how did benito mussolini die
Four bullets near the heart were given as the cause of death. At the time, Mussolini is said to have remarked "for the blood of Piazzale Loreto, we shall pay dearly". 3 If they couldn't, they submitted to binding government arbitration. Also Known As: Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini. String them up! [8], Over the week following his arrival in Milan, and with the military situation deteriorating, Mussolini vacillated between a number of options including making a last stand in the Valtellina, a valley in the Italian Alps (the so-called Ridotto Alpino Repubblicano), fleeing to Switzerland, or attempting to negotiate a peaceful handover to the partisan leadership, the CLNAI,[note 2] or to the Allies. So, how did Mussolini die? That way, Mussolini could hold power while Hitler maintained an ally. Now, Mussolini was in deep. He once more became a schoolmaster, this time in the Venetian Alps, north of Udine, where he lived, so he confessed, a life of moral deterioration. But soon tiring of so wasteful a life, he returned to trade-union work, to journalism, and to extreme politics, which led yet again to arrest and imprisonment. He was expelled and sent to the Giosu Carducci School at Forlimpopoli, from which he was also expelled after assaulting yet another pupil with his penknife. Wikimedia CommonsThe farmhouse in northern Italy where Benito Mussolini would be last seen alive. [69] Over a period of sixteen weeks it was moved from place to place the hiding places included a villa, a monastery and a convent while the authorities searched for it. Wikimedia CommonsAdolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Munich, Germany, circa June 1940. Virtually every land on earth has a creator figure, a father of his country: Charlemagne for the French, Peter the Great for the Russians, George Washington for the Americans. KOMPAS.com - Benito Mussolini adalah seorang politisi yang dikenal sebagai diktator fasis Italia antara 1925-1945. In Audisio's account, Mussolini said nothing immediately prior to or during the execution. The former led to Mussolinis overthrow and imprisonment; the latter to the surrender of Italy, even though German troops soon occupied the entire country and carried on the fight against the Allies from Italian soil. At noon, given a lunch of polenta in their upstairs bedroom, Mussolini told Petacci that he had lost his appetite; suspense over their fate was getting to him. A woman stepping forward and pumping five bullets into his bodyfor my five dead sons, she said. His inner circle burned his corpse as Soviet forces closed in. Whatever the case, his family was told that he died in the war. Some journalists, politicians and historians, doubting the veracity of Audisio's account, have advanced a wide variety of theories and speculation as to how Mussolini died and who was responsible. By the spring of 1945, the war in Europe was over and Italy was broken. Although his account most probably is built around the facts, it was certainly embellished. The corpse turned up four months later in a monastery near Milan. People got ropes, tied them to the feet of the corpses, and strung them upside-down from the iron girders of a gas station. Mussolini led Italy, alright: he led it straight into disaster. Mussolini needed a strong military to back up his dictatorship. In fact, there has never been a determination by any governmental or judicial authority of a particular version of events. A note left behind said the Fascist Party would no longer tolerate the cannibal slurs made by human dregs organized in the Communist Party.. Mussolini was killed two days before Hitler and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide. There it stayed for eleven years, until Italian Prime Minister Adone Zoli turned over the bones to Mussolinis widow. Mussolini was the first child of the local blacksmith. In June 1940, he took the country into World War II on the side of Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler. Known For: Mussolini was a fascist dictator who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943. His father was an ardent socialist who worked part-time as a journalist for leftist publications. He claimed that on 28 April he convened a "war tribunal" in Dongo comprising Lampredi, Bellini delle Stelle, Michele Moretti and Lazzaro with himself as president. Hegel, Karl Kautsky, and Georges Sorel, picking out what appealed to him and discarding the rest, forming no coherent political philosophy of his own yet impressing his companions as a potential revolutionary of uncommon personality and striking presence. