Benito Mussolini Research Paper
Benito Mussolini was an Italian Prime Minister who reigned from 1922 to 1943; his main goals during his reign were to become a dictator who had similar ways and beliefs as other proverbial dictators such as Adolf Hitler and to make Italy a powerful nation in Europe. Italy’s history has been mostly affected by Mussolini and his fascist views which promoted inequality, communism, imbalance of rights, etc. A word which can be used to describe this inequality is dystopia; a dystopian society is a place powered by fear in which there is a disparity of rights of the government and citizens of the nation. For example, Benito Mussolini made certain independent decisions which rendered Italy into a dystopian country. When one analyzes the dystopia in
…show more content…
Italy during this era, the three main points one can evaluate are the following: the changes Mussolini made to influence Italy to follow his ways and beliefs, the impacts these changes had, and the way various genres of literature educate people about progression toward equality among all people.
First of all, the changes that Benito Mussolini made were very important decisions which made the country dystopian; one of those changes was the making of the National Fascist Party. At the start of Mussolini’s career, he followed a democracy which promoted equality in everyone’s rights. However, prejudiced elections triggered him to abolish all democratic establishments, political parties, and independent trade. During 1919, he founded the National Fascist Party, and it was put into place without the consent of the non-fascist citizens. The Fascist regime was combined with the government in 1921; thus, dictatorship was implemented in the government. He created a government plan, and it supported a feeling of superiority to other countries and having a strong military defense. Additionally, his main power came when he became the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922. Mussolini believed himself powerful and unstoppable. He enforced the Enabling Act after banning trade unions, which protected the rights of workers. “He then proceeded to establish a totalitarian state. Political parties were banned, independent trade unions were closed. The only permitted party was the National Fascist Party.” (“Italy”). Overall, the creation of the Fascist Party and the Enabling Act were Mussolini’s first steps towards the making of Italy into a dystopian society.
Mussolini’s made several decisions about when to enter wars and attempt to conquer other countries which had mixed results. Mussolini knew Italy had weak troops, so he did not enter the war on Germany’s side in 1939 because prior to that he had already invaded Albania and Poland. Nazi Germany had very powerful troops, so Mussolini did not want to make his country look unprepared or weak. Mussolini announced war on Ethiopia; the war did not last very long and ended with Italy conquering Ethiopia. “In April 1939 Italy occupied Albania, a de-facto protectorate for decades, but in September 1939, after the invasion of Poland, Mussolini decided not to intervene on Germany's side, due to the poor preparation of the Italian armed forces.” (“Italy”). However, in 1940, when Mussolini believed that his country was ready, Mussolini led the country to World War II, and his country suffered. Therefore, even though Mussolini was attempting to benefit his country by joining war and conquering other countries, many of his attempts had negative consequences on the people of Italy. Another major change Mussolini made in his country was making an alliance with Hitler.
Mussolini was a very popular leader and an ally of Adolf Hitler, whom he inspired with his actions. Because of his actions, time came when Hitler became more popular and had more power than Mussolini, and this resulted in some major conflicts between Italy and Nazi Germany. “Mussolini became a close ally of German dictator Adolf Hitler, whom he influenced. However, he never enjoyed the level of popular support that Hitler at times attracted in Germany, and as soon as it was clear to the people of Italy that they were losing the war, they turned against the dictator.” (“Benito Mussolini”). Mussolini was a very charismatic person enabling him to influence Hitler, and these actions had later consequences involving the people of …show more content…
Italy.
The decision that Mussolini made by creating the Fascist Party and other acts had several impacts. The government had full control over Parliament and citizens, and the citizens of Italy had no say in their government. The citizens had to follow all rules and laws their dictator set for them. “He introduced a Fascist Grand Council which would decide policy for Italy without consulting the non-fascists in the government first.” (Trueman).The lack of balance was prevalent because the government had complete control over every one of the citizens’ rights. As a result, the fact that Mussolini created the Fascist Party had harsh impacts on the rights of the people of Italy.
Mussolini made the decision of taking his country to World War II to fight along side with Nazi Germany. Because of the weakness of the Italian army, Italy was in a difficult situation fighting a losing battle. In June 1943, the King of Italy showed how he did not appreciate Mussolini’s beliefs and actions by arresting Mussolini, which resulted in the country capitulating in September 1943. “Italy entered the war in June 1940 when France was almost defeated. Mussolini hoped for a quick victory, but Italy suffered from the very beginning from the poor training of its army and the lack of experience of its generals.” (“Italy”). In addition, announcing war on Ethiopia led to the abolishment of the pacts Italy had formed with France, Great Britain, and Nazi Germany. These countries were no longer allies with Italy, so Italy had to fortify its boundaries to make sure no attacks occurred. The harmful impacts on the citizens of Italy were that they lost their lives while Mussolini entered the war only to look good in front of Hitler and Nazi Germany.
