Who are Mussolini and Hitler in the nonfiction book, War in Val D'Orcia, 1943-1944?

These two dictators, as the result of their respective desires for domination and power and the practices of brutality and genocide that emerged from those desires, were the primary instigators of World War II. Mussolini was an Italian fascist, Hitler was a German Nazi, and their alliance brought death and destruction to large portions of Europe, in terms of both geography and populations. In metaphorical terms, they are the embodiments of the anti-humanity sentiment and practices against which the Marchesa and the members of the Val d'Orcia, in their humanist determination, struggle physically and spiritually.