Edda Mussolini was the oldest and favourite daughter of Benito Mussolini, the Italian Fascist Dictator. She lived through her father’s rise to power and his eventual downfall, and she was instrumental in the decision to support Nazi Germany during WW2. Edda represented the new generation of Italian Fascism - sophisticated, worldly and educated. She was a key supporter of her father and his regime - until they had a massive falling out. Although she encouraged Mussolini to send Italy to war, she ended up suffering enormous personal loss as a result of this decision. She tried to blackmail two of the 20th centuries most notorious dictators and lived to tell the tale.
Sources/Further Reading
Mazzeo, Tilar J: Sisters in Resistance - how a German Spy, a bankers wife and Mussolini’s daughter outwitted the Nazis.
Moorhead, Caroline: Edda Mussolini, the most dangerous woman in Europe
The Ciano Diaries: https://archive.org/details/GibsonHughTheCianoDiaries19391943TheCompleteUnabridgedDiariesOfCountGaleazzoCian/page/n365/mode/2up
Mussolini, Edda: My Truth https://archive.org/details/mytruth0000cian/page/213/mode/1up
Achtner, Wolfgang: Obituary - Edda Ciano https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-edda-ciano-1616029.html
Wikipedia: Edda Mussolini https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edda_Mussolini
Wikipedia: Galeazzo Ciano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galeazzo_Ciano
Wikipedia: Benito Mussolini https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_Mussolini
Mazzeo, Tilar J: Edda Ciano and Hilde Beetz- how the women stood up to Hitler https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/edda-mussolini-hilde-beetz-rescue-mission-ciano-resistance/
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