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. More than once he was arrested and imprisoned. Some writers believe that Mussolini's death was part of a British special forces operation, with the supposed aim of retrieving compromising "secret agreements" and correspondence with Winston Churchill that Mussolini had allegedly been carrying when he was captured. Unlike traditional dictatorships, which demanded passive obedience, Mussolinis total state demanded constant involvement, even enthusiasm, for the regime. This reign of terror came to a head on Aug. 13, 1944. In the afternoon of 25 April,[16] Cardinal Schuster hosted peace negotiations at his residence between Mussolini and representatives of the CLNAI, which were unsuccessful. Then came actual invasion, of Sicily in July 1943 and the Italian mainland in September. He read widely and voraciously, if not deeply, plunging into the philosophers and theorists Immanuel Kant, Benedict de Spinoza, Peter Kropotkin, Friedrich Nietzsche, G.W.F. Duce! He built up an elaborate cult of personality around himself. Mussolini had been Italy's fascist leader since 1922, first as prime minister and, following his seizure of dictatorial powers in 1925, with the title Il Duce. Now that steel has met steel, one single cry comes from our heartsViva lItalia! Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Munich, Germany, circa June 1940. Mussolini had formed an alliance with Hitler in 1939, and this ultimately brought about his downfall. What were Benito Mussolinis political beliefs? They were those of Mussolini, the Petaccis, and the 15 suspected Fascists. In the post-war years, the "official"[note 1] version of Mussolini's death has been questioned in Italy (but, generally, not internationally) in a manner that has drawn comparison with the John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories. It was never anything more than a German satellite state, and it did German bidding, rounding up and shooting anyone associated with the thriving anti-Axis partisan movement. Poorly trained and outfitted, these men would likely have lost a battle with Italys army. Keystone/Getty ImagesBenito Mussolini lies dead in Milans Piazza Loroto with his mistress, Clara Petacci. He would deserve to be killed like a mangy dog.[28]. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Wikimedia CommonsBenito Mussolini, second from left, hanging upside-down in Milans public square. Benito Mussolinis reaction to Brunos death Family close to Benito Mussolini reported that the dictator was heartbroken at the loss of his second son. What was Benito Mussolinis role in World War II? It is said that the correspondence included offers from Churchill of peace and territorial concessions in exchange for Mussolini persuading Hitler to join the western Allies in an alliance against the Soviet Union. The intention was to prove the hypothesis that syphilis had caused insanity in him, but nothing resulted from the analysis;[58] no evidence of syphilis was found on his body either. On 28 April 1945, Benito Mussolini died. It was alongside his longtime mistress, Clara Petacci, that he died, however. [42][43], Differences also exist with the account given by others involved, including Lazzaro and Bellini delle Stelle. In his own mind, Il Duce felt it should be Italy fighting the French. The crowd yelled, Higher! At least this way, Mussolini believed, he could live out his days in exile. Indeed, worry about Mussolini was one of the principal stumbling blocks that kept the British and French from taking a harder line against Hitler in the 1930s. He called himself the Duce, from the old Latin word dux (chief or boss). [13] It also issued a decree establishing popular courts, which included in its provisions what, in practice, would constitute a death sentence for Mussolini:[14]. [72], The anniversary of Mussolini's death on 28 April has become one of three dates neo-fascist supporters mark with major rallies. Lets take a look at the circumstances that led to his demise. [29], He also claimed that he had given the order as deputy prime minister of the government in Rome and as leader of the Communist Party. So successful was this paper that in 1912 he was appointed editor of the official Socialist newspaper, Avanti! He declared war on France and Britain in June 1940. These politics included the themes of racial superiority, xenophobia, and imperialism that defined his actions as a dictator. