BENITO MUSSOLINI

[Music] This man was a reckless political adventurer who arrogantly bluffed his way to power. He lacked courage. He lacked wisdom. Yet for more than 20 years he ruled the destiny of the Italian nation. His name Benonito Mussolini and this is his biography. [Applause] Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. I'm Mike Wallace. This is Biography. Our story, Bonito Mussolini. The smoke of World War I had barely cleared when Bonito Mussolini strutted onto the Italian scene. He dressed in garish uniforms. He delighted in spectacular parades. He posed constantly from Roman balconies. The rest of the world might smile, but Mussolini was amassing power. He was marshalling his nation behind a banner he called fascism. He was the first of the modern dictators. Benito Mussolini pictured himself as a Caesar leading the Italian people to great conquests, to a glorious new Roman Empire. He gained the support of an entire nation for this wild dream. They acclaimed him. They nourished his incredible appetite for power. [Applause] [Applause] He often said, "The fact that I came from the people has been my greatest strength all my life." Bonito Mussolini is born in 1893 in the village of Praapio, a cluster of aging buildings in the mountains of central Italy. His father, Aleandro, is a socialist agitator who raises his son on a steady diet of Marxist doctrine. As a child, he's an impulsive troublemaker who doesn't get along with his teachers or the boys in his class. At 19, his education finished, Mussolini throws himself into radical socialist politics. He writes inflammatory articles for socialist newspapers, but they're a jumble of ideas lifted from haphazard reading of philosophy and economics. He's a fiery soapbox speaker. I'm an apostle of violence, he says. And in the wake of a demonstration, he's arrested for inciting a riot. Mussolini spends a year in jail despite his eloquent plea of innocence, says the judge. Your gift of speaking makes you all the more dangerous. In 1911, Rashel Guidedi, a housekeeper's daughter, becomes his common law wife. It is one of the few lasting relationships of his life. As a radical socialist, he impatiently agitates for revolution, for action. But when it doesn't materialize, Mussolini abruptly quits the socialist party. Quoting Napoleon, he says, "A revolution is an idea that has found bayonets." And he uses this slogan to form what he calls his fascist party. World War I ends late in 1918. And when Woodro Wilson brings his plan for a League of Nations to Europe, he inadvertently sets the stage for Mussolini. Wilson at first is hailed as a savior by the Italian people. But they will soon realize that his policies will strip them of territorial gains made during the war. Demonstrations break out as Italian nationalist groups protest against the League and Mussolini takes advantage of the unrest. Enlisting a hardcore of blackshirted Arditi, Italy's World War I shock troops, he tells them, "The flash of your knives will destroy those who would hinder the advance of greater Italy." In the unsettled post-war days, the fascist movement attracts partisans inflamed by Mussolini's oratory. At first, the Italian government dismisses Mussolini as trivial, but the fascist movement gains both in numbers and popularity. Mussolini's black shirts stir up discontent and violence, hoping to cause a crisis and topple the government. [Applause] In October of 1922, Mussolini addresses several thousand fascists in Naples, and in the excitement of the moment, he impulsively shouts, "Either the government will be given to us or we shall take it." To his astonishment, the crowd roars its answer. To Rome, to Rome. And the cry is picked up by fascist mobs in other parts of the country. [Music] As disorganized bands of fascists stream toward the capital, Mussolini goes into hiding, frightened, overwhelmed by what he has started. [Music] This mere threat of force brings down the weak, indecisive government of Italy. King Victor Emanuel sends for Mussolini, hands over the presidency to the fascist leader. Bonito Mousolini is aed by his own triumph. He cannot quite believe he has won so easily. He surrounds himself with his cutthroat companions who have inflated his ego by giving him the title Iluche a chief. This is what he's always wanted to be hailed to be idolized. Then on January 3rd, 1925, Mussolini takes his boldest step. He declares himself dictator of all Italy. no longer responsible to the elected representatives of the people. It is a monstrous bluff, but neither the king nor the people of Italy have the courage to challenge him. Mussolini triumphantly declares, "I am the state." [Music] [Applause] From this moment, all freedom ceases to exist in Italy. Political parties are outlawed and the final vestigages of opposition are stamped out. An agitator and an opportunist, he has capitalized on weakness to gather power he never dreamed he could hold. One of the dictators first steps to consolidate his power is a massive program of indoctrination for the children of Italy. Books and musketss, he says, make perfect fascists. I am building a new nation, says Mussolini. Vigorous, physically fit, and full of youthful energy, Mussolini has a fantastic