Paolo Zerbino (21 June 1905 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

politician, prefect of Split and Turin during World War II and Minister of the Interior of the

Italian Social Republic 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 ...

Biography

The son of Sebastiano Zerbino and Emilia Traverso, he joined the

movement at a very young age, while studying law at the University of Pisa. After completing his studies, he moved to

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

, where he was manager in several companies. He held the posts of federal secretary of the

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. The ...

in Vercelli from November 28, 1935 to February 27, 1940, and in

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

from February 28, 1940 to June 14, 1941. After the promulgation of the Italian racial laws in 1938, he led the persecution of Jews in the province of Vercelli. In June 1941, after the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia and the establishment of the Governatorate of Dalmatia, he was appointed prefect of the new province of Spalato, a post he held for over two years. In a report issued in December 1941, he stated that Italian occupation policies had exacerbated the hatred of the Croat population towards Italy and Fascism, and suggested the expulsion of the entire population as the only solution. In September 1943, after 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 ...

and the establishment of the

, he joined the Republican Fascist Party (PFR), becoming special commissioner of the PFR at the Federation of Rome. On 30 September 1943 he was appointed head of the

Province of Turin The former Province of Turin ( it, Provincia di Torino; pms, Provinsa ëd Turin; french: Province de Turin) was a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Turin. The province existed until 31 December 2014, when it wa ...

, officially taking office on 21 October 1943. On 7 May 1944 he was appointed Undersecretary of the Interior of the Italian Social Republic, and on 21 September 1944 he was also appointed extraordinary commissioner for Piedmont; in this capacity, he led the crackdown on the Italian Resistance in Piedmont and especially the repression of the partisan republic of Alba in November 1944. He left the post of undersecretary on February 21, 1945, when he assumed the post of Minister of the Interior in place of Guido Buffarini Guidi. In late April 1945 he was captured by the partisans while trying to flee to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

along with other members of the government of the Italian Social Republic, and was shot in Dongo, Lombardy on April 28, 1945.http://www.museopartigiano.it/upload/documenti/Z/Z-6.PDF

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zerbino, Paolo 1905 births 1945 deaths People of the Italian Social Republic Executed Italian fascists Executed politicians People executed by Italy by firing squad Italian civilians killed in World War II