Making an alliance with Hitler affected the people of Italy greatly. While Mussolini thought Hitler and Nazi Germany were his allies, these so-called allies invaded Italy; Italy was conquered and ruled by Nazi- ridden Germany for about two years. King Vittorio Emanuele III put Mussolini in prison; however, he was released from jail by the Nazis because of his fascist views. The country was split in half like a battlefield in which a Civil War started. Most of Italy’s citizens were fighting against Mussolini and the fascist Nazis for their freedom and rights. Mussolini led the Nazis in the Civil War hoping to win the war, so he could become the dictator of Italy again. He enjoyed having Italy under his rule, and he despised being thrown into jail by the king of his country. The part of the country supporting the King of Italy, who promoted a republic country, were the original citizens of Italy, and the other part voting for the monarchy had many Nazi-supporters. The citizens of Italy, who fought for their rights while being led by the king, finally got the liberalism, in April 1945, they fought for. The fervent partisans of Mussolini were willing to go to any extent to get rid of the king. King Vittorio Emanuele III, on the other hand, was supported by the citizens of Italy, who fought for their rights. His overzealous supporters stood up to the Nazis and Mussolini in order to protect him. In spite of the protection from his supporters, King Vittorio Emanuele III still had to leave the throne, and his son Umberto II succeeded him. Umberto II was the king for only one month - May 1946 to June 1946 - until Italy became a Republic country after his reign ended. “It was immediately invaded by Germany and for nearly two years the country was divided and became a battlefield. The Nazi-occupied part of the country, where a puppet fascist state under Mussolini was reconstituted, was the theater for a savage civil war between freedom fighters (‘partigiani’) and Nazi and fascist troops.” (“Italy”). In summary, by deciding to make an alliance with Hitler, Mussolini hurt his country’s people even though he thought he was doing this for the benefit of his country.
Additionally, the genres of literature can be used to educate people about dystopia in the world. For example, Lois Lowry wrote the book The Giver, which is a dystopian fiction novel, and taught people about imbalance. In The Giver, people were under the control of their government, and there were strict laws people were forced to follow. For example, they were not allowed to leave their town, their government chose their job for them, etc. At one point in the book, twins were born, and the government had a law saying that only one could live otherwise it would be too confusing. Thus, they took the smaller of the two, gave it a shot which killed it. A boy named Jonas found out that this happened, so he started a rebellion against the government by leaving the town. “To his surprise, his father began very carefully to direct the needle into the to of newchild's forehead, puncturing the place where the fragile skin pulsed. . . . His head fell to the side, his eyes half open. Then he was still. ” (Lowry 186-187). Jonas’ fear of the government caused him to leave even though he knew the consequences were severe. Lois Lowry was attempting to teach the people of this world about dystopia and how, currently, all over the world there are governments which create laws without the consent of the citizens of their country.
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is a historical fiction novel and informs people about dystopia.
This book took place during World War II when the Nazis were murdering Jews because of their different beliefs. At the time, there was no equality in Nazi Germany as Hitler and the Nazis had complete control over the nation. In this book, a Jewish man named Max Vandenburg escaped from one of the Nazi Concentration Camps. The Hubermanns, who were Germans, attempted to hide him and care for him in their basement cellar because he was a family friend. They had to keep him hidden and were not allowed to speak a word about him to anyone because if anyone found out that they were helping a Jew, the entire family and Max would be prosecuted. “When a Jew shows up at your place of residence in the early hours of morning, in the very birthplace of Nazism, you’re likely to experience extreme levels of discomfort. Anxiety, disbelief, paranoia.” (Zusak 199). In short, historical fiction is a genre describing the dystopia which has occurred in the
past.
Another genre of literature that is currently being used to educate people about dystopia in the United States is news articles. Protests antagonizing president-elect Donald J. Trump have sparked all over the nation. In this case, people have a trepidation of Trump and what they believe he will do to them; thus, they have started to protest against him and his supporters. “In San Francisco on Sunday, about 1,000 people marched through Golden Gate Park toward a beach where they chanted: ‘Let's make waves.’ They held signs such as ‘I resist racism’ and ‘Down with the Trumps.’” (Besant). These uprisings are powered by fear making the United States of America a dystopian society. MSN used this article to educate people about dystopia and how people should progress towards equality.
