BENITO MUSSOLINI
1883 - 1945
 

Benito's full name was Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini. His friends called him Il Duce, which means The Leader in Italian.

As his nickname suggests, il Duce was good friends with Der Fuehrer, which means The Leader in German, and of course we are talking about nut Adolf.

Benito Mussolini was a fascist. (What in the world is a fascist?)

BENITO MUSSOLINI'S FAMILY
Benito was married to Rachele Guidi, the daughter of his father's mistress. Apparently, he was also married to Ida Dalser. With Ida he had a son, Benito Jr. According to the Guardian, there is a movie in the makes about Ida.

EARLY YEARS
In younger years, Benito was a kid who loved his penknife. Preferably on other kids. As he grew up his talent to magnetize crowds became obvious.

Benito soon was the center of all sorts of troubles and went in and out of jail time and again. He liked the ideas of Karl Marx and became a Socialist.

Predappio, Italy - Mussolini's birthplace
Google Map

MUSSOLINI AND WORLD WAR I
Benito Mussolini was 100% against World War I and made his opinion known with his, by then notorious, noise and intensity.

Being against everything was in Mussolini's nature. However, being against war meant being for peace. On second thought, that was no fun at all. Thus, Benito changed his mind and went to fight in the war.

Bewildered onlookers would see a vulnerable child trying to reach out. 

BENITO MUSSOLINI - THE DICTATOR YEARS
Coming home from war, Benito was ready for some action. With his gift for bombastic speeches he rallied many discontented individuals. His words didn't make a lot of sense most of the time, but as it is 70% how you look, 20% how you talk, and only 10% what you say, Benito Mussolini had the crowds fired up effortlessly.

The same oratory rule would apply to J.F. Kennedy. Let Eddie Izzard explain.

Back to Benito Mussolini.

A momentum was created. People started wearing black shirts and raided governmental institutions as well as belongings of Communists, Catholics, and others.

By October 1922, the Blackshirts were on the roll. After their infamous March on Rome, King Victor Emmanuel III chose not to fight for his throne and Mussolini became Prime Minister of Italy on October 31, 1922, or in effect dictator.

CONTROVERSY AND WORLD WAR II
When Mussolini came to power, Italy's economy was in dire straits. Many people credit Mussolini for re-structuring and reinvigorating the country.

However, there was too much Napoleon in Mussolini and it went downhill fast. Italy invaded Ethiopia and on May 9, 1936, Mussolini declared the Italian Empire.

Together with his buddy Adolf "the nut" Hitler, Mussolini formed the Pact of Steel. That was on May 22, 1939. Here you can read the Pact of Steel.

But there was a tiny teardrop in Benito's world. He was sadly aware of the fact that Adolf was calling all the shots. Nevertheless, Mussolini sang Hitler's song and Italian Jews were transported to German concentration camps.
 

 
Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler
in Munich, Germany - ca. June 1940
National Archives.gov
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Red Beach, Gela, Sicily - July 10, 1943
U.S. Navy