A Brief History
On April 27, 1945, World War II was almost over, a disaster for the Italian people who had been led into it by their pompous and egotistical dictator.
Digging Deeper
Benito Mussolini, or Il Duce (The Duke) as he was called, disguised himself as a German soldier and traveled with 15 of his henchmen, including his mistress, trying desperately to get to Switzerland.
The plan was to go to Spain after getting to neutral Switzerland where he would be safe from the Allies and his own people. Of course, he never made it, for he was arrested by partisans (communist Italians who had enough of their own corrupt government) and held overnight before he was shot the next day, along with his mistress, Clara Petacci, and his other traveling companions.
Mussolini’s body along with Petacci’s was hung upside down as a public spectacle and vengeful Italians pelted it with stones and clubs.
Buried in an unmarked grave, Il Duce’s body rested only a year before neo-fascists located it and absconded with it! The hunt was on as the government chased leads for months until finally seizing the corpse. If his death and the treatment of his body to this point was not humiliating enough, the government held Mussolini’s body for 10 years, not sure what they should do with it. Finally it was decided he could be buried in his hometown and his remains were placed in a marked crypt in the normal fashion.
Mussolini was a typical dictator that had taken power in 1922 as the head of the Fascist Party, and as such he wielded more or less absolute power. An atheist, Mussolini achieved a working relationship with the Vatican and was on good terms with the pope, basically just using religion to help control the masses. An egoist, Il Duce was pompous and very much suffering from delusions of grandeur.
Allying himself with fellow right wing dictators Adolf Hitler of Germany and Francisco Franco of Spain (Hitler and Mussolini both aided Franco’s seizing control of Spain in the Spanish Civil War), and eager to gain easy victories and win popularity, Mussolini chose to attack a weak Ethiopia, bombing soldiers that carried spears from airplanes and even using poison gas.
When World War II started Mussolini waited to see how things were going before entering Italy in the war, so when Germany seemed unbeatable, Italy then jumped in and tried to conquer North Africa and Greece. Things did not go well for Italy pretty much from the start and went downhill from there. When Italy was invaded in 1943 Mussolini was deposed, but was rescued by the Nazi’s and reinstated. Not so cocky now, he never really regained control or popularity.
His private beliefs were that the racism of Nazi Germany was laughable and that Jews deserved a normal place in Italian society. German power and influence became so great that Mussolini, ever the pragmatist, changed his tune and went along with persecution of the Jews after all. When facing hardships after being deposed in 1943 this cartoon character of a man compared himself to Jesus Christ!
Question for students (and subscribers): Did Mussolini get what he deserved? You be the judge, and tell us what you think in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Hibbert, Christopher. Mussolini: The Rise and Fall of Il Duce. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2008.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Vincenzo Carrese of the dead body of Benito Mussolini next to his mistress Claretta Petacci and those of other executed fascists, on display in Milan on 29 April 1945, in Piazzale Loreto, the same place that the fascists had displayed the bodies of fifteen Milanese civilians a year earlier after executing them in retaliation for resistance activity, is in the public domain in the United States because it meets three requirements:
- it was first published outside the United States (and not published in the U.S. within 30 days),
- it was first published before 1 March 1989 without copyright notice or before 1964 without copyright renewal or before the source country established copyright relations with the United States,
- it was in the public domain in its home country (Italy) on the URAA date ().
The country of origin of this photograph is Italy. It is in the public domain there because its copyright term has expired. According to Law for the Protection of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights n.633, 22 April 1941 and later revisions, images of people or of aspects, elements and facts of natural or social life, obtained with photographic process or with an analogue one, including reproductions of figurative art and film frames of film stocks (Art. 87) are protected for a period of 20 years from creation (Art. 92). This provision shall not apply to photographs of writings, documents, business papers, material objects, technical drawings and similar products (Art. 87). Italian law makes an important distinction between “works of photographic art” and “simple photographs” (Art. 2, § 7). Photographs that are “intellectual work with creative characteristics” are protected for 70 years after the author’s death (Art. 32 bis), whereas simple photographs are protected for a period of 20 years from creation.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1950 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1950">78 Comments
this one is kinda disturbing….
This article was very violent, hanging people upside down and throwing stones at them is just not just.
I believe these methods of hanging someone upside down and throwing stones at them were extremely brutal.
I thought it was pretty humane that all the Partisans did was shoot Mussolini. At least the guy was already dead when the real torture and such began. Also, it is pretty laughable that we lost control of his own country and the Nazi’s had to give power back to him in Northern Italy, like a baby who dropped its rattle.
It is impossible to know what you would do when put in such circumstances, but I feel that public spectacles of killing, torture or humiliation, whether the individual is dead or alive, are rather gruesome. Obviously, Mussolini was a man who committed heinous acts of violence, but isn’t his death an example of hate and violence? Why would you use revenge, when you are only repeating on him what he used on others. How can violence die when you use it as a form of retaliation for violence?
