Mussolini, a special figure who could not be bypassed during World War II, was the president of Italy, had a deep friendship with Hitler, and was also the founder of fascism. It can be said that without Mussolini, perhaps World War II would not have happened.
On April 26, 1945, Mussolini, who already had a premonition of the final ending, uttered: "My stars are going out... I'm waiting for the end of this tragedy..."
At this time, there were only more than ten followers around him, the most important of which was his mistress Bertassi. This woman has been by Mussolini's side since she fell in love with him, even in the worst of times.
The love of the mistress Bertassi
Mussolini had countless fandom, and the man who admired him the most was Hitler, who also decided to commit suicide after learning that Mussolini had been killed.
And the person who loves him the most and is willing to give his life for it is his mistress, Clara Bertassi, who is 30 years younger than him.
Mussolini was a keen speaker, and he often stood in front of people with his chin held high and spoke impassionedly about his grand deeds.
Like many leaders, Mussolini had his own set of principles, advocating frugality, showing no sense of money, and maintaining an ordinary style even after becoming prime minister.
His fluency in German, French and English provided many Chinese convenience for his speeches, which at that time relied on to build momentum and the deliberate public opinion created by the fascist party, and many young Italians regarded him as an idol.
Many young people hung pictures of Mussolini on their bedside, including Clara Bertassi.
She was born in Rome in 1912 to a middle-class family. His father, the papal physician, was born just in time for the rise of the fascist party, and his family was full of ardent fascist adherents.
Under the influence of his family, in 1922, at the age of 10, Bertassi had a deep affection for Mussolini, in her words: "Your life must serve him to be worthwhile." ”
Lenin once said: "The only person who can put Italy on the road to socialism is Mussolini." "Mussolini's father was a socialist journalist and a part-time blacksmith, and his mother was a teacher.
Mussolini was not happy in his childhood, his father had many mistresses and spent most of his time talking about politics in taverns, and most of his income was spent on mistresses, food and drink.
Mussolini and his siblings often did not have enough to eat, but their father was proud of it, claiming that they were "children of the people." ”
Mussolini's "deviation" in his political path had a lot to do with his father's influence on him.
Mussolini at this time was recognized as "the most gifted and dangerous of the young Italian socialists."
In 1912 he was appointed editor of the official socialist newspaper, and his articles on "anti-militarism, anti-nationalism and anti-imperialism" were well circulated in society, and many began to become his advocates.
Mussolini at this time was indeed a staunch practitioner of Marxism, an ardent socialist and activist for the rights of the working class.
But it wasn't long before Mussolini was expelled from the mainstream of socialism, and as the desire for power swelled in him, he began to rationalize global conflict.
Mussolini saw "war" as the most powerful tool for overthrowing European monarchies. After abandoning socialist ideas, he joined the revolutionary party and strongly supported Italy in waging war to plunder resources.
He began to write and talk about a new path that would bring Italy out of stagnation and reproduce the glory days of Rome, where fascism was born. The word fascist is derived from the Italian word "fascio", which means "to bind".
Bertassi did not realize Mussolini's change of mind, and she still saw it as the only hero who could lead Italy to strength.
In 1932, at the age of 20, Bertassi met Mussolini on vacation, and by this time Bertassi had grown from a naïve girl to a beautiful girl, only his fascination with Mussolini had not changed.
Mussolini was also attracted to Bertassi, and it only took him a glance to determine that the woman in front of him was fascinated by him.
Facing Bertassi, Mussolini showed the means that a mature man should have to attract women, and he simply asked Bertassi about his family situation, and then ended the conversation between the two.
Returning home from vacation, Bertassi reminisced about their first encounter until she answered a phone call inviting her to a dinner party at the "Venetian Palace," where Mussolini was based.
During the dinner, Bertassi and Mussolini had the opportunity to be alone, and Bertassi decided to renounce his marriage contract with his fiancé and become Mussolini's mistress.
