ATTEMPTS ON MUSSOLINI In 1925, four attempts were made on Mussolini's life, but God, as Benito claimed, carefully preserved his life. God did not protect Mussolini’s opponents from the hands of fascist terrorists. On June 10, 1925, a well-known socialist deputy in the country was killed

16. Mussolini and his defenders The aged, heavy Duce, hearing the steps of his beloved, took off his glasses, and his eyes, sunken from insomnia, sparkled with stingy tears, dripped from the make-up artist’s pipette before filming. Into the arms of this lonely, abandoned by almost everyone,

11. Next to Mussolini There are enough paradoxes in the fate of Sophia Loren. Consider, for example, her early experience of filming. Carlo Ponti in the early 1960s, when Sophie had already become a world famous actress, bought all the films in which she starred when she was very young.

On the spring morning of April 29, 1945, crowds of people flocked to Piazza Loreto in Milan. A terrible and unprecedented picture was revealed to their eyes - eight corpses were suspended by their feet from the metal beams that served as ceilings of the gas station located there. The face of one of them was disfigured beyond recognition, but those gathered in the square knew that it once belonged to the all-powerful dictator Benito Musolini.

Son of an unapologetic socialist

The founder of the Italian Fascist Party, Benito Mussolini, short biography on whom this article is based, was born on July 29, 1883 in the small village of Varano di Costa. His father could barely read and had difficulty writing his own signature, but this did not prevent him from being one of the militant socialists of those years.

Participating in all anti-government rallies and being the author of the most radical appeals, he was repeatedly imprisoned. It is not surprising, therefore, that under the influence of Father Benito early years became imbued with the obscure, but attractive to the young man, ideas of universal happiness and social justice.

By nature Benito Mussolini was unusually gifted child. For example, from the memoirs of contemporaries it is known that at the age of four the future Duce (leader) was already reading fluently, and a year later he was playing the violin quite confidently. But the violent and cruel character he inherited from his father did not allow the boy to graduate church school in Faenza, where his parents placed him with great difficulty.

One day, Benito resolved his dispute with one of the high school students by stabbing him, and only the intervention of the local bishop saved him from inevitable prison. Already in those years, the teenager acted as the leader of his comrades, but due to his character traits he never enjoyed their love, which, however, worried him little.

Young and active socialist

In 1900, Benito Mussolini, while still a student at the gymnasium where he was transferred after a scandal at a Catholic school, joined the Socialist Party of Italy. Here he first showed his abilities as a publicist, publishing sharp political articles on the pages of the newspapers Ravenna and Forlì that belonged to her. After graduating and receiving a teaching diploma junior classes, Benito worked for some time in a village school, while at the same time heading the organization of local socialists.

Since active military service was not part of his plans, upon reaching the appropriate age in 1902, Mussolini emigrated to Switzerland, where a large colony of Italians lived in those years. Soon, thanks to the skill of speaking in front of a street audience and good knowledge French, he stood out from the general mass of his compatriots. According to his biographers, here the future Duce, having experienced success for the first time, fell in love with the attention of the crowd and the sound of applause.

At one of the political meetings held in Lausanne, Benito Mussolini met the Russian emigrant Vladimir Lenin, as well as his ally, Angelica Balabanova, thanks to whom he began to read such authors as Marx, Sorel and Nietzsche. Under the influence of their ideas, throughout his life he became an ardent supporter of direct and sometimes violent actions, not constrained by any moral restrictions.

Talented journalist and active politician

However, very soon his emigrant life, filled with idle talk about the general well-being, ended. In 1903, at the request of the Italian government, Benito was arrested for evading conscription. However, this time, happily avoiding prison, he limited himself to deportation to his homeland.

Having returned to Italy and having served in the army for the required two years, Mussolini Benito resumed his teaching activities, having achieved very noticeable success in this field. Having received the proper qualifications, he became a professor at a French college. This occupation brought him a livelihood, but his true purpose the young teacher still considered politics.

Realizing that article can be an equally effective weapon revolutionary struggle, like the rifle, he actively published in a number of left-wing radical newspapers, and eventually became the editor of the socialist weekly La Lima. In 1908, for organizing a strike of agricultural workers, Mussolini was sentenced to three months in prison, but fate, always favorable, did not abandon its favorite this time - after two weeks he was free again.

