Mussolini, Benito

Italian nationalist and founder of Italian Fascism, Mussolini became prime minister of Italy in 1922 and, following a successful coup in 1925, ruled the state as a fascist dictator until 1943. He officially allied Italy with Hitler's Germany in 1939, forming the Axis. Under Mussolini, Italy adopted policies that persecuted Italian Jews, but generally did not cooperate with the mass murder or the deportation of Jews from territories under Italian control. Mussolini was removed from power and arrested in 1943, having lost the confidence of his party as the Italian military position in the war weakened. He was assassinated by Italian partisans in 1945.