Editing History of Italy (section)

==Fascist regime and World War II (1922–1945)==
{{Main|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)}}

===Rise of Fascism into power===
{{Main|Italian Fascism}}
[[File:Mussolini mezzobusto.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Benito Mussolini]], who titled himself [[Duce]] and [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|ruled the country from 1922 to 1943]]]]

[[Benito Mussolini]] created the ''[[Fasci di Combattimento]]'' or Combat League in 1919. It was originally dominated by patriotic socialist and [[syndicalist]] veterans who opposed the pacifist policies of the Italian Socialist Party. This early Fascist movement had a platform more inclined to the left, promising social revolution, proportional representation in elections, women's suffrage (partly realized in 1925) and dividing rural private property held by estates.<ref>Passmore ''Women, Gender and Fascism'', pp.&nbsp;11–16.</ref>{{Sfnp|Mack Smith|1997|pp=284–286}} They also differed from later Fascism by opposing [[censorship]], [[militarism]] and [[dictatorship]].{{Sfnp|Mack Smith|1997|p=284}}

At the same time, the so-called ''[[Biennio Rosso]]'' (red biennium) took place in the two years following the war in a context of economic crisis, high unemployment and political instability. The 1919–20 period was characterized by mass strikes, worker manifestations as well as self-management experiments through land and factory occupations. In [[Turin]] and [[Milan]], [[workers councils]] were formed and many [[factory occupations]] took place under the leadership of [[anarcho-syndicalist]]s. The agitations also extended to the agricultural areas of the [[Padan plain]] and were accompanied by peasant strikes, rural unrests and guerilla conflicts between left-wing and right-wing militias. Thenceforth, the Fasci di Combattimento (forerunner of the [[National Fascist Party]], 1921) successfully exploited the claims of Italian nationalists and the quest for order and normalization of the middle class. In October 1922, Mussolini took advantage of a general strike to announce his demands to the Italian government to give the Fascist Party political power or face a coup. With no immediate response, a group of 30,000 Fascists began a long trek across Italy to Rome (the [[March on Rome]]), claiming that Fascists were intending to restore law and order. The Fascists demanded Prime Minister [[Luigi Facta]]'s resignation and that Mussolini be named to the post. Although the Italian Army was far better armed than the Fascist militias, the liberal system and King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]] were facing a deeper political crisis. The King was forced to choose which of the two rival movements in Italy would form the government: Mussolini's Fascists, or the marxist [[Italian Socialist Party]]. He selected the Fascists.

Mussolini formed a coalition with nationalists and liberals, and in 1923 passed the electoral [[Acerbo Law]], which assigned two thirds of the seats to the party that achieved at least 25% of the vote. The Fascist Party used violence and intimidation to achieve the threshold in the [[Italian general election, 1924|1924 election]], thus obtaining control of Parliament. Socialist deputy [[Giacomo Matteotti]] was assassinated after calling for a nullification of the vote. The parliament opposition responded to Matteotti's assassination with the [[Aventine Secession (20th century)|Aventine Secession]].

Over the next four years, Mussolini eliminated nearly all checks and balances on his power. On 24 December 1925, he passed a law that declared he was responsible to the king alone, making him the sole person able to determine Parliament's agenda. Local governments were dissolved, and appointed officials (called "Podestà") replaced elected mayors and councils. In 1928, all political parties were banned, and parliamentary elections were replaced by plebiscites in which the Grand Council of Fascism nominated a single list of 400 candidates. [[Christopher Duggan]] argues that his regime exploited Mussolini's popular appeal and forged a cult of personality that served as the model that was emulated by dictators of other fascist regimes of the 1930s.<ref>Christopher Duggan, ''Fascist Voices: An Intimate History of Mussolini's Italy'' (2012) [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fascist-Voices-Intimate-History-Mussolinis/dp/1847921035/ excerpt]</ref>

In summary, historian [[Stanley G. Payne]] says that Fascism in Italy was:
:A primarily political dictatorship. The Fascist Party itself had become almost completely bureaucratized and subservient to, not dominant over, the state itself. Big business, industry, and finance retained extensive autonomy, particularly in the early years. The armed forces also enjoyed considerable autonomy. ... The Fascist militia was placed under military control. The judicial system was left largely intact and relatively autonomous as well. The police continued to be directed by state officials and were not taken over by party leaders, nor was a major new police elite created. There was never any question of bringing the Church under overall subservience. Sizable sectors of Italian cultural life retained extensive autonomy, and no major state propaganda-and-culture ministry existed. The Mussolini regime was neither especially sanguinary nor particularly repressive.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Payne |first=Stanley G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x_MeR06xqXAC&pg=PA122 |title=A History of Fascism, 1914–1945 |date=1996 |publisher=U of Wisconsin Press |isbn=978-0-2991-4873-7 |page=122}}</ref>

