One of the most shocking images of the Second World War was the public display of Benito
Mussolini’s corpse along with his mistresses’ following their executions. Mussolini served
as the facist dictator of Italy until he was deposed, and during World War 2 he became
very close with the Fuhrer of Germany, Adolf Hitler. They were close friends, and Hitler
even helped him out of a few situations including helping the man he called Il Duce out of prison.
However during the conflict, Mussolini was ousted from power by many members of the Grand
Council of Fascism. However one of these key figures that led Mussolini’s exodus from
government was his own son in law, Count Galeazzo Ciano, but the former dictator had the last
laugh. Today we look at ‘The BRUTAL Execution OF Mussolini’s Son In Law, Galeazzo Ciano.’
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Born in Livorno in 1903, Gian Galeazzo Ciano was the son of an admiral and First World
War veteran. His father was a hero in the Italian Navy, and was given the title of Count
by the former King of Italy. His father was integrated into the Fascist Party and was
a founder member, and he also was involved in organising the Italian merchant navy. His
father however was known for profiting from his status and office, and he held many different
business interests and lived a very lavish lifestyle.
Because of this, the young Galeazzo Ciano grew up into a high profile lifestyle where
there was much glamour, expense and celebrity. His father continued in this lifestyle, and
during Mussolini’s March on Rome in 1922, they were both present taking part in the
huge demonstrations. It was during this march where the Blackshirts conquered many different
points across the country, and following this Mussolini formed a new government, and the
facist coup was complete after he was made prime minister.
Galeazzo who had lived the high life as a young man then studied Law at the University
of Rome before working as a journalist, however he then decided to venture into politics and
diplomacy. However, at the age of 27 he became infatuated and married to Edda Mussolini,
the daughter of the Italian dictator. It would be this union which would secure Galeazzo
great power within Italy, and their relationship produced three children. However Ciano was
seen as a playboy by the public, and it was public knowledge that he had many different
affairs and mistresses whilst married to Edda Mussolini.
Following their marriage, Ciano left to visit Asia and Shanghai to work as an Italian diplomat,
and even during this trip, Edda Mussolini was known to have had an affair with a Chinese
Warlord. So maybe marriage wasn’t the most loyal for both of the couple, but when he
came back to Italy in 1935 he began to become integrated into his father in law’s political
party and government, and he became the Minister of press and propaganda.
Not afraid of serving during the military, Ciano then volunteered for service in the
Italian Invasion of Ethiopia, and served as a bomber commander. In this role he did receive
accolades, and he was seen as a war hero after this. In the eyes of his father in law, he
gained pride and respectability for this and was then appointed as Foreign Minister. In
1937, it’s believed that he was involved in orchestrating the murders of the Rosselli’s,
two brothers who were anti-fascists, killed in a French town.
In his height of power before the Second World War, it’s considered that Ciano could possibly
have even become the dictator of Italy following the death of Mussolini. Prior to the conflict
breaking out, Mussolini could have been placing Ciano in this position as his successor, however
Ciano being more of a realist considered the weaknesses of the Italian Armed Forces.
He had seen their short-comings with his own eyes, and he knew Italy were not prepared
for an all out world war and conflict, and that this would only go one way. Upon Mussolini
declaring war on France in support of Nazi Germany in 1940, Ciano stated how ‘I am
sad, I am very sad. The adventure begins, but may god help Italy.’ When the Germans
invaded Poland, Ciano serving as foreign minister did have some opposition to this, as the Italians
were not consulted about the invasion. He believed if they were really such close allies,
then information regard the Polish invasion could have emerged and they should have been
briefed, but this never came.
These decisions led to Ciano beginning to waiver in his support for Nazi Germany and
the Italian involvement in World War 2. He believed the Italian invasion of Greece was
poorly performed, and how Italian’s military invasions and ventures were ill planned leading
to severe failures. Ciano being so disenchanted even leaked a warning to Belgium about their
imminent invasion, and he continued to become even more dissident to his father in law Mussolini.
He made a number of comments behind Mussolini’s back about the dictator, and when these were
reported back to the leader he did not appreciate them. His friends advised Ciano to watch his
moth, but he did not listen. During one incident he was excluded from a meeting with Mussolini
and Franco, which caused a great degree of frustration, he believed as foreign minister
he should be there as an intermediary. More arguments and problems existed between the
two, and Ciano seemed to have forgotten that his job as Foreign Minister was simply gained
because of his marriage to Mussolini’s daughter. Further defeats for the Axis forces and more
setbacks caused Ciano to turn against the Second World War, and Mussolini’s exploits
and he tried to convince others to get Italy to withdraw all together from the conflict.
