Mussolini: From Socialist Roots to Fascist Dictatorship

He dreamed of founding an imaginary new Roman Empire. He believed he was more powerful than Caesar. He planned to join forces with like-minded Hitler to divide the world. Ambitious and outspoken, Mussolini, with his strong jaw, found himself hanging when he suffered defeat in the Second World War.

Considered the founder of fascism, Mussolini once declared, "Fascism is a religion; the 20th century will be known as the fascist era in history." However, in his youth, he was a staunch socialist. He taught primary school and later migrated to Switzerland, but unable to secure a tangible job, he returned to his homeland, facing a couple of arrests. After military service, he began working for a newspaper in Austria, writing articles on socialism. He was even arrested for his anti-war stance when Italy declared war against the Ottoman Empire in 1911. They say, fear the old left and the new right for a reason.

Upon his release from prison, he was appointed as the official editor of the socialist Avanti newspaper. When the First World War erupted in 1914, he began advocating anti-war sentiments. He even threatened the government, claiming he would initiate a workers' revolution if they entered the war.

However, for reasons unknown, his views drastically changed a few months later. He formed a revolutionary fascist movement. This eventually evolved into the National Fascist Party, and he entered parliament as a party member in 1921, gradually turning his aggression towards the socialist faction. When anarchy gripped the country, Italy's King entrusted Mussolini with forming a government in October 1922.

By manipulating the electoral system, he acquired full-fledged dictatorial powers in 1925-1926, becoming the sole man who could silence all voices except his own. He adopted the title of Duce (leader) for himself.

Italy swiftly transformed into a police state. No one dared to object to his actions. He silenced all voices except his own. This was the essence of fascism - to shut out all other voices except your own. In fascism, the absolute is the state. The people are merely its ornaments. Fascism, being overly nationalist, views ideas like democracy, capitalism, and socialism as enemies.

After becoming the sole authority, Mussolini dismantled unions, silenced newspapers and magazines, and assumed sole governance over the people. Teachers in schools and universities were made to swear oaths to protect and uphold the fascist regime. Initially, the economy seemed to prosper, but by 1930, he was demanding more than he was giving. State control suffocated the industrial sector, leading to economic struggles.

Then he began bombing Corfu and installed a puppet regime in Albania, re-invading Libya. His aim was to turn the Mediterranean into an Italian lake. When his war against Ethiopia in 1933 was condemned by the League of Nations, he promptly withdrew from the League and formed an alliance with Nazi Germany.

Despite Italy's show of military might and its glorification of war, Mussolini's army was in a pitiable state. When the Second World War broke out, he initially decided to remain neutral, unable to determine the eventual winner. However, with France's fall, he calculated that the war would not be prolonged and declared war on the Allies in June 1940. The war lasted for 5 years. Of course, this was his greatest mistake, and his army was nowhere near as strong as his rhetoric.

In the same year, the Italian attack on Greece revealed the weakness of Mussolini's army. Faced with this reality, following Hitler was the only option left. Following Germany, in June 1941, he declared war on Russia, and in December, on America. Italy's struggles on all fronts and the Allied landing in Sicily in 1943 marked the end for Mussolini. The nation turned against him almost overnight. Bolstered by the changing winds, the king arrested Mussolini. However, Mussolini was rescued by German forces and he established a fascist state in northern Italy. This puppet state, called the Republic of Salò, collapsed upon Mussolini's death. Mussolini, attempting to seek refuge in Switzerland with his mistress Clara Petacci in April 1945, was captured by Italian partisans and executed without trial.

In October 2009, The Guardian newspaper published a report claiming that while Mussolini was 34 years old and working as a journalist, he was employed by British intelligence and received the equivalent of 6400 euros per week. Mussolini provided intelligence to the British and even reported that he could find men to beat up those staging peace demonstrations. Additionally, Mussolini's brain was put up for sale on the eBay website, but the sale was blocked and it was returned to his family. Mussolini, in the eyes of the global public, has always been seen as a more comical version of Hitler. He was aware of this and was quite envious of his German comrade. He would say, "While he walked around in short pants, I was writing the book of fascism." Hitler's power and fame were sources of envy for Mussolini, and he also got irritated when people claimed he was imitating Hitler's anti-Semitic policies. According to Italy's Duce, he had been involved in politics before Hitler was even born, and his anti-Jewish sentiments dated back further than Hitler's.

Another interesting event is that Mussolini, who praised himself as an enemy of the Jews, had a lover and mistress named Margarita Sarfatti, a Jew. They shared a love affair for 26 years. According to the diaries published as a book in Italy in late 2009, Sarfatti never believed that Mussolini was truly anti-Semitic. When she saw the real Mussolini in 1938, who revealed his anti-Semitic stance, she left Duce and went to Argentina.