A Civil War

by Claudio Pavone

  103 The expression is used by G. Fogar, ‘Le brigate Osoppo-Friuli’, in Istituto di storia medievale e moderna dell’Università di Trieste, Fascismo-guerra-Resistenza. Lotte politiche e sociali nel Friuli-Venezia Giulia 1918–1945, Trieste: Libreria Internazionale Italo Svevo, 1969, p. 292.

  104 Ricostruzione, April 1943.

  105 Bollettino Popolo e Libertà, July 1943.

  106 Pintor, Doppio diario, p. 112.

  107 Revelli, La guerra dei poveri, pp. 186–7 (24 March 1944) and pp. 166–7 (27 January 1944). During the days of 8 September Revelli had performed a symbolic stripping gesture: ‘It was almost morning when I got home. I took off my uniform: never again will I wear it!’ (p. 1370).

  108 Letter of August 1942 by Gino Prinetti Castelletti, member of an ancient Milanese family, who had been a student at the Turin artillery and engineers school. A Garibaldino, he was to be killed in Valsesia in 1944 (Ceva, Cinque anni, pp. 24–6).

  109 ‘Trovarsi smarriti’, article signed ‘Un giovane’, in Avanguardia. Giornale della gioventù socialista, June 1944.

  110 ‘Impegno’, leading article of the first number of La Nostra Lotta (Rome), organ of ‘Unione studenti italiani (unitari)’, 26 March 1944.

  111 Here I shall recall two cases. The first is that of second lieutenant Domenico Mezzadra, ‘constructed’, with the name ‘Americano’, as Garibaldino commander of the Pavese Oltrepò (‘Relazione dell’ispettore Giorgio sulla 3a divisione Aliotta’, 6 March 1945, in Le Brigate Garibaldi, vol. III, pp. 441–3). The second is that of Candido Pinazza, knifegrinder from of a peasant family, gunner, who on 12 August 1943 wrote from Greece: ‘I’ll continue to preserve myself always with my honour, offering all that is necessary, because I want to return to my native country with my head held high.’ Having joined the Greek partisans after 8 September, he was killed on 5 May 1944. (A. Ventura, ‘La società rurale veneta dal fascismo alla Resistenza’, in Società rurale, pp. 59–60).

  112 Testimony about Guido Targetti by Chaplain Lieutenant Angelo Beccherle, in Bilenchi, Cronache degli anni neri, p. 59.

  113 See for example Il Popolo, Rome edition, 31 December 1943, where it is asserted that the most ‘serious and combative’, the ‘most assiduous’ anti-Nazis are the officers and soldiers who have fought alongside the Germans.

  114 Orientamenti programmatici, edited by Lombard regional federation of the Italian Liberal Party, p. 12 (the author of the pamphlet is Paolo Sereni).

  115 Inverni (V. Foa), I partiti, p. 82. In the constituent assembly Foa was to propose, in vain, an inquiry into those responsible for the disaster of the war, in order to prevent them from the indecency of presenting themselves as representatives and avengers of the fighting (Foa’s own testimony to the author).

  116 Words probably spoken in Naples and quoted by Risorgimento Liberale, northern edition, March 1944, in an article entitled ‘Parole ai combattenti’. In Omodeo’s speech broadcast on Naples radio on 22 December 1943, the words quoted by the Liberal paper do not figure; but the inspiration of the speech is identical. Omodeo said: ‘No one will outrage your grief, the sufferings you have borne, the blood you have spilled’; and added: ‘It is not we, O friends, who have betrayed Italy, even if with our hearts we were on the side of those who defended, beyond the frontiers, the traditions of human civilisation’ (A. Omodeo, Libertà e storia. Scritti e discorsi politici, Turin: Einaudi, 1960, pp. 134–8).

  117 This, for example, is the concept contained in the Note sul ‘lavoro militare’, drawn up by the Centro Estero Socialista (Socialist Foreign Center) of Zurich in spring 1942 (see Landuyt, Un tentativo di rinnovamento, p. 95). See also a Communist circular of winter 1942–43, which delineated the ‘type of discourse to give in the meetings held during flying visits when addressing soldiers and officers’. The document, conserved in ACS, is quoted by Ragionieri in the cyclostyled text of the talk given in Milan in 1968. In the printed version of the talk the quotation is omitted (see Ragionieri, ‘Il partito comunista’, in Valiani, Bianchi and Ragionieri, Azionisti, cattolici e comunisti nella Resistenza).

  1 ‘Proposta di una delibera del CLNAI per la costituzione di una commissione responsabile delle operazioni militari in Lombardia’ (Atti CVL, Appendice i/D, p. 525). See, in general, G. Rochat’s survey, ‘La crisi delle forze armate italiane nel 1943–45’, in Rivista di storia contemporanea VII (1978), pp. 398–404.

