This world has seen lot many dictators and persons who changed the world the way liked. Leaving apart the atrocities and the marks of cruelties left by these dictators towards humanity, it is very interesting to know the way they achieved the zenith of power and then used it in all possible way to dictate the nation to achieve their goal. The legend of II Duce is one among those real life story that show us how Benito Mussolini achieved the all supreme power of Italian politics and what he did after achieving it.

To know about Mussolini we cannot ignore his childhood which again reflects an era of Italian politics. He was born on 29th July 1883 in the town of Vernano dei costa near the village of Predappio in the province of Forli in Emilia Romagna. His father Alessandro was a blacksmith and his mother Rosa Maltoni was a teacher. Like his father he perceived the idea of socialism at an early age and soon after banned from his mother’s church. Few years later he was also expelled from the school on charges of throwing ink on the teacher. However in the year 1901 he received good grades and qualified as an elementary school master. One year later he migrated to Switzerland to escape military service. His involvement in socialism continued there also and he was deported back on being caught in one of the movement. Back home he somehow managed to return back to Switzerland immediately. His second stay which was not that long ended with his return to Italy and joining as a staff in a socialist newspaper Avanti in Trento. This was the time when he wrote a novel also which later became a topic much to discuss on, the cardinal’s mistress.

Later years saw much changes in the Italian political scenario. Over the issue of Italy’s entry in the first world war a section of revolutionary syndicalists broke with the socialist. Mussolini took this opportunity to establish his ambition when he joined their group of Fasci d’azione rivoluzionaria internazionarialista in the year 1914. He founded a new newspaper II Popolo d’italia with the help of his mistress Margherita Sarfatti. He was impressed by the idea of the ancient roman idea of fasces, the symbol of life and death power of state. Mussolini was called of for military services but couldn’t continue longer as he was wounded in a grenade practice and thus return to edit his paper in the year 1917. He started fascism in a organized way by forming the Fasci di Combattimento and making it into a political movement. Although he lost the election in 1919 but he managed to enter the parliament in the year 1921. This was probably the beginning of a new era of terror and social disrupter. The fascisti formed armed squads of war veterans called squadristi to terrorize and control the anarchist, socialist and communist which was never being stopped by the government. This squad was often utilized by the industrialist for their own personal benefits like strikebreaking on Mussolini’s approval. The full turndown came in the year 1922 when the then government of Giovanni Giolitti, Ivanoe Bonomi and Luigi Facta failed to stop the spread of anarchy and Mussolini was invited to form a government by Vittorio Emanuele III on a threat of Marcia su Roma or march on Rome. Thus Mussolini became the youngest ever premier in the history at the age of 39.

There are lot of similarity between Adolf Hitler and Mussolini but the later established nearly a decade before the former and thus provided a model for Hitler to manifest his economic and political policies. It is also believed that the Italian Fascism was also a product of international Bolshevism. Fascism was supported by the general fear, anxiety and insecurity among the middle class of postwar Italy.

The modus operandi of capturing the ultimate power was planned and well thought of by Mussolini. He took the supports of liberals in the parliament and with their support implements strict censorship. He also changed the election procedure so that in 1925-26 he assumed dictatorial powers by dissolving all other parties. Slowly but steadly he took over absolute control over press by imposing press law in the year 1925 whereby it was stated that all journalist should be registered fascist. In this process of gaining absolute power and authority he had little opposition because of the fact that he was a great orator and used to spend a lot of his time in propaganda. There were instances of attack on his life but he escaped in many occasions. There were two such instances when he was shot by one Violet Gibson in the year 1926 and one where he was attached in Rome by Gino Lucetti, both failed. At times Mussolini used to head many departments and ministries together so that decisions could be uni-command. He used to head the fascist militia the MVSN or the Blackshirts who used to terrorize any resistance in the country. Later the same was structured into an official state supported militia named as OVRA.