Well-deserved success in the literary field

The next three years of his life were devoted almost exclusively to journalistic activities, which he was engaged in both in his homeland and in the Austro-Hungarian city of Trento, where he published his first own newspaper, “The Future of the Worker.” During this period, in collaboration with another figure socialist party- Santi Carvaia - Benito Mussolini wrote a sharp anti-clerical novel, “Claudia Particella, the Cardinal’s Mistress,” which, having subsequently reconciled with the Vatican, he himself ordered to be withdrawn from sale.

A truly talented journalist who uses a simple, accessible language, he quickly gained popularity among ordinary Italians. Knowing how to choose catchy and vivid headlines for his articles, he touched upon the most burning topics that affected every citizen.

Personal life of a dictator

It is known about Mussolini’s personal life that in 1914, while in Trento, he married Ida Dalser, who bore him a son. However, literally a year later he divorced her and entered into a second marriage with his former mistress Raquele Guidi, with whom he had been in a relationship for many years.

The new wife turned out to be fertile and gave birth to two daughters and three sons. However, the family circle personal life Mussolini never limited herself. Throughout all mature years he had countless relationships, sometimes short-lived, sometimes lasting years.

Departure from socialist ideology

However, at the beginning of the First World War, his break with his fellow party members unexpectedly occurred. Actively advocating the participation of Italy, which was neutral at that time, in military operations on the side of France, he went against the general line of his former comrades. After Italy finally entered the war on the side of the Entente in 1915, rejected by his former comrades, the Duce found himself at the front. Awarded the rank of corporal for his bravery, he was forced to leave service in 1917 due to seriously injured, received by him during one of the combat operations.

Returning from the front, Mussolini continued his political activities, but holding completely different views. In his articles and public speaking he declared that socialism had completely outlived its usefulness as political doctrine. According to him, at this stage only a strong, cruel and energetic person can serve the cause of the revival of Italy.

Creation of a fascist party

On March 23, 1919, an event occurred that became truly important not only in his life, but also in the entire history of the country - Benito Mussolini held the first meeting of the party he founded, Fasci italiani combattimento - “Italian Union of Struggle”. It was the word “fasci”, meaning “union”, that caused the members of his organization, and then everyone who shared their inherent ideology, to be called fascists.

Their first serious success came in May 1921, when in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament, Mussolini and 35 of his closest associates received mandates, after which their organization was officially transformed into the National Fascist Party. From that time on, the word “fascism” began its dark march across the planet.

One of the manifestations of the “strong hand” policy was the appearance on the streets of Italian cities of “Black Shirts” units - assault squads made up of veterans of the last war. Their task was to restore order and forcefully counteract various political opponents who tried to organize demonstrations, rallies and demonstrations. They became the prototypes of future German stormtroopers, differing from them only in the brown color of their robes. Police, feeling the growing political influence these groups, tried not to interfere with their actions.

By 1922, the number of supporters of the fascist party in Italy had increased so much that in October they were able to organize a multi-thousand march on Rome. Aware of their power and fearful of the beginning civil war, King Victor Immanuel III was forced to accept Mussolini and appoint him prime minister. On the same day, the newly appointed head of government formed a cabinet of ministers, which, as you might guess, included his most prominent supporters.

The fascists' rise to power in Italy was marked by numerous crimes, secretly or openly committed on political grounds. Among them, the kidnapping and murder of prominent socialist Giacomo Matteotti caused the greatest public outcry. In general, as statistics show, during the period from 1927 to 1943, charges of illegal actions of a political nature were brought against 21 thousand people.

At the pinnacle of power

After 1922, Benito Mussolini, whose biography by this time was replete with more and more new appointments, managed to take personal control of almost all parties state life. Suffice it to say that he managed, one after another, to subjugate seven ministries, including the main ones - internal and foreign affairs, as well as defense.

By 1927, Benito Mussolini (Italy) created a real police state in the country, eliminating constitutional restrictions on his arbitrariness. At the same time, all other political parties were banned and parliamentary elections were cancelled. The free expression of the people was replaced by the Great Fascist Council, which soon became the country's highest constitutional body.

The economic rise of Italy in those years

Meanwhile, it should be noted that the creation in Italy of a tough totalitarian state accompanied by a sharp economic recovery. In particular, for the needs Agriculture During the reign of Benito Mussolini, whose photos from those years are presented in the article, 5 thousand farms were created. Five new cities were built on the territory of the Pontic marshes drained by his order, total area area covered by reclamation amounted to 60 thousand hectares.

His program to combat unemployment and create new jobs also became widely known, as a result of which thousands of families began to have a solid income. In general, during the years of rule of Benito Mussolini (Italy), he managed to raise the country’s economy to an unprecedented level, thereby further strengthening his position.

