#benito mussolini
Fascist Violence in Bolzano
April 24 1921, Bolzano—Despite firm prohibitions from the Allies on Austria joining Germany, the idea remained quite popular there. On April 24, despite no official recognition from the Austrian government (let alone the Allies), the portions of Tyrol remaining in Austria held a plebiscite on becoming part of Germany, and the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the idea. Nothing would become of this (nor a similar vote in Salzburg in May) until the 1938 Anschluss.
South Tyrol, on the other hand, was now part of Italy, despite a majority-German population. They did not take part in the plebiscite, but Italian fascists saw the opening of the Bolzano Spring Fair that same day, complete with a parade in traditional German costumes, as part of the same movement. On that morning, local fascists joined with others who arrived by train and attacked the parade, killing one and injuring fifty. Only two fascists were arrested, and they would be released within a week after a threat of further violence from Mussolini, who was the undisputed leader of the extreme right since D’Annunzio’s ignominious expulsion from Fiume in December 1920.
The Ultimate Showdown 15th Anniversary Redux is out people!
Benito Mussolini kept a personal archive, also sometimes called the Handbag Files, throughout his rule as Italian National Fascist Party leader and later head of Hitler’s puppet government, the Italian Social Republic. By early 1945, Mussolini was incredibly paranoid about how he would be viewed historically and began making plans to keep his personal records hidden.
With the Allies bearing down, however, Mussolini’s plans did not come to fruition, and his files fell into the hands of the U.S. Army, which immediately began translating and copying files to be used for intelligence. In 1950, the Historical Division of the Department of State transferred copies to the @usnatarchives, making a once private archive now available to anyone.
Learn more about the personal files of Benito Mussolini.
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serenata-your-neighborhood-lefty:
Happy “you’re fucking dead” day to benito mussolini xx
Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler during their drive through Munich (Germany, September 25th, 1937).
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Benito Mussolini watches a parade of the fascist youth organization Opera Nazionale Balilla and syndicates on Capitoline Hill (Rome, April 21st, 1923).
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