The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ( it, Repubblica di Salò ), was a
German puppet state with limited
diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be accor ...
which was created during the later part of
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 ...
, that existed from the beginning of the
German occupation of Italy in September 1943 until the
surrender of German troops in Italy in May 1945. The German occupation regime provoked widespread
national resistance, leading to the
Italian Civil War.
The Italian Social Republic was the second and final incarnation of the
Italian Fascist state, oficially led by
Benito Mussolini and his reformed
anti-monarchist Republican Fascist Party
The Republican Fascist Party ( it, Partito Fascista Repubblicano, PFR) was a political party in Italy led by Benito Mussolini during the German occupation of Central and Northern Italy and was the sole legal and ruling party of the Italian Socia ...
. The newly-founded state declared
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
its capital but was ''de facto'' centred on
Salò
Salò (; la, Salodium) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy (northern Italy) on the banks of Lake Garda, on which it has the longest promenade. The city was the seat of government of the Italian Socia ...
(hence its colloquial name), a small town on
Lake Garda
Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label= Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy.
It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...
, near
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...
, where Mussolini and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were headquartered. The Italian Social Republic nominally exercised
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
in
Northern and
Central Italy
Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency.
Regions
Central I ...
, but was largely dependent on German troops to maintain control.
In July 1943, after 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 ...
had pushed Italy out of North Africa and subsequently
invaded Sicily, the
Grand Council of Fascism
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 th ...
—with the support of King
Victor Emmanuel III
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
—
overthrew and arrested Mussolini. The
new government began secret peace negotiations with the Allied powers. When the
Armistice of Cassibile was announced 8 September, Nazi Germany was prepared and quickly intervened.
German troops seized control of the northern half of Italy,
freed Mussolini, and brought him to the German-occupied area to establish a satellite regime. The Italian Social Republic was proclaimed on 23 September 1943.
Although the RSI claimed sovereignty over most of the Italian Peninsula, its ''de facto'' jurisdiction only extended to a small portion of the country.
[Dr Susan Zuccotti, Furio Colombo. The ''Italians and the Holocaust: Persecution, Rescue, and Survival''. University of Nebraska Press paperback edition. University of Nebraska Press, 1996. P. 148.] The RSI received
diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be accor ...
only from the Axis powers and their satellite states.
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and
Vichy France
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...
, while being in the German orbit, did not recognize it. Unofficial relations were maintained with
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 ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and, through commercial agents,
Switzerland. The
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
did not recognize the RSI.
Around 25 April 1945, nineteen months after its founding, the RSI
all but collapsed. In Italy, the day is known as
Liberation Day
Liberation Day is a day, often a public holiday, that marks the liberation of a place, similar to an independence day. Liberation marks the date of either a revolution, as in Cuba, the fall of a dictatorship, as in Portugal, or the end of an oc ...
(''festa della liberazione''). On that day, a general
partisan uprising, in parallel with the
final Allied offensive in Italy, managed to oust the Germans from the country almost entirely. On 27 April, Italian partisans caught Mussolini, his mistress (
Clara Petacci
Clara Petacci, known as Claretta Petacci (; 28 February 1912 – 28 April 1945), was a mistress of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. She was killed during Mussolini's execution by Italian partisans.
Early life
Daughter of Giuseppina Persic ...
), several RSI ministers, and several other Italian Fascists, as they were fleeing. On 28 April, the partisans shot and killed Mussolini and most of the other captives, including Petacci. The RSI Minister of Defense
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...
surrendered what was left of the Italian Social Republic on 1 May, one day after the German forces in Italy capitulated.
Context of creation
![Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-567-1503A-07, Gran Sasso, Mussolini mit deutschen Fallschirmjägern](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-567-1503A-07%2C_Gran_Sasso%2C_Mussolini_mit_deutschen_Fallschirmj%C3%A4gern.jpg)
On 24 July 1943, after the Allied
landings in Sicily, on a motion by
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 ...
, the
Grand Council of Fascism
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 th ...
voted a
motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...
in Mussolini. Mussolini's authority had been undermined by a series of military defeats from the start of Italy's entry into the war during June 1940, including the
bombing of Rome, the loss of the African colonies and the Allied invasions of Sicily and the southern Italian Peninsula.
The next day,
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Victor Emmanuel III
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
dismissed Mussolini from office, ordered him arrested and appointed
Marshal Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...
as new Prime Minister. By this time, the monarchy, a number of Fascist government members and the general Italian population had grown tired of the futile war effort which had driven Italy into subordination and subjugation by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. The failed war effort left Mussolini humiliated at home and abroad as a "sawdust
Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
".
The new government began secret negotiations with the Allied powers and made preparations for the capitulation of Italy. These surrender talks implied a commitment from Badoglio to leave the Axis alliance.
