L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D e a r r e a d e r s , t h i s y e a r , o n A p r i l 2 8 , w e remember the 75th anniver- sary of Benito Mussolini's death, so I will focus on a few more Mussolini-Italian connections. *** Benito Mussolini's trans- g r e s s i o n s d u r i n g W o r l d War II have generally been attributed by older Italian- Americans to male compag- ni, just as Nonna's good boy was led astray by the neigh- borhood bad boy. And since M u s s o l i n i ' s f o c u s w a s t o bring rispetto to Italy and make the trains run on time, it was popularly believed, thanks to propaganda, that I t a l y w a s r e l u c t a n t l y d r a g g e d i n t o t h e S e c o n d World War imbroglio at the urging of that male compag- no, Hitler. Unfortunately, Mussolini was not entirely without blame for the pain a n d s u f f e r i n g t h a t w a s inflicted upon the Italian people during five years of conflict. *** When I was a little girl, sitting with my mother and h e r f r i e n d s , I r e m e m b e r overhearing conversations that ended with variations o f " m o r t o o p e r d u t o i n Guerra." Now, it pains me t o l e a r n f r o m v a r i o u s sources and in an essay by Alexander Stille that at times Mussolini's war-mak- ing was accomplished for the pettiest motives of per- s o n a l v a n i t y . I n 1 9 4 1 , although the Axis powers had their hands full fighting most of Europe, Mussolini, following his own military instinct, invaded Greece. Italian troops were pushed back into Albania, which forced Hitler to send troops to bail the Italians out. What was the cost of this demon- stration of national great- ness? 15,000 Greeks were killed, and 28,000 Italians died or went missing. When Hitler invaded Russia in J u n e o f 1 9 4 1 , M u s s o l i n i insisted on sending some 200,000 Italian troops, too, but they were completely unequipped for the Russian winter. Tens of thousands of Italians died in the cam - paign, and tens of thousands more were taken prisoner by t h e G e r m a n s a n d d i e d i n Nazi concentration camps when Italy tried to withdraw from the war in 1943. The final results of Mussolini's recklessness, vanity, and p o o r j u d g m e n t : 3 0 6 , 0 0 0 I t a l i a n s o l d i e r s k i l l e d , 1 4 5 , 0 0 0 I t a l i a n c i v i l i a n s dead, and countless badly wounded. Benito Mussolini entered the world on July 29, 1883, in the village of Dovia, near Predappio, province of Forlì, i n t h e E m i l i a - R o m a g n a region of Italy. He made his world exit on April 28, 1945. Mussolini's body, riddled with bullets, was strung up b y t h e h e e l s a f t e r b e i n g caught by Italian partisans trying to sneak out of Italy d i s g u i s e d a s a r e t r e a t i n g German soldier. Unfortu- nately, his young mistress, Claretta Petacci, in a mis- guided attempt to stand by her man, chose to be with him, and the pair were exe- cuted by the partisans, who had found them near Lake Como. *** Benito Mussolini's father, A l e s s a n d r o , w a s a b l a c k - smith and later an innkeep- er. A generous and compas- sionate man, Alessandro was a n e a r l y f o l l o w e r o f t h e socialist cause and bitterly antagonistic to Church and M o n a r c h y . M u s s o l i n i ' s mother, Rosa Maltoni, came from better circumstances than her husband, and was a n e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l teacher. She was a sensitive religious woman, who was determined to raise her chil- dren above the precarious lower-middle-class existence s h e s h a r e d w i t h h e r h u s - band. Benito Mussolini was named after Benito Juarez, the Mexican revolutionary who led the revolt against Emperor Maximilian and his wife Carlotta. At 18, Benito became a s c h o o l t e a c h e r and also w r o t e , p a r t - t i m e , f o r a socialist newspaper. In 1915, after a common-law rela- Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. tionship, he married, in a c i v i l c e r e m o n y , h i s w i f e R a c h e l e , w h o h a d g i v e n birth in 1910, to their first child, Edda. At age 29, Mus- s o l i n i b e c a m e e d i t o r o f Avanti, the Italian socialist party newspaper, and circu- lation tripled under his edi- torship. However, the World War changed him from an internationalist to a non- compromising advocate of intervention, which led to h i s e x p u l s i o n f r o m t h e socialist party. To spread his own views on patriotism, he founded Il Popolo d'Italia in 1914. Called into service, he went to the front as a private in the Bersaglieri Corps, rose to a corporal, and then was seriously wounded by the explosion of a trench mortar. After being hospi- talized, he returned to Milan and organized a group of ex- servicemen into the first f a s c i s t u n i t , i n v o k i n g nationalist fervor against t h e g r o w i n g s t r e n g t h o f socialism and communism. Excellently organized in mil- itary order, the fascists grew in political strength. They became a party of the oppo- sition, and, in October 1922, inspired by the challenging oratory of their leader, a l a r g e g r o u p b e g a n t h e March on Rome. The cabi- net, intimidated, resigned, and the king requested Mus- solini to form a government. The fascist slate came into being, superimposed upon the constitutional monar- c h y , a n d v e s t e d w i t h a l l political power. It was the beginning of a dictatorship that was to subjugate the country for 21 years.

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