Because of his wrong decisions, Mussolini never earned the support of any of his citizens; most of his decisions backfired on him and his dictatorship. He was never able to extend his power beyond Italy as he hoped would happen. Benito Mussolini made certain persuasive independent decisions which made Italy a dystopian country. A dystopian society is a society powered by fear in which there is an imbalance of rights and equality between the citizens and the government of the nation. When one evaluates the dystopia in Italy at the time when Mussolini reigned, the three main points one can evaluate are the changes Mussolini made to influence this country to support his beliefs, the impacts these changes had, and the way various genres of literature inform people about advancement towards equality among all human beings.
Italy during this era, the three main points one can evaluate are the following: the changes Mussolini made to influence Italy to follow his ways and beliefs, the impacts these changes had, and the way various genres of literature educate people about progression toward equality among all people.
First of all, the changes that Benito Mussolini made were very important decisions which made the country dystopian; one of those changes was the making of the National Fascist Party. At the start of Mussolini’s career, he followed a democracy which promoted equality in everyone’s rights. However, prejudiced elections triggered him to abolish all democratic establishments, political parties, and independent trade. During 1919, he founded the National Fascist Party, and it was put into place without the consent of the non-fascist citizens. The Fascist regime was combined with the government in 1921; thus, dictatorship was implemented in the government. He created a government plan, and it supported a feeling of superiority to other countries and having a strong military defense. Additionally, his main power came when he became the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922. Mussolini believed himself powerful and unstoppable. He enforced the Enabling Act after banning trade unions, which protected the rights of workers. “He then proceeded to establish a totalitarian state. Political parties were banned, independent trade unions were closed. The only permitted party was the National Fascist Party.” (“Italy”). Overall, the creation of the Fascist Party and the Enabling Act were Mussolini’s first steps towards the making of Italy into a dystopian society.
Mussolini’s made several decisions about when to enter wars and attempt to conquer other countries which had mixed results. Mussolini knew Italy had weak troops, so he did not enter the war on Germany’s side in 1939 because prior to that he had already invaded Albania and Poland. Nazi Germany had very powerful troops, so Mussolini did not want to make his country look unprepared or weak. Mussolini announced war on Ethiopia; the war did not last very long and ended with Italy conquering Ethiopia. “In April 1939 Italy occupied Albania, a de-facto protectorate for decades, but in September 1939, after the invasion of Poland, Mussolini decided not to intervene on Germany's side, due to the poor preparation of the Italian armed forces.” (“Italy”). However, in 1940, when Mussolini believed that his country was ready, Mussolini led the country to World War II, and his country suffered. Therefore, even though Mussolini was attempting to benefit his country by joining war and conquering other countries, many of his attempts had negative consequences on the people of Italy. Another major change Mussolini made in his country was making an alliance with Hitler.
Mussolini was a very popular leader and an ally of Adolf Hitler, whom he inspired with his actions. Because of his actions, time came when Hitler became more popular and had more power than Mussolini, and this resulted in some major conflicts between Italy and Nazi Germany. “Mussolini became a close ally of German dictator Adolf Hitler, whom he influenced. However, he never enjoyed the level of popular support that Hitler at times attracted in Germany, and as soon as it was clear to the people of Italy that they were losing the war, they turned against the dictator.” (“Benito Mussolini”). Mussolini was a very charismatic person enabling him to influence Hitler, and these actions had later consequences involving the people of …show more content…
Italy.
The decision that Mussolini made by creating the Fascist Party and other acts had several impacts. The government had full control over Parliament and citizens, and the citizens of Italy had no say in their government. The citizens had to follow all rules and laws their dictator set for them. “He introduced a Fascist Grand Council which would decide policy for Italy without consulting the non-fascists in the government first.” (Trueman).The lack of balance was prevalent because the government had complete control over every one of the citizens’ rights. As a result, the fact that Mussolini created the Fascist Party had harsh impacts on the rights of the people of Italy.
Mussolini made the decision of taking his country to World War II to fight along side with Nazi Germany. Because of the weakness of the Italian army, Italy was in a difficult situation fighting a losing battle. In June 1943, the King of Italy showed how he did not appreciate Mussolini’s beliefs and actions by arresting Mussolini, which resulted in the country capitulating in September 1943. “Italy entered the war in June 1940 when France was almost defeated. Mussolini hoped for a quick victory, but Italy suffered from the very beginning from the poor training of its army and the lack of experience of its generals.” (“Italy”). In addition, announcing war on Ethiopia led to the abolishment of the pacts Italy had formed with France, Great Britain, and Nazi Germany. These countries were no longer allies with Italy, so Italy had to fortify its boundaries to make sure no attacks occurred. The harmful impacts on the citizens of Italy were that they lost their lives while Mussolini entered the war only to look good in front of Hitler and Nazi Germany.