While the Germans formally recognised the new ''status quo'' in Italian politics, they intervened by sending some of the best units of the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
to Italy. This was done both to resist new Allied advances and to face the predictably imminent defection of Italy. While Badoglio continued to swear loyalty to Germany and the Axis powers, Italian government emissaries prepared to sign an
armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
at
Cassibile in Allied-occupied
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, which was finalized on 3 September.
On 8 September, Badoglio announced Italy's armistice with the Allies (although termed an "armistice", its terms made it akin to an
unconditional surrender
An unconditional surrender is a surrender in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. It is often demanded with the threat of complete destruction, extermination or annihilation.
In modern times, unconditional surrenders most ofte ...
). German
Führer
( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader princip ...
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
and his staff, long aware of the negotiations, acted immediately by ordering German troops to seize control of Northern and Central Italy. The Germans quickly
occupied Italy, disarmed the Italian troops and took over all of the Italian Army's materials and equipment, meeting only limited resistance. The Germans also dissolved the
Italian occupation zone in southeastern France and forced Italian troops stationed there to leave. The Italian armed forces were not given clear orders to resist the Germans after the armistice and so resistance to the German takeover was scattered and of little effect. King Victor Emmanuel made no effort to rally resistance to the Germans, instead fleeing with his retinue to the safety of the Allied lines. On 10 September 1943, after two days of battle between the ''
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
'' and the remnants of the
Royal Italian Army, Rome fell to the Germans.
The new Italian government had moved Mussolini from place to place while he was in captivity in an attempt to foil any attempts at rescue. Despite this, the Germans eventually pinpointed Mussolini at the
Hotel Campo Imperatore
The Hotel Campo Imperatore, also known as Albergo di Campo Imperatore, is a hotel on top of Campo Imperatore at altitude on the slopes of , in the massif of Gran Sasso d'Italia, within the municipality of L'Aquila.
It was designed in the 1930 ...
at
Gran Sasso
Gran Sasso d'Italia (; ) is a massif in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. Its highest peak, Corno Grande (2,912 metres), is the highest mountain in the Apennines, and the second-highest mountain in Italy outside the Alps. The mountain lies wi ...
. On 12 September, Mussolini was freed by the Germans in
Operation Eiche
During World War II, the Gran Sasso raid (codenamed ''Unternehmen Eiche'', , literally "Operation Oak", by the German military) on 12 September 1943 was a successful operation by German paratroopers and ''Waffen-SS'' commandos to rescue the dep ...
(directed by
SS-
Obersturmbannführer
__NOTOC__
''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA ('' Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Oberstu ...
Otto Skorzeny
Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including th ...
) in the mountains of
Abruzzo. After being freed, Mussolini was flown to
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. Gathering what support he still had among the Italian population, his liberation made it possible for a new German-dependent Fascist Italian state to be created.
Foreign relations
Establishment by Nazi Germany
Three days following his rescue in the Gran Sasso raid, Mussolini was taken to Germany for a meeting with Hitler in
Rastenburg at
his headquarters in
East Prussia. While Mussolini was in poor health and wanted to retire, Hitler wanted him to return to Italy and start a new Fascist state under the protection of the Wehrmacht. When Mussolini baulked, tired of the responsibilities of the war and unwilling to retake power, Hitler told him the alternative would be a German military administration that would treat Italy no differently from other occupied countries. Hitler also threatened to destroy
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
and
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
unless Mussolini agreed to set up a revived Fascist government. Reluctantly, Mussolini agreed to Hitler's demands.
Mussolini returned to Italy and settled in Milan, from where on 15 September he announced the creation of the
Republican Fascist Party
The Republican Fascist Party ( it, Partito Fascista Repubblicano, PFR) was a political party in Italy led by Benito Mussolini during the German occupation of Central and Northern Italy and was the sole legal and ruling party of the Italian Socia ...
and, three days later, the resumption of the war alongside Germany and Japan. The Duce immediately announced the formation of a new republican cabinet, although they actually came from a list chosen and appointed by Hitler himself. The Italian Social Republic was proclaimed on 23 September, with Mussolini as both chief of state and prime minister.
The RSI claimed Rome as its capital, but the ''de facto'' capital became the small town of
Salò
Salò (; la, Salodium) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy (northern Italy) on the banks of Lake Garda, on which it has the longest promenade. The city was the seat of government of the Italian Socia ...
on Lake Garda, midway between Milan and
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
, where Mussolini resided along with the foreign office of the RSI. While Rome itself was still under Axis control at the time, given the city's proximity to Allied lines and the threat of civil unrest, neither the Germans nor Mussolini himself wanted him to return to Rome.