===End of the Roman question===
[[File:Group of Vatican and Italian government notables posing at the Lateran Palace before the signing of the treaty.jpg|thumb|Vatican and Italian delegations prior to signing the [[Lateran Treaty]]]]

During the [[Italian unification|unification of Italy]] in the mid-19th century, the [[Papal States]] resisted incorporation into the new nation. The nascent Kingdom of Italy invaded and occupied [[Romagna]] (the eastern portion of the Papal States) in 1860, leaving only [[Lazio|Latium]] in the pope's domains. Latium, including Rome itself, was [[Capture of Rome|occupied]] and annexed in 1870. For the following sixty years, relations between the Papacy and the Italian government were hostile, and the status of the pope became known as the "[[Roman Question]]".

The [[Lateran Treaty]] was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy]] and the [[Holy See]] under [[Pope Pius XI]] to settle the question. The treaty and associated pacts were signed on 11 February 1929.<ref name="SignDate">{{Cite web |date=11 February 2020 |title=Vatican City turns 91 |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-02/vatican-city-lateran-treaty-holy-see-pope.html |access-date=2 September 2021 |website=Vatican News |quote=The world’s smallest sovereign state was born on 11 February 1929, with the signing of the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy}}</ref> The treaty recognized [[Vatican City]] as an [[independent state]] under the sovereignty of the Holy See. The Italian government also agreed to give the Roman [[Catholic Church]] financial compensation for the loss of the [[Papal States]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/sourcesofwestern0000unse |title=A History of Western Society |date=2010 |publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's |edition=Tenth |page=900 |url-access=registration}}</ref> In 1948, the Lateran Treaty was recognized in the [[Constitution of Italy]] as regulating the relations between the state and the Catholic Church.<ref name="constitution7">[[s:Constitution of Italy|Constitution of Italy, article 7]].</ref> The treaty was significantly revised in 1984, ending the status of Catholicism as the sole state religion.

===Foreign politics===
{{Further|Italian Empire|Italian irredentism}}
Lee identifies three major themes in Mussolini's foreign policy. The first was a continuation of the foreign-policy objectives of the preceding Liberal regime. Liberal Italy had allied itself with Germany and Austria, and had great ambitions in the Balkans and North Africa. Ever since it had been badly defeated in Ethiopia in 1896, there was a strong demand for seizing that country. Second was a profound disillusionment after the heavy losses of the First World War; the small territorial gains from Austria were not enough to compensate. Third was Mussolini's promise to restore the pride and glory of the [[Roman Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Stephen J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-mm5UDlzBEC&pg=PA157 |title=European Dictatorships, 1918–1945 |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-4154-5484-1 |pages=157–58}}</ref>

Italian Fascism is based upon [[Italian nationalism]] and in particular, seeks to complete what it considers as the incomplete project of ''[[Risorgimento]]'' by incorporating ''[[Italian irredentism|Italia Irredenta]]'' (unredeemed Italy) into the state of Italy.<ref name="autogenerated1922">{{Cite book |first=Aristotle A. |last=Kallis |title=Fascist ideology: territory and expansionism in Italy and Germany, 1922–1945 |location=London, New York City |publisher=Routledge |date=2000 |p=41}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated3">{{Cite book |first=Terence |last=Ball |first2=Richard |last2=Bellamy |title=The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought |p=133}}</ref> To the east of Italy, the Fascists claimed that [[Italian irredentism in Dalmatia|Dalmatia]] was a land of Italian culture.<ref>Jozo Tomasevich. War and Revolution in Yugoslavia 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford, California, US: Stanford University Press, 2001. P. 131.</ref> To the south, the Fascists claimed [[Italian irredentism in Malta|Malta]], which belonged to the United Kingdom, and [[Corfiot Italians#Corfiot Italians and the Risorgimento|Corfu]], which belonged to Greece, to the north claimed [[Italian irredentism in Switzerland|Italian Switzerland]], while to the west claimed [[Italian irredentism in Corsica|Corsica]], [[Italian irredentism in Nice|Nice]] and [[Italian irredentism in Savoy|Savoy]], which belonged to France.<ref>Aristotle A. Kallis. ''Fascist Ideology: Expansionism in Italy and Germany 1922–1945''. London, England; UK; New York, New York, US: Routledge, 2000. P. 118.</ref><ref>''Mussolini Unleashed, 1939–1941: Politics and Strategy in Fascist Italy's Last War''. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1986, 1999. P. 38.</ref>
[[File:Italy aims Europe 1936.png|thumb|Ambitions of fascist Italy in Europe in 1936.<br/>Legend:{{Legend|#073A09|Metropolitan Italy and dependent territories:}}{{Legend|#0F7612|[[Client state]]s;}}{{Legend|#083A39|Claimed territories to be annexed;}}{{Legend|#107776|Territories to be transformed into client states.}} [[Albania]], which was a client state, was considered a territory to be annexed.]]

