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''Adolf is said to have been a very withdrawn and morose child who was disobedient in school, and he even mentions in Mein Kampf that he intentionally did poorly in school to antagonize his father"
https://biography.yourdictionary.com/articles/adolf-hitlers-childhood.html
''His grades were never stellar again and bounced back and forth between poor and average for the remainder of his days there.''
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/adolf-hitler-1''Not wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps as a civil servant, he began struggling in secondary school and eventually dropped out. Alois died in 1903, and Adolf pursued his dream of being an artist, though he was rejected from Vienna’s Academy of Fine Arts''-Abel

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He was British prime minister from 1940-1945 and again between 1951 and 1955. Churchill is best remembered for successfully leading Britain through World War Two. He was famous for his inspiring speeches, and for his refusal to give in, even when things were going badly. Influenced main character of the book.

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He was the leader/dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1942. He was executed in 1945. He slaughtered around 30,000 people. When he was 10 he was expelled from school after he stabbed another student.

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Childhood

Born on July 29, 1883, in Verano di Costa, Italy, Mussolini was the son of blacksmith and ardent socialist Alessandro Mussolini and a devout Catholic mother, Rosa Maltoni. By most accounts, Mussolini's family lived in simple, small quarters.

Young Mussolini was expelled from his first boarding school at age 10 for stabbing a fellow student. At 14, he stabbed another student but was only suspended.

Socialist Activism

Much of Mussolini's early adulthood was spent traveling around Switzerland, getting involved with that country's Socialist Party and clashing with police. In 1909, he moved to Austria-Hungary to become editor of a socialist newspaper, but was deported back to Italy after being accused of violating laws meant to regulate press freedom.

In 1910, Mussolini became the editor for another Italian socialist newspaper, but soon spent six months in jail for inciting violence. During his incarceration, he began to write his autobiography-though still in his twenties-detailing his troubled school years and his many romantic conquests.

Mussolini split from the Socialist Party in 1914. Starting his own newspaper, he encouraged violence from his supporters as unrest spread across the country.

Italian Facism

In 1915, Mussolini joined the Italian army in World War I. He fought on the front lines and obtained the rank of corporal before being discharged for a war wound. Mussolini returned to newspapers and by 1918 called for a dictator to seize control of Italy. Pressure from Mussolini and his followers forced the government to order the internment of foreigners they considered enemies.

After the Treaty of Versailles in 1919-and his dissatisfaction with it-Mussolini gathered the various fascist groups into a national organization called Fasci Italiani di Combattimento. The Italian Fascists courted war veterans and encouraged violence against socialists. Mussolini stockpiled weapons and explosives in his newspaper offices.

Children and Marriages

Mussolini was married twice: to Ida Dalser in 1914, and to his longtime mistress Rachele Guidi one year later. Additionally, Mussolini had a number of other mistresses and liaisons.

His first marriage produced a son, Benito Albino Mussolini. Following Mussolini's second marriage, records of his first marriage and son were destroyed or suppressed, and both wife and son were kept under constant surveillance. Italian authorities sent Ida to an island near Venice, where she died in 1937. Her son was forced into an asylum near Milan, where he died in 1942 at age 26.

Mussolini's marriage to Rachele lasted until his death. The couple had five children: three sons, Vittorio, Bruno and Romano, and two daughters, Edda and Anna Maria. Rachele died in 1979 at age 89.

Rise to Power

By the end of 1919, Mussolini stood in a general election as the Fascist candidate but lost in a Socialist sweep. Two days later, Mussolini was arrested for allegedly collecting arms to overthrow the government. He was released without charges the next day.

In 1921, the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III dissolved Parliament amidst growing violence and chaos. Elections brought a huge win for the Fascists, with Mussolini taking a seat as a deputy in Parliament. The party changed its name to Partito Nazionale Fascista.

Fascists Seize Control of Italy

In 1922, Fascists were instructed to wear uniforms, including black shirts, in squads that were modeled after Roman army groups. All party members were considered squad members.

Soon after, several Italian cities were seized by Fascist squads, who also burned down communist and socialist offices.

