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Mussolini is born into poverty in Predappio, Northern Italy to an extremist socialist father. This allowed him to relate to the common man and planted the roots of his socialism.
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Mussolini is arrested and deported from Switzerland for inciting a revolution after a youth marked with extreme violence. This shows the violence that is at the core of his being and was fundamental to Fascism.
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Mussolini becomes the editor of Avanti, a prominent socialist newspaper. He learns the power of language and develops a following.
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Mussolini loses faith in socialism and is attracted by the futurist movement which sees war as a cleansing force. He is kicked out of the socialist party and founds Il Popolo d’Italia. He moves away from socialism and begins to develop his own political voice.
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Italy joins the war on the side of the allies and Mussolini sees nationalism in action. He serves and is wounded.
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Mussolini founds the Fascist Party (implicitly the MIGA movement) with tactical violence at its core. Mussolini aspires to be a modern caesar. He harkens back to a glorious past as a way of inspiring his followers.
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The workers' rights strike gives him the opportunity to become the prophet of doom, rallying and unifying his followers to oppose communists, the “rats from the east”. He glorifies the use of violence and is elected to parliament.
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Mussolini marches on Rome with 30,000 Blackshirts and demands to be made prime minister. The king caves. He takes power by illegitimate means.
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vote rigging, violence and intimidation wins him 65% of the seats in parliament. His opponent is assassinated and Mussolini accepts full responsibility. Mussolini assumes the persona of Il Duce promotes a cult of personality through the use of rallies and radio broadcasts.
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Mussolini uses the invasion of Ethiopia as a distraction from the domestic economic slump. He uses chemical weapons but the victory comes at a high cost. The war emboldens Hitler.
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Italy enters World War II on the side of the axis. Mussolini declares war on France and England opening a two front war and losing disastrously. He then disappears from the public eye is deposed in a coup and held in a secure remote location. Italy starts to break up.
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Hitler rescues Mussolini and sends German troops to Italy. Mussolini governs as his puppet but is caught by partisans, tried and shot.
