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Mussolini's ghost : the afterlife of a dictator / Stephen Gundle.

Oxford Scholarship Online: History Available online

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Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Gundle, Stephen, 1956- author.
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
Mussolini, Benito, 1883-1945--Influence.
Mussolini, Benito.
Italy--History--1945-.
Italy.
Physical Description:
1 online resource : illustrations
illustration
Place of Publication:
Oxford : Oxford University Press, [2026]
Summary:
The Italian Fascist dictator Mussolini was killed in 1945, his body was exhibited upside down in Milan before an angry crowd. The repudiation by the people of the dictator who had led them to disaster was complete. But his story did not end there. The Duce continued to live on thanks to a legacy that was multi-faceted and complex. He was kept in view due to the activism of his widow and the work of the mass media. He symbolised persistent if often unmentionable ideas about masculinity, national identity, and political leadership. He was embedded in the physical environment. In 'Mussolini's Ghost' Stephen Gundle explores the many aspects of Mussolini's strange afterlife, be it through the fate of his statues and the places that Mussolini was most associated with, his depiction in film and television, his impact on political life, his treatment in public history and his place in popular culture.
Contents:
The dictator and the people
Mussolini’s dismissal
Divided nation
Death and damnation
Getting over dictatorship
Family and nation
Anxieties of masculinity
Imaginary trials
The fate of Duce statues
Mussolini’s places
Fascist art and kitsch
Political ghost signs
Biography as monument
Performing the Duce
Pop culture and cultural memory
The shadow of M.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (Oxford Academic, viewed on September 1, 2026).
Other Format:
Print version : Gundle, Stephen,1956- Mussolini's ghost.
ISBN:
9780198986348
0198986343
OCLC:
1593670848
Publisher Number:
CIPO000401117
Access Restriction:
Restricted for use by site license

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