Horrifying moment dozens of Italian men give fascist salute on anniversary of dictator Benito Mussolini’s execution
In Italy, dozens of men were seen giving a fascist salute in honor of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution.
Dressed in black, several neo-fascist supporters gathered in Dongo and Giulino di Mezzegra on Sunday to shout fascist chants during ceremonies.
The men marched through the northern Italian towns where Mussolini was arrested and executed at the end of World War II, as well as through Predappio – the birthplace and final resting place of the infamous dictator.
The despot was stopped by anti-fascist partisans in Dongo, near Lake Como, on April 27, 1945, as he tried to escape to Switzerland with his mistress, Clara Petacci, after the Allied liberation of Italy.
On April 28, Mussolini, aged 62, and Petacci were executed and their bodies were taken to Meezzegra-Giulino to be hanged in the city’s central square – just two days before Hitler’s suicide.
Dozens of men raise their arms in the fascist salute and shout the fascist chant “present” in Dongo, northern Italy, during ceremonies honoring Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution
Dressed in black, the neofascist supporters marched through northern Italian towns where Mussolini was arrested and executed at the end of World War II.
The estimated 100 men reportedly sang Bella Ciao’s famous song during the ceremony
Today, a swarm of neo-fascists stormed through the Dongo and placed 15 roses in the lake in memory of the ministers and officials of the Mussolini government who died there, footage of the event showed.
After a rendition of Taps, the leader of the celebration shouted “Comrad Benito Mussolini” and the crowd raised their hands to perform a fascist salute while chanting “Today.”
Footage from Sunday’s event shows police vehicles scattered around areas where demonstrators were present in an apparent attempt to disperse the large groups.
The estimated 100 men reportedly sang Bella Ciao’s famous song during the ceremony.
The fascist dictator had ruled Italy for twenty years before he tried to flee the country with his lover, disguised as a German soldier – when the communists of Garibaldi’s Brigade recognized him and captured him.
With the execution of Mussolini, the partisans took revenge for twenty years of fascist tyranny and five years of world war that would last several months.
The bloody clashes claimed the lives of more than 400,000 Italian civilians, as well as those killed and maimed by the Italians during their imperial campaigns in Libya and Ethiopia, as well as during the Spanish Civil War.
The anniversary of the tyrant’s execution fell on the same day that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melloni led her far-right Brothers of Italy party at an election rally in the city of Pescara.
Benito Mussolini (left) and Adolf Hitler (right) in Berlin, undated. Mussolini raises his arm in a Nazi salute
A swarm of neo-fascists stormed through the Dongo and placed 15 roses in the lake in memory of the ministers and officials of the Mussolini government who died there
Police were spotted around areas where demonstrators were present in an apparent attempt to disperse the large groups
Dressed in black, several neo-fascist supporters gathered in Dongo and in Giulino di Mezzegra on Sunday to shout fascist chants during ceremonies
The party’s roots can be traced back to the Italian Social Movement (MSI), which was founded in 1946 by a chief of staff in Mussolini’s government.
The MSI then slowly attracted fascist sympathizers and officials into its ranks after Mussolini’s demise.
Meloni joined the youth wing of the MSI as a teenager, but has since tried to distance the party from its neo-fascist roots.
The prime minister has condemned fascism’s stronghold on democracy and emphasized that the right in Italy has overpowered the left for decades.
On Sunday, Meloni claimed that the left today poses a more totalitarian threat to the country.
She noted that members of the Communist Party had filed a formal complaint about the tents built on the beach of Pescara to host the meeting of the Brothers of Italy, in which Meloni announced that she would lead the party’s campaign ahead of the European Parliament elections in June.
“I note that the Communist Party still exists, and I say that to show where nostalgia for totalitarianism exists in Italy today,” she said.
October 2022 saw similar scenes of what was seen on the streets of Italy on Sunday, when the country marked 100 years since the start of Mussolini’s dictatorship.
As many as 4,000 sympathizers marched to the despot’s crypt and raised their hands in a salute to commemorate the anniversary.
With cries of ‘Duce, Duce, Duce’ – Mussolini’s honorary title – the crowd descended on the dictator’s birthplace with fascist flags and black shirts.
Mussolini’s great-granddaughter Orsola told the crowd at the time: “After a hundred years, we are still here to pay tribute to the man who wanted this state and whom we will always admire.”