Italy was on Hitler's side, but most people in northern Italy believe that Il Duce did not have much of a choice. The general idea is that Mussolini was good until he allied with Hitler, and then he turned bad.

My grandfather's cousin Alfredo was a motorcycle courier in the Italian army and served on the Russian front during WWII. He told me how Mussolini promised Hitler 125 rail cars full of troops for the Russian campaign. Alfredo was in one of those cars. Of the 125 cars that went out, only 5 came back. He was lucky to have survived.

He told me that he only survived because of the kindness and generosity of the Russian people. Alfredo stayed with many Russian families while he was crossing huge distances across the Russian Steppes, and once they realised he was not German, but Italian, they treated him very well, he said.

When he returned to Italy, he deserted. The fascists captured him however, and he spent the last 6 months of the war in Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria.

Cousin Alfredo really hated Nazis. And so do I.