In October 1922, Mussolini threatened to march on Rome to take control of the government through violent force if it was not handed over. King Victor Emmanuel and the government were slow to act, eventually dispatching troops, though Fascists had already seized control of some local governments.

Refusing to pass martial law, Victor Emmanuel watched as thousands of armed Fascists entered Rome. He dissolved the government and asked Mussolini to form a new one.

Prime Minister Mussolini

Mussolini became Prime Minister, as well as Minister of the Interior and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mussolini did not become a dictator overnight, but a speech he gave to the Italian parliament on January 3, 1925, asserting his right to supreme power is generally seen as the effective date that Mussolini declared himself dictator of Italy.

Mussolini's first act as prime minister was to demand special emergency powers allowing him to rig elections in the Fascists' favor. Soon after, the Italian parliament made suspicion of being anti-Fascist punishable by imprisonment without trial.

The next year police rounded-up Socialists, and the government restricted their publishing activities. A Socialist deputy plotted to assassinate Mussolini, but the betrayal of a friend led to his arrest just before the attempt. Several other assassination attempts followed.

Italy Under Fascism

In 1926, Fascists created a youth group called the Opera Nazionale Balilla, pressuring children to join. The Catholic Boy Scouts were dissolved and the formation of other youth groups became illegal.

The same year, all communist members of Parliament were arrested, and all Socialist Party members expelled. Anyone who could not be prosecuted for a crime was detained for up to five years and placed in island internment camps.

Cinemas were required to screen government propaganda in the form of newsreels. Fascists owned 66 percent of the newspapers and controlled reporting, issuing daily editorial guidelines and threatening editors with arrest.

The Order of Journalists was created and membership was mandatory. Newspapers were allowed to criticize the government as long as they generally expressed support.
READ MORE: How Mussolini Seized Power in Italy
Mussolini and Hitler

At first, Mussolini disapproved of Germany's Adolf Hitler, but over time their partnership grew and Mussolini embraced Hitler's anti-Semitic measures.

Following Italy's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, Germany was the second country to recognize Italy's legitimacy there. Both Hitler and Mussolini sided with Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War in 1936, with Mussolini providing 50,000 troops.

In 1937, Italy left the League of Nations in solidarity with Germany, and in March of 1938, Hitler invaded Austria with Mussolini's support.

Mussolini wrote an article in 1938 that aligned Italians with the German concept of the Aryan race. When anti-Jewish laws began to appear in Italy, Germany felt they were weak, but Mussolini was prepared to increase their severity as needed. Soon after, Mussolini called for the expulsion of foreign Jews from Italy.
WATCH VIDEO: American Women in World War II
Axis Powers

Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939 immediately caused Britain and France to declare war against Germany, but Mussolini, for the moment, remained neutral.

Germany's invasion of Denmark and Norway convinced Mussolini that Hitler would win the war. Soon Holland and Belgium also fell to Hitler. On May 22, 1939, Italy and Germany signed the " Pact of Steel" officially creating the Axis powers. ( Japan would join in September of 1940 with the signing of the Tripartite Pact.)

As the Germans plowed through France in June 1940, Mussolini announced Italy's entrance into the war. Italy declared war on France and Great Britain on June 10, 1940.

The Plot Against Mussolini

By 1943, after years of fighting in World War II, Italy was viewed by its own citizens as losing the war.

On July 25, 1943, Mussolini was voted out of power by his own Grand Council, arrested after a visit with the king and sent to the island of La Maddalena.

When Italy accepted the terms of secret peace talks with the Allies, Hitler ordered German forces into Italy, which resulted in two Italian nations, one occupied by Germans.

Mussolini, fearful of being handed over, was instead rescued by Hitler's forces. Transported to German-occupied northern Italy, he was installed as Hitler's puppet leader, creating the Italian Social Republic and leading to the extermination of thousands of Italian Jews.

Allied forces began barreling through Italy in June 1944, and Mussolini attempted to flee to Spain in April 1945 with his lover, Claretta Petacci, but was discovered and arrested by partisans searching troop transport trucks.

How Did Mussolini Die?

There are conflicting stories about how Mussolini died, but autopsy reports state the dictator was executed by firing squad on April 28, 1945, shot by soldiers firing several bullets-with four of them near the heart-causing immediate death.