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benito-Mussolini, Jewish Virtual Library - Biography of Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Biography of Benito Mussolini, The National WWII Museum - Death of the Duce, Benito Mussolini, History Learning Site - Biography of Benito Mussolini, Benito Mussolini - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Benito Mussolini - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Higher! The Concordat was a popular move in Catholic Italy, and a plebiscite in May gave Mussolini 98% of the vote. Benito Mussolini was Europes first 20th-century fascist dictator, and the word fascism comes from the far-right movement he led in Italy. They made the Germans hand over all the Italians in exchange for allowing the Germans to proceed. Consequenses For the Mussolini Regime. [29], A senior communist in Milan, Luigi Longo, said that the order came from the General Command of the partisan military units "in application of a CLNAI decision". It was during this period, and after, that the nationalist and anti-Bolshevik strands of thought that would characterize his later politics began to emerge. Italian partisans took his body to Milan and exposed it before an angry crowd. In 1940, Mussolini took his country into World War II on the side of Nazi Germany but soon was met with military failure. The military had cut out a portion of his brain to test for syphilis. He and his mistress, Claretta Petacci, were captured on 27 April by local partisans near the village of Dongo on Lake Como. That still isnt the end of the story of Mussolinis death. A fitting end to a wretched life, the New York Times declared, and there were few, either inside or outside of Italy, who disagreed. [75] However, within Italy, the subject has been a matter of extensive debate and dispute since the late 1940s to the present and a variety of theories of how Mussolini died has proliferated. Eventually Mussolini was discovered slumped in one of the convoy vehicles. Italy fared poorly from the outset, with ignominious defeats in North Africa, Greece, and the Soviet Union. Growing closeness to Hitler was a kind of fatal embrace for Mussolini. The next morning, the partisans ordered the pair to stand against a brick wall near the entrance of Villa Belmonte, near Italys Lake Como and a firing squad shot the couple down in a barrage of gunfire. The truth is now unmistakably clear. General William H. Simpson, commander of Ninth Army, has received little attention in the historiography of World War II. [35][36] On arrival in Dongo, they met Pier Luigi Bellini delle Stelle, who was the local partisan commander, to arrange for Mussolini to be handed over to them. They were then hung upside down from a metal girder above a service station on the square. One version is that he was executed by firing squad on the 28th of April, 1945, shot by soldiers firing several bullets. After the defeat of the Italian Army in Russia, Mussolini was removed as head of state and imprisoned. For all these reasons it was seen as significant that he largely confirmed Audisio's account. Fascists dug up Il Duces body on Easter Sunday of 1946. Initially, Mussolini was buried in an unmarked grave but, in 1946, his body was dug up and stolen by fascist supporters. The south was in ruins as Allied troops advanced. The two were executed in 1943 by Italian partisans as they tried to escape to Switzerland, and their bodies were hung upside down in Milan. Fascist Italy was, or at least claimed to be, a totalitarian society, in which the state had complete control over the lives of its citizens. By the autumn of 1943, he was reduced to being the leader of a German puppet state in northern Italy and was faced with the Allied advance from the south and an increasingly violent internal conflict with the partisans. [69][70], The authorities then arranged for the body to be hidden at a Capuchin monastery in the small town of Cerro Maggiore where it remained for the next eleven years. Benito Mussolini was the fascist leader of Italy, appointed as prime minister after his march on Rome in 1922. His father was a blacksmith. Even worse, Great Britain now sent forces to Greece to oppose him. [75] Comparisons have been made with the John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories,[20] and it has been described as the Italian equivalent of that speculation. In the end, the once-free citizen now had no choice but to follow the regimes slogan: Credere, Obbedire, CombattereBelieve, obey, fight to defend the state!, It was in the realm of foreign policy that Mussolini eventually met his doom. First it was bombing raids on Italian cities, which possessed only rudimentary antiaircraft defenses. Mussolini and Petacci spent the rest of the night and most of the following day there.