Benito Mussolini was a Feared Power in 20th Century Europe

During the Second World War, Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was the leader of the Italian Nationalist Fascist government. He was head of the Italian government from 1922 till 1943. The significance of Mussolini is that he played a key role acting as the Italian Prime Minister and established a totalitarian regime, during this time, as the unchallenged supreme leader, known as ‘Il Duce’. Fascism consisted of many contributors of which Mussolini with all his quirks was the key to most of its failures and successes, making him the most significant player that is worthy of being investigated. This topic is worthy of being investigated as Mussolini made a lot of decisions that lead to the death of many, but the question as to

Mussolini consolidation of fascist power in Italy in the years 1922-1929 could have been mainly due to the use of force and intimidation. However this was not a straightforward process, since fascism was a new thing. In the years 1922 to January 1925 marked the transition from the liberal parliamentary system to the fascist state. Like many political transitions, it was an untidy and complicated process. Although from the start Mussolini’s intentions were quite difficult to establish, however it could be that Mussolini wanted to set up from the beginning a totalitarian one party state.

No one took him seriously and people also thought that Benito Mussolini and the fascists were not a threat in Italy either. Fascism was very closely related to communism. In 1922 his followers helped him become the leader of Italy and he became a dictator like Hitler in Germany. Mussolini promised to restore the Roman Empire but started in Africa where there was the least resistance. Another dictator was Adolf Hitler.

Millions of people were extremely frustrated with the fallout of World War I, they wanted change and a strong leader to guide them through their times of trouble. The answer to the people's’ prayers had been given to them with the new political idea of fascism. Not only did fascism rise, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler also rose to power during these times of crisis. Fascism, Mussolini, and Hitler were all able to rise to power because the people had called for change, and they found themselves gravitating towards the ideas of these two intelligent men. Both men were able to persuade many people over to their side. Millions of people quickly adopted the new ideas of fascism, Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler, the people saw them as the light at the end of their long dark tunnels they seemed to be lost

He was a “charismatic orator and a former journalist with socialist background”. He had help from “a private army of disillusioned veterans and jobless men known as the black shirts, Mussolini swept to power in 1922, promising an alternative to both communism and ineffective democratic rule”. Violence accompanied his rise to power. He also appealed to those afraid of communism, where “businesses threw their support to Mussolini” (989). 16.

Italian Fascism is an authoritarian and nationalistic system of government and social organization, it was the political result of the relationship between socialist and nationalist rhetoric. It is a form of governance which employs intolerant views and practices, advocating traditionalism, interventionism and sameness rather than individualism. In order to promote their totalitarian ideals during the 1930s to 1945 fascist politicians such as Benito Mussolini, who had previously been a socialist newspaper editor, employed propaganda that included virtually all modes of media: the press, posters and film. The widespread dissemination of totalitarian ideals infiltrated into the school system where young Italians born from 1910 to 1935 were taught to “obey and fight.” The purpose of this paper is to analyse the diffusion of the Italian Identity through fascist propaganda from 1922-1943 and the identity that was diffused as a result of the exploitation of Mussolini’s various propaganda mediums. Did fascist propaganda contribute to the diffusion of an Italian identity? If so, what identity was diffused?

Benito Mussolini’s major problem was that he was twisted in the mind. Mussolini really thought he could change Italy by using violence, which was wrong thinking. I do not personally think it is all Mussolini’s fault because it was the way he grew up. Do not get me wrong he was raised in a household were abuse was going on but his father did not show him any type of affection. I believe that if Benito’s father would have showed him love and told him be a wise person he would have been better off in my opinion. However, since that did not happen Benito had to put this façade on for the public to mask his insecurities, and his darkest thoughts. I think that Benito would have been able to fix this if he would have had good men friends to

As dictator, Mussolini’s top priority was “informing” the Italian people with propaganda. According to the entry “Benito Mussolini” on Newworldencyclopedia.org, “Press, radio, education, films — all were carefully supervised to manufacture the illusion that fascism was the doctrine of the twentieth century, replacing liberalism and democracy.” Not only did Mussolini control what was said, he also controlled who said it. Mussolini took it upon himself to choose all newspaper editors. He inserted himself into all aspects of Italian life, even education. It was required “that all schools, newspapers, etc. had to not write, for example, ‘the 13th of June 1933’ but instead had to write ‘the 13th of June of the 11th year of Mussolini's power’” (“Benito Mussolini”). Mussolini also spent a great deal of money on large, expensive projects to further his reputation. “Those projects earned respect from some countries, but the economy suffered from Mussolini's strenuous efforts to make Italy self-sufficient. A concentration on heavy industry proved problematic, perhaps because Italy lacked the basic resources” (“Benito Mussolini”). Overall, Mussolini’s need for propaganda ultimately did more harm than good for Italy and

Benito Mussolini and his creation of Fascism was the glue that held Italy together. Fascism promised national unity and condemned the Socialist party. To understand how Fascism became powerful within Italy, it is imperative to acknowledge the driving force behind this regime. To put it bluntly, violence played an essential role in the development of the Fascist party. Mussolini’s practice of fierceness was able to create a formidable system of government that did not tolerate weakness. In 1919, Benito Mussolini give an Afternoon speech, where he stressed the difference between Socialism and Fascism. Here, he states, “We declare war, against socialism, not because it is socialism, but because it opposes nationalism” (Stone 2013, 38).

Benito Mussolini outlines several essential characteristics of his preferred political ideology, Fascism, in what has become known as the Doctrine of Fascism. In this paper, Mussolini outlines his vision of the ideology, and explains the major issues that Fascism will address once it becomes the leading political system in Italy. Mussolini’s major points as outlined in the Doctrine included an extreme emphasis on nationalism, organization and modernization of the state, persistent focus on religion, life as a struggle, and the notion that individuals exist only for the improvement of society as a whole. Wolfgang Schieder, after reviewing the Doctrine of Fascism, explains Mussolini’s success based on it and

The economic instability of Europe developed totalitarian goverments that began rising during the depression in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. Germany, Italy, and Japan all became countries subjected to the rule of dictated military rule leaving no room for opposition. Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy in 1922 (Calvocoressi, Wint, p 777, 1999). Mussolini had his own philosophy that his destiny was to rule over Italy as Caesar in a more modern version while re-creating the Roman Empire. In his attempts in

Within Italy, The Great War caused many problems and a great amount of distress. As a result of this, hundreds of new fascist groups started to emerge. In October 1922, Benito Mussolini became the Prime Minister of Italy and contributed a lot to the nation. He developed his power by forming the Fascist National Party in 1923 and eliminating political opposition. Mussolini and his followers ruled Italy through an authoritarian dictatorship. He made it clear that the war was a turning point for Italy and the returning of combat soldiers would form a new elite and bring about a new type of state to transform Italian politics and society. Mussolini set many

Benito Mussolini was a pompous Italian dictator who strived and accomplished in making Italy a fascist state. There are various factors that lead to the popularity and power of the despot leader such as the outcomes of the Treaty of Versailles, the inefficient government and democratic system, fear of the Blackshirts, and the poor economy.

government felt it had no choice in the matter; it had to go to war.

As a result of how Italy was created but not fully unified, the new Italian state suffered from a variety of weaknesses which the new liberal state was unable to tackle these. This made Italy susceptible to the appeal of fascism, and therefore aided Mussolini’s rise to power.