The bodies of both Mussolini and Petacci were hung upside down at the Piazzale Loreto in Milan and displayed for crowds to kick and spit on. One day later, Hitler committed suicide and the following week, Germany surrendered.

Mussolini's Body

Mussolini's body was buried in an unmarked grave, which was unearthed in 1946 by Fascist supporters, who took the body to a convent in Lombardy. The government recovered it and interred it in a monastery near Milan.

Mussolini's wife petitioned to have the body moved from a grave in Milan to a family mausoleum in Predappio in 1957.

In 1966, she was given an envelope containing a piece of her husband's brain. The American diplomat who handed it to her claimed that the Americans had taken the brain in order to study what makes a dictator. She had the relic placed in his tomb, which receives 100,000 visitors a year.

Mussolini Quotes

"It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep."

"Democracy is a kingless regime infested by many kings who are sometimes more exclusive, tyrannical and destructive than one, even if he be a tyrant."

"Many think, and I myself am one of them, that capitalism is scarcely at the beginning of its story."

Sources

Mussolini: The Last 600 Days of Il Duce. Ray Moseley.
Mussolini. Jasper Ridley.
Mussolini. Rupert Colley.
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945). BBC.

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Benito Mussolini: Children, Death & World War II - HISTORY

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Benito Mussolini, an Italian political leader who allied himself with Adolf Hitler during World War II, became the fascist dictator of Italy from 1925-1945.

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Fascism is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe

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He was a communist

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by reflecting total control over society by the government. Big Brother is everything to everyone. By controlling information, history, physical needs and more, citizens are a quiet, serving mass who do not challenge the party.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/totalitarianism-in-1984.html

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the ideology and policies adopted by Stalin, based on centralization, totalitarianism, and the pursuit of communism.

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People in Nazi Germany were brainwashed and subject to propaganda to make the things that the government did look justified. The government used dehumanization tactics to make Jewish people seem inhumane and inferior. This exact sort of brainwashing can be seen in 1984. The dehumanization, in combination with extensive propaganda, strengthens the power of each country’s authoritarian political party.

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Democratic socialism is a socialist political philosophy which advocates political democracy alongside a socially owned economy, with an emphasis on workers' self-management and democratic control of economic institutions within a market or some form of a decentralised planned socialist economy.

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Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist and essayist, journalist and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism.

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When Eric Arthur Blair was getting ready to publish his first book, Down and Out in Paris and London, he decided to use a pen name so his family wouldn't be embarrassed by his time in poverty. He chose the name George Orwell to reflect his love of English tradition and landscape.

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Eric Arthur Blair, who is better known by his pen name George Orwell was born June 25, 1903, and later in life he pursued a decent education. He went to St. Cyprian school, (1911-1917) Eton College, and Wellington College (1917-1921). Later in his life he became an English novelist, journalist, essayist and critic. Most of his work consists of awareness of social injustice. He was very outspoken about his belief in Democratic Socialism.

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The first fascist regime was established by Benito Mussolini in Italy in 1925. The word fascism comes from "fasci ," an Italian term for "bundle of sticks" that was a symbol for strength in unity. Fascists believe in one-party, totalitarian control of a nation and its economy.

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-he escaped from a prison camp while in the army and when he got back he became a newfound hero and fame followed
-held his position in parliament for more than 60 years
-his mother was American
-he was an award winning author

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In the book they would use "Big brother is watching you" to scare the people. They used all of the propaganda to control the people.

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In the 1800s, many people across Europe worked hard but still struggled to pay for the basics. Even children had to work from morning to night, and workers often went hungry. Marx and Engels saw that exploitation of workers, or treating people unfairly and gaining profit from it, was a serious problem. The two writers eventually came to see all of history as a class struggle. The common workers, which Marx & Engels called the proletariat, struggled to be treated fairly. They were taken advantage of by the class who held power: the bourgeoisie. Marx and Engels believed that in a perfect world, such classes would not exist. But the world they knew was far from perfect.Marx and Engels hoped to improve conditions for the poorA poor womanMarx and Engels put together all their ideas, and the result became known as Marxism. Here's how the dictionary defines Marxism: 'the political, economic, and social theories of Karl Marx, including the belief that struggle between social classes is a major force in history, and there should eventually be a society in which there are no classesseseseeses

