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World War 2

A comprehensive World War 2 history guide with facts and information on one of the most important events in British history.

  • Overview
    • World War 2 Summary
    • World War 2 Facts
    • World War 2 Timeline
    • World War 2 Prisoners Of War
    • Soldiers In World War 2
    • WW2 FAQ
      • Who Started World War 2?
      • Causes of World War 2
      • When Did WW2 Finish?
      • Which countries were involved in World War Two
      • When was World War 2?
      • Who won World War 2?
      • How Many People Died In World War 2
    • WW2 Planes: A History of World War 2 Aircraft
  • Battles
    • The Blitz
    • Pearl Harbour
    • Battle Of Britain
    • Dday
    • Operation Barbarossa
    • The Battle Of Kursk
    • Operation Overlord
    • Battle Of Midway
    • Battle of Stalingrad
    • The Invasion Of Poland
    • Operation Cerberus
  • Leaders
    • Winston Churchill
    • Franklin D Roosevelt
    • Adolf Hitler
    • Benito Mussolini
    • Emperor Hirohito
    • Joseph Stalin
  • Home Front
    • Evacuees Of World War 2
    • World War 2 Recipes
    • World War 2 Shelters
  • Anne Frank
  • Miscellaneous
    • World War 2 Books
    • World War 2 Movies
    • World War 2 Poems
    • World War One
    • The Phoney War
    • Blitzkrieg
    • World War 2 Allies
  • World War 2 For Kids
    • World War 2 Facts Kids
    • Children in World War 2

Benito Mussolini

Born in 1883, Mussolini served as Prime Minister of Italy from 1922 – 1943.

His first political tendencies had been more Socialist than Conservative, and he opposed the outbreak of war in 1914. However, having served in the army, by the end of the war he did not consider himself a socialist at all, calling the idea itself a failure. He entered politics in 1917, and very quickly established himself as a Fascist, holding the ideology of spazio vitale, which was very similar to the expansionist ideals of the Nazis. His policies were less aggressively racist than those of Hitler, but still somewhat unforgiving of hat he considered ‘inferior’ races, such as the Salvic race.

The National Fascist Party, of which Mussolini was the leader, led the famous coup d’état, the March on Rome, in 1922. As a result of this, the former Prime Minister was ousted, and Mussolini was asked by the King to assume power in his place. By 1927, Mussolini had removed all traces of democracy and transformed Italy into a police state. Under his rule, Italy supported the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War, which led to the relationship between Italy and Germany becoming stronger, culminating in the Pact of Steel in May 1939.

Italy did not enter World War Two until 1940, joining on the side of Germany, who looked at the time the most likely victors of the conflict. The defeat at El Alamein in 1942 led to significant discontentment amongst the Italian people, and after Allied bombing in Rome in 1943, the situation worsened. He was arrested on the orders of the King in July 1943. He lived in exile for two years, during which time Italy declared war on the Nazis.

In 1945, Mussolini tried to escape exile, but was discovered in Como. He was executed, and his body – along with the bodies of others found with him – was strung up and displayed on an Esso petrol station in Milan. He was later buried in an unmarked grave.

 

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Overview

WW2 Summary
WW2 Facts
WW2 Timeline
Soldiers in WW2
WW2 Planes
WW2 Prisoners Of War

Leaders

Winston Churchill
Franklin D Roosevelt
Adolf Hitler
Benito Mussolini
Emperor Hirohito
Joseph Stalin

Home Front

Evacuees of WW2
WW2 Recipes
WW2 Shelters

Misc

WW2 Books
WW2 Movies
WW2 Poems
World War One
The Phoney War
Blitzkrieg
WW2 Allies

Kids

WW2 For Kids
Children in WW2
WW2 Facts For Kids

Battles

The Blitz
Pearl Harbour
Battle of Britain
D-Day
Operation Barbarossa
The Battle Of Kursk
Operation Overlord
Battle Of Midway
Battle Of Stalingrad
The Invasion Of Poland
Operation Cerberus

Common Questions

Who started WW2?
Causes of WW2
When did WW2 finish?
Which countries were involved in WW2?
When was WW2?
Who won WW2?
How many people died?

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