Odoardo Dino Alfieri (8 June 1886 – 2 January 1966) was an Italian fascist politician and diplomat. He served as

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 Fall of the Fascist re ...

's press and propaganda minister and ambassador to Berlin.

Early life and education

Alfieri was born in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

in 1886 to Antonio and Maria Bedogni. Growing up, he was politically active, joining the Nationalist Association in 1910. He completed his law degree at the University of Genoa in 1915 and shortly thereafter volunteer for military service. Alfieri was quickly promoted to lieutenant earning a bronze medal in 1916 and silver medal for military valor in 1917. He was discharged in July 1919. In 1911 he finished law studies and soon after joined the nationalist group formed by

Enrico Corradini Enrico Corradini (20 July 1865 – 10 December 1931) was an Italian novelist, essayist, journalist and nationalist political figure. Biography Corradini was born near Montelupo Fiorentino, Tuscany. A follower of Gabriele D'Annunzio, he founded ...

. A volunteer in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he was critical of the merger between Corradini's group and Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF). Nonetheless, he was elected to the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( it, Camera dei deputati) is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Senate of the Republic). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical func ...

on the PNF list in 1924.

Political career

Under Mussolini's government, Alfieri was assigned several tasks: between 1929 and 1934, he was co-director of the Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution, deputy secretary of the '' Corporazioni'', and deputy secretary for Press and Propaganda from 1935, assuming the duties of Minister Galeazzo Ciano during the latter's mission in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. When Ciano moved on to become

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

, Dino Alfieri found himself appointed Minister of People's Culture in 1937, and declared himself to the Antisemitical

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Intern ...

laws passed in 1938. He was Italy's envoy to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

starting 7 November 1939, and five months later to

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 ...

(where he often met

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

). While there, he was constantly helping out Italian workers and consulate staff. As the war progressed and Italy needed help, he attempted to solicit material aid from Germany but despite assurances little came of it. When the war began to deteriorate for the Axis, he wrote communiques and expressed verbally to Mussolini that the Germans simply saw Italy as a buffer state from the encroaching allies and urged the Duce to seek peace with the allies while simultaneously assuring the Germans that Italy was not betraying them. In July 1943 Alfieri was called to Rome by members of the Grand Council in order to participate in a meeting. It is unclear as to whether he truly realized what was being proposed at the meeting. A member of the Grand Council of Fascism, Alfieri voted in favor of

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 ...

's coup d'état in July 1943, that led to Mussolini's arrest and fall from power of the Italian Fascist government. When the German

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 ...

occupied Italy (see Operation Achse), Alfieri fled 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 ...

. In January 1944, he was sentenced to death '' in absentia'' by a kangaroo court during the Verona trial. The Swiss government did not give him political asylum, but tolerated his attendance in Switzerland. On 12 November 1946, an Italian court stated his innocence; on 6 February 1947, an inquiry of the

Italian Foreign Ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation ( it, Ministero degli affari esteri e della cooperazione internazionale or ''MAECI'') is the foreign ministry of the government of the Italian Republic. It is also known as the Farnesin ...

ended. Then, he was officially pensioned off.

Post-World War II

In 1947, Alfieri returned to Italy and a year later published his memoirs as ''Due dittatori di fronte'' (" woDictators Face to Face"). The book reveals little about Italian and German relations during the war beyond personal recollections.

Death

Alfieri died in a Milan hospital on 2 January 1966. Details about his death were withheld for three days. At the time of his death, Alfieri was president of Mitam, a textile and clothing manufacturers association.

Bibliography

*Christian Zentner, Friedemann Bedürftig (1991). '' The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich''. Macmillan, New York. *Dino Alfieri, (1967) Dos Dictadores Frente a Frente. Barcelona: Plaza & Janes.

References

External links

Lettere Inedite Di Vittorio Alfieri Alla Madre, a Mario Bianchi, E a Teresa Mocenni
(online at Archive.org) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alfieri, Dino 1886 births 1966 deaths Diplomats from Bologna Members of the Grand Council of Fascism Monarchist National Party politicians Culture ministers of Italy Mussolini Cabinet Deputies of Legislature XXVII of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXVIII of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXIX of the Kingdom of Italy Members of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations Ambassadors of Italy to Germany Italian memoirists University of Genoa alumni Italian military personnel of World War I Italian people of World War II Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor People sentenced to death in absentia 20th-century memoirists Politicians from Bologna