This Rare Photo Captures The Moment Benito Mussolini Died
This Rare Photo Captures The Moment Benito Mussolini Died On April 26, 1945, Benito Mussolini – the fascist 'Il Duce' of Italy during WWII – was cornered by communist partisans in northern Italy. The day before, on April 25, Mussolini had finally seen the writing on the wall – the fall of Hitler's regime to Allied forces was imminent, and his hold over northern Italy was loosening by the minute. Though he tried to flee the country dressed as a German officer, Mussolini was killed, desecrated, and strung up at a gas station in Milan. The photo of Mussolini's final fate documents a full day of fury acted out on the reviled leader. Though he was already deceased when his body was dumped into a central square in Milan, that didn't stop swells of people from beating, spitting on, and screaming at his remains. Along with his mistress Clara Petacci and 14 other fascists, Benito Mussolini's body was beaten beyond recognition and hung above a gas station – a symbol of...