Mussolini Makes the Right Decision

By Gloria Curtis

As early as 1923, Adolf Hitler had come to respect Benito Mussolini and tried to model
himself after the Il Duce. In 1933 Hitler became Chancellor of Germany and in 1934 he
became Fuhrer of the German Reich. According to Hitler, Mussolini, also known as Il
Duce, was a man to be admired for his decisions and political stature. The Italian
dictator had been in power for 10 years and created the fascist laws during this time.
Mussolini was not at all happy at the possibility of having another fascist dictator in
Europe.
In 1935, Hitler and Mussolini met for the first time in Italy. Mussolini met him at the
airport of Venice and took him to the Grand Hotel in Venice. At noon they had a
meeting for two hours in Villa Pisani, which is in Stra. Then they returned to Venice.
Hitler visited the canals of Venice on the gondolas. At night he went to a concert in
Palazzo Ducale. On the second day he walked through the piazza San Marco and
visited the basilica. Mussolini and Hitler met again at the airport San Niccolo al Lido.
Hitler was very impressed by the discipline of the Italian army. He felt the Italians were
a great military power and wanted to work together but Mussolini had no interest in
cooperating with Hitler.
In 1936, the Italian Duce visited the Fuhrer in Germany. The German people treated
Mussolini like a hero. Hitler gave a demonstration of his army and Mussolini was

impressed. Mussolini decided to go into an alliance with Hitler feeling the two nations
would be the most powerful in Europe.
In 1937 Hitler took over Austria in the Anschluss which went against the Versailles
Treaty. Hitler had not told Mussolini about his plans which upset Mussolini. Mussolini
was beginning to feel like he not an equal partner in the alliance. In 1938 the major
powers met in Munich and Mussolini was credited with saving the peace in Europe. He
was respected by all the leaders. Unfortunately, that peace did not last because in
March of 1939 Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia. Mussolini was furious because he
realized that the Alliance was not equal and he felt Hitler was interested in taking too
much power. He did not like Hitlers plans to invade more neighbors for raw materials.
Mussolini decided he wanted to remain neutral. In fact, he wrote in his diary, It seems
that I am the only pacifist in Europe. He was also aware of the fact that the Italian
military was not so strong.
Hitler was very upset with Mussolinis decision. He greatly wanted to have an alliance
with Mussolini, a man he always admired. He thought the Italian military was very
strong and decided to wait to attack Italy.
In 1938 The Nazis took over Austria without military intervention. A year later he
conquered Czechoslovakia and Poland thus beginning the war in Europe. In 1941,
Mussolini feared Germany would eventually attack Italy so he joined forces with the
Allied powers at which point Germany began to invade northern Italy. France was
conquered but England was still allied with Italy and was able to lend a hand to repel the
attacks of the Germans when Hitler declared war on Italy. The United States also joined

the war at this time and sent many troops to Italy knowing it would create a foothold on
the continent.
The Allied forces were able to attack the Nazis on two fronts, from Italy and from
Britain. Hitler had to divide take some of his soldiers from France to help defend the
Italian border. Because of this Hitlers defenses at Normandy were not as strong. The
allied forces were able to take Normandy fairly easily in August of 1942 due to the
weakening of the Nazi front. Allied forces quickly moved into France and eventually the
German Border. The German Troops lost many men and U. S. and British forces
moved quickly into Germany all the way to Berlin. In January of 1943 Hitler committed
suicide and Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allied Forces ending the war in Europe.
Germany was divided into 5 sections after the war. Britain took the northern areas with
the ports. France took the middle of Germany. Italy took the southern area. Poland,
Hungary and Czechoslovakia were divided in half, the eastern half going to Russia and
the western half going to the U.S.