Mussolini promised to bring Italy back as a [[great power]] in Europe, building a "New Roman Empire" and holding power over the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. In [[Propaganda in Fascist Italy|propaganda]], Fascists used the ancient Roman motto "''[[Mare Nostrum]]''" ([[Latin]] for "Our Sea") to describe the Mediterranean. For this reason the Fascist regime engaged in [[interventionism (politics)|interventionist foreign policy]] in Europe. In 1923, the Greek island of [[Corfiot Italians#Corfiot Italians and the Risorgimento|Corfu]] was briefly occupied by Italy, after the assassination of [[Enrico Tellini|General Tellini]] in Greek territory. In 1925, [[Albanian Republic (1925–1928)|Albania]] came under heavy Italian influence as a result of the [[First and Second Treaties of Tirana|Tirana Treaties]], which also gave Italy a stronger position in the Balkans.<ref>{{Cite book |editor-first=Marija |editor-last=Wakounig |editor-first2=Karlo |editor-last2=Ruzicic-Kessler |title=From the Industrial Revolution to World War II in East Central Europe |date=2011 |publisher=[[LIT Verlag]] |isbn=978-3-6439-0129-3 |pages=193}}</ref> Relations with France were mixed. The Fascist regime planned to regain Italian-populated areas of France.<ref name="Smith_3">Smith. 1983. p172</ref> With the rise of Nazism, it became more concerned about the potential threat of Germany to Italy. Due to concerns about German expansionism, Italy joined the [[Stresa Front]] with France and the United Kingdom, which existed from 1935 to 1936. The Fascist regime held negative relations with Yugoslavia, as it continued to claim Dalmatia.

During the [[Spanish Civil War]] between the socialist [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republicans]] and [[Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War)|Nationalists]] led by [[Francisco Franco]], Italy sent arms and over 60,000 troops to aid the Nationalist faction. This secured Italy's naval access to Spanish ports and increased Italian influence in the Mediterranean. During the 1930s, Italy strongly pursued a policy of naval rearmament; by 1940, the {{Lang|it|[[Regia Marina]]}} was the fourth-largest navy in the world.

Mussolini and [[Adolf Hitler]] first met in June 1934, when Mussolini opposed German plans to annex Austria to ensure that Nazi Germany would not become hegemonic in Europe. Public appearances and propaganda constantly portrayed the closeness of Mussolini and Hitler and the similarities between Italian Fascism and German [[Nazism|National Socialism]]. While both ideologies had significant similarities, the two factions were suspicious of each other, and both leaders were in competition for world influence.

[[File:Hitler and Mussolini June 1940.jpg|thumb|Mussolini and Hitler in June 1940]]
In 1935 Mussolini decided to invade [[Ethiopian Empire|Ethiopia]]; 2,313 Italians and 275,000 Ethiopians died.<ref>Clodfelter 2017: 355</ref> The [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]] resulted in the international isolation of Italy; the only nation to back Italy's aggression was Germany. After being condemned by the [[League of Nations]], Italy decided to leave the League on 11 December 1937.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gilbert |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Gilbert |chapter=Introduction |date=1939 |title=The Illustrated London News: Marching to War, 1933–1939 |location=Toronto, Canada |publisher=Doubleday Canada |pp=137}}</ref> Mussolini had little choice but to join Hitler in international politics, thus he reluctantly abandoned support of Austrian independence. Mussolini later supported German claims on [[Sudetenland]] at the [[Munich Conference]]. In 1938, under the influence of Hitler, Mussolini supported the adoption of anti-semitic [[Manifesto of Race|racial laws]] in Italy. After Germany annexed [[Czechoslovakia]] in March 1939, [[Italian invasion of Albania|Italy invaded Albania]] and made it an [[Italian protectorate of Albania (1939–1943)|Italian protectorate]].

