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Soon after having obtained a US copyright in
2007 (as "unpublished photo") we sent images to various addresses found on the internet under search-engine
categories such as "Hitler, Mussolini, Nazism, Fascism, Lwow-Lviv, and World War Two", etc. Many
of the email replies received by us expressed fascination and encouragement, but some questioned the authenticity of
the photograph. Others stated that the individual in the center wearing a plaid suit was not Hitler, but only
a person who looked like Hitler. Some agreed that it was indeed Hitler with Mussolini, but suggested that the group
could not have been photographed in Lwow because there are no records of Hitler ever having visited Lwow in early
1930's or any other times prior to WWII.
Therefore, in the summer of 2007, a close investigation
was made of the background wall in the courtyard of the previous "Winiarnia Italia" at Ulica Sykstuska 29 (street
is now renamed Doroshenko in Ukrainian) and the results are contained herein. Click on images for large resolutions.
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| The original photographers on location |
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| Click to view proof photo taken at 29 Sykstuska, Lwow |
Photos on PDF
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Click for a high resolution view of matching chips and anchors
| Analysis of chips and anchors in high resolution |
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| Click to study the background-wall in high resolution |
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| THE FASCIST PARTY BADGES WORN BY THE MEN IN PHOTO |
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| THE FASCIST PARTY BADGES WORN BY THE MEN IN PHOTO |
Photos on PDF
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| VICTOR'S CAMERA AND THE PHOTO ATELIER REMBRANDT |
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| VICTOR'S CAMERA AND THE PHOTO ATELIER REMBRANDT |
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The
group photo below was taken inside the inner-courtyard of the "Winiarnia Italia" building, circa 1929-1930. The fourteen
individuals posing with Carlo and Victor had been guests for lunch at the Winiarnia, on that afternoon. Click on
pictures for large views. |
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| CLICK FOR LARGE VIEW AT 400 dpi |
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| CLICK FOR LARGE VIEW AT 400 dpi |
Rare photograph of Benito Mussolini with entourage, taken by Victor Perantoni at age 18 (about 1929-1930).
The
image above depicts the complete photograph on its original mounting board (click to expand at 400 dpi).
The image below expands to a sharp high resolution 800 dpi.
| CLICK FOR SHARP HIGH RESOLUTION at 800 dpi |
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| CLICK FOR SHARP HIGH RESOLUTION at 800 dpi |
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RARE PHOTOGRAPH OF BENITO MUSSOLINI AND OTHERS.
This photograph taken
in Lwow, Polish Galicia (Lviv Ukraine)
defies modern historical accounts of the subject personages.
Victor Perantoni
was an avid photographer who, at age 18 (circa 1929-30), took this photograph of Benito Mussolini with entourage, for his
father Carlo (bald man with mustache) sitting third from right in the place of honor next to Italy’s Fascist Duce Benito
Mussolini (who is seated third from left).
The photograph is in excellent condition,
and it measures approximately 8 ¾ x 6 ⅜ (inches) and it is mounted on a 13 ¼ x 11 ⅛ decorative cardstock,
mounted by the original photo atelier “Rembrandt of Lwow” circa 1929-30.
BACKGROUND:
In the year 1905 grandfather Carlo Perantoni started an Italian wine import-export business, and later he opened a Winery
Inn Tavern in the city of Lwow in south eastern Poland, a region which is Ukraine today. It was a well known social Inn frequented
by artists, academics, and popular among Italian travelers.
The tavern was named “Winiarnia Italia”,
also known as “Carlo Perantoni's Wine and Pasta Shop.” In 1920, prior to the fascist period,
Carlo was appointed as the Honorary Vice Consul for Italian Foreign affairs in South Eastern Poland, by authority of King
Victor Emanuel III.
One day in late 1929 (or early 1930) Benito Mussolini visited
grandfather's Winery Inn accompanied by an entourage of thirteen aspiring fascists from various regions of Europe. Carlo and
Victor served a north Italian pasta lunch to them, and then asked to take this group photo.
Victor
arranged the chairs and he lined up the guests. He set his Zeiss-Ikon-Ikonta foldout camera on a tripod, he set the camera
on automatic shutter, then he ran behind the group and stood up on a wine box centering himself with Italy's Fascist
flag, above the group. Note the "Fascio di Leopoli" banner attached to the flag. Also,
Victor’s mother and aunt appear in the window.
