During World War II, the Allies called Germany's Nazi Fuhrer Hitler, Italy's Mussolini, and Japan's Hideki Tojo the "fascist Big Three."
But in fact, Hideki Tojo is not a giant at all, he is only the spokesperson of the Japanese Empire. Compared with Hitler and Mussolini, Tojo's power, fame, and ability are not in the same grade.
During World War II, Mussolini's position among European villains was second only to that of German Fuhrer Hitler, and the two were very similar, both fascist leaders, both longed for empires, both were anti-Semites, and both had a mistress who died for herself.
When German Führer Hitler committed suicide, his mistress Eva accompanied him; When Mussolini was executed, his mistress Clara also died, and even stood in front of Mussolini to block the gun for him.
Clara. Bertassi is 30 years younger than Mussolini, a beauty who is a crazy fan of Mussolini and Mussolini's favorite mistress.
Clara had the opportunity to escape when she was finally captured by the partisans, who had intended to let him go, but she was determined to die with Mussolini, and her affection for Mussolini was incomprehensible.
So, how did Mussolini and Clara meet? After the fall of the fascist regime in Italy, what happened to the two?
First, Mussolini came to power and became Italy's "national icon"
Most people think that the representative of European fascism during World War II was the German Third Reich, but in fact, Italy was the first country to realize fascism.
Mussolini himself was the creator of fascism, and he was an idol of German Führer Hitler.
Mussolini was a journalist in his early years and joined the Italian Army after the outbreak of World War I.
After the war, Mussolini formed the fascist organization "Fascist Combat Group" in Milan, an important Italian city, which was later renamed the Italian National Fascist Party.
The meaning of "fascism" is more complicated when carefully studied, including economic, political and other meanings, which can basically be summarized as "totalitarian military imperial thinking", which has the characteristics of one-party dictatorship, personal dictatorship, militarism and so on.
In addition to establishing the "Fascist Combat Regiment" in Milan, Mussolini also organized the "Black Shirts", which gathered about 50,000 people in a short period of time, becoming the largest paramilitary organization in Italy.
Later, the Nazi "stormtroopers" actually imitated the "black shirts".
In 1922, the fascist party was dissatisfied with the defeat in the general election, and in October of that year, Mussolini led the fascist party to stage a coup d'état, and the "black shirts" marched into Rome from Milan and other cities, occupying towns and barracks and police stations along the way.
The coup d'état was so menacing that the Italian king saw Mussolini's prestige, and finally the king had to appoint Mussolini as prime minister.
In the end, Mussolini seized state power in a bloodless coup, and the strength of the fascist party shocked Europe and greatly affected the restless elements in Austria and Germany next door.
Therefore, in terms of the fascist movement, Mussolini was indeed the "big brother" of the Nazi Fuhrer.
After coming to power, Mussolini opened his bow left and right, while he engaged in dictatorship, banned all opposition, and finally closed parliament. On the other hand, Mussolini was also engaged in the domestic economy, maintaining law and order, and strengthening the army.
In the early days of his rise to power, Italy did develop, and even the lawless mafia was uprooted by Mussolini, and the Sicilian godfathers were precarious, and finally fled en masse to the United States, which led to the rise of the American mafia.
Mussolini, on the other hand, was a man who loved to perform, he loved to speak, he liked to take pictures, and he liked to deal with women to show his masculinity.
He often held up his broad chin, an organ that was derided as "the symbol of the countryman" in his youth, but after taking power, the wide chin was Mussolini's pride, and his iconic photo is of wearing a steel helmet and holding his chin up.
The fascist party created Mussolini's "iron leader" spirit, and in the end, under the guidance of public opinion, Italians of that era admired Mussolini very much.
Second, the outrageous love between Clara and Mussolini
Among Mussolini's admirers was one named Clara. Betasi's little girl.
Clara. Bertassi was born in Rome in 1912 to a middle-class family and a father who was a doctor to the Pope.
As a child, Clara experienced the rise of the fascist party, and her whole family was a supporter of the fascist party.
In 1922, at the age of 10, Clara attended a fascist rally led by her grandfather and saw Mussolini standing high in the crowd.
Forever fascinated by leaders, Clara hung pictures of Mussolini at her bedside all year round, which was not unusual in Italy at the time, but was clearly precocious for a 10-year-old girl.
Mussolini came to power under the slogan "Restore the glory of Rome", he was fascinated by ancient art, and Clara learned about these news from the media and decided not to go to school and concentrate on painting and music.
Psychologically, Clara has seen herself as Mussolini's lover, and her life must serve him to be worthwhile.
In 1932, when Clara was 20 years old, she happened to meet Mussolini on a vacation.
Coincidentally, seeing Clara waving at him, Mussolini was also moved by this beautiful girl. Mussolini actually took the initiative to talk to Clara, hoping to "know" this beauty, which made Clara overjoyed.
Mussolini's first conversation with her was short, with only a few greetings, Mussolini asking Clara about her name, age, and family situation, and Clara simply expressed her adoration and love for the leader.