I believe that any corpse should be treated with respect even if that person committed terrible acts. What the Italians did was brutal.
I still can’t believe people came to see these types of hangings as if it was the natural thing to do.
I do not think I could ever pelt a dead body with stones and clubs.
I think it was fair for him to be shot, but the torture of his body after and in the years to come was not necessary.
I can’t even imagine living in a time where things went on like this in public. I guess things have drastically changed since then.
I think he definetely got what he deserved. I also cannot believe he compared himself to Jesus Christ, that’s ridiculous.
I can’t believe they stoned the body even after he was dead, it’s just wrong.
This reminds me of what happened to Oliver Cromwell’s body after the English Civil War and when the monarchy returned to power in England. His body was still executed despite him already being dead to make a point to the people.
I was not aware with the brutal death of Mussolini. Even though we hear mostly of Hitler and Stalin, Mussolini was as equally of a terrifying dictator.
Brutal deaths were a theme in the war and that goes for the death of Mussolini as well.
Any mistreatment of a corpse is going too far. Mussolini deserved to be punished for the actions he took as a leader, but not to the point of abuse of his lifeless body.
I think mussolini deserved to be caught trying to leave the country and escape his people and escape the allies. However, I don’t think his corpse should have been beaten after his death. The end of the article claimed that Mussolini didn’t actually agree with Hitler’s feelings about Jews, which is something that surprised me.
Us Greeks showed Mussolini. We defeated the invading Italians, causing Hitler to need to get involved, delaying Barbarossa into the harsh winter! It was good the Mussolini was caught before escaping, he had it coming.
Mussolini seemed to be a weak and laughable ruler from the start. It is a shame that his body was so mistreated after death. As we read in a previous article, this type of behavior by the populous is inexcusable no matter how bad the ruler was during his life.
I am glad that Mussolini was shot for what he did; however, I do not believe it was morally right to mistreat a corpse.
You reap what you sow. Mussolini deserved the death he received. There’s a reaction to everything you do in life and this should have been expected.
Mussolini was an awful dictator of Italy who chose whichever side seemed most powerful at the time or would benefit him the most. He was an atheist but had a relationship with the pope in order to use religion to control Italy. He also believed Jews should have a normal place in society but changed his views and sided with Hitler when it looked as if Hitler would win the war. In the end, his plan didn’t work out well for him as he was caught fleeing to Switzerland and executed the next day.
I never heard of Mussolini’s brutal death. He was a horrible dictator and I do believe he got what he deserved. I find it disappointing that he went along with Hitler’s view of the Jews even though he privately believed the Jews deserved to have a normal place in Italian society.
Mussolini does not seem like a military genius at all. It seems he was content to wait on the war to see how it would play out. Only when Germany was in a state of control did Mussolini enter Italy into the war.
Dictatorship is a brutal form of government. Hitler and Mussolini were both terrible people for what both of them had done. The end of the article is disturbing because the author says Mussolini wanted the Jews to have a normal life in the Italian society and then kills the Jews just like Hitler had done for no reason at all.
I never heard of Mussolinis brutal death, but it was definitely deserved. Hitler and Mussolini were both terrible men and killed more people than you can even imagine.
Mussolini was yet another dictator in World War II leading his country into the deadly war. It is hard to put into perspective when decisions were made for the betterment of the countries and when decisions were made for selfish reasons.
As an Italian I know I would have hated him for the leader he was. He was a monster like Hitler, maybe not as bad but still not a guy that should have been trusted.
I’ve always heard of Mussolini as a terrible totalitarian ruler, but his views on the Nazi party and treatment of the Jews makes his seem like not so bad of a guy!
I agree with Mikayla that Mussolini deserved to be shot but it seems inhumane for his body to be hung up so people can throw rocks and clubs at it.
I agree that he should be killed, but once he’s dead, he’s dead. No need for the extra rock throwing.
Again another gruesome way to treat someone who is already dead. Yes he should have been killed but not then hung and later his body dug up and contemplated what to be done with it for years.
Mussolini was a coward for fleeing his country as a German soldier. I think his death sentence fit the crime.
No need to hurt a dead man. He isn’t going to feel it.
So the guy pretty much rode on the coat tails of Hitler just to feel as if his country was a super power? He was a fraud.
As harsh as it may seem, I believe that during their time the punishment fit the crime. It was may a little over the top hanging him in the city for people to throw rocks and clubs but it made a statement and I’m sure those you ever thought about doing the same, after seeing this, changed their minds very quickly.
Mussolini absolutely got what he deserved. The stoning was not necessary, but it got the point across.
I agree that Mussolini should have been killed and deserved the way he died. I was surprised to read about his soft side. His view on the Jewish people showed he was not all bad and had some good deep down inside him.
Mussolini got what he deserved but he should have been killed.