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In the 1800s, many people across Europe worked hard but still struggled to pay for the basics. Even children had to work from morning to night, and workers often went hungry. Marx and Engels saw that exploitation of workers, or treating people unfairly and gaining profit from it, was a serious problem. The two writers eventually came to see all of history as a class struggle. The common workers, which Marx & Engels called the proletariat, struggled to be treated fairly. They were taken advantage of by the class who held power: the bourgeoisie. Marx and Engels believed that in a perfect world, such classes would not exist. But the world they knew was far from perfect.Marx and Engels hoped to improve conditions for the poorA poor womanMarx and Engels put together all their ideas, and the result became known as Marxism. Here's how the dictionary defines Marxism: 'the political, economic, and social theories of Karl Marx, including the belief that struggle between social classes is a major force in history, and there should eventually be a society in which there are no classesseseseeses

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Internet Modern History Sourcebook

Benito Mussolini:

What is Fascism, 1932

Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) over the course of his lifetime went from Socialism - he was editor of Avanti, a socialist newspaper - to the leadership of a new political movement called "fascism" [after "fasces", the symbol of bound sticks used a totem of power in ancient Rome].

Mussolini came to power after the "March on Rome" in 1922, and was appointed Prime Minister by King Victor Emmanuel.

In 1932 Mussolini wrote (with the help of Giovanni Gentile) and entry for the Italian Encyclopedia on the definition of fascism.

Fascism, the more it considers and observes the future and the development of humanity quite apart from political considerations of the moment, believes neither in the possibility nor the utility of perpetual peace. It thus repudiates the doctrine of Pacifism -- born of a renunciation of the struggle and an act of cowardice in the face of sacrifice. War alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have courage to meet it. All other trials are substitutes, which never really put men into the position where they have to make the great decision -- the alternative of life or death....

...The Fascist accepts life and loves it, knowing nothing of and despising suicide: he rather conceives of life as duty and struggle and conquest, but above all for others -- those who are at hand and those who are far distant, contemporaries, and those who will come after...

...Fascism [is] the complete opposite of...Marxian Socialism, the materialist conception of history of human civilization can be explained simply through the conflict of interests among the various social groups and by the change and development in the means and instruments of production.... Fascism, now and always, believes in holiness and in heroism; that is to say, in actions influenced by no economic motive, direct or indirect. And if the economic conception of history be denied, according to which theory men are no more than puppets, carried to and fro by the waves of chance, while the real directing forces are quite out of their control, it follows that the existence of an unchangeable and unchanging class-war is also denied - the natural progeny of the economic conception of history. And above all Fascism denies that class-war can be the preponderant force in the transformation of society....

After Socialism, Fascism combats the whole complex system of democratic ideology, and repudiates it, whether in its theoretical premises or in its practical application. Fascism denies that the majority, by the simple fact that it is a majority, can direct human society; it denies that numbers alone can govern by means of a periodical consultation, and it affirms the immutable, beneficial, and fruitful inequality of mankind, which can never be permanently leveled through the mere operation of a mechanical process such as universal suffrage....

...Fascism denies, in democracy, the absur[d] conventional untruth of political equality dressed out in the garb of collective irresponsibility, and the myth of "happiness" and indefinite progress....

...iven that the nineteenth century was the century of Socialism, of Liberalism, and of Democracy, it does not necessarily follow that the twentieth century must also be a century of Socialism, Liberalism and Democracy: political doctrines pass, but humanity remains, and it may rather be expected that this will be a century of authority...a century of Fascism. For if the nineteenth century was a century of individualism it may be expected that this will be the century of collectivism and hence the century of the State....

The foundation of Fascism is the conception of the State, its character, its duty, and its aim. Fascism conceives of the State as an absolute, in comparison with which all individuals or groups are relative, only to be conceived of in their relation to the State. The conception of the Liberal State is not that of a directing force, guiding the play and development, both material and spiritual, of a collective body, but merely a force limited to the function of recording results: on the other hand, the Fascist State is itself conscious and has itself a will and a personality -- thus it may be called the "ethic" State....

