Emil Ludwig
Ed. Oscar Mondadori
pp. 230
Mussolini!
Who was this man?
You know it too little, you rarely hear about him. It is considered as a piece of history to forget. Yet the task of history is precisely to remember, to teach, and to learn from mistakes as from successes.
Mussolini made mistakes but not only.
Ludwig's book, the result of a series of interviews with the fascist dictator, held between the 23 March and the 4 April, reveals Mussolini, before the tragic errors that have condemned him before history.
The book has, in turn, a particular story.
Mussolini first approved its publication, then he regretted it and amended it. The version I just finished reading is the full version. What scared him? Perhaps read his thought laid bare by the able writer?
Ludwig with his interview manages to discover some aspects of the then most powerful man in Italy and perhaps in Europe.
Knowing the history, even the one after the interview, one can ask why Mussolini, warned about the mistakes made by some of his famous predecessors (Ludwig often refers to Caesar and Napoleon) has fallen into the same mistakes.
Ludwig leads the dictator to think about the great themes of the world.
The war: what do you think about the war? It could be one of Ludwig's questions (and he was, though formulated differently!).
War is a school of life, "besides everything else, we learn defense and attack", was the response of the Duce.
Napoleon, what is his downfall due to?
"With the Empire the decadence began! The crown always forced him to new wars [..] every empire has its zenith. Since it is always a question of the creation of men, although exceptional, the causes of the sunset are already inherent . "
And what does Mussolini think of socialism and nationalism, the two souls of his life? And of Europe? And what do you think about the Italians, the mass, the people and how should you drive it?
What is the revolution for? And what needs to be done later to keep the results achieved?
The Sala del Mappamondo of Palazzo Venezia, in 1932, was the backdrop to the meeting between the great statesman, Mussolini, and the great writer, Ludwig.
Perhaps somehow the place has also had its influence and by reading the book one can feel witnesses to the story.
A book to be read in one breath and that reveals to the reader some little-known aspects of Mussolini, man and leader.
Alessandro Rugolo
