recognizable by his outlandish mustache, he was the object of much ridicule, not least by Mussolini. Although De Vecchi suffered through many of Pius XI’s table-pounding tantrums, the pope ended up viewing him with some affection.
GASPARRI, PIETRO (1852–1934) Child of a poor family of mountain shepherds in central Italy, Gasparri became a scholar of canon law and one of the Vatican’s most influential diplomats. As secretary of state first under Pope Benedict XV and then under Pius XI, the short, rotund Gasparri disguised his sharp political sense beneath a show of gregarious good humor.
GÖRING, HERMANN (1893–1946) One of the Nazi leaders closest to Hitler, he founded the Gestapo and held many top government positions in Nazi Germany. Mussolini at first dismissed him as a lunatic.
GRANDI, DINO (1895–1988) Undersecretary of the interior and then, from 1929 to 1932, Mussolini’s minister of foreign affairs. The goateed Grandi was initially among the most radical of the Fascists. But the life of Italian ambassador in London (1932–39) agreed with him and would affect his view of Mussolini’s increasing embrace of Nazi Germany.
HITLER, ADOLF (1889–1945) For years Hitler kept a huge bust of his hero, Benito Mussolini, in his Munich office. After becoming German chancellor in January 1933, he reached out to the Vatican in an effort to get Catholic support. Although suspicious of him, the pope was initially encouraged by his strong anti-Communist stance.
LEDÓCHOWSKI, WŁODZIMIERZ (1866–1942) Son of a Polish count and nephew of a cardinal, Ledóchowski was elected superior general—world head—of the Society of Jesus in 1915, a position he would retain until his death twenty-seven years later. A virulent anti-Semite, kindly disposed toward Fascism, he was a man Mussolini looked to for help.
MONTINI, GIOVANNI (1897–1978) As a priest in 1922, he joined the Vatican secretary of state office, where he remained for many years. In 1933 Pius XIdismissed him from his additional position as national chaplain of Italy’s Catholic Action university organization but brought him back in 1937 to be one of his undersecretaries of state. In 1963 Montini would ascend to St. Peter’s throne as Pope Paul VI.
MUNDELEIN, GEORGE (1872–1939) Named archbishop of Chicago in 1915 and appointed cardinal in 1924, Mundelein presided over an expanding Catholic Church and became a friend and political supporter of Franklin Roosevelt. His verbal assault on Adolf Hitler in 1937 provoked the Führer’s rage.
MUSSOLINI, ARNALDO (1885–1931) Growing up sharing a corn-husk bed with Benito, Arnaldo became editor of his older brother’s newspaper, Il Popolo d’Italia , in 1922, when Mussolini became prime minister. Every night Mussolini would phone him to discuss the next day’s paper and whatever else was on his mind. Arnaldo—who unlike his brother thought of himself as a devout Catholic—was the one person Mussolini trusted fully.
MUSSOLINI, BENITO (1883–1945) Born to a modest family in a small town in Romagna, the center of Italian anarchism and socialism, Mussolini became one of the country’s most prominent radical socialists in the early years of the twentieth century. In 1912 he was named national editor of the Socialist Party newspaper Avanti! , based in Milan. The Great War led him to break from the Socialists, establishing the Fascist movement in 1919. Formerly a fierce opponent of the Catholic Church, he recognized the benefit that a deal with the Vatican would have for his political ambitions.
MUSSOLINI, EDDA (1910–95) Edda was Mussolini’s eldest, and favorite, child. Willful, impetuous, temperamental, and fond of riding horses and driving fast cars, she was much like her father. She settled down a bit in 1930 when she married Galeazzo Ciano.
MUSSOLINI, RACHELE (1890–1979) Born to a poor peasant family that lived not far from the Mussolinis, she dropped out of school at age eight and went to work as a maid.
GASPARRI, PIETRO (1852–1934) Child of a poor family of mountain shepherds in central Italy, Gasparri became a scholar of canon law and one of the Vatican’s most influential diplomats. As secretary of state first under Pope Benedict XV and then under Pius XI, the short, rotund Gasparri disguised his sharp political sense beneath a show of gregarious good humor.
GÖRING, HERMANN (1893–1946) One of the Nazi leaders closest to Hitler, he founded the Gestapo and held many top government positions in Nazi Germany. Mussolini at first dismissed him as a lunatic.
GRANDI, DINO (1895–1988) Undersecretary of the interior and then, from 1929 to 1932, Mussolini’s minister of foreign affairs. The goateed Grandi was initially among the most radical of the Fascists. But the life of Italian ambassador in London (1932–39) agreed with him and would affect his view of Mussolini’s increasing embrace of Nazi Germany.
HITLER, ADOLF (1889–1945) For years Hitler kept a huge bust of his hero, Benito Mussolini, in his Munich office. After becoming German chancellor in January 1933, he reached out to the Vatican in an effort to get Catholic support. Although suspicious of him, the pope was initially encouraged by his strong anti-Communist stance.
LEDÓCHOWSKI, WŁODZIMIERZ (1866–1942) Son of a Polish count and nephew of a cardinal, Ledóchowski was elected superior general—world head—of the Society of Jesus in 1915, a position he would retain until his death twenty-seven years later. A virulent anti-Semite, kindly disposed toward Fascism, he was a man Mussolini looked to for help.
MONTINI, GIOVANNI (1897–1978) As a priest in 1922, he joined the Vatican secretary of state office, where he remained for many years. In 1933 Pius XIdismissed him from his additional position as national chaplain of Italy’s Catholic Action university organization but brought him back in 1937 to be one of his undersecretaries of state. In 1963 Montini would ascend to St. Peter’s throne as Pope Paul VI.
MUNDELEIN, GEORGE (1872–1939) Named archbishop of Chicago in 1915 and appointed cardinal in 1924, Mundelein presided over an expanding Catholic Church and became a friend and political supporter of Franklin Roosevelt. His verbal assault on Adolf Hitler in 1937 provoked the Führer’s rage.
MUSSOLINI, ARNALDO (1885–1931) Growing up sharing a corn-husk bed with Benito, Arnaldo became editor of his older brother’s newspaper, Il Popolo d’Italia , in 1922, when Mussolini became prime minister. Every night Mussolini would phone him to discuss the next day’s paper and whatever else was on his mind. Arnaldo—who unlike his brother thought of himself as a devout Catholic—was the one person Mussolini trusted fully.
MUSSOLINI, BENITO (1883–1945) Born to a modest family in a small town in Romagna, the center of Italian anarchism and socialism, Mussolini became one of the country’s most prominent radical socialists in the early years of the twentieth century. In 1912 he was named national editor of the Socialist Party newspaper Avanti! , based in Milan. The Great War led him to break from the Socialists, establishing the Fascist movement in 1919. Formerly a fierce opponent of the Catholic Church, he recognized the benefit that a deal with the Vatican would have for his political ambitions.
MUSSOLINI, EDDA (1910–95) Edda was Mussolini’s eldest, and favorite, child. Willful, impetuous, temperamental, and fond of riding horses and driving fast cars, she was much like her father. She settled down a bit in 1930 when she married Galeazzo Ciano.
MUSSOLINI, RACHELE (1890–1979) Born to a poor peasant family that lived not far from the Mussolinis, she dropped out of school at age eight and went to work as a maid.
Similar Books
