Welcome to WWII in Focus: Echoes Through AI, created by Hector Sanchez, U.S. Navy veteran.

In this episode, we turn to 1935 — a year when fascism stopped pretending. Italy, under Benito Mussolini, invaded Ethiopia in a ruthless campaign cloaked in colonial ambition and drenched in chemical warfare. What started with a border skirmish at Walwal exploded into a full-scale invasion that exposed the League of Nations for what it had become: a peacekeeping body without teeth.

We walk you through Italy’s drive for empire, Mussolini’s fascist ideology, and Emperor Haile Selassie’s desperate resistance. You’ll hear how international diplomacy crumbled under the weight of fear and appeasement, how sanctions failed, and how the League of Nations lost credibility overnight.

This is more than a side chapter — it’s a warning sign the world ignored. One that emboldened Hitler. One that proved fascist aggression could go unchecked.

From backroom deals in Europe to battlefield atrocities in East Africa…

This is the story of how Mussolini lit a match — and the world refused to blow it out.

🎧 Powered by AI. Sharpened by history.

For WWII history buffs, strategy minds, and anyone tracing the first cracks in the global order.