[De Grand, Alexander J., ''Italian fascism: its origins & development'', 3d edition (illustrated), Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, Year: 2000, , p. 131]
On 18 September, Mussolini made his first public address to the Italian people since his rescue, in which he commended the loyalty of Hitler as an ally while condemning Victor Emmanuel for betraying Italian Fascism.
He declared: "It is not the regime that has betrayed the monarchy, it is the monarchy that has betrayed the regime". He also formally repudiated his previous support of the monarchy, saying: "When a monarchy fails in its duties, it loses every reason for being…The state we want to establish will be national and social in the highest sense of the word; that is, it will be Fascist, thus returning to our origins".
From the start, the Italian Social Republic was little more than a
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sove ...
dependent entirely upon Germany.
Mussolini himself knew this; even as he stated in public that he was in full control of the RSI, he was well aware that he was little more than the ''
Gauleiter
A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...
'' of
Lombardy.
The SS kept Mussolini under what amounted to house arrest; it monitored his communications and controlled his travel, when those who really ruled the state were the German General
Plenipotentiary
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the wor ...
Rudolf Rahn and SS-''
Obergruppenführer
' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...
''
Karl Wolff
Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff (13 May 1900 – 17 July 1984) was a German SS functionary who served as Chief of Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS (Heinrich Himmler) and an SS liaison to Adolf Hitler during World War II. He ended the war as the Supre ...
, the commander of the German occupying forces in Italy.
The RSI had no constitution or organized economy, and its financing was dependent entirely on funding from Berlin. German forces themselves had little respect for Mussolini's failed fascism, and considered the regime merely as a tool for maintaining order, such as repressing the
Italian partisans
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 ...
.
[.] This work was also carried out by the infamous
Pietro Koch
Pietro Koch (18 August 1918 – 4 June 1945) was an Italian soldier and leader of the Banda Koch, a group notorious for its anti-partisan activity in the Republic of Salò.
Biography
The son of an Imperial German Navy officer, Koch was born in B ...
and the Banda Koch on Germany's behalf.
The RSI received diplomatic recognition from only Germany,
Imperial Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
and
their puppet states. Even the otherwise sympathetic
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
refused to establish formal diplomatic relations with the RSI.
The RSI took revenge against the 19 members who had voted against Mussolini on the Grand Council with the
Verona trial (''processo di Verona'') which handed down a death sentence to all of the accused but one. Only six of the 19 were in RSI custody (
Giovanni Marinelli
Giovanni Marinelli (18 October 1879 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian Fascist political leader.
Marinelli was born in Adria, Veneto.
A wealthy man, he contributed to Fascist success by financing the March on Rome. As secretary of the National ...
,
Carlo Pareschi,
Luciano Gottardi
Luciano Gottardi (Ferrara, 18 February 1899 – Verona, 11 January 1944) was an Italian Fascism, Fascist politician and trade unionist.
Biography
The son of a small farmer, he participated in the First World War initially as a private in the tel ...
,
Tullio Cianetti,
Emilio De Bono
Emilio De Bono (19 March 1866 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian general, fascist activist, marshal, and member of the Fascist Grand Council (''Gran Consiglio del Fascismo''). De Bono fought in the Italo-Turkish War, the First World War and t ...
and Mussolini's own son-in-law
Galeazzo Ciano
Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law, Benito Mussolini, from 1936 until 1 ...
). With the exception of Tullio Cianetti, who received a
life sentence
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...
, they were all executed on 11 January 1944 in the fort of San Procolo in
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
.
Territorial losses
The changing political and military situation re-opened questions regarding the status of Italian territories, particularly those with German-speaking majorities that were formerly under Austrian rule. Previously, Hitler had vigorously suppressed any campaigning for the return of lands such as
South Tyrol
it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol
, settlement_type = Autonomous area, Autonomous Provinces of Italy, province
, image_skyline = ...
in order to maintain good relations with his Italian ally. In the aftermath of the Kingdom of Italy's abandonment of the
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
* Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
on 8 September 1943, Germany seized and ''de facto'' incorporated some Italian territories.
However, Hitler refused to officially annex South Tyrol in spite of urging by local German officials and instead supported having the RSI hold official sovereignty over these territories and forbade all measures that would give the impression of official annexation of South Tyrol. However, in practice the territory of South Tyrol within the boundaries defined by Germany as ''
Operationszone Alpenvorland'' that included
Trento
Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ce ...
,
Bolzano
Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...
and
Belluno were ''de facto'' incorporated into Germany's ''
Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg
The Reichsgau Tyrol-Vorarlberg (German: ''Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg'') was an administrative division of Nazi Germany consisting of Vorarlberg and North Tyrol (both in Austria). It existed from 1938 to 1945. It did not include East Tyrol (Lienz), ...
