29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Italian) The new Italian Social Republic was founded on 23 September 1943 under dictator Benito Mussolini. On 2 October 1943, Heinrich Himmler and Gottlob Berger devised the "Programm zur Aufstellung der italienischen Milizeinheiten durch die Waffen-SS" ("Program for the deployment of Italian militia forces by the Waffen-SS") which was approved by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. In October 1943, 15,000 volunteers started training at Truppenübungsplatz Münsingen, but 9,000 of them were unsuitable and released for training in police units, the Black Brigades or for labor. On 23 November 1943, 13 Miliz-Battalions pledged their loyalty before being moved to "SS-Ausbildungsstab Italien". The
Bruno Mussolini died, including Bruno. Benito Mussolini rushed to the Santa Chiara Hospital to be at the side of his dead son. Bruno's death prompted his father to compose a booklet entitled "I Talk With Bruno" ("Parlo con Bruno"). The booklet implied timeless intimacy between the two and mixed Fascist, Catholic, and familial piety. Robert Downey, Jr. portrayed Mussolini in the TV mini-series "" in 1985. Bruno Mussolini Bruno Mussolini (22 April 1918 – 7 August 1941) was the son of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and Mussolini's wife Rachele. Bruno Mussolini was born in Milan in Lombardy. His father, Benito Mussolini, was