Did Benito Mussolini join Adolf Hitler?
At first both were very close and Hitler even named him his influence. However after the assassination of Mussolini’s close friend, Engelbert Dollfuss, by Nazi agents, Mussolini began to distance himself from Hitler. Mussolini began to espouse the racism associated with Nazism believing anti-Semitism and the concept of an Aryan nation were not possible. Then in 1938, Mussolini soon realized Hitler’s influence on Italy. Hitler introduced the “Manifesto on Race”. This manifesto stripped Jews of their Italian citizenship and profession in Italy. This angered many Italians and even the Pope. However, Mussolini excepted the manifesto, but later he confessed that it was merely tactical. When Germany invaded Italy, public opinion turned against Mussolini. When the Allies intervened in Italy the people welcomed them as liberators. He ran away because Hitler told him that unless he agreed to return to Italy and set up a new fascist state, the Germans would destroy Milan, Genoa and Turin. Feelin