'' and administered by its ''
Gauleiter
A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...
''
Franz Hofer
Franz Hofer (November 27, 1902 – February 18, 1975) was, in the time of the Third Reich, the Nazi Gauleiter of the Tyrol and Vorarlberg. As the Nazi party chief for the Tirol/Vorarlberg province he was the most powerful figure in the regi ...
.
The region identified by Germany as ''
Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland'' that included
Udine
Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...
,
Gorizia
Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gori ...
,
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...
,
Pola Pola or POLA may refer to:
People
* House of Pola, an Italian noble family
* Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress
* Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer
* Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter
* Pola Gojawiczyńsk ...
and
Fiume
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
were ''de facto'' incorporated into ''
Reichsgau Kärnten
The Reichsgau Carinthia (German: ''Reichsgau Kärnten'') was an administrative division of Nazi Germany in Carinthia and East Tyrol (both in Austria) and Upper Carniola in Slovenia. It existed from 1938 to 1945.
It was responsible for the adminis ...
'' and administered by its ''Gauleiter''
Friedrich Rainer
Friedrich W. Rainer (28 July 1903 – November 1950)Miller, Michael & Andreas Schulz, (2017). ''Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925-1945'', Volume II (Georg Joel - Dr. Bernhard Rust). R. James B ...
.
On 10 September 1943, the
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...
(NDH) declared that the
Treaties of Rome
The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was sign ...
of 18 May 1941 with the Kingdom of Italy were
null and void
In law, void means of no legal effect. An action, document, or transaction which is void is of no legal effect whatsoever: an absolute nullity—the law treats it as if it had never existed or happened. The term void ''ab initio'', which means " ...
and annexed the portion of
Dalmatia that had been ceded to Italy as part of those treaties.
[ Jozo Tomašević. ''War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration: 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration''. Stanford University Press, 2001. P. 300.] The NDH attempted to annex
Zara, which had been a recognized territory of Italy since 1919, but Germany prevented the NDH from doing this.
Because of these actions, the RSI held the NDH in contempt and refused to have diplomatic relations with the NDH or to recognize its territorial claims.
After the Italian capitulation, the
Italian Islands of the Aegean
The Italian Islands of the Aegean ( it, Isole italiane dell'Egeo; el, Ἰταλικαὶ Νῆσοι Αἰγαίου Πελάγους) were an archipelago of fourteen islands (the Dodecanese, except Kastellorizo) in the southeastern Aegean Sea, ...
were occupied by the Germans (see
Dodecanese campaign). During the German occupation, the islands remained under the nominal sovereignty of the RSI but were ''de facto'' subject to the German military command.
The
Italian concession of Tientsin
The Italian concession of Tianjin (, it, Concessione italiana di Tientsin) was a small territory (concession (territory), concession) in central Tianjin (formerly romanized as Tientsin), China, controlled by the Kingdom of Italy between 1901 a ...
in China was ceded by the RSI to the Japanese puppet
Wang Jingwei regime
The Wang Jingwei regime or the Wang Ching-wei regime is the common name of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China ( zh , t = 中華民國國民政府 , p = Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guómín Zhèngfǔ ), the government of the pu ...
.
Economy and war effort
During the existence of the Italian Social Republic, Mussolini, whose former government had banned trade unions and strikes, began to make increasingly
populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
appeals to the working class. He claimed to regret many of the decisions made earlier in supporting the interests of big business and promised a new beginning if the Italian people would be willing to grant him a second chance. Mussolini claimed that he had never totally abandoned his left-wing influences, insisting he had attempted to nationalize property in 1939–1940 but had been forced to delay such action for tactical reasons related to the war. With the removal of the monarchy, Mussolini claimed the full ideology of Fascism could be pursued; and to gain popular support he reversed over twenty years of Fascist policy of backing private property and relative economic independence by ordering the nationalization of all companies with over 100 employees.
[.] Mussolini even reached out to ex-communist
Nicola Bombacci
Nicola Bombacci (24 October 1879 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian Marxist revolutionary and later, a fascist politician. He began in the Italian Socialist Party as an opponent of the reformist wing and became a founding member of the Communist Pa ...
to help him in spreading the image that Fascism was a progressive movement.
The economic policy of the RSI was given the name "
Socialization
In sociology, socialization or socialisation (see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and cul ...
" and Mussolini had even considered the idea of calling his new republic the "Italian ‘Socialist’ Republic". In practice, little resulted from the declared socialization of the economy. Unions did not exert real control of their management and took no part in state planning (as they had the power to do on paper after the socialization). The Italian industrial sector was excluded from the new reforms by the Germans and Italian industrialists were opposed to the changes in any case. The Italian labour force (large parts of which had remained leftist despite fascist rule) regarded socialization as a sham and responded with a massive strike on 1 March 1944.