Bertassi's feelings for Mussolini were mixed, ranging from the worship of leaders to submission to powerful men, and Mussolini attracted her to something that her fiancé did not have.
A faithful mistress dedicated to love
Although Bertassi was willing to give up his marriage contract for Mussolini, for Mussolini Bertassi was only one of his many mistresses. But there is one thing worth touching him - Bertassi is also the only woman who did not leave him when he was in trouble.
After becoming Mussolini's mistress, Bertassi lived in a villa close to the Venetian palace, which Mussolini had specially prepared for her, just to be able to see her as soon as possible after finishing his work.
This may seem to Bertassi to be Mussolini's preferential treatment of herself, in fact, in this villa, the man she loved also spent spring nights with his own sister.
Like all girls who are obsessed with love, Bertassi longs for Mussolini's company, and often makes many phone calls to Mussolini's assistant to ask about the whereabouts of his lover.
Mussolini, when this was a manifestation of his love, never got angry because of Bertassi's interruption, but prevaricated with all kinds of lies.
However, everything changed after the German-Italian alliance, and Mussolini began to get busier due to the changing situation of the war, and Bertassi often did not see him once in several months.
It was not until 1942, when they met again, that Bertassi discovered that his once spirited lover began to become irritable and irritable, often speaking ill of things.
All this transformation was due to the rise of Hitler, in the words of Mussolini: "When I started fascism, he did not know where." ”
Mussolini was obviously very dissatisfied with this person who continued to use the same routine as himself and finally surpassed him in the limelight, but he had no choice but to complain and tell Bertassi.
Mussolini also prevented Hitler's rise, and in January 1940, Mussolini secretly leaked information to Britain after the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 and the victories of the German army.
During World War II, Italy's performance was nothing compared to Germany's, but Mussolini, one of the leaders of the Axis powers, was still condemned by the anti-fascist people and lost his life.
In the last two years of his life, Mussolini faced a very dangerous situation, and eventually had to rely on Hitler to survive.
On July 25, 1943, seeing Italy in a passive situation, the king withdrew all the privileges given to Mussolini and imprisoned him on the Abruzzi Mountain Grand Sasso.
Just when Mussolini thought his political career was over, Hitler, who had vowed to stand with him forever, sent his right-hand man to rescue him.
After Mussolini was rescued, Hitler helped him regain power and establish a puppet government of the so-called "Salou Republic".
However, the new government lasted only 2 years. In 1945, the war situation became increasingly unfavorable for fascism, and Germany began to lose its own security, and on April 25 of the same year, Mussolini, who knew that his general situation was over, began to flee.
On the way to escape, this "big red man", which was all the rage in Italy, was recognized and arrested by Italian folk guerrillas.
When Mussolini decided to flee, he asked Bertassi to leave, as long as he did not follow him, everyone would not embarrass her, but Bertassi said: "Party leader, I have the only request, that I must be with you." ”
Looking at Bertassi with determined eyes, Mussolini could only compromise and take her and began to flee. In 1945, Bertassi was captured together with Mussolini.
During his detention, Mussolini exonerated Bertassi several times, hoping that the partisans would release the innocent woman, but the guerrillas hoped to obtain evidence of Mussolini's treason from Bertassi.
Faced with the guerrilla threat, Bertassi ignored them all, and she was prepared not to betray her lover even if she died.
The guerrillas could not obtain unfavorable evidence from Bertassi , so they executed the two men without going through the government. During the execution, Bertassi and Mussolini stood together, and when the gun was raised, Bertassi suddenly blocked Mussolini's body and tried to live and die with his lover.
Shocked by Bertassi's courage, the guerrillas could only shoot her first, killing her and firing nine more shots at Mussolini, who ended his criminal life in a struggle.
After the deaths of Bertassi and Mussolini, the sky was drizzling, and their bodies lay quietly on the road, spitting on them and trampling on them, until 2 hours later, the bodies were removed.
Death did not mean the end of Mussolini's punishment, and Betasi was transported with him to Piazza Loreto in Milan, where he was hung upside down to show to the crowd of onlookers.