It’s sickening to think that anyone could compare Mussolini to Jesus Christ. I don’t think anyone this day could agree with that.
Mussolini might have been egotistical, but he was weak in the sense that he would go which ever way the winds were blowing. Myself, I don’t like vigilante justice. Mussolini and his henchmen should have stood trial.
I do not feel bad for Mussolini what so ever. He had this coming for him.
Mussolini should have been killed for what he did. I am glad he got some punishment but I think he deserved more.
Mussolini was a coward for changing his beliefs just to side with who was strongest at that point in time during the war instead of standing up for what he believed in. In my opinion he got what he deserved.
Mussolini, Italian Fascist Ruler, joined forces with Hitler in WWII. The Allies invaded Italy in 1943 and Italy was defeated, but saved by the Nazi’s.
I do not agree with the acts of Mussolini. I hate that he changed his religious beliefs just in order to gain more popularity to support him.
It does not surprise me that Mussolini was an atheist. I do not want to talk negative toward atheists, but if he believed in God, it would make no sense for him to commit all of the deaths that he did.
I won’t comment of whether or not he got what he deserved, but I will say that Mussolini set himself up for it. I can’t believe that his body, even after being buried unmarked was dug up and later captured and held for 10 years.
I find it interesting that Mussolini initially believed that the Jews should have equal rights to the rest of the people. He must have been greatly influenced by the idea of power.
Mussolinis body just never seemed to get peace. the crowds that came to see him and deface him would have been an interesting sight to see
I feel that Mussolini deserved the punishment he was presented with. The fact that his body was dug back up is disgusting. I do not see how anyone could compare him to Jesus Christ after he was so evil in his lifetime.
Mussolini deserved the punishment. The evil will be defeated even when good men don’t do anything. Mussolini as a Nazi should be punished. It was the right judgment for him.
I won’t argue his death or manner of his death. I do feel that the abuse of the corpse and the delay in a final resting place was unnecessary.
It doesn’t surprise me that he was publicly displayed and then his body was abused. I don’t agree with that fact that this was done, but he was not a good man and probably deserved it.
It is shocking that people would come to watch these hangings like they were a natural thing to see.
I can’t believe people actually wanted to see people be hung. I’m glad our society has evolved from that. It’s very horrifying.
Wow I had no idea Mussolini was so awful! Why were there so many egomaniacs back then.
I am glad we do not watch people get killed and publicly punished anymore. I could not imagine watching such a thing today.
I am very glad that we do not have to watch people get killed like this and punished publicly. I would not feel comfortable watching this type of thing.
I do not agree with public torture, but many people probably liked to see this.
I hate to say it ,but Mussolini had this coming for the horrible things he had done to Italy and the world.
Mussolini was a big part of why Hitler lost WWII.
I wonder why Mussolini had those thoughts about Germany and racism but still joined them. I wonder if he was worried about losing, or just trying to play the game of war the right way.
If you can change your viewpoint so easily and stand by as millions of innocents are held in captivity and tortured, he had it coming to him.
I believe that Mussolini deserved the punishment he was faced with.
After all of the cruel acts led by or organized by this man, I think that his punishment was fair and much-deserved.
A despicable man. Most dictators are firm in their beliefs at least, this guy just flopped all over the place.
Interesting how all these dictators from this era were afraid of being killed by their own people.
They should never have allowed his body a proper burial. Of the 6 million Jewish lives lost, it is doubtful that they ever received a proper burial, or given a place their families, if they had any left could go to grieve their absence. Why should Mussolini have that?
After all the horrible things this man did he was rightfully punished, he deserved everything he got.
I do not disagree with punishment and I agree Mussolini should have been punished. I do not understand the public punishment or torture. I would not want to see this take place yet so many people would gather to watch this event. I am glad that laws have changed and this is no longer a public event.
Mussolini was a wack job. The people had had enough of him and by the way his corpse was treated after death, it was essentially “good riddance” to a truly despicable man.
It is easy to sit behind my computer screen as a white male in America and say “nobody deserves to be treated that way after death”. However, he was an evil man who ruined a lot of lives. If I lived through his rule, I may feel differently.
I really don’t know if I agree wit watching people being hung. Now I believe that Mussolini deserved everything he got because he was just plain evil.
Its interesting to know they hung Mussolini and his men by their feet and people of the community were able to stone them, I thought by these times that was said to be inhumane. Also, it is comical his body was stolen. He was dead, not sure why his body was so special.
Is being pelted with stones, hung upside down and not being buried for 10 years, “getting what you deserve?” I do not know. I suppose since this event did not affect me personally I would feel different than if it did. He was disgusting.
so sadness, If sanctions are inappropriate, it will bring about disaster and a humanitarian crisis to the country which is being sanctioned.Political sanctions are often terrible
It is sad by seeing people were being put upside down and suffering the pain in the past. It was a shame people were buried in an unmarked grave.