Imperial ambitions and their results

Dreaming of the restoration of the Roman Empire and considering himself the chosen one of fate who is entrusted with this great mission, the Duce pursued a corresponding foreign policy, which resulted in the conquest of Albania and Ethiopia. However, this forced him to enter World War II on the side of his former enemy Hitler, to whom he could not forgive the murder of his friend, the Austrian dictator Engelbert Dollfuss.

Military operations developed very unfavorably both for the Italian army as a whole and for Benito Mussolini personally. Briefly describing the situation that developed at that time, it is enough to say that the troops he led for a short time suffered crushing defeat in Greece, Egypt and Libya. As a result, the arrogant and ambitious Duce was forced to ask for help from his allies.

The final collapse came after the defeat of the German-Italian troops at Stalingrad and in North Africa. The failure of these two major military operations resulted in the loss of all previously captured colonies, as well as the corps that fought on Eastern Front. In the summer of 1943, the disgraced dictator was removed from all positions he held and arrested.

From dictators to puppets

But Benito Mussolini and Hitler - two people who became a symbol of fascism and violence - did not end their cooperation yet. By order of the Fuhrer, in September 1943, the Duce was released by a detachment of paratroopers under the command of Otto Skorzeny. After that, he headed the pro-German puppet government in northern Italy, created as an alternative to King Victor Emmanuel III, who had sided with the anti-fascist forces.

And although the story of Benito Mussolini at that time was already coming to its sad end, he still managed to create an Italian Empire on the territory under his control. socialist republic, which, however, did not receive recognition at international level and dependent on the Germans for everything. But the days of the once all-powerful dictator were numbered.

Bloody epilogue

In April 1945, the same tragedy occurred with the mention of which this article began. Trying to take refuge in neutral Switzerland and crossing the Valtellino valley, Musollini, his mistress - the Italian aristocrat Clara Petacci - and about a hundred Germans ended up in the hands of partisans. The former dictator was identified and the next day he and his girlfriend were shot on the outskirts of the village of Metsegra.

Their dead bodies were transported to Milan and hung by their feet at a gas station in Piazza Loreto. That day, next to them, the remains of six more fascist hierarchs swayed in the fresh April wind. Benito Mussolini, whose death was a natural stage of many years of activity aimed at suppressing civil liberties in the country, by that time had turned from a popular idol into an object of universal hatred. Perhaps that is why the face of the defeated Duce was disfigured beyond recognition.

On April 29, 2012, a memorial plaque appeared on the wall of the house in the village of Metsegra, near where his life was cut short. It depicts Clara Petacci and Benito Mussolini. Books, films, historical works, and most importantly, time, did their job, and for all his odiousness, the dictator in the minds of people turned into only one of the pages of their history, which, like any other, is treated with respect by true citizens.

The history of Italy of the 20th century included an amazing woman, Clara Petacci, who was the mistress of the dictator Benito Mussolini, who bore the title Duce, which means “leader” in Latin. However, she became famous not for her connection with the head of the Italian fascists, who had many favorites, but for the extraordinary strength of her feelings and devotion, which forced her to stand next to him at the execution wall at the hour of her death.

Girl's crush

Clara Petacci was born on February 28, 1912, the daughter of a prominent Italian doctor, who headed one of the capital’s clinics. His patients belonged to the highest strata of society, and one of them was even the head catholic church Pope Pius XI, which undoubtedly contributed high status all family members.

According to contemporaries, in the house of Francesco Saverio Petacci (that was her father’s name) the cult of Benito Mussolini, the head of state and founder of the Italian fascist party, reigned. They always spoke about him with admiration, and it is not surprising that the dictator, in those years still a young and very impressive man, eventually became the subject of the girlish sighs of young Clara.

Marriage of a young aristocrat

The young aristocrat sent enthusiastic letters to her idol, not one of which was read by the addressee, since in the eyes of Italian women he then played the role of a kind of sex symbol of the nation and daily received copious correspondence containing outpourings of love. Of course, all these messages ended up in his secretariat.

Since in matters of the heart, as in all others, “a bird in a cage is better than a pie in the sky,” having reached the age of 19, Clara Petacci abandoned her teenage dreams and married military pilot Riccardo Federice ─ the young scion of one of the aristocratic families of Italy.