scheme to increase the size of the nation by 50%. The strength of a people, he declares, rests in their numbers, and he offers a bonus for every newlywed couple who promised to have a baby within a year. Hospitals turn into virtual factories, producing new fascists on an assembly line basis. To solve the enormous problem of feeding this exploding population, Mussolini launches what he calls the battle for wheat. He takes personal charge of the campaign to increase agricultural output. Ilduche thrives on the agilation of the crowd. It rewinds me, he says. It renews my energy. To the people of Italy, he projects the image of a dynamic leader creating miracles with his own hands. They affectionately call him Bonito the Builder. His power secure, he can afford to be the smiling, benign humanitarian. Personal freedom has been subordinated to the needs of the fascist state. But look, he says, everybody is happy. I am a restless being, says Mussolini. And he constantly plays the role of an adventurer. He's a poor pilot, but no one has the courage to tell him so. Instead, they flatter him and as one follower warns, tell him only what he wants to hear. Through his controlled propaganda machine, the Italian people are fed a portrait of Mussolini as a dashing, daring figure. He loves these public exhibitions of his physical fitness. and he encourages all Italy to follow his Spartan example. [Music] Mussolini makes a great pretense of being a home-loving family man, but his wife Rasheli and his children see him only at infrequent, though well publicized intervals. To an adoring public, he is a proud father and a good husband. But well-informed Romans are aware that beautiful Claretta Patachi is Mussolini's constant companion. Those who know him well say that Claretta is the only woman Mussolini ever really loved. And she devotes her life to this strange, violent, and always unpredictable man. I resemble the animals, he says. I sense the times and follow my instincts. [Music] [Applause] In less than 5 years, Bonito Mussolini has created an overpowering legend. To the Italian people, he is a magnetic leader and even foreign statesmen are taken in. The United States ambassador to Italy writes, "The Duche is now the greatest figure of this sphere and time." In 1929, Mussolini daringly tackles a problem that has defied every Italian leader for 50 years. The so-called Roman question involves the long-standing conflict between the government and the Catholic papacy. Mussolini, an avowed atheist, nevertheless offers official recognition to the church and pledges to respect the sovereignty of Vatican City. He knows that reconciling the church and state will delight the people of his predominantly Catholic nation. The signing of the Lateran treaty gives a priceless lift to Mussolini's prestige. [Music] Mussolini is heralded as the man of the hour. Benito Mussolini has reached the peak of his power and popularity. He sees himself as the heroic Benito, a new Caesar, ready to lead Italy to new conquests, to a glory unmatched in Roman history. [Music] By 1934, Italy has become a militarized police state governed by Bonito Mussolini's will. Elections are a sham. Only loyal fascists appear on the ballots. The ORA, Iluche's secret police, squashes opposition to Mussolini. I am the government, he says. Italy will obey me as she has never obeyed before. Early in 1934, Mussolini arrives in Venice for a meeting with a man who has faithfully copied his methods, his ideas, and who now rules Nazi Germany. Adolf Hitler proudly calls Mussolini my teacher. But in this first meeting, the Duche is far from impressed with the Nazi strong man. I don't like him, Mussolini tells a friend. He looks like a pulchinella, a buffoon. This is Hitler's first venture outside Germany. And standing beside the vigorous, self- assured dictator of Italy, he seems pale and harmless. Mussolini relegates Germany's fura to a side balcony as he launches into his crowd-pleasing ritual. This spectacle convinces the world that Adolf Hitler is little more than a palid imitator of Bonito Mussolini. The sadistic viciousness of the little man from Germany has not yet shown itself. [Music] But less than a month after the meeting, Hitler engineers the assassination of Austria's Chancellor Dolver. and an enraged Mussolini sends four army divisions to the Austrian border publicly. Now he warns Germany hands off Austria and he issues a prophetic statement. It would mean he says the end of European civilization if Germany, a country of murderers, were to overrun Europe. Mussolini is bitterly disappointed when England and France failed to follow his lead. failed to threaten Hitler with a show of force. But the Duche doesn't have time to self. I want to make my mark, he says like a lion with its claws. He prepares to launch his own war of conquest against helpless Ethiopia, the primitive nation adjoining two of Italy's African colonies. The reaction of other European nations is a mixture of shock and horror. Winston Churchill comments, "To cast an army of nearly a quarter of a million men," he says, on a barren shore against a people and a region that no conqueror ever thought worthwhile is to give hostage to fortune unparalleled in history. The Ethiopian army