Tag Archives: Mussolini

This week in the War, 14–20 October 1940: The Great Dictator

Posted on October 18, 2012 by secondbysecond

          To quote Charlie Chaplin: “Dictators are comic. My aim is to make people laugh at them.” This week in the war, on 15 October 1940, the movie The Great Dictator, premiered in New York City. Chaplin starred … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on This week in the War, 14–20 October 1940: The Great Dictator

This week in the War, 10–16 June 1940: Faith, Hope, and Charity

Posted on June 12, 2012 by secondbysecond

The Italians had been watching from the sidelines. Suddenly, 10 June 1940, Benito Mussolini announced, in a grandiose speech from his balcony over Palazzo Venezia, that they were joining in the war on Germany’s side. Good timing. France was on … Continue reading →

Posted in World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on This week in the War, 10–16 June 1940: Faith, Hope, and Charity

This week in the War, 18–24 March 1940: Brenner Pass meeting

Posted on March 18, 2012 by secondbysecond

A much publicized meeting between right-wing dictators, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, took place this week in the war, on Monday 18 March. Only Franco was missing from the mix. Snow was falling in the Brenner pass as the Fuehrer’s train rolled to … Continue reading →

Posted in World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on This week in the War, 18–24 March 1940: Brenner Pass meeting

This week in the War, 26 Feb–3 March 1940: Sumner Welles

Posted on March 1, 2012 by secondbysecond

On 1 March 1940, United States Secretary of State, Sumner Welles, arrived in Berlin. This was his first visit to one of the belligerent nations. He had just visited Mussolini in (neutral) Italy and would be going on to London and … Continue reading →

Posted in World War II | Tagged , | Comments Off on This week in the War, 26 Feb–3 March 1940: Sumner Welles