Italian Civil War

Terminology

The term "Italian Civil War" was first used in 1965 by fascist politician and historian Giorgio Pisanò. Its broader acceptance followed Claudio Pavone's 1991 book "Una guerra civile. Saggio storico sulla moralità della Resistenza". While other European countries had partisan movements and collaborationist governments, the armed confrontation between compatriots in Italy was among the most intense, making the Italian case unique.

Factions

The first partisan groups formed in Boves, Piedmont, and Bosco Martese, Abruzzo. Other groups, composed mainly of Slavs and communists, appeared in the Julian March. Some groups grew around Allied prisoners of war released or escaped after 8 September. These early units soon dissolved due to rapid German reaction; on 19 September 1943, the Nazis committed their first massacre on Italian territory in Boves.

On 8 September, representatives of several anti-fascist organizations converged on Rome, forming the first Committee of National Liberation (CLN) with Ivanoe Bonomi as president. The CLN issued a press release on 16 October rejecting reconciliation calls and urging the Italian people to fight German invaders and fascist lackeys. In late November, the Communists established task forces called Distaccamenti d'assalto Garibaldi, later becoming brigades and divisions under Luigi Longo, with political direction from Pietro Secchia and Giancarlo Pajetta.

The first operational order, dated 25 November, instructed partisans to attack and annihilate officers, soldiers, and material deposits of Hitler's armed forces. Confrontations between factions resulted in torture and death of many civilians. Partisans received small arms, ammunition, and explosives from Western Allies, and cooperated on military missions, including parachuting or landing personnel behind enemy lines, often involving Italian-American OSS members.

Background

The Italian Resistance has roots in anti-fascism that developed from the mid-1920s, with weak opposition to the fascist regime existing until World War II. In the memory of partisan fighters, especially those of communist and socialist inspiration, the memory of the Biennio Rosso and violent struggles against fascist squads from 1919–1922 was considered by some left-wing exponents, including Palmiro Togliatti, a true civil war in defense of popular classes against reactionary forces.

Mussolini's secret police was officially the Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism. During the 1920s, anti-fascists from the labor movement fought against the Blackshirts and Mussolini's rise. After the Italian Socialist Party signed a pacification pact with Mussolini on 3 August 1921, members who disagreed formed the Arditi del Popolo. The Italian General Confederation of Labour and the PSI refused to recognize this militia, maintaining a non-violent strategy, while the Communist Party of Italy ordered its members to quit.

The anarchist Severino Di Giovanni organized bombings against the Italian fascist community in Argentina. Liberal anti-fascist Benedetto Croce published his Manifesto of the Anti-Fascist Intellectuals in 1925. After the murder of socialist deputy Giacomo Matteotti in 1924, the totalitarianization of the state began, leading to greater control and severe persecution of opponents.