Making an alliance with Hitler affected the people of Italy greatly. While Mussolini thought Hitler and Nazi Germany were his allies, these so-called allies invaded Italy; Italy was conquered and ruled by Nazi- ridden Germany for about two years. King Vittorio Emanuele III put Mussolini in prison; however, he was released from jail by the Nazis because of his fascist views. The country was split in half like a battlefield in which a Civil War started. Most of Italy’s citizens were fighting against Mussolini and the fascist Nazis for their freedom and rights. Mussolini led the Nazis in the Civil War hoping to win the war, so he could become the dictator of Italy again. He enjoyed having Italy under his rule, and he despised being thrown into jail by the king of his country. The part of the country supporting the King of Italy, who promoted a republic country, were the original citizens of Italy, and the other part voting for the monarchy had many Nazi-supporters. The citizens of Italy, who fought for their rights while being led by the king, finally got the liberalism, in April 1945, they fought for. The fervent partisans of Mussolini were willing to go to any extent to get rid of the king. King Vittorio Emanuele III, on the other hand, was supported by the citizens of Italy, who fought for their rights. His overzealous supporters stood up to the Nazis and Mussolini in order to protect him. In spite of the protection from his supporters, King Vittorio Emanuele III still had to leave the throne, and his son Umberto II succeeded him. Umberto II was the king for only one month - May 1946 to June 1946 - until Italy became a Republic country after his reign ended. “It was immediately invaded by Germany and for nearly two years the country was divided and became a battlefield. The Nazi-occupied part of the country, where a puppet fascist state under Mussolini was reconstituted, was the theater for a savage civil war between freedom fighters (‘partigiani’) and Nazi and fascist troops.” (“Italy”). In summary, by deciding to make an alliance with Hitler, Mussolini hurt his country’s people even though he thought he was doing this for the benefit of his country.
Additionally, the genres of literature can be used to educate people about dystopia in the world. For example, Lois Lowry wrote the book The Giver, which is a dystopian fiction novel, and taught people about imbalance. In The Giver, people were under the control of their government, and there were strict laws people were forced to follow. For example, they were not allowed to leave their town, their government chose their job for them, etc. At one point in the book, twins were born, and the government had a law saying that only one could live otherwise it would be too confusing. Thus, they took the smaller of the two, gave it a shot which killed it. A boy named Jonas found out that this happened, so he started a rebellion against the government by leaving the town. “To his surprise, his father began very carefully to direct the needle into the to of newchild's forehead, puncturing the place where the fragile skin pulsed. . . . His head fell to the side, his eyes half open. Then he was still. ” (Lowry 186-187). Jonas’ fear of the government caused him to leave even though he knew the consequences were severe. Lois Lowry was attempting to teach the people of this world about dystopia and how, currently, all over the world there are governments which create laws without the consent of the citizens of their country.
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is a historical fiction novel and informs people about dystopia.
This book took place during World War II when the Nazis were murdering Jews because of their different beliefs. At the time, there was no equality in Nazi Germany as Hitler and the Nazis had complete control over the nation. In this book, a Jewish man named Max Vandenburg escaped from one of the Nazi Concentration Camps. The Hubermanns, who were Germans, attempted to hide him and care for him in their basement cellar because he was a family friend. They had to keep him hidden and were not allowed to speak a word about him to anyone because if anyone found out that they were helping a Jew, the entire family and Max would be prosecuted. “When a Jew shows up at your place of residence in the early hours of morning, in the very birthplace of Nazism, you’re likely to experience extreme levels of discomfort. Anxiety, disbelief, paranoia.” (Zusak 199). In short, historical fiction is a genre describing the dystopia which has occurred in the
past.
Another genre of literature that is currently being used to educate people about dystopia in the United States is news articles. Protests antagonizing president-elect Donald J. Trump have sparked all over the nation. In this case, people have a trepidation of Trump and what they believe he will do to them; thus, they have started to protest against him and his supporters. “In San Francisco on Sunday, about 1,000 people marched through Golden Gate Park toward a beach where they chanted: ‘Let's make waves.’ They held signs such as ‘I resist racism’ and ‘Down with the Trumps.’” (Besant). These uprisings are powered by fear making the United States of America a dystopian society. MSN used this article to educate people about dystopia and how people should progress towards equality.
Because of his wrong decisions, Mussolini never earned the support of any of his citizens; most of his decisions backfired on him and his dictatorship. He was never able to extend his power beyond Italy as he hoped would happen. Benito Mussolini made certain persuasive independent decisions which made Italy a dystopian country. A dystopian society is a society powered by fear in which there is an imbalance of rights and equality between the citizens and the government of the nation. When one evaluates the dystopia in Italy at the time when Mussolini reigned, the three main points one can evaluate are the changes Mussolini made to influence this country to support his beliefs, the impacts these changes had, and the way various genres of literature inform people about advancement towards equality among all human beings.