As war approached in 1939, the Fascist regime stepped up an aggressive press campaign against France claiming that its Italian residents were suffering.{{Sfnp|Mack Smith|1997|page=397}} This was important to the alliance as both regimes mutually had claims on France: Germany on German-populated [[Alsace-Lorraine]] and Italy on the mixed Italian and French populated [[Nice]] and [[Corsica]]. In May 1939, a formal alliance with Germany was signed, known as the [[Pact of Steel]]. Mussolini felt obliged to sign the pact in spite of his own concerns that Italy could not fight a war in the near future. This obligation grew from his promises to Italians that he would build an empire for them and from his personal desire to not allow Hitler to become the dominant leader in Europe.{{Sfnp|Mack Smith|1997|page=401}} Mussolini was repulsed by the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] agreement where Germany and the [[Soviet Union]] agreed to partition the [[Second Polish Republic]] into German and Soviet zones for an impending invasion. The Fascist government saw this as a betrayal of the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]], but decided to remain officially silent.{{Sfnp|Mack Smith|1997|page=401}}

===World War II and fall of Fascism===
{{Main|Military history of Italy during World War II|Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy}}
[[File:Italian Colonial Empire (orthographic projection).svg|thumb|left|upright|Areas controlled by the [[Italian Empire]] during its existence{{Legend|#4a9447|Kingdom of Italy}}{{Legend|#CBFE75|Colonies of Italy}}
{{Legend|#666666|Protectorates and areas occupied during World War II}}]]

When Germany [[Invasion of Poland|invaded Poland]] on 1 September 1939 beginning [[World War II]], Mussolini chose to stay [[non-belligerent]], although he declared his support for Hitler. In drawing out war plans, Mussolini and the Fascist regime decided that Italy would aim to annex large portions of Africa and the Middle East. Hesitance remained from the King and military commander [[Pietro Badoglio]] who warned Mussolini that Italy had too few [[tank]]s, [[armored car (military)|armoured vehicles]], and aircraft available to be able to carry out a long-term war.{{Sfnp|Mack Smith|1997|page=405}} Mussolini and the Fascist regime thus waited as France was invaded by Germany in June 1940 ([[Battle of France]]) before deciding to get involved.

Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940, fulfilling its obligations towards the Pact of Steel. Mussolini hoped to quickly capture [[Savoy]], Nice, Corsica, and the African colonies of Tunisia and Algeria from the French, but Germany signed an armistice (22 June: [[Second Armistice at Compiègne]]) with Marshal [[Philippe Pétain]] establishing [[Vichy France]], that retained control over southern France and colonies. This decision angered the Fascist regime.{{Sfnp|Mack Smith|1997|page=406}} In summer 1940, Mussolini ordered the [[Italian bombing of Mandatory Palestine in World War II|bombing of Mandatory Palestine]] and the [[Italian conquest of British Somaliland|conquest of British Somaliland]]. In September, he ordered the [[Italian invasion of Egypt|invasion of Egypt]]; despite initial success, Italian forces were soon driven back by the British (see [[Operation Compass]]). Hitler had to intervene with the sending of the [[Afrika Korps]] that was the mainstay in the [[North African campaign]].
[[File:El Alamein Italian prisoners 1942.jpg|thumb|right|Italian prisoners in El Alamein, November 1942]]
On 28 October, Mussolini launched [[Greco-Italian War|an attack]] on Greece. The [[Royal Air Force]] prevented the Italian invasion and allowed the Greeks to push the Italians back to Albania. Hitler came to Mussolini's aid by attacking the Greeks through the Balkans. The [[Balkans Campaign (World War II)|Balkans Campaign]] had as a result the dissolution of Yugoslavia and Greece's defeat. Italy gained [[Province of Ljubljana|southern Slovenia]], [[Governorate of Dalmatia|Dalmatia]], [[Italian governorate of Montenegro|Montenegro]] and established the puppet states of [[Independent State of Croatia|Croatia]] and [[Hellenic State]]. By 1942, it was faltering as its economy failed to adapt to the conditions of war and Italian cities were being heavily bombed by the Allies. Also, despite Rommel's advances, the campaign in North Africa began to fail in late 1942. The complete collapse came after the decisive defeat at [[Second Battle of El Alamein|El Alamein]].