The meeting that determined fate

Shortly before the wedding, when Clara was still only the official bride of her groom, an event occurred that determined her subsequent fate: during one of her car rides, she unexpectedly met the subject of her girlish dreams and managed to attract his attention. However, this hardly cost her much effort, since she was unusually beautiful in appearance, and the loving Duce, whose sexual unbridledness was legendary, could not ignore the young beauty, who was capable of turning the head of a less excitable nature with her charms.

It's hard to believe, but during the first four years There was an exclusively platonic relationship between them, in which mutual attraction found outlet only in endless love letters sent to each other every day. By the way, most of them survived and were subsequently published as a separate edition. In general, Signora Petacci's epistolary legacy amounted to 15 volumes.

A decisive step

Only in 1936 Clara became the mistress of Benito Mussolini, the age difference with whom was 30 years. After this, she immediately divorced her husband. It should be noted that long before this, their marriage had suffered a serious crack. In his family life, the brilliant aristocrat Riccardo Federice turned out to be a banal family tyrant, moreover, a jealous person and a habitual drunkard, who did not disdain to beat his wife when drunk. However, perhaps Clara herself made him this way, about whose love for Mussolini he could not help but know.

From this moment on, all personal life and further biography Clara Petacci is associated with the Italian dictator who has firmly won her heart. They could not live together because Mussolini was married, but they met almost daily at the Villa Palazzo Venezia, to which Clara had her own key.

Women of the loving Duce

By the way, she had enough feminine instinct (the mind here, apparently, played a secondary role) not to arrange scenes of jealousy for her lover because of his continuous dates with other women who were literally on his heels. Nature endowed the dictator with an unprecedented love of love, which made fleeting connections a vital need, to satisfy which, according to the testimony of his comrades, he often interrupted even important state meetings.

This trait of the Duce brought a lot of suffering not only to Clara Petacci, but also to his legal wife Raquel Mussolini, who had five children from him. Once in 1941 she saw Clara, but not at all in order to peacefully discuss common problems. Apparently, the unfortunate woman’s cup of patience was full, because upon meeting she cursed her husband’s hated mistress and even wished her to end her life among the cheap prostitutes ─ the inhabitants of Piazza Loreto. Could she have known that fate had a much more difficult fate in store for her rival?

hangers-on

It is known that Mussolini, a man of strict principles and completely devoid of sentimentality, never refused his friend Clara’s requests regarding some of the next “poor friends”, of whom there were an incredible number of people swirling around her. At her request, he wrote out large sums of money for people completely unknown to him, among whom, of course, there were many all kinds of crooks, and allowed them to leave the country illegally.

Mussolini generously poured out his favor on members of the Petacci family, and especially on Clara’s brother Marcello. It is known that, occupying various high government posts, he used his sister’s closeness to the all-powerful dictator to commit various frauds. He and officials from his inner circle shamelessly plundered the treasury, enjoying complete impunity.

A fatal turning point in the fate of lovers

When a turning point came during the Second World War and the defeat of Germany became obvious, the attitude of the majority of Italians both towards Mussolini himself and towards the members of the Italian Fascist party he created changed radically. Even those politicians who just recently swore allegiance to him.

Feeling the impending danger, the Duce invited his mistress to leave him and leave the country. However, in response to this, he received a categorical refusal, accompanied by a stormy scene with assurances of readiness to be with him until last hour and share his fate, whatever it may be. Meanwhile, their future fate raised the most serious concerns.

Head of the puppet government

In 1943, Mussolini was arrested by his former supporters and placed under arrest in the Albergo Rifugio mountain hotel, from where he was soon kidnapped and transported to Berlin by a group of German special forces led by Otto Scarzeni. Clara Petacci was also arrested on the same days, but two months later she was released and moved to live with her family, who occupied a villa in Lombardy.

Once in Berlin, the debunked dictator tried to leave politics, but under pressure from Hitler he was forced to return to Northern Italy and lead the puppet state of Salo created there by the Germans. There Mussolini and Clara Petacci reunited and lived for some time on Lake Garda in the province of Gargnano, where yesterday's dictator played the humiliating role of a doll in the hands of his German masters.

Those who happened to see Mussolini during that period spoke about the dramatic change that took place in him. Just yesterday full of energy and energy, the Duce suddenly became unusually old, flabby and lost all interest in life. However, faithful Claretta, as he called his girlfriend, remained close and invariably surrounded him with the same love as in the days of past triumphs.

Arrest and execution

At the end of April 1945, Mussolini attempted to leave Italy, joining a group of Germans crossing illegally into Switzerland. Together with him in this dangerous journey Clara Petacci also went. Already on the way to the border, the fugitives were surrounded by a detachment of Italian partisans.

