect on present views. It involves being a major part in the Holocaust, Taking over theItailian Government to his Socialistic Views. The Holocaust involved the killing of millions of Jewishpeople, and the conquering of surrounding countries. It has played an important part of keepingharmful revolutionists from taking over, and has showed the affects of dictatorships. He was drivenby a sort of compulsion to free himself and others from the sort of oppression that he had endured inhis own childhood, he had consecrated himself to the battle for human rights.