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Historians credit an Italian poet, nationalist, and war hero named Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863–1938) with establishing the roots of fascism in Italy. In 1919 D’Annunzio led a small army to capture the city of Fiume (present-day Rijeka, Croatia). D’Annunzio believed that this port on the Adriatic Sea, which had a large population of ethnic Italians, should be part of Italy. The short- lived indepen-dent govern- ment he established in Fiume would inspire Italy’s later Fascist government under Mussolini.

Founding of the Fascist Movement Benito Mussolini found a way to channel the anger of veterans for his own political gain. A journalist, he had served in the Italian army during the war. In March 1919, in the city of Milan, he cofounded the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento (Italian Combat Leagues). This political movement was made up of people from different walks of life but included many vet- erans. Mussolini formed his followers into paramilitary units called squadristi . They would become known as Blackshirts, from the color of their uniform tops.

Destroying Democracy

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