Despite the fact that the Duce was dressed in the uniform of a Luftwaffe non-commissioned officer for camouflage, he was identified and arrested. No one detained Clara, and she could freely continue her journey with the Germans, whom the partisans also released in peace, but she refused to leave her beloved Benito and, at her insistence, was placed under arrest with him.

The next morning they were both shot near a simple village hedge not far from the Villa Belmonte. As the day before, Clara was given not only life, but also freedom, however, this time she did not want to use it alone. Having escaped from the hands of the partisans, she rushed to Mussolini, and, covering him with herself, shared his sad fate. She fully fulfilled her promise not to leave her beloved under any circumstances.

Posthumous desecration

After the execution of Mussolini and Clara Petacci, their bodies were taken to Milan and hung by their feet in Piazza Loreto for public display. Along with them that day, the corpses of several more German henchmen swayed in the wind. After this, they were removed and left to lie in the gutter for several days.

The gathering crowds of people mocked the body of their cast-down idol. The same people who had recently praised the Duce as a living deity, that day spat and did not even hesitate to publicly urinate on his remains. However, this has happened to many dictators in history, and can serve as a fairly clear lesson.

Benito Mussolini leader of the National Fascist Party of Italy. Having come to power in Italy, Mussolini established a totalitarian regime in this country, suppressing rights and freedoms

On December 24, 1925, Benito Mussolini became the head of the new supreme body established by the Italian fascists executive power– Government of Italy. At the same time, he was given the official title of Duce - leader of the nation. What's interesting is that big politics Mussolini was introduced by his Russian mistress Angelina Balabanova - a member of the RSDLP, Lenin's ally))) ...

Mussolini eliminated all restrictions on his power by building a police state. In 1926, on the initiative of Mussolini, emergency laws were issued, which prohibited the organization and activities of any political parties, except fascist.

Deputies of all other parties were removed from parliament. Supreme legislative body The country became the Great Fascist Council. From this same time, brutal repressions began against fascists who disagreed with the policies. Soon the fascist tribunal sent thousands of anti-fascists to prison and execution.

In November 1926, Mussolini carried out " St. Bartholomew's night"against all opponents of the regime. The law “On the Defense of the State” is adopted, all parties except the fascist one are dissolved, and all opposition newspapers are banned. In 1926, he created the Special Service for Political Investigations. The “Organization for Protection against Anti-Fascist Crimes” was also created, and in 1927 the use of death penalty.

Arrests and physical destruction of many anti-fascists are carried out. Main blow directed primarily against communists (out of 4,671 people convicted by special tribunals, 4,030 were communists).

In 1930, a new Criminal Code was adopted, providing for cruel punishments for participants in the labor, democratic, anti-fascist movement - lifelong hard labor, the death penalty, correctional labor, fines, etc. The death penalty was provided for in 26 articles, and in 21 cases - for crimes against the state. The use of hard labor as punishment was expanded. An attack on the life, freedom and inviolability of the head of government was punishable by death. The Code exempted from punishment officials who, in order to fulfill their job responsibilities used weapons or other means of physical coercion.

In October 1935, the Italian army (about 250,000 people) began to invade Ethiopia. The hostilities lasted about 7 months, and poisonous gases were used in battles. The League of Nations condemned this aggression.

Benito Mussolini (center on horseback) in Tripoli (Libya). The soldiers of the honor guard hold on their shoulders the fasces (fascines) - symbols of the Fascist Party of Italy. The term “fascism” comes from their name. Initially, the fascia was a symbol of the power of the High Magistrates in Ancient Rome.

To please Hitler, Mussolini also revised the regime's policy on the racial issue. In July 1938, the so-called “Race Manifesto” was published. The “fascist scientists” who signed it proclaimed the need to keep the Italian race pure, classifying it as Aryan.

In The Second Book of Fascism (1940) a special section appeared on the racial question. The Aryans were recognized as having a “world civilizing mission.” Mussolini declared that "international Zionism" was the "implacable enemy of fascism."
“I became a racist back in 1921,” Mussolini wrote in his diary. — It is necessary that Italians respect their race. Every time I receive a report from Africa, I get upset. Just today, for example, five more people were arrested for cohabiting with blacks. Oh, those dirty Italians, they can destroy the empire in less than seven years. They are not deterred by their sense of racial identity.”

