fascism, Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator, authoritarian regime, World War II, European history, political ideologies, totalitarianism, cult of personality

## Introduction

Ah, Benito Mussolini! The name alone conjures up images of a man with a jaw so jutting it could slice through the fog of history. Born in 1883, this Italian figure managed to do what many can only dream of: he founded fascism and ruled Italy with an iron fist, all while sporting a mustache that could only be described as "...