The Republican Police Corps ( Italian: ''Corpo di Polizia Repubblicana'') was a police force 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 ...

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 ...

History

The Republican Police Corps was established in December 1944 as part of the Italian Armed Forces, within the territory controlled by the Italian Social Republic. The force was established in order to carry out law enforcement and public security duties alongside the National Republican Guard. The new Corps, under Lieutenant-General Renato Ricci, included the Fascist Blackshirts, the

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 ...

members serving in Rome and the Carabinieri. The Corps would be the entity that would work against anti-Fascist groups and would be autonomous (not reporting to

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 during ...

) according to an order issued by Mussolini on 19 November 1944. The Police Corps inherited civilian officials both from the Directorate General of Public Security and from the former Public Security Agents Corps. The organization of the police force in the Fascist-led Republic anticipated that of the

Italian State Police The ''Polizia di Stato'' ( State Police or P.S.) is one of the national police forces of Italy. Alongside the Carabinieri, it is the main police force for providing police duties, primarily to cities and large towns, and with its child agencie ...

established in 1981. The Republican Police Corps was a single government agency, which set it apart from the previous organization (which was upheld in post-war Italy). Previously, the police consisted of civilian police officials and military-organized agents. At the end of the war, the Republican Police Corps was reabsorbed into the Directorate General of Public Security. The police activities were not carried uniformly: there were

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 **Ger ...

(particularly Waffen-SS) interferences and power abuses made by political authorities.

Organization

The Republican Police Corps numbered about 20 000, deployed mostly in provincial capital cities; they were framed into 10 Regional Inspectorates and 66 Questure (provincial-level commands), 2 Speciality schools in Padua, escort teams detached at the Ministries, including the "Public Security Presidential Squad" ( Italian: ''Squadra Presidenziale di Pubblica Sicurezza'') tasked with

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

's personal security. There were also operational mobile units, in order to carry out counter-guerrilla warfare and territorial control duties. The counter-guerrilla units, belonging to police forces, were: * 6 military-organized battalions; * Mobile Autonomous Legion "

Ettore Muti Ettore Muti (2 May 1902 – 24 August 1943) was an Italian aviator and Fascist politician. He was party secretary of the National Fascist Party (''Partito Nazionale Fascista'', or PNF) from October 1939 until shortly after the entry of Italy i ...

", led by

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Franco Colombo; * Special Inspectorate Anti-Partisan Police; * Police Arditi Legion "Caruso". Each Questura had a company-sized public order duty; also the Regional Inspectorates had analogous units. Alongside the regular police forces, did exist some "special police units", including ill-famed " Banda Koch" (formally known as "''Reparto Speciale di Polizia Repubblicana''" or "Republican Police Special Unit") active in

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 ...

, " Banda Carità" (also known as "''Reparto Servizi Speciali''" or "Special Services Unit") active in

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

and

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, and other so-called "Repression bands". Most of these band members were heavy sentenced or extra-judicially killed in the immediate aftermaths 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 opposin ...

Chiefs of the Republican Police Corps

Tullio Tamburini Tullio Tamburini (22 April 1892 – 1957) was an Italian soldier, adventurer and fascist official. Life Born in Prato, Tamburini had been a schoolteacher in Florence but was sacked from his job. He then made his way as a petty criminal before s ...

, from October, 1st 1943 to April 1944; * Eugenio Cerruti, from April 1944 to October 1944; * Renzo Montagna, from October, 6th 1944 to April, 25th 1945.

References

{{Authority control Defunct law enforcement agencies of Italy Italy in World War II Government agencies established in 1943 Political repression Italian Social Republic

History

Organization

Chiefs of the Republican Police Corps

See also

References