  2 Atti CVL, p. 491.

  3 ‘Per la rinascita dell’Italia’, pamphlet published in December 1943.

  4 See Bianco, Guerra partigiana, p. 63.

  5 See the letters of the Command of the group of Garibaldi divisions of the Valsesia, Ossola, Cusio, Verbano to the Command of the 1st division, 24 November 1944 (IG, BG, 07078). The commander of the group was Eraldo Gastone (Ciro); and, again signed by Ciro and Cino, the ‘Observations and proposals … concerning the project of the communist delegation of the CLNAI for the transformation of the partisan units into regular formations of the Italian army’, 21 January 1945 (Le Brigate Garibaldi, vol. III, p. 265).

  6 Undated, entitled ‘Guerra invisibile’, in IVSR, Archivio, section I, envelope 49, CLN, Stampa non periodica.

  7 Testimony relating to Trieste by Major Stefano Mascioli from La Spezia, in L’Unità, 4 September 1983.

  8 Bianco, Guerra partigiana, pp. 5–6.

  9 Article entitled ‘Risanamento. L’Esercito’, signed Filatete, 1 March 1944.

  10 Article entitled ‘Realismo’, 15 October 1943. The newspaper under that date was actually still published by the Union of Italian Workers, which was unifying with the movement named People and Freedom to produce the Italian Labour Party.

  11 Tarchi (G. Tolloy), Con l’armata italiana in Russia.

  12 Letter by the Command of the Ippolito Nievo brigade to the unified Garibaldi-Osoppo Command, 14 September 1944 (Le Brigate Garibaldi, vol. II, p. 332).

  13 Letter with no sender’s name, undated, in IG, BG, Emilia-Romagna, G.IV.3.2.

  14 Letter of the Bologna federation to Grisaldi, commissar of the Stella Ross-Leone, 11 September 1944 (ibid., G.IV.2.8).

  15 Report by Vittorio Cerri, 1 May 1945 (INSMLI, CVL, envelope 90, folder 13).

  16 Letter sent by Roncioni to the Udine CLN, the Veneto regional military Command, and the Commands of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th Osoppo Friuli brigades (IVSR, Archivio, section 1, envelope 51, Divisione Osoppo Friuli).

  17 Quazza, Un diario partigiana, p. 136.

  18 Testimony by Ermenigildo Mazzini, worker of Cassolnovo (Lomellina), who fought in Albania after various attempts to evade military service, and then chief of the Pizio Greta band of the Valsesia Garibaldi division (see A. Ballone, ‘Una sezione, un paese: appunti per una storia del militante comunista 1921–1981’, in Rivista di storia contemporanea, vol. X, 1981, p. 439).

  19 Pesce, Senza tregua, p. 243.

  20 Mautino, Guerra di popolo, pp. 38–9.

  21 The Lombardy delegation of the Command of the Garibaldi brigades to the Command of the 3rd Lombardia Aliotta (Oltrepò pavese), 26 October 1944 (IG, BG, 0338).

  22 Bollettino periodico del commissario politico of the 12th Garibaldi division, column entitled ‘I commissari di guerra’ (no. 1, undated, but late March 1945, quoted in Dellavalle, Operai, pp. 276–7).

  23 Report to the secretary of the Milan federation of the PCI, 15 September 1944 (IG, BG, 06320).

  24 Lazagna, Ponte rotto, p. 147.

  25 ‘Extract’ from a letter by the political commissar of the unified Command of the Ossola and Valsesia divisions to the commissar of the 81st Volante Loss brigade, Santino, 26 August 1944 (Le Brigate Garibaldi, vol. II, pp. 267–71).

  26 Letter by the Ossola zone Command to the subordinate Commands, 24 February 1945 (ibid., vol. III, pp. 412–15).

  27 See Bianco, Guerra partigiana, pp. 21–2. For this episode see C. Rosselli, Oggi in Spagna, domani in Italia, Turin: Einaudi, 1967, p. 29.

  28 Artom, Diari, p. 172 (under the date 18 February 1944).

  29 Rome edition,
article entitled ‘Franche parole ai soldati italiani’, 25 September 1943. For similar illusions existing in northern Italy, see M. Giovana, La Resistenza in Piemonte. Storia del CLN regionale, Milan: Feltrinelli, 1962, p. 41, which quotes a broadsheet issued on 20 October by the Piedmont CLN.

