Death of Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini died on 28 April 1945 in Giulino, aged 61. An Italian politician, Mussolini began as a socialist journalist and founded the Fascist movement after the First World War. He became prime minister in 1922 after the March on Rome and, by 1925, had set up a dictatorship under the title Il Duce, suppressing opposition and the free press. His regime invaded Ethiopia in 1935, allied with Nazi Germany and entered the Second World War in 1940, suffering a series of military defeats. He was removed from power in July 1943, rescued by German forces and put at the head of a puppet state in northern Italy. He was captured and shot by Italian partisans in April 1945.

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