Mussolini later issued a number of racist laws:

In the fall of 1938, a series of laws were adopted prohibiting Jews from holding positions in government and scientific institutions, teaching at universities and schools, publishing in newspapers and magazines (even under a pseudonym), staging their plays in theaters, etc. Out of fifty thousand More than 12 thousand Jews living in Italy at that time were subjected to repression. In 1943, when the armed forces of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition began military operations directly on the territory of Italy, the fascists launched massacres with torture and execution of Jews suspected of loyalty to the coalition allies.

In response to repression in Italy, partisan movement. It soon became a mass phenomenon, especially in northern regions countries. The fight went on with varying degrees of success. Approximately 44,700 partisans died in battles with the Nazis, and more than 21,000 people were wounded. Several tens of thousands of people died in concentration camps, about 15,000 civilians were killed during actions of retaliation and intimidation carried out by the fascists - both Italian and German.

Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini was removed from power in July 1943. The seemingly indestructible police state has collapsed. After the defeat in Africa and the loss of Sicily, the Duce was betrayed by his comrades in the fascist party. In 1943, they held their leader responsible for all military failures, removed him from power, arrested and imprisoned him in central Italy...

However, Hitler still needed Mussolini. Some time later, the Germans, under the leadership of the famous saboteur Otto Skorzeny, kidnapped Mussolini from prison and made him the head of the puppet government in Northern Italy.

By this time, little remained of the former greatness of the Italian dictator. Even then it was clear that his end was close. In 1945, Mussolini said: “Seven years ago I was a great man. Now I'm dead." A few months later, he truly became a corpse. Nevertheless, with the support of the Germans, Mussolini retained power over a number of northern provinces for some time. His mistress Clara Petacci was also with him.

During the Allied offensive, the Duce tried to flee abroad with his mistress. Early in the morning of April 26, 1945, near the town of Dongo, not far from the Swiss border, his car, following at the tail of a column of German troops, was stopped by partisans of the famous 52nd Garibaldi Division. Wehrmacht officers entered into negotiations with the partisans, as a result of which the Garibaldians agreed to let the convoy pass in exchange for handing over all Italian fascists to them. The Germans, we must give them their due, tried to save Mussolini: they transferred him from a luxurious Alfa Romeo to the back of a truck, put a soldier’s overcoat on the Duce, thrust a machine gun into his hands... They brought him a helmet, but he pulled it on backwards... In a baggy overcoat, in wearing black glasses and holding a machine gun, which he held like a shovel or an oar, the fat man looked like a clown in a circus arena. Of course, the division commander, Colonel Walter Audisio, immediately recognized the mummer as an “SS man” former dictator. Mussolini was captured and spent his last night in a dirty barn.

The next morning, the commander of the Garibaldians, Colonel Audisio, ordered Mussolini to get ready for execution, and he ordered the Duce’s mistress Clarete Petacci to get the hell out. But then Petacci, to the surprise of all the men, herself asked the colonel to die:

“I want to share my fate with him,” she begged. “If you think of killing him, kill me too.”

The colonel just shrugged his shoulders dryly - there will always be enough ammunition for the dictator’s whore. But Mussolini rudely pushed her away:

Idiot, why would you die with me?!

She didn't answer, only grabbed his hand tightly.

“Mussolini obeyed without the slightest protest,” Colonel Walter Audisio recalled that day many years later. “He turned into a tired, insecure old man. His gait was heavy; as he walked, he slightly dragged his right leg. At the same time, it was striking that the zipper on one boot had come loose. Then Petacci got out of the car and, on her own initiative, hurriedly stood next to Mussolini, who obediently stopped in the indicated place with his back to the wall... I fired five shots, the colonel wrote. - Mussolini, lowering his head to his chest, slowly slid along the wall. Petacci jerked in his direction and fell face down on the ground, also killed.”

The ideologist of fascism, who, during its heyday, concentrated in his hands unlimited power in Italy, was literally shot at a fence on the outskirts of a village. The bodies of the former dictator and his mistress were transported to Milan.

Retreat. In Mussolini's life, in addition to his wife, who bore him four children, there were always mistresses. As already mentioned, the last name was Clara Petacci. It is known that one day, during another love meeting between Petacci and Mussolini, Raquel Mussolini (the wife of the Duce) accidentally entered her husband’s office.

Signora Mussolini arrived at her husband’s work without warning and saw him with his mistress. She didn’t say a word to Benito, she just hissed in Clara’s eyes:

Dirty whore! Someday you will be taken to Piazza Loreto!

