Political Impact of World War II

Italy, along with the Soviet Union and Germany, established a radical totalitarian government. Then, Mussolini came into power by marching into Rome in 1922 and demanding that the king named him head of the government. He did this successfully and established a fascist government, which was halfway between authoritarianism and totalitarianism and consisted of only one party. The fascist leaders manipulated the people into agreeing with their beliefs and killed the previous socialist leader, Matteotti. Much of the old power system remained and Mussolini never really became a totalitarian ruler. Mussolini went on to join Germany in supporting the fascists in Spain, and Italy joined an alliance with Germany and Japan. They eventually surrendered in 1943 but continued to fight with Germany for a little while afterwards.