BENITO MUSSOLINI Excellent Signature as Prime Minister of Italy w/COA

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BENITO MUSSOLINI Excellent Signature as Prime Minister of Italy w/COA:
$79.50

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INCLUDES CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY

BENITO MUSSOLINI
(1883-1945)Benito Mussolini was Prime Minister (1922-1943) and Foreign Minister (1922-1929, 1932-1936) of Italy. Originally a Socialist, he began in 1918 to advocate the emergence of a dictator, hinting that he himself might be such a man. In 1919, he formed the nucleus of a party, called the Fasci di Combattimento (\"fighting bands\"). His opportunity presented itself in 1922 when, to the dismay of the Italian people as a whole, a general strike was called. Mussolini declared that unless the government prevented the strike, the Fascists would. When the Fascists began to march on Rome, threatening to bring down the government, King Vittorio Emanuele III made Mussolini Prime Minister. He obtained full dictatorial powers for a year, and used that time to push through a law that enabled the Fascists to secure a majority in the Chamber. Subsequently, he assumed permanent dictatorial powers and dissolved all other political parties. Dreams of empire led him to invade Ethiopia in 1935. Sanctions were imposed by the League of Nations, but he found a new ally in Adolf Hitler\'s Germany, and, seeing Hitler\'s initial successes in World War II, he joined the German side on June 10, 1940. From the beginning, the war went badly for Italy. When the Allies invaded Sicily in July 1943, it was obvious that collapse was imminent. On July 25, 1943, the Fascist Grand Council dismissed him; he was arrested but rescued by the Germans on September 12, 1943. He followed Hitler\'s suggestion to establish a new Fascist government in the north, where he awaited the inevitable end. When he tried to cross the frontier, he was recognized and on April 28, 1945, near Dongo, Lombardia, Italy, he was shot to death by Italian partisans.