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MUSSOLINI AND THE FALL OF FASCISM, 25 JULY 1943: A REAPPRAISAL

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2017

EMILIO GIN Open the ORCID record for EMILIO GIN [Opens in a new window]
EMILIO GIN*
Affiliation:
University of Salerno
*
Dipartimento di Studi Umani, Filosofici e della Formazione, Università di Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (Sa), Italy[email protected]
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Abstract

The article addresses the question of Mussolini's role in the fall of fascism. After Alamein and Stalingrad, in order to save the regime, Mussolini's main concern became how to reach a compromise peace agreement with Soviet Russia. As Hitler remained obdurate, however, the sole option left to the duce was to send stern warnings to Berlin about the precariousness of his domestic position. Mussolini's growing apathy and unusual passivity facing domestic opposition, as well as his demeanour during the Grand Council of Fascism, between 24 and 25 July 1943, which eventually spelled his fate, have often been interpreted as the result of his declining health or of his overconfidence. On the contrary, in his desperate struggle to sway Hitler, Mussolini needed to provide him with a last and unquestionable proof of how awful the situation had become for the regime in Italy and for himself. In Mussolini's twisted calculations, by deliberately provoking the opposition against him, the vote in the Grand Council would have provided that evidence. It proved to be his last political gamble.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 61 , Issue 3 , September 2018 , pp. 787 - 806
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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