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Hitler and Mussolini

In: Historical Events

Submitted By kdaignault1
Words 2190
Pages 9
Kaitlyn Daignault
December 2, 2012
Research Paper
Hitler and Mussolini
The relationship between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini helped to instill fear throughout the rest of Europe through the 1930s and 1940s. The powerhouse duo was very similar in many ways including persuasion and public speaking; however they also had different key qualities to make them unique. Having risen to power years earlier during the 1920s, Benito Mussolini was the senior of the two, and an initial inspiration and mentor for a young Adolf Hitler. Mussolini’s ideas of a fascist Italy became a building block for Hitler and Nazi Germany. However, early on their relationship was not a good one as Mussolini saw himself as superior. Mussolini had little respect for Hitler and the Nazi Germany as a whole. He did not agree with Hitler’s beliefs regarding racialism and his desire of an Aryan race. As time continued Mussolini’s view of Nazi Germany and Hitler would change completely. As the Germans became the powerhouse of Europe, Mussolini was forced to take a backseat to Hitler throughout World War II.
A young Benito Mussolini began his rise to power in Italy as early as 1918. It is then that he realized that in order for Italy to grow as a dominant force in Europe, a dictatorship was necessary. With his good looks and his persuasive speeches, a young Mussolini was able to gain the support of the Italian people. Although the content of his speeches was often incorrect, opinions contradictory, and attacks often misled or unjustified, it was in fact his persona that won over the Italians. Just a year later in 1919, Benito Mussolini created the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento or the Italian Fasci of Combat and began to spread his ideas and beliefs of a fascist Italy. Using these ideas he, along with other Italian fascist leaders, wrote the Fascist Manifesto in 1921 officially

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