The Republican Fascist Party ( it, Partito Fascista Repubblicano, PFR) was a

political party in Italy This article contains a list of political parties in Italy since Italian unification in 1861. Throughout history, numerous political parties have been operating in Italy, and since World War II no party has ever gained enough support to govern ...

led by Benito Mussolini during the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

occupation of Central and Northern Italy and was the sole legal and ruling party of the Italian Social Republic. It was founded as the successor to 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 ...

while incorporating

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, as they considered

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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 ...

to be a traitor after his signing of the

surrender Surrender may refer to: * Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy * Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power Film and television * ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...

to the

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History

After the Nazi-engineered

Gran Sasso raid 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 ...

liberated Mussolini, the

(PNF) was revived on 13 September 1943 as the Republican Fascist Party (PFR) and as the

single party A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

of the Northern and Nazi-protected Italian Social Republic, informally known as the

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 ...

Republic. Its secretary was

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 ...

. Due to the strong control of the Germans, the power of the party in the context of the Republic of Salò was always very limited. In order to obviate this inherent weakness, the party tried to obtain the support of the few strata of the population who still sympathized with fascism. In the provinces under the control of the Germans it was organized into three entities called Administrative, Assistance and Political.Dianella Gagliani, Il Partito nel Fascismo Repubblicano Delle Origini: Una Prima Messa a Punto, in Rivista di Storia Contemporanea, vol. 23, n. 1/2, 1º gennaio 1994, pp. 130-169. The Assistance, also called the National Fascist Assistance Body, was formed in early October 1943. In the minds of the party leaders, the Assistance was to be a continuation of the powerful cadres of militants and volunteers of the former National Fascist Party. The PFR did not outlast Mussolini's execution and the disappearance of the Salò state in April 1945. However, it inspired the creation of the Italian Social Movement (MSI) and the MSI has been seen as the successor to the PFR and the PNF. The MSI was formed by former Fascist leaders and veterans of the

National Republican Army The National Republican Army (Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano, or ENR) was the army of the Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, or RSI) from 1943 to 1945 that fought on the side of Nazi Germany during World War II. The EN ...

of the Salò republic.Ignazi, 1998, p. 157. The party tried to modernise and revise fascist doctrine into a more moderate and sophisticated direction. led the PFR organization in

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until April 1944, when he was named Deputy Secretary of the national party organization.

Ideology

PFR sought to reconnect the new party with the pre-1922 early radical fascism. This move attracted parts of the fascist 'Old Guard', who had been sidelined after Mussolini had come to power in 1922. The new party was, however, internally divided with different internal tendencies vying for Mussolini's support. And whilst the PFR revived some of the early revolutionary fascist discourse, it did not return to the

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

positions of the early fascist movement.

Secretary of the PFR

(15 November 1943 – 28 April 1945)

National Congress

* 1st National Congress –

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, 14–15 November 1943

References

{{Historical Italian political parties 1943 establishments in Italy 1945 disestablishments in Italy Anti-communist parties Antisemitism in Italy Banned far-right parties Defunct nationalist parties in Italy Defunct political parties in Italy Fascist parties Italian Social Republic National syndicalism Parties of one-party systems Political parties established in 1943 Political parties disestablished in 1945