...The Fascist State organizes the nation, but leaves a sufficient margin of liberty to the individual; the latter is deprived of all useless and possibly harmful freedom, but retains what is essential; the deciding power in this question cannot be the individual, but the State alone....

...For Fascism, the growth of empire, that is to say the expansion of the nation, is an essential manifestation of vitality, and its opposite a sign of decadence. Peoples which are rising, or rising again after a period of decadence, are always imperialist; and renunciation is a sign of decay and of death. Fascism is the doctrine best adapted to represent the tendencies and the aspirations of a people, like the people of Italy, who are rising again after many centuries of abasement and foreign servitude. But empire demands discipline, the coordination of all forces and a deeply felt sense of duty and sacrifice: this fact explains many aspects of the practical working of the regime, the character of many forces in the State, and the necessarily severe measures which must be taken against those who would oppose this spontaneous and inevitable movement of Italy in the twentieth century, and would oppose it by recalling the outworn ideology of the nineteenth century - repudiated wheresoever there has been the courage to undertake great experiments of social and political transformation; for never before has the nation stood more in need of authority, of direction and order. If every age has its own characteristic doctrine, there are a thousand signs which point to Fascism as the characteristic doctrine of our time. For if a doctrine must be a living thing, this is proved by the fact that Fascism has created a living faith; and that this faith is very powerful in the minds of men is demonstrated by those who have suffered and died for it.

Source:

This text is part of the Internet Modern History Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history.

Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use of the Sourcebook.

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Internet History Sourcebooks: Modern History

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Internet Modern History Sourcebook Benito Mussolini: What is Fascism, 1932 Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) over the course of his lifetime went from Socialism - he was editor of Avanti, a socialist newspaper - to the leadership of a new political movement called "fascism" [after "fasces", the symbol of bound sticks used a totem of power in ancient Rome].

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Orwell named the protagonist of 1984 Winston Smith to portray Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill evokes an idea of resistance and the fighting back of an oppressive regime. Winston Churchill wanted to bring peace and freedom while Winston Smith wants to gain personal freedom.

https://sites.google.com/site/devinsallusions/semester-2/history/winston-smith-and-winston-churchill

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The Nazi party was formed by Adolf Hitler after he returned as a wounded German solider during WW2. The Nazi party rounded up and executed nearly 11 million victims that they deemed inferior or different.

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Marxism is a method of socioeconomic analysis that views class relations and social conflict using a materialist interpretation of historical development and takes a dialectical view of social transformation. It originates from the works of 19th-century German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

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Economic Theory and the US Economy

Frequently Asked Questions

An economic theory is used to explain and predict the working of an economy to help drive changes to economic policy and behaviors. Economic theories are based on models developed by economists looking to explain recurring patterns and relationships. These theories connect different economic variables to one another to show how they're related.

Keynesian economics is a theory that says the government should increase demand to boost growth. Keynesians believe consumer demand is the primary driving force in an economy. Its main tools are government spending on infrastructure, unemployment benefits, and education. A drawback is that Keynesian policies could increase inflation.

Mercantilism is an economic theory that advocates government regulation of international trade to generate wealth and strengthen national power. Merchants and the government work together to reduce the trade deficit and create a surplus. Mercantilism funds corporate, military, and national growth and advocates trade policies that protect domestic industries.

The economic theory behind socialism-an economic system in which citizens share ownership of the various factors of production -is community or solidarity. Socialists believe people should value the freedom and well-being of others as much as their own, and that the economic system should support that goal.

Economic development theory aims to answer the question "why are some countries developed, but others less developed?" It focuses on the financial, social, and economic conditions in developing countries, such as health, education, and employment, to better understand how they could be improved.

Karl Marx's economic theory critiques capitalism and how it is unjust because there is a struggle between social classes when it comes to labor, production, and economic development. His theory suggests that communism may be a more just economic system.

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Economic Theory and the US Economy Frequently Asked Questions An economic theory is used to explain and predict the working of an economy to help drive changes to economic policy and behaviors. Economic theories are based on models developed by economists looking to explain recurring patterns and relationships.