Mussolini knew that the woman in front of him was fascinated by herself.
Upon her return to Rome, Clara was locked in her boudoir and recalled her encounter with Mussolini.
Soon after, Clara's home received a phone call from Mussolini's chief guard, inviting Clara to a dinner in Rome's famous "Venetian Palace", which was Mussolini's office at the time.
As a sign of sincerity, Mussolini invited Clara's entire family to a banquet, including her fiancé.
Clara's fiancé is a pilot in the Italian army and has a good background, but Clara does not like this calm and introverted man.
Clara herself has a unrestrained personality, so she is even more fond of Mussolini, who is good at speech and has high emotions.
Soon, the Clara family went to the Palazzo Venezia for a banquet, and Clara spent some time alone with Mussolini.
Clara's parents were flattered by the leader's invitation, and her fiancé was thrilled by it, so they didn't dwell on what Clara and Mussolini had talked about.
However, after returning from the Palazzo Venezia, Clara broke up with her fiancé and decided to be with the leader.
After that, Mussolini began to meet with Clara frequently, at first only briefly, exchanging greetings and giving small gifts. Then it became a trip together, such as skiing or swimming.
Clara's life revolved entirely around Mussolini, and after a year or two of dating, Clara became Mussolini's mistress.
In 1936, he prepared a villa for Clara as a love nest for two, which was close to the Palazzo Venezia, where Mussolini spent the night with Clara for a long time and never returned home.
According to eyewitnesses at the time, Mussolini not only loved Clara, but also shot at Clara's sister. In Clara's absence, Mussolini spent the spring night with her sister, and Clara had no problem with it.
Third, a woman who loves madly, that's all
Although Mussolini was incapable of governing and fighting, he was a master of fooling women, and his talent for oratories was spent on these aspects.
Each of his lovers had heard of his sea oath, and some experienced noblewomen knew that it was a man's trick, but the young Clara completely sank in it.
Clara fell madly in love with Mussolini, and even investigated her lover's whereabouts like a maiden and asked where her belonged to her. This is very rude to the head of state, but Mussolini did not criticize him, but prevaricated with all sorts of small lies.
After the outbreak of World War II, Italy and Germany began to fight together, and Mussolini was busy, either visiting Germany or giving speeches to win over the support of the people.
Clara once accompanied Mussolini to visit Germany, but after the war was not smooth, Mussolini began to be alone, and Clara could not see Mussolini for a long time.
She once made more than a dozen phone calls to the Palazzo Venezia a day, leaving Mussolini's men miserable.
After 1942, when Mussolini returned to Rome and returned to Clara's villa, Clara was surprised by the change in her lover.
Because the Italian army was beaten everywhere, Mussolini was in a state of disarray, and his mood was hot. And Germany's Nazi Fuhrer surpassed him in the limelight, which also made Mussolini unbalanced.
He once said to Clara: "I was fascist, and when I was anti-Semitic, he didn't know where he was!" ”
Clara recorded Mussolini's complaints in his diary, which later became the first-hand material for the study of World War II history.
After 1941, Italy's foreign war of aggression was basically declared a failure, and the Italian army was defeated by the British in North Africa, and finally supported by the Germans.
In 1943, the German Afrika Korps was also annihilated, and the Allies crossed the Mediterranean from North Africa, liberating Sicily and then southern Italy. Anti-war also began in Italy, and the king ordered Mussolini to resign according to public opinion.
Mussolini was later rescued by German special forces and became the head of the "Social Republic", a puppet regime in northern Italy.
In the spring of 1945, Germany was about to be defeated and the Italian Social Republic collapsed. Mussolini fled with his crony and mistress Clara and tried to take refuge in neutral Switzerland, only to be intercepted by Italian partisans on the way.
After a brief interrogation, Mussolini and his mistress Clara, as well as a dozen officials, were executed by the partisans.
Afterwards, the bodies of Mussolini and others were hung upside down in Piazza Loreto in Milan, and the onlookers beat Mussolini's body beyond recognition.
Clara's body was hung aside, her skirt fell to cover her face, and onlookers could only look at Clara's lower body and laugh.
Not long after, a young man walked up, unbuckled his belt, and fastened Clara's skirt so that the corpse would not go naked.
You know, this move was courageous, because the furious crowd probably attacked him because he sympathized with the fascists, but fortunately those present did not do so.
Mussolini and Clara's bodies were eventually buried together, exhumed a year later by fascist supporters, forcing the Italian government to bury them secretly until the 50s of the 20th century.
Later scholars who studied Mussolini studied Clara in passing, but there was almost nothing special about this beauty. After analysis, she is a poor woman with a simple mind and carried away by love.
Clara had enjoyed the vanity that Mussolini had brought her, and in the end she had paid with her life, and her life was nothing more.
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Resources:
1, "The End of Mussolini", anon
2. "The Death of a Dictator - The Latest Details of Mussolini's Death" was established