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How dictators live and die
July 28, 2006
Benito Mussolini
July 29, 1883 - April 28, 1945
Who: Hitler's Italian counterpart and ally. Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was the fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. Like Hitler, Mussolini rode piggyback on post-World War I national resentment to the peace treaties to come to power. A master of propaganda, he had captured absolute authority by 1926. In fact, Mussolini's dictatorship was the model on which Hitler based his Third Reich. And, like Hitler, Mussolini dreamed of an empire that would include most of the world.
How he died: He was executed along with his mistress Clara Petacci. Their bodies were hung on meat hooks in Milan, along with those of other fascists, to show the people that he was dead.
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Earlier Slide Show: World War II: 60 years later
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