Exploring The Relationship Between Adolf Hitler And Benito Mussolini
What is the relationship between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini? And how did it affect WW2?
At the beginning of Hitler's reign there was actually a lot of animosity between Hitler and Mussolini. Mussolini was worried about Hitler's rants about the German master race and what that meant for Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region a German speaking part of Italy that could have become Italy's Sudetenland.
When Hitler first tried to take Austria in 1934, only Mussolini sent tanks to the border threatening war with Germany forcing Hitler to back down. However, just four years later Mussolini was totally in Hitler's camp and approved Anschluss the union of Germany and Austria. Hitler was so grateful that he swore to never betray him.
Although …show more content…
Basically, for a long time, Mussolini was the master and Hitler was the apprentice.
By the time Hitler ascended to power in 1933, Mussolini had been in charge of Italy for 10 years, most of them as effective dictator. And while Hitler still expressed unfliching admiration for Mussolini, there was a sense of wariness on Italy's part. This is in no small measure due to the Nazis' expressed desire for the Anschluss, the unification of all German peoples under one state, which would mean the annexation of Austria. Mussolini wanted an independent Austria subject to Italian influence, and was willing to fight for it.
Moreover, their first meeting together in 1934 was particularly icy. Mussolini listened to Hitler talk at length without saying much (this would become characterstic of their meetings) and afterwards wrote Hitler off as essentially insane. He believed Hitler's ideas of race and the existence of superior races were batty, and dismissed them out of hand. After their first meeting, Mussolini remarked dismissively, "He's just a garrulous …show more content…
Authority was enforced by the use of the Blackshirts – the nickname for the Fasci di Combattimenti. Those men in this unit were usually ex-soldiers and it was their job to bring into line those who opposed Mussolini. It was the Blackshirts who murdered the socialist Matteotti – an outspoken critic of Mussolini. Though they were probably less feared than Hitler’s SS, the Blackshirts did maintain an iron rule in Italy. One favoured way of making people conform was to tie a ‘troublemaker’ to a tree, force a pint or two of castor oil down the victim’s throat and force him to eat a live toad/frog etc. This punishment was enough to ensure people kept their thoughts to
At the beginning of Hitler's reign there was actually a lot of animosity between Hitler and Mussolini. Mussolini was worried about Hitler's rants about the German master race and what that meant for Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region a German speaking part of Italy that could have become Italy's Sudetenland.
When Hitler first tried to take Austria in 1934, only Mussolini sent tanks to the border threatening war with Germany forcing Hitler to back down. However, just four years later Mussolini was totally in Hitler's camp and approved Anschluss the union of Germany and Austria. Hitler was so grateful that he swore to never betray him.
Although …show more content…
Basically, for a long time, Mussolini was the master and Hitler was the apprentice.
By the time Hitler ascended to power in 1933, Mussolini had been in charge of Italy for 10 years, most of them as effective dictator. And while Hitler still expressed unfliching admiration for Mussolini, there was a sense of wariness on Italy's part. This is in no small measure due to the Nazis' expressed desire for the Anschluss, the unification of all German peoples under one state, which would mean the annexation of Austria. Mussolini wanted an independent Austria subject to Italian influence, and was willing to fight for it.
Moreover, their first meeting together in 1934 was particularly icy. Mussolini listened to Hitler talk at length without saying much (this would become characterstic of their meetings) and afterwards wrote Hitler off as essentially insane. He believed Hitler's ideas of race and the existence of superior races were batty, and dismissed them out of hand. After their first meeting, Mussolini remarked dismissively, "He's just a garrulous …show more content…
Authority was enforced by the use of the Blackshirts – the nickname for the Fasci di Combattimenti. Those men in this unit were usually ex-soldiers and it was their job to bring into line those who opposed Mussolini. It was the Blackshirts who murdered the socialist Matteotti – an outspoken critic of Mussolini. Though they were probably less feared than Hitler’s SS, the Blackshirts did maintain an iron rule in Italy. One favoured way of making people conform was to tie a ‘troublemaker’ to a tree, force a pint or two of castor oil down the victim’s throat and force him to eat a live toad/frog etc. This punishment was enough to ensure people kept their thoughts to