By 1943, Italy was losing on every front. Half of the Italian forces [[Eastern Front (World War II)|fighting in the Soviet Union]] had been destroyed,{{Sfnp|Mack Smith|1997|page=412}} the African campaign had failed, the Balkans remained unstable, and Italians wanted an end to the war.{{Sfnp|Mack Smith|1997|pages=412–413}} 

In July 1943, the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] [[Allied invasion of Sicily|invaded Sicily]] in an effort to knock Italy out of the war and establish a foothold in Europe. On 25 July, [[25 Luglio|Mussolini was ousted]] by the [[Gran Consiglio del Fascismo|Great Council of Fascism]] and arrested by order of King Victor Emmanuel III, who appointed General [[Pietro Badoglio]] as new [[Prime Minister of Italy|prime minister]]. Badoglio stripped away the final elements of Fascist rule by banning the [[National Fascist Party]], then signed an [[Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces|armistice with the Allied armed forces]].

There is controversy on the effectiveness of Italy's performance in World War II. Donald Detwiler notes that "Italy's entrance into the war showed very early that her military strength was only a hollow shell."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Detwiler |first1=Donald S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2XfzAAAAMAAJ |title=World War II German Military Studies |last2=Burdick |first2=Charles B. |last3=Rohwer |first3=Jürgen |date=1979 |publisher=Garland Pub. |isbn=978-0-8240-4313-1 |page=96}}</ref> 
MacGregor Knox argues that it was "first and foremost a failure of Italy's military culture and military institutions."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Knox |first=MacGregor |url=https://archive.org/details/hitlersitalianal00knox |title=Hitler's Italian Allies: Royal Armed Forces, Fascist Regime, and the War of 1940–1943 |date=2000 |publisher=Cambridge UP |isbn=978-1-1394-3203-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/hitlersitalianal00knox/page/10 10] |url-access=registration}}</ref> Norman Polmar and Thomas B. Allen argue that "the Regia Aeronautica failed to perform effectively in modern conflict."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Polmar |first1=Norman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=30gRAGjXrIIC&pg=PA421 |title=World War II: the Encyclopedia of the War Years, 1941–1945 |last2=Allen |first2=Thomas B. |date=2012 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-4864-7962-0 |page=421}}</ref> James Sadkovich argues that inferior equipment, overextension, and inter-service rivalries meant that Italians had "more than their share of handicaps." Several authors (James Sadkovich, Peter Haining, [[Vincent O'Hara]], Ian Walker and others) have reassessed the performance of the Italian army, navy and air force, providing numerous examples of actions where Italian forces were effective. Gerhard L.Weinberg argues that "there is far too much denigration of the performance of Italy's forces during the conflict."<ref>James J. Sadkovich, "Understanding Defeat: Reappraising Italy's Role in World War II," ''Journal of Contemporary History'' (1989) 24#1 pp. 27–61 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/260699 online].</ref> 

====Italian resistance, co-belligerence with the Allies and Liberation====
{{Further|Italian resistance|Italian Civil War|Liberation of Italy}}
[[File:Quattrogiornate.jpg|thumb|left|Insurgents celebrating the liberation of Naples after the [[Four days of Naples]] (27–30 September 1943)]]

Soon after being ousted, Mussolini was rescued by a German commando in [[Gran Sasso raid|Operation Eiche]] ("Oak"). The Germans brought Mussolini to northern Italy where he set up a Fascist puppet state, the [[Italian Social Republic]] (RSI). Meanwhile, the Allies advanced in southern Italy. In September 1943, [[Four days of Naples|Naples]] rose against the occupying German forces. The Allies organized some royalist Italian troops into the [[Italian Co-Belligerent Army]], while other troops continued to fight alongside Nazi Germany in the ''Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano'', the [[National Republican Army]]. A large [[Italian resistance movement]] started a long [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla war]] against the German and Fascist forces,<ref>G. Bianchi, ''La Resistenza'', in: AA.VV., ''Storia d'Italia'', vol. 8, pp. 368-369.</ref> while clashes between the Fascist RSI Army and the Royalist Italian Co-Belligerent Army were rare.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pavone |first=Claudio |title=Una guerra civile. Saggio storico sulla moralità della Resistenza |date=1991 |publisher=Bollati Boringhieri |isbn=8-8339-0629-9 |location=Torino |page=238 |language=it}}</ref> The Germans, often helped by Fascists, committed several [[War crimes of the Wehrmacht|atrocities]] against Italian civilians in occupied zones, such as the [[Ardeatine massacre]] and the [[Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre]]. The Kingdom of Italy declared war on Nazi Germany on 13 October 1943;<ref name="italyswitchesstayinwar">{{Cite news |date=13 October 2011 |title=Oct. 13, 1943 {{!}} Italy Switches Sides in World War II |url=https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/oct-13-1943-italy-switches-sides-in-world-war-ii |access-date=29 August 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Italy declares war on Germany |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/italy-declares-war-on-germany |access-date=30 August 2021 |publisher=History.com}}</ref> tensions between the Axis Powers and the Italian military were rising following the failure to defend Sicily.<ref name="italyswitchesstayinwar" />

