Rise of Fascism

To what extent should Mussolini be considered a significant player in the history of WWII? Benito Mussolini is known as the creator of fascism, an extreme form of authoritarian government that is even said to have influenced Hitler. Did his beliefs and choices lead to the rise of fascism? Did he truly influence Hitler and change the course of European and world history forever? Can Mussolini truly be credited with influencing WWII? To answer these questions we first have to know who Mussolini even was.

Mussolini was born in 1883 in northeastern Italy in an area that was still under Austrian rule at the time. His family growing up didn’t have much money, potentially influencing his urge for power and control. In the early years, Mussolini was greatly influenced by his father's beliefs as a socialist, republican, and nationalist. During these years he was rebellious and known as a trouble maker. He didn’t care about school and got expelled. After more years of school, he became a teacher but did not like his job. This was when he became passionate about politics and truly began his life.

What influenced Mussolini to end up creating fascism? His journey truly began in 1902 when he ventured to Switzerland. Still a socialist at this point, he was surrounded by many other socialists and worked with them. He proposed a strike and was then banished from the country. Following this he got expelled from Trentino in 1909, another Austrian ruled part of Italy. He decided to go south to help advocate for better farmer wages. There, he became the secretary of a local socialist party and even edited the socialist newspaper. His views started to change with the start of WWI, specifically when he joined the war in 1915. This expelled him from the socialist party. He was wounded and had to end his service in 1917, but his legacy was far from over.

The creation of fascism was a long process for Mussolini. After the war, he began to rise in popularity. He was influenced by Italian nationalists, and by the port city of Fiume. Fiume was a small city in Italy that many wanted to seize from Yugoslavia. In 1919 many Italian nationalists were able to seize Fiume and claim it for Italy. This was a huge moment for Mussolini because seizing Fiume was against a peace treaty that was in place. He realized that peace treaties and laws could be defied, and that power was significant and necessary to his success. Another great influence was Dino Grandi, a friend of Mussolini, who joined an armed squad of veterans called Black Shirts. This group terrorized anarchists, socialists, and communists, and was met with little governmental resistance. This helped Mussolini gain ideas about what he could accomplish. By the early 1920s, Mussolini was popular. He claimed he’d seize power and start a revolution unless fascists were allowed to have a place within the government. This placed Italy on the verge of a civil war between fascists and socialists. There was much communist tension in Italy at the time, and many thought that fascism and Mussolini were better than a full communist takeover. This is what allowed Mussolini to be appointed as a Prime Minister in 1922, giving him some power and starting his ability to create a deeper impact on history. He forced the government to work with him, making his followers proud. This was the beginning of fascism in Italy.

How did Mussolini influence Hitler? As Mussolini became more popular, his fascist ideology did as well. His form of fascism became popular about a decade before the rise of Hitler. His goal was to be a supreme leader of a totalitarian state, similar to the goal of Hitler. Mussolini gained more power in government but was threatened by those who opposed him and his beliefs. He did everything he could to shut down the voices of those who disagreed with him and had set up a fascist dictatorship with little opposition in 1925. Using violence to establish more power, fascism evolved into a political system referred to as The Third Way. The creation of The Third Way led to Mussolini gaining more and more governmental control, and to establishing many changes that influenced Hitler. These changes included allowing the Secret Police to arrest and punish without trial, the military taking control of the king, Mussolini no longer being responsive to Parliament, five new agricultural towns being reclaimed (leading the country deeper into debt), and other economic advancements. These changes proved how powerful Mussolini had made himself and was a great inspiration to Hitler.

To what extent should Mussolini be considered a significant player in the history of WWII? Mussolini essentially created fascism and was a great inspiration and influence to Hitler. Though he was not the biggest cause of WWII, he was a great inspiration for it. His ideas and his power were an example of what Hitler could have and do. His changing of Italy will forever leave a mark on Italian history. Mussolini changed Italy, and his ideas led Europe into the Second World War. Maybe WWII was unavoidable. Maybe Hitler would have been just as bad, Mussolini or not. Regardless, Mussolini was an influence of WWII, and his impact on European history is still prevalent to this day.