Piazza Loreto is a square in Milan where prostitutes gathered. Raquel's prophecy was fulfilled in the most accurate way. It was in Milan on Piazza Loreto in 1945 that the partisans dragged the body of Clareta Petacci. A year ago, 15 Italian anti-fascists were shot at this place.

There, in Piazza Loreto, the partisans hung Claret's corpse by its legs on the ceiling of a gas station, just opposite Mussolini's body.

Thus the path of the main ideologist of fascism ended ingloriously.

The Milanese threw stones at the corpses. Photos of the suspended fascists were circulated throughout Italy.

Mussolini was buried in an unmarked grave. But a year after the funeral, the body was stolen. The kidnappers were quickly detained. Mussolini found his last refuge in the family crypt in the mid-50s...

On April 28, 1945, the leader of the Italian fascists Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci were shot by Italian partisans.

The main mistake of the Duce

In the last days of the war in Europe, when the world's attention was focused on Berlin, where, together with Adolf Hitler died in the bunker of the Reich Chancellery German Nazism, found himself somewhat in the shadows main ally Fuhrer - Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini.

If in the second half of April 1945 Hitler was losing the will to live every day, then the Duce made desperate attempts to save himself until the last.

Mussolini's relationship with Hitler was difficult. The head of the Italian fascists seized power in his country in 1922, that is, more than a decade before Hitler came to power in Germany.

However, by the beginning of the 1940s, Mussolini, in the alliance of the two countries, became Hitler’s “junior partner”, forced to build and shape his policy in accordance with the will of Germany.

Mussolini was far from stupid person. The longer the war went on, the more obvious it became that Italy had made a mistake by firmly tying itself to an alliance with Hitler. More careful Spanish Caudillo Franco, who flirted with the United States and Great Britain, successfully survived World War II and remained in power for another three decades, until his death in 1975.

But Mussolini, stuck in the arms of Hitler, no longer had such an opportunity.

Mussolini and Hitler in 1937. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Hitler puppet

In 1943, after the Allied landing in Sicily, yesterday’s comrades-in-arms of the Duce came to the conclusion that Mussolini needed to be gotten rid of in order to begin negotiations on Italy’s withdrawal from the war. He was deposed and placed under arrest on July 25.

On September 12, 1943, by order of Hitler, German paratroopers under the command Otto Skorzeny Mussolini was kidnapped and taken to Germany.

But the ally who appeared before the Fuhrer bore little resemblance to the Duce of better times. Mussolini complained about his health and spoke of his desire to leave politics. Hitler literally forced the Duce to head the Italian Social Republic, created in northern Italy, which continued the war with the anti-Hitler coalition.

Since 1943, Mussolini actually ceased to be an independent politician. The “Italian Social Republic” was one hundred percent controlled by the Germans, and the Duce became a puppet in their hands.

The only thing his personal will was enough for was to settle scores with traitors from his inner circle, imaginary and real. Even the Duce's son-in-law was among them Galeazzo Ciano, who was sentenced to death and executed.

Mussolini understood the position he was in quite soberly. In 1945 he gave an interview journalist Madeleine Mollier, in which he stated: “Yes, madam, I am finished. My star has fallen. I work and I try, but I know that this is all just a farce... I'm waiting for the end of the tragedy - I don't feel like an actor anymore. I feel like I'm the last one in the audience."

Escape to Switzerland

In mid-April 1945, the Germans no longer cared for the Duce, and he, revived, again tried to take his fate into his own hands. He really didn’t have any great ambitions - Mussolini wanted to escape persecution and save his own life.

For this purpose, he entered into negotiations with representatives of the Italian Resistance movement, but was unable to achieve any guarantees for himself. Mussolini had almost no trump cards left in his hands in order to bargain on equal terms.

After unsuccessful negotiations in Milan, Mussolini and his entourage went to the city of Como, where he settled in the local prefectural building. In Como he is in last time met my wife of Raquela Mussolini.

The Duce finally decided to make his way to Italy. On the morning of April 26, having parted with his wife, with a small detachment of people devoted to him, Mussolini moved along Lake Como to the village of Menaggio, from where the road to Switzerland ran.

Not all of his comrades decided to go with the Duce. The fact is that detachments of Italian partisans were actively operating in this area, and a meeting with them threatened quick reprisals.

Mussolini's last mistress joined Mussolini's group Clara Petacci.

