IB History: Mussolini's rise to power

Hibbert explains the extraordinary complexities and contradictions that characterized Benito Mussolini. Mussolini was born on a Sunday afternoon in 1883 in a village in central Italy. On a Saturday afternoon in 1945 he was shot by Communist partisans on the shores of Lake Como. In the sixty-two years in between those two fateful afternoons Mussolini lived one of the most dramatic lives in modern history. Hibbert traces Mussolini's unstoppable rise to power and details the nuances of his facist ideology.

This book surveys the important issues and topics of the early 20th Century, including the origins and rise of Fascism, Mussolini as Prime Minister and Dictator, the Totalitarian state, foreign policy and the Second World War. It also examines how Italian Fascism compared to other inter-war dictatorships. Chapter 3, From Prime Minister to Dictator 1922-1926, deals with Mussolini's pursuit of total power from his early years as Italian Prime Minister.

The complete, unabridged diaries of Count Galeazzo Ciano Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, 1936-1943, and son-in-law to Mussolini. It was written up until the eve of Ciano's execution, ordered by Mussolini.

This volume, one of a 4-volume encyclopedia of World War II, contains detailed biographies of those who influenced the war.

The entry on Mussolini contains a discussion on the factors influencing his rise to power.

Please Note: This is part of the Reference Collection, so cannot be borrowed.

See the entries on Mussolin and Fascism.