Free Sample Essays > European History
Benito Musolini
"Republic of Salo, Mussolini returned to his earlier ideas of socialism and collectivization. He also executed some of the Fascist leaders who had abandoned him, including his son-in-law, Galeazzo Ciano. Increasingly he tried to shift the blame for defeat onto the Italian people, who had not been great enough to appreciate his imperial dream. In April 1945, just before the Allied armies reached Milan, Mussolini, along with his mistress Clara Petacci, was caught by Italian partisans as he tried to take refuge in Switzerland. He was summarily executed.
The Duce was survived by his wife, Rachele, by two sons, Vittorio and Romano, and his daughter Edda, the widow of Count Ciano. A third son, Bruno, had been killed in an air accident.