The National Liberation Committee ( it, Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale, CLN) was a political umbrella organization and the main representative of the

Italian resistance movement The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...

fighting against Nazi Germany’s forces during the German occupation of Italy in the aftermath of the

armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...

, while simultaneously fighting against Italian Fascists during the

Italian Civil War The Italian Civil War (Italian language, Italian: ''Guerra civile italiana'', ) was a civil war in the Kingdom of Italy fought during World War II by Italian Fascists against the Italian resistance movement, Italian partisans (mostly politically ...

. It was a multi-party entity, whose members were united by their

anti-fascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

. The CLN coordinated and directed the Italian resistance and was subdivided into the

Central Committee for National Liberation Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

(CCLN) based in Rome and the later National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy (CLNAI) based in Milan.

History

The CLN was formed on 9 September 1943, following Italy's armistice and Germany's invasion of the country. The member parties were the Italian Communist Party, the Italian Socialist Party, the Action Party, the

Christian Democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

, the Labour Democratic Party, and the

Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party ( it, Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was a liberal and conservative political party in Italy. The PLI, which is the heir of the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor party ...

. With the backing of the Royal government and the Allied powers, CLN gained official recognition as the representative of the Italian resistance movement, and had several leaders operating underground in German-occupied Italy. The partisan formations controlled by the CLN were primarily divided between three main groups,

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Garibaldi Brigades, the Action Party's

Justice and Freedom Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Brigades, and Socialist " Matteotti" Brigades. Smaller groups included Catholic and monarchist partisans. There were partisan units not represented in the CLN, including the ''Brigata Maiella'' and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

, republican and Trotskyist formations.Il Cln, spiegato bene: che cosa era il Comitato di Liberazione nazionale
/ref> The CLN led the governments of Italy from the liberation of Rome in June 1944 until the first post-war general election in 1946.

Composition

Seats

References

{{Authority control * Anti-fascism in Italy Anti-fascist organisations in Italy World War II resistance movements 1943 establishments in Italy 1944 in Italy 1945 in Italy Defunct political party alliances in Italy

History

Composition

Seats

See also

References