  30 Le Brigate Garibaldi, vol. I, pp. 144–6. In A. Poma and G. Perona, La Resistenza nel Biellese, Parma: Guanda, 1972. The document, quoted on pp. 65–6, is attributed to Francesco Scotti, ‘perhaps also to Gian Carlo Pajetta’.

  31 ‘Relazione sulle condizioni dell’organizzazione di Belluno, fino al dicembre 1943’ (Le Brigate Garibaldi, vol. I, pp. 230–41).

  32 ‘Pietro Mauri’ (Ilario Tabarri), the author of this ‘General report on military activity in the Romagna’ up to 15 May 1944, recalls having vainly appealed to the guerrilla movements, to ‘the experience of China, of Spain and of all the other European countries’ (ibid., pp. 407–21).

  33 See M. Weber, ‘Parliament and Government in Germany’, in Political Writings, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994, p. 146 (original edition: Parlament und Regierung im neugeordneten Deutschland. Zur politischen Kritik des Beamtentums und Parteiwesens, Munich-Leipzig: Duneken & Humblot, 1918).

  34 See a testimony along these lines in Giovana, Storia di una formazione partigiana, pp. 34–5.

  35 Bianco, Guerra partigiana, p. 23.

  36 See Gorrieri, La Repubblica di Montefiorino, p. 103.

  37 Report by Giovanni, 10 October 1943 (Le Brigate Garibaldi, vol. I, pp. 104–6).

  38 Sandrelli’s letter to the political commissars, 11 November 1943, where the reader is referred to what was published in Il Grido di Spartaco, undated, 9, article entitled ‘Guerra popolare’, and to Il Garibaldino piedmontese (Le Brigate Garibaldi, vol. I, pp. 127–30). For the ‘caso Operti’ (‘the Operti case’) see Spriano, Storia del Partito comunista italiano, vol. V, La Resistenza. Togliatti e il partito nuovo, Turin: Einaudi, 1975, pp. 197–9, and De Luna, Storia del Partito d’Azione, pp. 107–8.

  39 ‘Dichiarazione della Delegazione del Partito comunista di Torino nel CLN’, November 1943 (IG, Archivio PCI).

  40 In the article entitled ‘ “Imperialismo” di vasalli’, which he was to publish in L’Unità, 12 September 1945, Toglatti denounced the sabotage by the reactionary classes, who had prevented ‘the trial of all our war criminals being seriously begun and not of just one of them, Roatta, who was in any case allowed to escape’ (in P. Togliatti, Opere scelte, ed. G. Santomassimo, Rome: Riuniti, 1974, p. 394). On the failure to punish Italian prisoners-of-war see the BBC November 1989 broadcast, which provoked a clumsy reaction by the Italian embassy in London.

  41 ‘Dichiarazione del Partito d’Azione di Torino’, 9 November 1943 (IG, Archivio PCI).

  42 Report on the meeting of the Tollot brigade Command, 27 March 1945 (INSMLI, CVL, envelope 35, folder i).

  43 Letter by the regional Command to the commander and political commissar of the Alpi Orobie zone Command, 17 March 1945 (ibid., envelope 93, folder 5).

  44 See the letters of the Command of the group of Garibaldi divisions of the Valsesia, Ossola, Cusio, Verbano to the Command of the 1st division, 24 November 1944 (IG, BG, 07078).

  45 The Lombardy Command of the GL formations to the Command of the Valtellina Alpine division, 28 January 1945. On 22 February the Lombardy Command would write, ‘as for the General, for the time being we have suspended his coming, which I think will probably prove useless’ (INSMLI, CVL, envelope 93, folder 5).

  46 See R. Manno, ‘Le bande SIMAR dal settembre 1943 al giugno 1944: aspetti della lotta partigiana nell’Italia Centrale’, in Il Movimento di liberazione in Italia 101 (October– December 1970), pp. 68–110, and 102 (January–March 1971), pp. 45–81.

  47 ‘Relazione sull’attività svolta dalla divisione’, sent on 13 December 1944 to the ‘central’ CLN in Milan (IG, BG, 09487).

  48 ‘Relazione del residuo della formazione Magni Magnino passati poi alla Buscaglia’, dated Castelfiorentino, 28 August 1944. Lieutenant Colonel Malanotti is accused of incompetence and abandonment of his post, also in the ‘Relazione sulla formazione di “Bustinchini” fatta dal commissario politico Nello Gilardetti’ (the two reports are in ISRT, Fondo Salvadori – PCI Castelfiorentino, insert 59).

