![]() ![]() In doing so, Ciano defied his label as traitor. In the moment right before his death, a photograph was taken of Ciano turning his head to face his executioners. It was not until July 24, 1943, when Ciano partook in the Grand Council meeting and voted in favor of the Grandi Resolution, a decree that stripped Mussolini of military power, that Ciano took an active stand against the Duce. Despite his concerns, Ciano did not actively oppose Mussolini and his decision to partner with Nazi Germany. Although Ciano initially supported the partnership, after a series of events- Hitler’s dismissal of the 1938 Munich Pact, the signing of the Pact of Steel in May 1939, and Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939- Ciano recognized the dangers in uniting with Hitler and became increasingly anti-German. ![]() In reality, the Axis alliance was mired in competition and distrust. ![]() Mussolini maintained that Italy and Germany shared a common destiny united by the wrongdoings each suffered at the end of World War One. Using his extensive diaries, which he kept from 1936 to 1942, as the basis of my research, I explore the political weaknesses and failures of fascist Italy that contributed to her collapse. My thesis examines the Italian Foreign Minister, Galeazzo Ciano. ![]()
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