On 4 June 1944, the German occupation of Rome came to an end as the Allies advanced. The final Allied victory over the Axis in Italy did not come until the spring offensive of 1945, after Allied troops had breached the [[Gothic Line]], leading to the surrender of German and Fascist forces in Italy on 2 May shortly before Germany finally surrendered ending World War II in Europe on 8 May. It is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, some 60,000 Allied and 50,000 German soldiers died in Italy.{{Efn|In ''Alexander's Generals'' Blaxland quotes 59,151 Allied deaths between 3 September 1943 and 2 May 1945 as recorded at AFHQ and gives the breakdown between 20 nationalities: United States 20,442; United Kingdom, 18,737; France, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal and Belgium 5,241; Canada, 4,798; India, Pakistan, Nepal 4,078; Poland 2,028; New Zealand 1,688; Italy (excluding irregulars) 917; South Africa 800; Brazil 275; Greece 115; [[Jewish Brigade|Jewish volunteers]] from the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate in Palestine]] 32. In addition, 35 soldiers were killed by enemy action while serving with pioneer units from Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Cyprus and the West Indies<ref name="Blax11">Blaxland (1979), p. 11</ref>}}

During World War II, [[Italian war crimes]] included [[extrajudicial killing]]s and [[ethnic cleansing]]<ref name="JamesBurgwyn_2004">James H. Burgwyn (2004). [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/rmis/2004/00000009/00000003/art00005 General Roatta's war against the partisans in Yugoslavia: 1942] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054155/http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/rmis/2004/00000009/00000003/art00005 |date=21 September 2013}}, Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Volume 9, Number 3, pp. 314–329(16)</ref> by the deportation of about 25,000 people, mainly Jews, Croats, and Slovenians, to the [[List of Italian concentration camps|Italian concentration camps]], such as [[Rab concentration camp|Rab]], [[Gonars concentration camp|Gonars]], [[Monigo]], [[Renicci di Anghiari]] and elsewhere. [[Yugoslav Partisans]] perpetrated their own crimes against the local ethnic Italian population during and after the war, including the [[foibe massacres]]. In Italy and Yugoslavia, unlike in Germany, few war crimes were prosecuted.<ref name="RoryCarroll_2001">[https://web.archive.org/web/20130716012326/http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2001/jun/25/artsandhumanities.highereducation Italy's bloody secret] (archived by [[WebCite]]), written by [[Rory Carroll]], Education, [[The Guardian]], June 2001</ref><ref name="Pedaliu_JContHistory">[[Effie Pedaliu]] (2004) {{JSTOR|4141408?}} Britain and the 'Hand-over' of Italian War Criminals to Yugoslavia, 1945–48. Journal of Contemporary History. Vol. 39, No. 4, Special Issue: Collective Memory, pp. 503–529</ref><ref name="oliva06">[[Gianni Oliva|Oliva, Gianni]] (2006) [http://www.libreriauniversitaria.it/si-ammazza-troppo-poco-crimini/libro/9788804551294 ''«Si ammazza troppo poco». I crimini di guerra italiani. 1940–43''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720023109/http://www.libreriauniversitaria.it/si-ammazza-troppo-poco-crimini/libro/9788804551294 |date=20 July 2011}}, Mondadori, {{ISBN|8-8045-5129-1}}</ref><ref name="blpp2004">Baldissara, Luca & Pezzino, Paolo (2004). ''Crimini e memorie di guerra: violenze contro le popolazioni e politiche del ricordo'', L'Ancora del Mediterraneo. {{ISBN|978-8-8832-5135-1}}</ref>