In Greece, while the government of the Kingdom of Italy surrendered and many Italian soldiers in the Aegean were tired of the war and had become opposed to Mussolini, Italian Fascist loyalists remained allied to Germany in the Greek campaign; German forces in Greece convinced 10,000 Italians in the Aegean to continue to support their war effort.
In 1944, Mussolini urged Hitler to focus on destroying Britain rather than the Soviet Union, as Mussolini claimed that it was Britain which had turned the conflict into a world war and that the British Empire must be destroyed in order for peace to come in Europe. Mussolini wanted to conduct a small offensive along the
Gothic Line against the Allies with his new RSI Divisions; in December 1944, the Alpine Division "Monte Rosa" with some German battalions fought the
Battle of Garfagnana with some success. As the situation became desperate with Allied forces in control of most of Italy and from February 1945 resumed
pushing the Axis forces north of the Gothic Line, Mussolini declared that "he would fight to the last Italian" and spoke of turning Milan into the "
Stalingrad of Italy", where Fascism would make its last glorious fight.
[.] Despite such strong rhetoric, Mussolini considered evacuating Fascists into Switzerland, although this was opposed by Germany, which instead proposed that Mussolini and key Fascist officials be taken into exile in Germany.
Further disintegration of support for his government occurred as fascist and German military officials secretly tried to negotiate a
truce
A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
with Allied forces, without consulting either Mussolini or Hitler.
RSI military formations
Women volunteers served in uniform as noncombatants in paramilitary units and police formations (''Servizio Ausiliario Femminile''). The commander was the
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Piera Gatteschi Fondelli
Piera Fondelli Gatteschi (22 August 1902 - 7 September 1985) was the commander of the Female Auxiliary Service of the Italian Social Republic, a member of the National Fascist Party and a participant in the March on Rome.
Early life
Piera Fondell ...
.
Army
Smaller units like the
Black Brigades (''Brigate nere'') led by
Alessandro Pavolini
Alessandro Pavolini (27 September 1903 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician, journalist, and essayist, notable for his involvement in the Fascist government, during World War II, and also for his cruelty against the opponents of fascis ...
and the
Decima Flottiglia MAS
The ''Decima Flottiglia MAS'' (''Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti'', also known as ''La Decima'' or Xª MAS) (Italian for "10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla") was an Italian flotilla, with commando frogman unit, of the ''Regia Marina'' ...
led by
Junio Valerio Borghese
Junio Valerio Scipione Ghezzo Marcantonio Maria Borghese (6 June 1906 – 26 August 1974), nicknamed The Black Prince, was an Italian Navy commander during the regime of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party and a prominent hard-line Fascist ...
(called "''principe nero''", the Black Prince) fought for the RSI during its entire existence. The Germans were satisfied if these units were able to participate in
anti-partisan activities. While varying in their effectiveness, some of these units surpassed expectations.
In March 1944, the bulk of the
1st Italian volunteers Storm Brigade were sent to the Anzio beachhead where they fought alongside their German allies, receiving favourable reports and taking heavy losses. In recognition of their performance,
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
declared the unit to be fully integrated into the Waffen SS.
On 16 October 1943, the
Rastenburg Protocol was signed with Nazi Germany and the RSI was allowed to raise division-sized military formations. This protocol allowed Marshal
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...
to raise four RSI divisions totalling 52,000 men. In July 1944, the first of these divisions completed training and was sent to the front.
Recruiting military forces was difficult for the RSI as most of the Italian Army had been interned by German forces in 1943, many military-aged Italians had been conscripted into forced labour in Germany and few wanted to participate in the war. The RSI became so desperate for soldiers that it granted convicts freedom if they would join the army and the sentence of death was imposed on anyone who opposed being conscripted.
[.] Autonomous military forces in the RSI also fought against the Allies including the notorious
Decima Flottiglia MAS
The ''Decima Flottiglia MAS'' (''Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti'', also known as ''La Decima'' or Xª MAS) (Italian for "10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla") was an Italian flotilla, with commando frogman unit, of the ''Regia Marina'' ...
of Prince
Junio Valerio Borghese
Junio Valerio Scipione Ghezzo Marcantonio Maria Borghese (6 June 1906 – 26 August 1974), nicknamed The Black Prince, was an Italian Navy commander during the regime of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party and a prominent hard-line Fascist ...
. Borghese held no allegiance to Mussolini and even suggested that he would take him prisoner if he could.
