Death of Adolf Hitler been executed by Italian partisans. The bodies of Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, had been strung up by their heels. The corpses were later cut down and thrown into the gutter, where they were mocked by Italian dissenters. These events may have strengthened Hitler's resolve not to allow himself or his wife to be made a "spectacle" of, as he had earlier recorded in his testament. Doubting the efficacy of the cyanide capsules distributed by SS physician Dr. Ludwig Stumpfegger, Hitler ordered Dr. Haase to test one on his dog Blondi, who died as a result. Hitler and Braun
Roman dictator the earliest period, the official title of the dictator throughout the history of the Republic was "magister populi", or "master of the infantry". His lieutenant, the "magister equitum", was the "master of the horse" (that is, of the cavalry). However, the use of "dictator" to refer to the "magister populi" seems to have been widespread from a very early period. The appointment of a dictator involved three steps: first, the Senate would issue a decree known as a "senatus consultum", authorizing one of the consuls to nominate a dictator. Technically, a "senatus consultum" was advisory, and did not have the