Eighty years after Mussolini's execution, nostalgia for fascism persists
On April 28, 1945, the dictator Benito Mussolini was executed by members of the Italian resistance, along with his mistress Clara Petacci. The next day, their bodies were dumped in a Milan square and subjected to mockery and abuse by the mob. Yet eighty years after the fall of the "Duce", the legacy of fascism is no longer deplored in Italy, and even gives rise to nostalgia.
The photographs appeared in media around the globe. The body of the former dictator Benito Mussolini, hung by the feet from a metal girder, facing a jeering crowd in Milan's Piazzale Loreto on April 29, 1945. His body and that of his mistress Clara Petacci had been horribly abused: spat upon, beaten and urinated on. By the time they were sent to the city's morgue, the remains were unrecognisable.
Unlike Adolf Hitler, the 'Duce' chose to flee as the end of the war approached rather than commit suicide.
Influential members of Mussolini's government turned against him by 1943 with the Allies capture of Sicily. He was arrested by the Fascist Grand Council and deposed in July, 1943, before being freed from prison by German special forces in September.
Mussolini was brought to German-occupied northern Italy to establish a puppet state, the Italian Social Republic, which lasted until April 1945.
Another option was to 'enter into immediate negotiations with the Allies in an attempt to save his own skin', De Luna notes. 'In the end, he chose to flee in a column with an armoured car, disguised as a German soldier in the back of a truck."
Read more on FRANCE 24 EnglishRead also:Italy's Berlusconi praises Mussolini on Holocaust Day'Gruesome' new documentary about Mussolini's corpse
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
German state premier: Border checks need ongoing justification
The German government must be able to justify continued border controls in the Schengen area, the premier of the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, which shares borders with Belgium, Luxembourg and France, said on Saturday. "They are not agreed as a permanent measure, they are not designed to be permanent," Alexander Schweitzer said of the recently imposed border checks. Schweitzer was speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the Schengen Agreement in Schengen, Luxembourg. With the 1985 agreement, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands agreed to gradually dismantle border controls between them, allowing free movement within the so-called Schengen area. Today, 29 countries with around 420 million inhabitants belong to Schengen. "Schengen is a historic achievement of today's Europe," Schweitzer said. He emphasized that he was not fundamentally opposed to "local, temporary, well-justified border controls" and noted that a sovereign state must be able to control its borders. "But we must manage this balancing act at all times: We must not throw Europe and what we have achieved in Europe out like a baby with the bath water." Shortly after the new German government took office in May, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt tightened border controls and ordered border officials to deny irregular migrants entry to the country even if they apply for asylum. The move drew criticism from neighbouring countries, particularly in the border region between Germany, Luxembourg and France. As Schweitzer spoke to journalists, German police were carrying out controls on drivers on the German side of the Moselle bridge in Schengen. Schweitzer said it was down to Dobrindt to justify the need for border controls. He described Dobrindt's statement that he was focusing on "smart" border controls as "appealing." "However I cannot yet explain what this means," he added. Commenting on the anniversary of the Schengen Agreement, Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote on X: "The Schengen Agreement is unique, the foundation of our free Europe. That is how it should remain: We want a strong European single market without restrictions." "This requires secure external borders, implementation of the new migration rules and effective cooperation," he added.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
German foreign minister meets Saudi counterpart on Middle East tour
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul pressed on with his tour of the Middle East on Saturday despite the conflict raging between Israel and Iran, arriving in the Saudi capital Riyadh on a hastily reworked itinerary. Wadephul, who took office last month under the coalition government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, met with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan in Riyadh. Stability in the Middle East following Israeli strikes on Iranian territory and Tehran's retaliatory attacks were likely to dominate the talks, along with the Gaza war. The Gulf states of Saudi Arabia and Oman have strongly condemned Israel's attacks, with Riyadh branding them a clear violation of international law. Oman said they represented "a dangerous and reckless escalation." Originally, Wadephul was to travel from Egypt to Lebanon and reach the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday. Visits to Jordan and Israel on Sunday were also on the agenda. However, as developments in the Middle East quickly became unpredictable, the minister cancelled his visits to Beirut, Damascus, Amman and Jerusalem. Wadephul planned instead to travel on to Qatar on Saturday evening for a meeting with Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Qatar is regarded as an important mediator between Israel and the Islamist militia Hamas in the Gaza war. Gaza high on the agenda The dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and a possible peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians were likely to be a discussion topic for Wadephul and the Saudi foreign minister in Riyadh. Like many Arab countries, Germany favours a two-state solution, which envisions an independent Palestinian state coexisting peacefully alongside Israel. However, such demands have long been fruitless, with both Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remaining strictly opposed to the idea. For Riyadh, the two-state solution is a prestige project. The Gaza war, which erupted in October 2023, effectively torpedoed Saudi efforts to normalize ties with Israel. Now Riyadh seeks to use the current crisis to make progress on issues such as Palestinian statehood.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ireland moves to ban Israeli imports, as university severs ties with Israel
Ireland has made moves to become the first European Union country to ban trade with Israeli-occupied territories, while its prestigious university Trinity College has cut all ties with Israel. Its long-held continuing support for the Palestinian people has roots in the country's own history – and these latest measures have crystallised tensions with Israel. Ireland's prestigious Trinity College Dublin said on Wednesday, 4 June that it would cut all ties with Israel in protest at "ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law" – the first first Western university to make such a move. The university's board informed students by email that it had accepted the recommendations of a taskforce to sever "institutional links with the State of Israel, Israeli universities and companies headquartered in Israel". The recommendations would be "enacted for the duration of the ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law," said the email, sent by the board's chairman Paul Farrell and seen by French news agency AFP. The taskforce was set up after part of the university's campus in central Dublin was blockaded by students for five days last year in protest at Israel's actions in Gaza. US slams sanctions by UK, allies on far-right Israeli ministers The university also said that it would "enter into no further mobility agreements with Israeli universities". Foreign Minister Simon Harris told reporters he hoped other EU countries would follow Ireland's lead. Read more on RFI English