On 25 April 1945 the [[National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy]] proclaimed a general insurrection in all the territories still occupied by the Nazis, indicating to all the partisan forces active in Northern Italy that were part of the Volunteer Corps of Freedom to attack the fascist and German garrisons by imposing the surrender, days before the arrival of the Allied troops; at the same time, the National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy personally issued legislative decrees,<ref>There are three fundamental decrees that seal the legislative work, already active since 1944: ''All powers to CLNAI''; ''Decree for the administration of justice''; ''Of socialization''.</ref> assuming power "in the name of the Italian people and as a delegate of the Italian Government", establishing among other things the death sentence for all fascist hierarchs,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fondazione ISEC – cronologia dell'insurrezione a Milano – 25 aprile |url=http://www.associazioni.milano.it/isec/ita/cronologia/crono25apr.htm |access-date=14 February 2022 |language=it}}</ref> Today the event is commemorated in Italy every 25 April by the [[Liberation Day (Italy)|Liberation Day]], [[National Day]] introduced on 22 April 1946, which celebrates the liberation of the country from [[fascism]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=DECRETO LEGISLATIVO LUOGOTENENZIALE 22 aprile 1946, n. 185 |url=http://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/atto/serie_generale/caricaDettaglioAtto/originario?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=1946-04-24&atto.codiceRedazionale=046U0185&elenco30giorni=false |access-date=28 April 2015 |language=Italian}}</ref>

Mussolini was captured on 27 April 1945 and the next day was executed for high treason. On 2 May 1945, the German forces in Italy surrendered. On 9 June 1944, Badoglio was replaced as prime minister by anti-fascist leader [[Ivanoe Bonomi]]. In June 1945 Bonomi was in turn replaced by [[Ferruccio Parri]], who in turn gave way to [[Alcide de Gasperi]] on 4 December 1945. Finally, De Gasperi supervised the transition to a Republic following the abdication of Vittorio Emanuele III on 9 May 1946, the one-month-long reign of his son [[Umberto II of Italy|Umberto II]] ("King of May") and the [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|Constitutional Referendum]] that abolished the monarchy; De Gasperi briefly became acting Head of State as well as prime minister on 18 June 1946, but ceded the former role to Provisional President [[Enrico de Nicola]] ten days later.

===Anti-fascism against Mussolini's regime===
{{See also|Anti-fascism}}
[[File:Flag of the Arditi del Popolo Battalion.svg|thumb|left|upright|Flag of ''[[Arditi del Popolo]]'', an axe cutting a [[fasces]]. ''Arditi del Popolo'' was a militant [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] group founded in 1921.]]

In Italy, Mussolini's [[Italian fascism|fascist]] regime used the term ''[[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]]'' to describe its opponents. Mussolini's [[secret police]] was officially known as the [[Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism]] (OVRA). During the 1920s, anti-fascists, many of them from the [[labour movement]], fought against the violent [[Blackshirts]] and against the rise of the fascist leader Benito Mussolini. After the [[Italian Socialist Party]] (PSI) signed a [[Pact of Pacification|pacification pact]] with Mussolini and his [[Fasci Italiani di Combattimento|Fasces of Combat]] on 3 August 1921,<ref>Charles F. Delzell, edit., ''Mediterranean Fascism 1919-1945'', New York, NY, Walker and Company, 1971, p. 26</ref> and trade unions adopted a legalist and pacified strategy, members of the workers' movement who disagreed with this strategy formed ''[[Arditi del Popolo]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Working Class Defence Organization, Anti-Fascist Resistance and the Arditi Del Popolo in Turin, 1919-22 |url=https://library.fes.de/libalt/journals/swetsfulltext/17283245.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319044401/https://library.fes.de/libalt/journals/swetsfulltext/17283245.pdf |archive-date=19 March 2022 |access-date=23 September 2021}}</ref>

The [[Italian General Confederation of Labour]] (CGL) and the PSI refused to officially recognize the anti-fascist militia and maintained a non-violent, legalist strategy, while the [[Communist Party of Italy]] (PCd'I) ordered its members to quit the organization. The PCd'I organized some militant groups, but their actions were relatively minor.<ref>[https://library.fes.de/libalt/journals/swetsfulltext/17283245.pdf Working Class Defence Organization, Anti-Fascist Resistance and the Arditi Del Popolo in Turin, 1919-22] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319044401/https://library.fes.de/libalt/journals/swetsfulltext/17283245.pdf |date=19 March 2022}}, Antonio Sonnessa, in the ''[[European History Quarterly]]'', Vol. 33, No. 2, 183-218 (2003)</ref> The Italian anarchist [[Severino Di Giovanni]], who exiled himself to Argentina following the 1922 [[March on Rome]], organized several bombings against the Italian fascist community.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anarchist Century |url=http://anarchist_century.tripod.com/timeline.html |access-date=7 April 2014 |publisher=Anarchist_century.tripod.com}}</ref> The Italian liberal anti-fascist [[Benedetto Croce]] wrote his ''[[Manifesto of the Anti-Fascist Intellectuals]]'', which was published in 1925.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bruscino |first=Felicia |date=25 November 2017 |title=Il Popolo del 1925 col manifesto antifascista: ritrovata l'unica copia |url=https://www.ultimavoce.it/il-popolo-manifesto-antifascista |access-date=23 March 2022 |website=Ultima Voce |language=it-IT}}</ref> Other notable Italian liberal anti-fascists around that time were [[Piero Gobetti]] and [[Carlo Rosselli]].<ref>James Martin, 'Piero Gobetti's Agonistic Liberalism', ''History of European Ideas'', '''32''', (2006), pp. 205–222.</ref>