[27]. Lonati was interviewed for the documentary and claimed that when he arrived at the farmhouse: Petacci was sitting on the bed and Mussolini was standing. OConnor had only 30,000 men, but he planned his attacks skillfully. One woman felt Il Duce wasnt dead enough. [51], Their bodies were left in a heap, and by 9:00a.m. a considerable crowd had gathered. (Forward!), whose circulation he soon doubled; and as its antimilitarist, antinationalist, and anti-imperialist editor, he thunderously opposed Italys intervention in World War I. On April 25th, he, his paramour Petacci, a small convoy of bitter-enders, and a handful of German guards left Milan and headed north towards Lake Como on the Swiss border. When 30,000 Fascist troops did indeed enter the capital calling for revolution, it wasnt long before Italys reigning leaders had no choice but to cede power to the Fascists. Robert Citino, PhD, is the Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian in the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. Still, he voraciously read the works of great European philosophers like Immanuel Kant, Georges Sorel, Benedict de Spinoza, Peter Kropotkin, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Karl Marx. In it, Lampredi confirmed the key facts of Audisio's story but without the embellishments. WebAnswer (1 of 6): Benito Mussolini was captured along with several of this top ranking officers while he was trying to flee to Switzerland, along with his lover and a certain amount of money and precious items. [5], On 18 April 1945, Mussolini left Gargnano, a village near Sal where he had been residing, and moved, with his entire government, to Milan and based himself in the city's prefecture. In 1935, Mussolini used a border dispute between Abyssinia and neighboring Somaliland as a public excuse to invade the country. And like his mother, he was arrested and locked away in a mental hospital, where he died in July 1942 at the age of 27. The Allied victory against the Axis was a long journeyone that actually took much longer than the war itself. [38][39] After they were picked up, they drove 20 kilometres south to the village of Giulino di Mezzegra. A detailed structure of fascist rule existed on paper, with a Grand Council to which the government was supposed to report and a Chamber of Deputies which made law, but in fact Italy was Mussolini's personal playground, and his own power nearly absolute. Inside The Mysterious Death Of The 'Godfather Of Soul', How Did Joseph Stalin Die? Hed declared war against the rest of the world with only Germany to back him up. One battleship was sunk and two more disabled, neutralizing the Italian surface navy for the rest of the war. Additionally, it was better placed for an escape to the Swiss border. [55], At about 2:00p.m. on 29 April, the recently arrived American military authorities ordered that the bodies be taken down and delivered to the city morgue for autopsies to be carried out. Two days into their trek, they were identified by a group of partisans, which was probably inevitable. The young journalist and firebrand was arrested and imprisoned several times for fostering violence in this way, including his support of one violent workers strike in Switzerland in 1903. They lived in two crowded rooms on the second floor of a small, decrepit palazzo; and, because Mussolinis father spent much of his time discussing politics in taverns and most of his money on his mistress, the meals that his three children ate were often meagre. The event usually attracts supporters in the thousands and includes speeches, songs and people giving the fascist salute. A macabre autopsy photo of Benito Mussolini and his mistress in a Milan morgue. In this case, its hard to argue with the New York Times: a fitting end to a wretched life.. Italian fascism was a right-wing nationalist ideology that many, including Hitler, considered the big brother of Nazism. Mussolini is on it, somewhere near the top, rivaled , perhaps, only by Hitler. On 27 April 1945, a group of local communist partisans attacked the convoy in which Mussolini and Petacci were travelling, near the village of Dongo on the north western shore of Lake Como and forced it to halt. The calibres of the bullets were not identified. [81][88] Commenting on the RAI television documentary in 2004, Christopher Woods, researcher for the official history of the SOE, dismissed these claims saying that "it's just love of conspiracy-making". Benito Mussolinis fascist regime was often depicted as inept and ridiculed for its comic appearances. But arresting Il Duce was no longer a viable course of action. [71] This remained the position until May 1957, when the newly appointed Prime Minister, Adone Zoli, agreed to Mussolini's re-interment at his place of birth in Predappio, in Romagna. He was the youngest to ever hold the office and now had a wider audience for his speeches, policies, and worldview than ever before.
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