During the winter of 1944–1945, armed Italians were on both sides of the
Gothic Line. On the Allied side were four Italian groups of volunteers from the old Italian army. These Italian volunteers were equipped and trained by the British. On the Axis side were four RSI divisions. Three of the RSI divisions, the 2nd Italian "Littorio" Infantry Division, the 3rd Italian "San Marco" Marine Division and the 4th Italian ''Monterosa''
Alpini Division were allocated to the
LXXXXVII "Liguria" Army under Graziani and were placed to guard the western flank of the Gothic Line facing France. The fourth RSI division, the 1st Italian "Italia" Infantry Division, was attached to the German 14th Army in a sector of the Apennine Mountains thought least likely to be attacked.
On 26 December 1944, several sizeable RSI military units, including elements of the 4th Italian "Monterosa Division" Alpine Division and the 3rd Italian "San Marco" Marine Division, participated in
Operation Winter Storm
Operation Winter Storm (german: Unternehmen Wintergewitter), a German offensive in December 1942 during World War II, involved the German 4th Panzer Army failing to break the Soviet encirclement of the German 6th Army during the Battle of St ...
. This was a combined German and Italian offensive against the
92nd Infantry Division. The battle was fought in the Apennines. While limited in scale, this was a successful offensive and the RSI units did their part.
The RSI military was under the command of General
Alfredo Guzzoni while Field Marshal
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...
, the former governor-general of
Italian Libya
Libya ( it, Libia; ar, ليبيا, Lībyā al-Īṭālīya) was a colony of the Fascist Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica ...
, was the RSI's Minister of Defense and commander-in-chief of the German
Army Group Liguria Army Liguria (''Armee Ligurien'', or LXXXXVII Army) was an army formed for the National Republican Army (''Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano'', or ENR). The ENR was the national army of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's Italian Social Republic (''Re ...
. Mussolini, as ''Duce'' and head of state of RSI assumed supreme command over all military forces of the RSI.
In February 1945, the 92nd Infantry Division again came up against RSI units. This time it was
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 ...
of the 1st Italian "Italia" Infantry Division. The Italians successfully halted the United States division's advance.
However, the situation continued to deteriorate for the Axis forces on Gothic Line. By mid-April, the
final Allied offensive in Italy had led German defences to collapse. At the end of that month, the last remaining troops of RSI were bottled up along with two
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
Divisions at
Collecchio
Collecchio ( Parmigiano: ) is a town in the province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is located by road southwest of the centre of Parma. A major food-producing area, it is home to multinational Italian dairy and food corporation Parm ...
by
1st Brazilian Division being forced to surrender after some days of fighting.
On 29 April, Graziani surrendered and was present at Caserta when a representative of German General
Heinrich von Vietinghoff
Heinrich Gottfried Otto Richard von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel (6 December 1887 – 23 February 1952) was a German general (''Generaloberst'') of the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oa ...
-Scheel signed the unconditional instrument of surrender for all Axis forces in Italy, but since the Allies had never recognised the RSI Graziani's signature was not required at Caserta. The surrender was to take effect on 2 May; Graziani ordered the RSI forces under his command to lay down their arms on 1 May.
Air Force
The
National Republican Air Force (''Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana'' or ANR) was the air force of Italian Social Republic and also the air unit of National Republican Army in
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 ...
. Its tactical organization was: 3 Fighter Groups, 1 Air Torpedo Bomber Group, 1 Bomber Group and other Transport and minor units. The ANR worked closely with German Air Force (''
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'') in Northern Italy, even if the Germans unsuccessfully tried to disband the ANR forcing its pilots to enlist in the ''Luftwaffe''.
In 1944, after the withdrawal of all German fighter units in the attempt to stop the increased Allied offensive on the German mainland, ANR fighter groups were left alone and heavily outnumbered to face the massive Allied air offensive over Northern Italy. In the operation time of 1944 and 1945, the ANR managed to shoot down 262 Allied aircraft with the loss of 158 in action.
Navy
Little of the
Regia Marina
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...
(Royal Italian Navy) joined the RSI. This was because the bulk of the Italian navy was ordered to steam to Malta at the time of the armistice, out of reach of the Germans and the RSI. The RSI's
National Republican Navy (''Marina Nazionale Repubblicana'' or MNR) only reached a twentieth the size of the co-belligerent Italian fleet. The RSI Navy largely consisted of nine motor torpedo boats (two large and seven small), dozens of
MTSM small motor torpedo boats and
MTM explosive motorboats. The National Republican Navy also operated fifteen
''CB''-class midget submarines (ten in the Adriatic and five in the Black Sea) and one larger submarine, ''CM1''.
Troops of the
Decima Flottiglia MAS
The ''Decima Flottiglia MAS'' (''Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti'', also known as ''La Decima'' or Xª MAS) (Italian for "10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla") was an Italian flotilla, with commando frogman unit, of the ''Regia Marina'' ...