However once these murmurings were heard, he was sacked as foreign minister, and the
rest of the cabinet were also sacked before he was given a job as an ambassador to the
Pope and the Holy See. He was monitored by Mussolini in this role, but Ciano’s dissent
against Mussolini had not fallen on death ears.
On the 24th July 1943, he held the Facist Grand Council, the first meeting since the
war broke out, and this was called because of the invasion of Sicily. During the meeting,
Mussolini told that the Germans were going to evacuate, and this led to one of his former
loyal friends Dino Grandi to launch an attack on Mussolini. He tabled a motion to ask the
King, Victor Emmanuel III to resume his role as monarch, ousting Mussolini from leadership
and power. This motion was accepted by a huge margin, of 19-8 showing a lack of support
for Mussolini.
Ciano voted against his father in law, and after the meeting Mussolini was summoned to
the King before he was sacked and arrested. He was kept under close watch for two months,
being moved regularly for his safety and to prevent a rescue attempt by the Germans. However
he was then kept in Gran Sasso, and was rescued as expected in September 1943 and after this
he set up a puppet government in northern Italy which remained under German occupation.
When the new government was put into place, Ciano was sacked because of his close links
to Mussolini. Along with his wife Edda and 3 children, Galeazzo Ciano went on the run
to Germany fearing their lives if they were arrested by the new Italian government. However
he was quickly captured by the Germans, and instead of dealing with the new government,
they handed him over to Mussolini’s government. Mussolini furious then indicted his son in
law on charges of treason, and Ciano was placed in prison and then placed on trial.
The Verona trial began, and his wife appealed for her husband to be spared by her father,
but Mussolini refused to intervene on behalf of his son in law. Ciano knew his time was
up, and be prepared three documents. The first was his diaries, which he wished to be published,
the second was a letter to the King and the third was a letter addressed to Winston Churchill.
Edda continued to try and get her husband’s release, and even tried to arrange an escape
plan by threatening her father and even Hitler with publishing Ciano’s revealing diaries.
However, during the trail there was little anyone could do. Ciano was found guilty of
treason and was sentenced to death. As a member of the military, he was to be executed using
a firing squad. On the 11th January 1944, Galeazzo Ciano was akin out of Verona, to
face his execution. Just outside the walls of the town, he was led to a clearing against
an embankment. Alongside him were a number of other men sentenced to death, and it must
have been a very cold January winters morning. The execution squad had been gathered, and
opposite them were a number of wooden chairs and stools for the defendants to be sat on.
Ciano was led onto one of the chairs, and then tied to it to ensure that he did not
escape or flee. He was tied tightly, and the firing squad were ready, however it was noted
that they were not the most skilled marksmen inside of Italy. Alongside, Emilio De Bono,
Luciano Gottardi, Giovanni Marinelli and Carlo Pareschi, Ciano was sat awaiting his death.
He was sat facing away from the firing squad in which was seen as an act of humiliation,
being spared the pride of facing his executioners.
According to some accounts, when the Firing Squad were readied, Ciano then jumped forward
and in an act of defiance turned his chair around, and screamed long life Italy as the
men fired their bullets into his chest. He was the only one of the men shot in the chest,
with the rest being killed by bullets to the back. It was said as mentioned that the executioners
performed their jobs poorly, and a number of the condemned were not killed initially
by the wounds sustained from the firing squad, being left to either bleed out or suffer a
coup de grace.
Ciano is seen as a very interesting figure within Italy. He was a man who secure a position
incredibly senior in Mussolini’s government through his marriage to his daughter, however
after turning against him he wished to keep this position, however became incredibly dissenting
against the Italian Dictator. Ciano’s death was one which was in accordance with Italian
laws on treason, and it’s hard what to make of him as a member of an allied nation. He
was a man incredibly close to the internal politics of Mussolini’s dictatorship, however
ultimately sided against him when the going got tough for the Italians during the Second
World War. He’s remembered today as the son in law of Mussolini, who at his father
in laws behest was executed and killed.
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