is no match for Italy's mechanized divisions. Armed with spears and sticks, the natives faced tanks, machine guns, and the terror of poison gas unleashed by Mussolini's army. On May 3rd, 1936, after less than 7 months, the brutal uneven war is over. Emperor Hale Salassie flees his country. On May 9th, 1936, Rome is lighted with the glow of victory. And to an hysterical crowd, Mussolini shouts, "Italy has her empire." [Applause] In 1937, Ilduche accepts an invitation from Hitler to visit Germany. He is delighted by Hitler's elaborate welcome and impressed by Germany's military potential. Don't think that we have a scheme to divide Europe, he says. When people ask what may come of this encounter, the furer and I answer in a loud voice, peace. [Music] [Applause] Hitler's influence becomes readily apparent when Mussolini returns. The Italian army now performs an awkward imitation of the Nazi goostep. The duche increases the tempo of Italy's military buildup, saying, "If you want peace, prepare for war." [Music] But Mussolini is jolted by Hitler's threat to storm into Czechoslovakia, a move that could trigger war in Europe. A frightened Mussolini appeals to Hitler. Wait, he says, "Let me arrange a meeting with English and French leaders. Through Hilde's efforts, the Munich conference is set up." Britain's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and France's Premier Edward Dalad rush to Munich in a desperate effort to keep the peace. Iluche proposes that Hitler be appeased. Chamberlain and Daladier agree to give Hitler almost a third of Czechoslovakia. [Music] Chamberlain is sure he has achieved peace in his time. Hitler has gotten what he wanted and for Bonito Mousolini there is new prestige. He is hailed as a peacemaker and he accepts the acclaim without realizing he has been Adolf Hitler's tool of conquest. On September 1st, 1939, Hitler unleashes the Blitzkrieg on Poland. Mussolini is taken by surprise as Hitler sweeps to victories in Poland, Holland, Belgium, and finally France. [Music] Certain that the fighting is almost over, on June 10th, 1940, Iluche orders his army to invade France. Senting victory in Europe, Mussolini launches a campaign against the British in Africa. His armies sweep through Libya and on toward the Suez Canal, but their drive stalls. Hitler bails Mussolini out of trouble by first sending the prized Panzer Corps to Africa. With his armies humiliated, Mussolini agrees that for the rest of the war, he will follow Hitler's order. Within a few months, German successes renew Mussolini's courage. Alexandria is within reach of Raml's desert core. Mussolini wants to lead the troops into the Egyptian city. But the tide of battle has turned at Elaman. Raml has lost the offensive and Mussolini's dream is crushed. [Music] News of further defeats in Africa sends Mussolini into insane rages. He blames his generals, his soldiers, and the Italian people. Mussolini can only bluster. The Italians are cowards. [Music] The invasion of Sicily is the final crushing blow. As the Allied armies drive across the toe of the Italian boot, the people turn on Mousolini and he is unceremoniously stripped of power by King Victor Emanuel. For the first time in 21 years, the Italian monarch feels strong enough to take control of the nation's affairs. Mussolini is held prisoner at Grand Sazzo, a mountain retreat in Italy. Adolf Hitler orders a rescue party to save his fascist cohort. [Music] A haggarded Mussolini is taken to Germany for a meeting with the Furer. He is, says one observer, a wreck of a man who is evidently on the brink of the grave. But the hearty welcome from Hitler and the emotional reunion with his son fortifies Mussolini. Hitler has given him the sort of flattery and encouragement that Mussolini has needed so often during his lifetime. [Music] He agrees to return to Italy, build a new army, and continue resistance against the invading allies. [Music] In 1944, the Allied armies liberate Rome while Mussolini attempts to raise a new fighting force in the mountains of northern Italy. But Ilduche is finished. [Music] is finally captured by Italian partisans. Even as he and his mistress Claretta Fatachi face a firing squad, Mussolini declares, "I can look on these past 20 years as a wonderful adventure. April 29th, 1945, that the sullen mob surges through the streets of Milan. This is Ill Duche's last crowd scene. Partisans have dumped his body in a main square along with the corpses of his mistress and his henchmen. The people have come to pay a last bitter tribute. Shouting and cursing, they pour out the resentment and pent up anger of five desolate years. He should have suffered, they say. He murdered my sons. Let us see them, they shout. We have a right to see them. No one, Mussolini had once said, can defy fate. Everyone dies the death that befits his character. [Music] Bonito Mussolini promised Rome a new dawn of glory, a powerful empire that would be the envy of any Caesar. Instead, he led his people to devastation in a feutal war. Mussolini's reign left Italy with no memorable achievement. The kindest epitap for Iluche reminds us only that he made the railroads run on time. Mike Wallace for biography. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause]