The 20th century produced many political monsters, but few names carry the same historical weight as Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. They are often mentioned together because they were allies during World War II, because both created dictatorships, both used propaganda, both destroyed democracy, both built regimes around violence, and both helped push Europe into catastrophe. But Mussolini and Hitler were not the same man, and Fascism and Nazism were not exactly the same i