Simon Petru Cristofini (1903–1943), also known as Pietro Simone Cristofini (french: Pierre Simon Cristofini), was a Corsican soldier who commanded the Phalange Africaine 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 ...

and was executed for treason by the French authorities because of his support to Italian irredentism in Corsica during the

Italian occupation of Corsica Italian-occupied Corsica refers to the military (and administrative) occupation by the Kingdom of Italy of the island of Corsica during the Second World War, from November 1942 to September 1943. After an initial period of increased control over th ...

Biography

Early life

Cristofini was born in Calenzana,

Haute-Corse Haute-Corse (; co, Corsica suprana , or ; en, Upper Corsica) is (as of 2022) an administrative department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged w ...

on 26 May 1903.

World War II

In 1939 became a Captain of the

3rd Algerian Tirailleurs Regiment Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

. He was initially a supporter of Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...

. Allied forces landed in French Morocco and

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

in November 1942. Immediately, German and Italian reinforcements landed in French Tunisia and on 14 November the idea of an '' African Phalange'' was mooted in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

with the support of the Third Reich Ambassador

Otto Abetz Heinrich Otto Abetz (26 March 1903 – 5 May 1958) was the German ambassador to Vichy France during the Second World War and a convicted war criminal. In July 1949 he was sentenced to twenty years' hard labour by a Paris military tribunal, he was ...

. In December, German authorities approved the plan and 330 volunteers were recruited under the command of Cristofini. The troops trained at the Bordj-Ceda camp and a 210 man company, called ''Franzosische Freiwilligen Legion'', was eventually incorporated into the 2nd Battalion, 754th Panzer Grenadier Regiment, part of the 5th Panzerarmee. In Tunisia Cristofini was wounded in one eye.Cristofini was wounded by mistake with an antitank granade (in French)
Before returning to Corsica he met Benito Mussolini in Rome. Colonel Cristofini was a supporter of the union of Corsica with Italy and defended irredentist ideals. He actively collaborated with Italian forces in Corsica during the first months of 1943 and worked with

Petru Giovacchini Petru Giovacchini (french: Pierre Giovacchini, it, Pietro Giovacchini; 1 February 1910 – 29 September 1955) was a Corsican activist, born in Canale-di-Verde to an old family of the Corsican nobility with deep-rooted pro-Italian feelings. Gio ...

, the possible governor of Corsica if 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 ...

had won the war). Cristofini, as head of the Vichy troops in Ajaccio helped the Italian Army to repress Resistance opposition in Corsica before the Italian Armistice in September 1943. He was put on trial for treason after the Allies retook Corsica, and sentenced to death. He tried to kill himself, and was executed while suffering from his wounds in November 1943.

After World War II

His wife, Marta Renucci, was sentenced to 15 years of jail in Algiers in 1946 for supporting irredentism and for collaborating with Italian fascism, but served only a reduced sentence.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cristofini, Simon Petru 1903 births 1943 deaths People from Haute-Corse French Army officers French Army personnel of World War II Italian irredentism Executed French collaborators with Nazi Germany People executed by the Provisional Government of the French Republic Corsican collaborators with Nazi Germany

Biography

Early life

World War II

After World War II

See also

Notes