The rise of fascism in Italy and that of National Socialism in Germany

coinciding, it was natural and inevitable that Benito Mussolini and
Adolf Hitler would align their nations in several military pacts during

the late 1930's; the two appeared together frequently at rallies,

parades and demonstrations before the war's outbreak.

Author not available, Adolf Hitler & Benito Mussolini. , Archive Photos, 01-01-1920.

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Benito Mussolini was an obscure socialist magazine editor during the

years before World War I, after which he organized a new anti-socialist

Fascisti party which led him to power in 1922. A flamboyant figure,

he shrewdly used modern media and propaganda techniques to foster

a cult of personality about himself, then led Italy into disaster

with his alliance with Hitler during World War II.

Author not available, Benito Mussolini. , Archive Photos, 01-01-1920.

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Italian Facist leader Benito Mussolini reviews the formation of his

troops in Naples before their infamous march on Rome in October, 1922.

Rebelling against the Socialist government, the Fascist Army was backed

by landowners and industrialists in the subsequent creation of a dictatorship

headed by Mussolini.

Copyright Archive Photos

Author not available, Benito Mussolini. , Archive Photos, 01-01-1932.

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July 25, 1943
The deposed Fascist leader Benito Mussolini was arrested on this day in
1943 by pro-Allied royalist forces as his country was unsettled by the US invasion.
Incredibly "Il Duce" was then freed form his subsequent detention in an Abruzzi hotel by a

daring German commando raid on September 12, then remained at large

and in hiding until his recapture and execution by Italian partisans

on April 28, 1945.

Author not available, Benito Mussolini. , Archive Photos, 09-01-1994.