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Hitler and Mussolini: A fateful Relationship
The two greatest European dictators of the
20th century shared what could be most aptly be termed an
uneasy coexistence. While Hitler genuinely admired his Italian fascist
counterpart, and found echoes of the Nazi Party’s ascension in the
Blackshirts uncompromising rise to power, Mussolini did not initially
warm to Hitler, deriding him as a ‘muddleheaded fool.’ Mussolini was
likewise appalled when Austrian Nazis murdered his close friend
Engelbert Dollfuss, the Austrian Chancellor, describing the event as an
‘abominable and repulsive spectacle.’ Upon a later trip to Germany in
1937, however, he was overwhelmed by displays of German military might
as well as the Fuhrer’s indomitable will and multifaceted personality.
Henceforth he largely, if at times reluctantly, ceded to Hitler’s
desires – a decision that would result in his death at the hands of
Royalists some eight years later.
The first meeting between the pair took
place in Venice in 1933, and is captured at some length in the present
documentary with a selection of first rate footage. The trip was
Hitler’s first official voyage outside of Germany, and upon disembarking
his plane in civilian garb he was highly embarrassed to be greeted by
Mussolini resplendent in full military regalia. His discomfort is
evident in several subsequent scenes, such as when he stiffly salutes
the Roman guard lining the airstrip. It wasn’t the first embarrassment
for Hitler on the trip; when Mussolini delivered a speech to 70,000
fanatical loyalists Hitler wasn’t even allowed to appear on the same
balcony; he had to watch from a separate vantage point so as not to
steal any of the Duce’s limelight.
The balance of power was soon to shift,
however, and the Italian leader quickly revealed himself to be a
pompous, bumbling, rather bulbous opportunist whose inept warmongering
was a constant inconvenience to the Fuhrer. Hitler and Mussolini
expertly explores the intricacies of this singular relationship,
culminating in Mussolini’s fall from power towards the end of World War
II and his daring rescue from a mountaintop fortress by a band of heroic
Nazis, ordered by Hitler to abscond with the Duce at any cost. The
analysis over the course of this two-part documentary is astute and the
narration superb. The measured, thoughtful and comprehensive script is
further supported by a wealth of excellent historical footage, some of
it extremely rare.
There are a couple of minor deficiencies.
The two-channel audio is serviceable at best, and much of the
present-day sequences are awkwardly shot and sit uncomfortably alongside
the black and white archive footage. Shots of Hitler’s fascinating,
intimidating ‘Wolf’s Lair’ bunker complex, for example, are filmed in
such ridiculous close-up we may as well be looking at the walls of an
underground car park. But overall this is a top notch documentary that
will have plenty to offer anyone with a serious interest in the Fascist
states, as well as the more general viewer, and is one of the best and
most diligently researched studies of the relationship between these two
fascinating, endlessly contradictory leaders. |
