Carlo Scorza (15 June 1897 – 23 December 1988) was a prominent member of the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. Th ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He built his reputation in the Italian Fascist paramilitary group known as the

Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Nation ...

, and later rose to the position of party secretary, second only to Benito Mussolini in authority over Fascist Italy. His brief and rocky tenure began in the spring of

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

and ended with the party's collapse and abolition at the end of July.

Life

Born in the town of Paola, Scorza participated in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in the

Bersaglieri The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, whi ...

corps where he reached the rank of ''Tenente'' (lieutenant). After the war he joined Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party and participated in acts of violence against communists and socialists in the area around

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

. After participating in the

March on Rome The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, ...

, he worked for a brief time as a journalist, then he was named ''Federale'' (chief provincial party officer) of the

Province of Lucca The province of Lucca ( it, provincia di Lucca) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lucca. It has an area of and a total population of about 390,000. There are 33 '' comuni'' (singular: ''comune'') in the pr ...

. In 1930, Scorza was appointed to direct the key Party youth organization, Gruppo Universitario Fascista. The following year he was named as a member of the ''Direttorio'' (a high national body) of the National Fascist Party. He strongly opposed the

Azione Cattolica The Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action) for short, is a widespread Roman Catholic lay association in Italy. History In Italy in 1905, Azione Cattolica was established as a non-political lay organization under the dir ...

and his behavior forced Mussolini to dismiss him from the Direttorio. He participated in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War and the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. In 1940 he came back to national political activities.

Secretary of PNF

In April 1943, Scorza was named Secretary of the National Fascist Party, replacing the ineffectual Aldo Vidussoni. He remained fully dedicated to Mussolini and he assumed his office with an uncompromising demand – "Everybody and everything for the war." Despite his enthusiasm, Scorza failed in his efforts to revitalize the party. On 25 July 1943, the President of the Italian wartime Parliament,

Dino Grandi Dino Grandi (4 June 1895 – 21 May 1988), 1st Conte di Mordano, was an Italian Fascist politician, minister of justice, minister of foreign affairs and president of parliament. Early life Born at Mordano, province of Bologna, Grandi was ...

, put forth to the

Fascist Grand Council The Grand Council of Fascism (, also translated "Fascist Grand Council") was the main body of Mussolini's Fascist government in Italy, that held and applied great power to control the institutions of government. It was created as a body of the ...

a motion to remove Mussolini from office. Scorza, who also held the position of Secretary of the Grand Council, voted against it, but the motion carried and Mussolini was arrested by the ''

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

''. After the

Italian armistice 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 Brigad ...

, Scorza was arrested in the Nazi-controlled Italian Social Republic. He was charged with treason for failing to counter the anti-Fascist ''coup d'état'', but he was acquitted by a special tribunal in April 1944.

Later life

At the end of World War II, Scorza fled to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. He was tried in absentia by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and sentenced to thirty years imprisonment. He was later granted amnesty and he returned to Italy in 1955. Scorza died in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

on 23 December 1988.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scorza, Carlo 1897 births 1988 deaths People from Paola, Calabria Italian fascists World War II political leaders

Life

Secretary of PNF

Later life

References

Further reading

External links