This is the only original photograph
in existence. It has seen light of day only a few times since grandfather Carlo evacuated his family from
Poland to Italy in 1939, at the onset of the nazi invasion. Later the Cold War, which followed World War II, prevented our
family from returning to Eastern Poland, which had become Soviet Ukraine.
The irony is that our family lost a prosperous wine import and tavern business,
a retail wine shop, an affluent eight-unit apartment building, and wealthy bank accounts, all because of the later associations
of Benito Mussolini who visited the Winiarnia Italia and posed in Victor's photograph.
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This photograph defies historical accounts
of the subject personages.
This
photograph proves to be historically controversial due to the fact that one of the young fascists in the group, dressed in
a light plaid suit, has a marked resemblance to Adolf Hitler, although history notes that Hitler and Mussolini did not meet
until nineteen thirty-four, and that was in Venice Italy, not Lwow (Leopolis) Poland. History books are very specific
about that, but this photo, along with the following plausible explanation, questions the accuracy of the historical
record. Hitler had great respect and admiration for
Mussolini - Europe's political superstar of that period - but the respect was not mutual. He also knew that IL Duce was open
to meeting with political leaders, and especially young aspiring fascists who were sympathetic to the Blackshirt movement,
and he met with them often. Historical records reveal that Hitler tried more than once to meet with Mussolini formally,
and each time he was denied. But why? This was definitely out of character for Duce Benito Mussolini
who was promoting worldwide fascism. What could be the reason for Benito Mussolini's contempt and refusals?
Well, it may have originated from a possible previous introduction in nineteen twenty-nine at the luncheon in
our ‘Winiarnia Italia' pasta tavern in Lwow Poland (shortly before this group photo was taken), during which IL Duce
was annoyed when the young man in the plaid suit spoke proudly about how the Germanic people had not lost the ‘Great
War'. Though granting that the Central Powers had indeed lost the war, he insisted that it was not the fault of the
people nor the soldiers of Germany and Austria, and he arrogantly assigned blame to everyone else, while blowing
the Germanic trumpet about how the 'Great War' was unjustly lost. And this in Duce Benito Mussolini's presence, ignoring
altogether that Mussolini himself had served in that war, but on the opposite side! That incident could be the reason why Benito Mussolini continued
to refuse an official meeting with Adolf Hitler. In her memoirs, Donna Rachele (Mussolini's wife) wrote that her husband
often expressed contempt for Hitler, and that he used to call him "una scimmietta," a silly little monkey,
as in "monkey see, monkey do". But history reports that four years later, in nineteen thirty-three, after his appointment as Chancellor of Germany,
Hitler stated: "Now that I'm a 'head-of-state' he'll have to meet with me." But still Mussolini kept
him waiting - another eighteen months, until June of ‘thirty-four when he finally agreed to meet the man. However, when
they finally met officially - 14 June 1934, as is publicly recorded - it was not in Rome. Oh, no! That meeting
was not to take place at the capitol, in the heart of Italy. Instead, Mussolini met him in Venice, an anteroom to
Italy! A city renowned for tourism! And following an unfortunate suggestion made by Ulrich Von Hassel, Germany's
ambassador in Rome, Hitler regrettably arrived dressed in civilian clothes. Standing next to IL Duce who was dressed in full
military regalia as the world's leader of fascism, Hitler indeed looked like a tourist! However, that meeting was staged with a large military parade to receive worldwide media coverage. It was for
the public! It was orchestrated to show Fascist Italy's superiority over Nazi Germany, and IL Duce's dominance over
Adolf Hitler ... or maybe his disdain for him, for that too was noticeable. History has shown itself to be fallible, and this photograph defies the historical meeting of
14 June 1934. The above explanation is why we believe that the young fascist in the plaid suit is indeed Adolf
Hitler.
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Arrivederci Leopolis. The Lion's War
Based on a true story, set against the background of World War II. This is a narrative of the twentieth
century depicting historical events as experienced through the lives of an Italian wine exporter and his family.
Flags and images portrayed on the cover relate to the story.
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L'inglese
"Compare" si traduce:
"confrontare oppure paragonare".
Confrontate Benito Mussolini
Clicca per ingrandire / Click for large view
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Storia del Filatelista Fascista |
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Would you like to see Leopolis in
film ? |
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