The shadow of fascism accompanies Italy to this day: on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the so-called March on Rome, several hundred old and new fascists paid tribute to the former dictator Benito Mussolini on Friday in Predappio near Rimini. On October 28, 1922, the then fascist leader seized power in Rome. Thus began the fascist regime that lasted more than 20 years in Italy.
About a dozen coaches brought Mussolini supporters from various Italian regions to Predappio, local media reported. They visited the crypt where the “Duce” and his wife Rachele are buried.
Removed banners from neo-fascists in Rome
In Rome, a banner of neo-fascist activists with the slogan “100 years on: the march continues” was unfurled on the latticework of a bridge overlooking the Colosseum. He was removed from the community. Roman mayor Roberto Gualtieri condemned the banner as “outrageous and unacceptable”. “Rome will always remain an anti-fascist city,” the mayor emphasized. The Jewish community in Rome also condemned the banner as a “pointless provocation”.
“ominous, tragic date”
Life Senator and Holocaust survivor Liliana Segre called the March to Rome an “ominous and tragic date in Italian history, the dawn of fascism, the greatest catastrophe in national history of the last century.” “The commitment to peace, democracy and against fascism and totalitarianism must always belong together, because they are indispensable elements of an all-encompassing civic conscience,” the 92-year-old emphasized.
Segre was the only member of her Jewish family to survive the concentration camp. She began speaking in schools in the 1990s about her experiences as a girl in Auschwitz. She has been a senator for life since 2018.
Event with consequences for the whole of Europe
The invasion of the Italian capital by the “Blackshirts”, the supporters of the “Duce” on October 28, 1922, is regarded as the beginning of the fascist rule in Italy, an event with consequences for all of Europe. Mussolini and his fascist ‘black shirts’ seized power by force in an economically and socially desolate Italy after the First World War. The March on Rome was a mixture of a coup d’état and an orderly change of government.
On the night of October 27-28, 1922, thousands of “black shirts” prepared to march and began occupying local government buildings, transportation hubs, and barracks. The helpless Italian government had no choice but to resign and declare martial law. When King Vittorio Emanuele III. Fearing a civil war would break out, he then refused to sign the decree making martial law clear for Mussolini to seize power in Italy.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