The power which was gained cannot be lost under any circumstances and so it was important to incorporate the idea of fascism in all social levels including the education system and so there was a time when students in schools had to take oath in the name of fascism and the powers of Mussolini. Trade unions were merged to what was called as cooperatives and were made completely powerless. In the initial stage, to get the financial back up he moved many industries from public to private ownership but at a later stage in the year 1930 he reversed the system by having rigid governmental control over all the industries. The great amount of money spend in all visible public works cannot hide the fact that Italy lacked the basic resources and so the moves were straining Italy economically.

Mussolini’s foreign policy was also interesting and devastating in its own way. His policy of anti-imperialism led up to an extreme form of nationalism. The bombardment of Corfu in 1923 marks his policies. He established a puppet regime in Albania and succeeded in consolidating Italian powers in Libya. Hitler came in close hands with Mussolini after his successful war against Ethiopia which was strongly opposed by the league of nations. Further his support to Franco in the Spanish civil war made him far away from France and Britain. However it was only in the year 1939 it was confirmed that the two dictators are in close bonds with the “Pact of steel” after which Mussolini followed the racial policy of the Germans.

World war II gave a new twist in the story of Mussolini and the events during and after the war structured Italy in a different form. As the war approached Mussolini announced his intention of winning over Malta, Corsica and Tunis. His idea of a new Roman empire was criticized by lot many. Even after Hitler’s attack on Poland and the declaration of World War II, Mussolini remained calm to decide which side to join. Its only after German army reached the English channel in 1940, Mussolini declared war against Britain and France. In the later part of the same year Mussolini attacked Greece and was joined by Hitler. 1941 Mussolini declared war against both Soviet Union and United states. Time took its own turn and soon in 1943 many of Mussolini’s colleagues turned against him including his own son in law who was also the then foreign minister. This sudden change was perhaps because of Italian defeat in all fronts and more precisely because of the anglo-american landing in Sicily. He was soon called by the king Vittorio Emanuele III in his palace and was stripped of his power of dictator followed by an arrest and isolation in Gran Sasso.

The events thereafter were no way in favor of Mussolini though in some instances they seemed to be apparently. He was replaced by General Pietro Badoglio who started working on a negotiation of surrender. Badoglio signed an armistice and fled from Rome along with king in anticipation of some kind of German retaliation. This was perhaps one of the most shameful events as the entire Italian army was totally out of any orders. Naturally soldiers took their own decision and many units were disbanded. Some even surrendered to the allied forces; few remained loyal to Germans while few formed anti Nazi groups. Under such conditions Mussolini was rescued by the Nazi general Kurt Student and he set up the Italian social republic, a republican fascist state. He was stationed at Gargnano and was operating the state under the protection of his liberators. This was the time when the famous “My rise and My fall” was written.

The fall which was now inevitable and which cannot be averted by any means took its shape on April 27, 1945 near the village of Dongo. Mussolini and his mistress Claretta Petacci were caught by the Italian communist partisans just before the time they were heading for Chiavenna so that they can escape to Switzerland. On April 28th 1945 Mussolini and his mistress along with sixteen other officials and ministers of Italian social republic were both executed in the village of Giulino di Mezzegra which was conducted by Colonnello Valerio, Walter Audisio. The next day the bodies of those executed were hung upside down in Piazzale Loreto, Milan to confirm every body the end of the dictator. This was also to discourage any further fascist activity. His body was then buried in an unmarked cemetery in Milan till 1950’s. It was then shifted to Predappio and was buried in a crypt. Mussolini was survived by his wife Donna Rachel Mussolini, sons Vittorio and Romano Mussolini and daughters Edda and Anna Maria. It is interesting to note that Mussolini’s granddaughter; daughter of Romano Mussolini, Alessandra is a member of the European parliament for the neo-fascist alliance alternative sociale. Of so many harms towards humanity to be remembered, the world would also not forget the immense diplomacy, wit and statesmanship that Mussolini has exhibited during his era.