(elite Italian frogman corps) fought primarily as a land unit of the RSI.
Some of the naval personnel at the
BETASOM
BETASOM (an Italian language acronym of ''Bordeaux Sommergibile'' or ''Sommergibili'') was a submarine base established at Bordeaux, France by the Italian '' Regia Marina Italiana'' during World War II. From this base, Italian submarines participa ...
submarine base in
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
remained loyal to Mussolini.
Paramilitaries
The fall of the Fascist regime in Italy and the disbandment of the
MVSN saw the establishment of the
National Republican Guard (''Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana'' or GNR), the
Republican Police Corps
The Republican Police Corps (Italian: ''Corpo di Polizia Repubblicana'') was a police force of the Italian Social Republic during the Italian Civil War.
History
The Republican Police Corps was established in December 1944 as part of the Itali ...
(''Corpo di Polizia Repubblicana'') and the emergence of the
Black Brigades (''brigate nere''). The GNR consisted of former MVSN, carabinieri, soldiers,
Italian Africa Police
140px, Badge
The Italian African Police (Italian: ''Polizia dell'Africa Italiana'', or PAI), was the police force of Italian North Africa and Italian East Africa from 1 June 1936 to 1 December 1945.
Characteristics
Towards the end of the war i ...
and others still loyal to the Fascist cause, while the Republican Police Corps was the successor agency of the Public security complex formed by the Directorate of Public Security and the Public Security Agents Corps. The Black Brigade was formed by the new fascist party members both young and old. Both units fought alongside
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
''
Schutzstaffel
The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...
'' (SS) counterparts in an extensive anti-partisan war. The Black Brigades committed many atrocities in their fight against the Italian resistance movement and political enemies. On 15 August 1944, the GNR became part of the Army.
Government
![Eagle with fasces](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Eagle_with_fasces.svg)
The Government of the Italian Social Republic held office from 23 September 1943 until 25 April 1945, a total of . Its head was Benito Mussolini.
The Government redacted a Constitution for the Italian Social Republic, but it was never discussed or approved. On 13 October 1943, it was announced that a Constitutent Assembly would be called to write a new Constitution, but that was cancelled by Mussolini on 14 November and delayed until after the end of the war.
The RSI was led by the
Republican Fascist Party
The Republican Fascist Party ( it, Partito Fascista Repubblicano, PFR) was a political party in Italy led by Benito Mussolini during the German occupation of Central and Northern Italy and was the sole legal and ruling party of the Italian Socia ...
, established on 18 September 1943 out of the disbanded
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 ...
. On 14 February 1945 Mussolini authorized the formation of a second political party called National Republican Socialist Rally (later rebranded into Italian Socialist Republican Party) under the leadership of Edmondo Cione: the party supported a leftist view of fascism, strongly focused on the socialization of the economy and included several former socialists, such as Pulvio Zocchi, Carlo Silvestri and Walter Mocchi. It was largely insignificant and its membership is unknown.
Legacy
In post-war Italian politics
While the RSI supported Nazi Germany, it allowed the Italian Fascist movement to build a completely
totalitarian state. During the preceding twenty years of Fascist association with the Savoy monarchy of the Kingdom of Italy, the Fascists had been restricted in some of their actions by the monarchy. The formation of the RSI allowed Mussolini to at last be the official head of an Italian state and it allowed the Fascists to return to their earlier
republican stances. Most prominent figures of post-war Italian
far-right politics
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
(parliamentary or extraparliamentary) were in some way associated with the experience of the RSI. Among them were
Filippo Anfuso,
Pino Romualdi,
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...
,
Junio Valerio Borghese
Junio Valerio Scipione Ghezzo Marcantonio Maria Borghese (6 June 1906 – 26 August 1974), nicknamed The Black Prince, was an Italian Navy commander during the regime of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party and a prominent hard-line Fascist ...
,
Licio Gelli
Licio Gelli (; April 21, 1919 – December 15, 2015) was an Italian financier. A Fascist volunteer in his youth, he is chiefly known for his role in the Banco Ambrosiano scandal. He was revealed in 1981 as being the Venerable Master of the ...
and
Giorgio Almirante. Most of the 8,000 Italian Jews who died under the Holocaust were killed during the 20 months of the Salò regime.
Stamps
A number of postage stamps were issued by the Republic of Salò. Initially, existing Italian issues were
overprint
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a Postage stamp, postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or Ticket (admission), ticket after it has been Printing, printed. Post offices most often use ...
ed with a
fasces, or the initials "G.N.R." for the Republican National Guard. Later the government designed and printed three series, all of which are very common.