From left to right: German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, Reichsleiter Martin Bormann, Reichsmarshal Hermann Goering, Fuhrer Adolf Hitler, Duce Benito Mussolini near A. Hitler’s apartment after the assassination attempt on him on July 20, 1944. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Mussolini's German uniform didn't help

On the night of April 26-27, the Duce met with a detachment of German soldiers consisting of 200 people, who also intended to take refuge in Switzerland. Mussolini and his men joined the Germans.

It seemed that there was very little time left to reach the desired goal. But on April 27, the Germans were blocked by a picket of the 52nd Garibaldi partisan brigade, commanded by Count Bellini della Stella. After the ensuing firefight, the commander of the German detachment entered into negotiations.

The partisans put forward a condition - the Germans could move on, the Italian fascists must be extradited.

The Germans did not plan to die for Duce, but they still showed nobility by dressing him in a German uniform and trying to pass him off as one of the soldiers.

The first two inspections of the vehicles by the partisans did not yield anything, but they carried out a third inspection. Apparently, someone gave them information that Mussolini was in the column. As a result, one of the partisans identified him. The Duce was detained.

The partisans did not know Clara Petacci by sight and did not intend to detain her, unlike the Duce. However, the 33-year-old woman, fanatically devoted to the 61-year-old Mussolini, herself declared a desire to share his fate.

Mission of "Colonel Valerio"

Mussolini and his mistress were taken to the village of Dongo, where in the house peasant Giacomo de Maria they spent the last night of their lives.

During these hours, Mussolini's fate was decided. The surviving comrades, having learned about his captivity, were preparing an operation to free him, the command of the Anglo-American troops demanded his extradition... He was ahead of everyone else Walter Audisio, known among Italian partisans as "Colonel Valerio". From the Italian Committee of National Liberation he received a mandate granting emergency powers.

On the afternoon of April 28, he arrived in Dongo with his detachment and took Mussolini along with Petacci from the partisans who had captured them.

Mussolini himself was told by “Colonel Valerio” that he had come to save him. A light of hope lit up in the eyes of the Duce, which, however, soon faded when the partisans rather rudely pushed Mussolini and Petacci into the car.

This journey was not long. The car stopped in the tiny village of Giuliano di Mezgra. Along the road stretched a low stone fence, interrupted by an iron gate, behind which one could see an orchard and big house. The car stopped just in front of the gate.

The fascist leader was shot on the third attempt

“Colonel Valerio” sent two partisans to watch the road so that they would warn if strangers appeared.

Mussolini was ordered to get out of the car and stand between the wall and the goal post. Petacci again voluntarily joined him.

“Colonel Valerio” began to read out the Duce’s death sentence on behalf of the Freedom Volunteer Corps, which united all the main partisan groups in Italy.

Mussolini remained indifferent, but Clara Petacci was distraught with horror. She shouted at the partisans, covered the Duce with her body, literally screaming: “You won’t dare!”

“Colonel Valerio” pointed the machine gun at Mussolini and pulled the trigger, but the weapon misfired. The assistant next to him tried to carry out the sentence with a pistol, but it also misfired.

Then he rushed to the aid of “Colonel Valerio” Michele Moretti- one of the partisans guarding the road. The detachment commander took the machine gun of his subordinate, who did not let him down. Many years later, Moretti even claimed that he personally shot the Duce.

Memorial sign at the site of Mussolini's execution. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Be that as it may, the first bullet went to Clara Petacci, who continued to hug her lover. They did not intend to shoot her, “Colonel Valerio” called her death a tragic accident, however, the partisans did not try to take her away from Mussolini before the execution.

A moment later it was all over, two dead bodies lay against the wall. The execution took place at 16:10 on April 28, 1945.

The whole of Milan mocked the leader's body

The bodies of Mussolini and Petacci were taken to Milan. At the same time, the bodies of five more executed fascists were delivered there.

A huge crowd gathered in the square cursed the dead, they were pelted with stones and various debris.

Mussolini's body was mocked in a particularly sophisticated way - they danced and relieved themselves on it, as a result of which it was disfigured beyond recognition. Then the bodies of the Nazis were thrown into the gutter.

On May 1, 1945, the bodies of Mussolini and Petacci were buried in Milan's Musocco cemetery in an unmarked grave in a poor lot.

Even after this, Mussolini's remains did not find peace. In 1946 they were dug up and stolen by the Nazis, and when they were discovered a few months later, such a serious conflict broke out over where and how to bury him that Mussolini's body remained unburied for another 10 years.

As a result, the remains of Benito Mussolini were buried in the family crypt in his hometown Predappio.

The tomb of Benito Mussolini in the family crypt in the cemetery in Predappio. Photo: