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Four Persistent Myths about Benito Mussolini
Getting some facts straight about the Italian dictator
Of the notorious dictators battling each other during the Second World War, we all know Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin the best. We also know the democratic leaders like Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. Among the leading figures of the Second World War, the one who is both the least-known and usually the least respected is Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ( he did act like a pompous buffoon a lot of the time, so this is understandable). Perhaps because he is the least-known, he is also the one about whom the most myths have cropped up over the decades since his death on April 28, 1945. Let’s debunk a few of those myths now.
Myth #1: Mussolini made the trains run on time.
Easily the most pervasive myth about the Italian dictator is that he made the country’s notoriously unreliable rail system run on schedule for the first time. The railways had been in complete disarray following the First World War, and thus were a constant source of frustration for the Italian populace. Since one of the key claims of Mussolini’s Fascists was that they would bring order and efficiency to the nation, the trains running on time became a symbol of that supposed efficiency.