When Bertassi was executed, she was wearing a skirt, and when the body was hung upside down, a very embarrassing scene appeared - her skirt turned down to reveal her panties.
The crowd of onlookers erupted into huge laughter, and everyone cheered: "How good! The woman's underwear was clearly visible. ”
However, in the midst of the group, there is still a brave man who uses his belt to maintain Bertassi's last dignity as a woman.
He booed as he walked through the crowd, climbed onto the rack where the bodies were hanging, pulled Clara's skirt back into place, and tied it to her legs with his own belt.
The display of the bodies was intended as a warning to fascists, but it was not an excuse to insult Betasi. The man acted courageously, and if he was not careful, he would be beaten by angry people as a fascist accomplice, but fortunately the people at the scene did not do this.
Since then, Mussolini researchers have also analyzed Bertassi's life-giving behavior, but concluded that "she is a poor woman with a simple mind and carried away by love." ”
Mussolini, Hitler's "idol"
Looking back at the lives of Mussolini and Hitler, one will find striking similarities in the experiences of these two important members of the Axis powers: if they had not been involved in politics, perhaps Hitler would have become a great painter, and Mussolini would have been a novelist with tens of thousands of fans.
In the face of friendship, Hitler's favorite is "treachery", with his good brother Roma who fought the world together, the most loyal subordinate Rommel could not escape the fate of being killed by him, but Mussolini, whether in good times or bad, was never abandoned by Hitler.
Mussolini was the theoretical authority on fascism and the first to put "theory into practice." In 1922, the fascist blackshirts, led by him, shouted "march to Rome" and successfully plundered power in Italy.
This mythical success shocked Hitler, and in 1923, in order to pay homage to his idol, Hitler staged the famous "Beer Hall Coup" in Munich in an attempt to replicate Mussolini's success, but eventually sent himself to court.
In 1933, when Hitler became the country's "leader", Mussolini was still very cold, and in the face of Hitler's letter to say hello, he replied that "no one knows more than me, I have more than 40 years of experience." ”
A year later, Hitler made a special visit to Venice to visit Mussolini, this time to resolve Mussolini's uneasiness and show that Germany had no objection to Italy's ally Austria.
Hitler, dressed in a brown tape raincoat and a "burger"-style hat, was the equivalent of a fancy dress in Mussolini's mind, and he turned to his adjutant and said, "I don't like the way he looks." ”
In the face of Mussolini, Hitler always chattered about his vision of the future, and for the idea of "fascism", Mussolini called him "a chattering monk." ”
Mussolini's fondness for Hitler stemmed from Italy's invasion of Ersebia in 1935, which was strongly opposed by Western countries, especially Britain, which declared sanctions against Italy.
Only Hitler expressed his understanding of Mussolini and even strongly supported his invasion, which made Mussolini feel warm and put Hitler in the position of "friend" for the first time.
In 1936, when the Spanish Civil War broke out, Mussolini decided to support Franco, and as a "follower", Hitler also quickly sent troops to support it, which sublimated the friendship between the two.
In October of the same year, Italy and Germany signed a treaty in Berlin with "alliance significance", and the so-called "axis" was proposed for the first time, and even Hitler's invasion of Austria, Mussolini said it was "irrelevant".
At the end of World War II, fascism was defeated, and 2 days after the execution of Mussolini and Bertassi, Hitler committed suicide in a basement in Berlin, and Mussolini's death was the last outside news Hitler received.
Bibliography:
[1] Before Mussolini was shot, a woman pounced on him to block bullets, what did you think of this love?
https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/87022779
[2]. Mussolini's mistress Clara: born at the age of 10 and dedicated herself at the age of 20, her life was outrageous and she disappeared in public after death
https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/578775867
[3]. Mussolini's ending: first he was shot with his mistress, his body was shown to the public by an inverted chandelier pole, and finally abandoned the gutter, and he was buried in 1957!
https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/437797105