Currency
Banknotes in 50, 100, 500, and 1000
lire denomination were printed by the Republic. As issuer, the country was not mentioned on them, but rather only the
Bank of Italy
The Bank of Italy ( Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', informally referred to as ''Bankitalia''), (), is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, via Nazionale, Rome. The bank's cur ...
.
In the arts
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
's 1975 film ''
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
''Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom'' ( it, Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma, billed on-screen ''Pasolini's 120 Days of Sodom'' on English-language prints and commonly referred to as simply ''Salò'' []) is a 1975 horror film, horror art film dir ...
'' is an adaptation of Marquis de Sade's ''The 120 Days of Sodom'', set in the Republic of Salò instead of 18th century France. It uses the source material as an
allegory; the atrocities in the movie did not actually happen, while most of the choices of milieus, clothing, uniforms, weapons and other details are historically correct.
Roberto Benigni
Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...
's 1997 ''
Life is Beautiful
''Life Is Beautiful'' ( it, La vita è bella, ) is a 1997 Italian comedy drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who emplo ...
'' is also set in the Republic of Salò.
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...
's 1976 ''
Novecento'' set his story in
Emilia
Emilia may refer to:
People
* Emilia (given name), list of people with this name
Places
* Emilia (region), a historical region of Italy. Reggio, Emilia
* Emilia-Romagna, an administrative region in Italy, including the historical regions of Emi ...
, being at the time a province of the Italian Social Republic, even though this is never mentioned in the movie. ''
Wild Blood'' tells the true story of the Fascist film stars
Luisa Ferida
Luisa Ferida, real surname Manfrini, (18 March 1914 – 30 April 1945) was an Italian stage and film actress. She was one of divas in Italian cinema during decade 1935-1945 and she was the highest paid movie star of that period. The actress w ...
and
Osvaldo Valenti
Osvaldo Valenti (17 February 1906 – 30 April 1945) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1928 and 1945. He was born in Istanbul, Turkey to a Sicilian carpet trader and a wealthy Lebanese woman of Greek descen ...
and their support for the Republic.
Futurist
Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abo ...
writer and poet
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist, and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye d ...
, a Mussolini loyalist who had helped shape Fascist philosophy, remained in the RSI as a propagandist until his death from a heart attack at
Bellagio Bellagio may refer to:
* Bellagio, Lombardy, an Italian town
* Bellagio (resort), a luxury resort and casino in Las Vegas
* Bellagio (Hong Kong), a private housing building
* Bellagio declaration, an intellectual copyright resolution
* 79271 Bellag ...
in December 1944.
[Ialongo, Ernest – ''Filippo Tommaso Marinetti: The Artist and His Politics''; Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2015; ]
See also
*
29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Italian)
*
Decima Flottiglia MAS
The ''Decima Flottiglia MAS'' (''Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti'', also known as ''La Decima'' or Xª MAS) (Italian for "10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla") was an Italian flotilla, with commando frogman unit, of the ''Regia Marina'' ...
*
Italian Civil War
*
Italian Fascism
*
National Republican Guard (Italy)
The Italian National Republican Guard (''Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana'', or GNR) was a gendarmerie force of the Italian Social Republic created by decree on December 8, 1943, replacing the Carabinieri and the National Security Volunteer Mili ...
*
Republican Police Corps
The Republican Police Corps (Italian: ''Corpo di Polizia Repubblicana'') was a police force of the Italian Social Republic during the Italian Civil War.
History
The Republican Police Corps was established in December 1944 as part of the Itali ...
References
Further reading
* Bosworth, R.J.B. ''Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Fascist Dictatorship, 1915–1945'' (2007)
* Gat, Moshe. "The Soviet Factor in British Policy towards Italy, 1943–1945," ''Historian'' (1988) 50#4 pp 535–557
* Knox, MacGregor. ''Common Destiny: Dictatorship, Foreign Policy, and War in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany'' (2000)
* Maximiano, Cesar. with Bonalume, Ricardo N. & Bujeiro, Ramiro
''Brazilian Expeditionary Force in World War II'' Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2011. (Print version).
* Morgan, Philip. ''The Fall of Mussolini: Italy, the Italians, and the Second World War'' (2007)
* Moseley, Ray. ''Mussolini: The Last 600 Days of Il Duce'' (2004)
* Smith, D. Mack. ''Modern Italy: A Political History'' (1997
online*
External links
Fascist Italy and the Jews: Myth versus Realityan online lecture by Dr. Iael Nidam-Orvieto of
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
Axis History Factbook – ItalyComando Supremo
{{Authority control
1943 establishments in Italy
*
1945 disestablishments in Italy
Axis powers
Client states of Nazi Germany
Italian states
Former republics
Military history of Italy during World War II
States and territories established in 1943
States and territories disestablished in 1945
Totalitarian states
20th century rump states