[[File:Mussolini e Petacci a Piazzale Loreto, 1945.jpg|thumb|The [[Death of Benito Mussolini|dead body]] of Benito Mussolini, Claretta Petacci and other executed fascists on display in Milan]]
[[Concentrazione Antifascista Italiana]] ({{Langx|en|Italian Anti-Fascist Concentration}}), officially known as Concentrazione d'Azione Antifascista (Anti-Fascist Action Concentration), was an Italian coalition of Anti-Fascist groups which existed from 1927 to 1934, trying to promote and to coordinate expatriate actions to fight fascism in Italy; they published a propaganda paper entitled ''La Libertà''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Pugliese |first1=Stanislao G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDyqHO2LVosC&pg=PA10 |title=Fascism, Anti-fascism, and the Resistance in Italy: 1919 to the Present |last2=Pugliese |first2=Stanislao |date=2004 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-3123-9 |page=10 |access-date=11 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tollardo |first=Elisabetta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A6JlDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 |title=Fascist Italy and the League of Nations, 1922-1935 |date=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-3499-5028-7 |page=152}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Scala |first=Spencer M. Di |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8gGaCQDLUsC&pg=PA6 |title=Renewing Italian Socialism: Nenni to Craxi |date=1988 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-1953-6396-8 |pages=6–8 |access-date=11 June 2020}}</ref> [[Giustizia e Libertà]] ({{Langx|en|Justice and Freedom}}) was an Italian [[anti-fascist]] [[resistance movement]], active from 1929 to 1945<ref name="jam">James D. Wilkinson (1981). ''The Intellectual Resistance Movement in Europe''. Harvard University Press. p. 224.</ref> which shared a belief in active, effective opposition to fascism, compared to the older Italian anti-fascist parties. ''Giustizia e Libertà'' also made the international community aware of the realities of fascism in Italy, thanks to the work of [[Gaetano Salvemini]].

Between 1920 and 1943, several anti-fascist movements were active among the [[Slovenes]] and [[Croats]] in the territories annexed to Italy after [[World War I]], known as the [[Julian March]].<ref>[[Milica Kacin Wohinz]], [[Jože Pirjevec]], ''Storia degli sloveni in Italia: 1866–1998'' (Venice: Marsilio, 1998)</ref><ref>Milica Kacin Wohinz, ''Narodnoobrambno gibanje primorskih Slovencev: 1921–1928'' (Trieste: Založništvo tržaškega tiska, 1977)</ref> The most influential was the militant insurgent organization [[TIGR]], which carried out numerous sabotages, as well as attacks on representatives of the Fascist Party and the military.<ref>[[Milica Kacin Wohinz]], ''Prvi antifašizem v Evropi'' (Koper: Lipa, 1990)</ref><ref>Mira Cenčič, ''TIGR: Slovenci pod Italijo in TIGR na okopih v boju za narodni obstoj'' (Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1997)</ref> Most of the underground structure of the organization was discovered and dismantled by the OVRA in 1940 and 1941,<ref>Vid Vremec, Pinko Tomažič in drugi tržaški proces 1941 (Trieste: Založništvo tržaškega tiska, 1989)</ref> and after June 1941 most of its former activists joined the [[Slovene Partisans]]. Many members of the [[Italian resistance]] left their homes and went to live in the mountains, fighting against Italian fascists and [[Nazi Germany|German Nazi]] soldiers during the [[Italian Civil War]]. Many cities in Italy, including [[Turin]], [[Naples]] and [[Milan]], were freed by anti-fascist uprisings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Intelligence and Operational Support for the Anti-Nazi Resistance |url=http://darbysrangers.tripod.com/id102.htm |publisher=Darbysrangers.tripod.com}}</ref>