  49 See the ‘Relazioni sulle operazioni che hanno portato alla liberazione della provincia e della città di Modena’, edited by the Command and signed Max, undated, but shortly after the liberation (copy in IG, BG, Emilia-Romagna, G. IV. 3–1). A panorama of the officers present in the zone and city Commands of Emilia-Romagna is in L. Bergonzini, La lotta armata, Bari: De Donato, 1975 (vol. I of L’Emilia Romagna nella guerra di liberazione, edited by the local delegation), pp. 214–15.

  50 A copy of the ordinance, signed ‘Il comandante Gorizia’ (Lieutenant Graglia) is in IG, Archivio PCI. It is published from another copy in Poma and Perona, La Resistenza nel Biellese, pp. 431–2. On the activities of this lieutenant see pp. 63–7.

  51 Undated, but not long after 8 September 1943 (IG, BG, 005488).

  52 Chiodi, Banditi, p. 28 (26 June 1944).

  53 ‘Relazione su reparti di patrioti italiani della zona di Subit, Porzus e Foran (Udine)’ (Le Brigate Garibaldi, vol. I, pp. 98–9).

  54 ‘I compagni responsibili’ to the ‘cari compagni’ of the 3rd Piedmont division (ibid., vol. II, pp. 424–8).

  55 See G. Padoan (Vanni), Abbiamo lottato insieme. Partigiani italiani e sloveni al confine orientale, Udine: Del Bianco, 1965, p. 122.

  56 Mautino, Guerra di popolo, p. 39.

  57 Circular of the Command of the GL formations, written 9 May 1944, when, in concomitance with the predicted Allied offensive, the arrival of Anglo-American and Badoglian officers was thought to be imminent (Formazioni GL, p. 89).

  58 Formazioni GL, pp. 106–8. See Foa’s invitation to practise ‘assiduous vigilance’ to prevent ‘the influence of the old military caste’, which had been eliminated, with effort, from reflowering (Inverni, I partiti, p. 21).

  59 B. Fenoglio, ‘Golia’, in Un giorno di fuoco e altri racconti, Milan: Garzanti, 1963, p. 568.

  60 See for example the article entitled ‘Il Fronte Nazionale unitario ed i suoi compiti di lotta’, in L’Unità, northern edition, 25 May 1944. The article says that ‘after the formation of the national democratic war government, there is no longer any reason to maintain a division which is wholly damaging to the anti-German movement and not to establish political collaboration in common organs’.

  61 ‘Informazioni per l’ufficio di organizzazione’, signed by Alfredo (IG, Archivio PCI).

  62 See the undated document, IG, BG, 005488.

  63 Letter by Giorgio, undated, to a ‘caro compagno’ (INSMLI, CVL, envelope 93, folder 4).

  64 For the same reason, the document went on to say, there is no need to ask the CLN, bureaucratically, for ‘the promotion of those detachments to Garibaldi brigades. When it is already established we can present the CLN as something that exists and that gives its unconditional support to the Committee itself’: the military Committee of Piedmont to the Command of the 4th Cuneo brigade, 18 March 1944 (Le Brigate Garibaldi, vol. I, pp. 310–16).

  65 ‘Rapporto sul lavoro SAP’, 30 October 1944 (IG, BG, 06051).

  66 The document bears two dates, 15 and 20 May: the second is also that of the circular that transmits the ‘schema’ of the dependent organisms (INSMLI, Brigate Garibaldi, envelope 1, folder 4).

  67 The triumvirate of the Communist federation of Modena, 23 March 1945 (ISRR, Archivio del triumvirato insurrezionale Emilia-Romagna).

  68 Appeal to ‘Ufficiali italiani!’, 25 May 1944.

  69 Appeal to ‘Ufficiali, Sottufficiali, Alpini, Fratelli nostri!’, undated (IG, BG, 05631).

  70 Circular of 24 February 1945 ‘to all formations dependent operative sectors’, concerning ‘officials who flock to the formations’. The document is signed by the political commissar Livio and by the military commander Colonel Delle Torri (Le Brigate Garibaldi, vol. III, p
p. 412–15)

  71 See Deakin, The Brutal Friendship, p. 679. For ‘l’alpinità’ partigiana see M. Giovana, ‘Tradizioni e stereotipi militari nella guerra partigiana italiana’, in Notiziario dell’Istituto storico della Resistenza in Cuneo e provincia 29: 1 (September 1986), pp. 27–87 (esp. p. 69–87).

  72 See Tarchi (G. Tolloy), Con l’armata italiana in Russia, pp. 72, 186.

  73 See Collotti, L’occupazione nazista, p. 543.

  74 Letter by Nicola Di Febo di Pescasseroli, who died in Bari of wounds received on the Greek front (in Ceva, Cinque anni, p. 28).

  75 Letter of 10 July 1942 (Rizzi, Lo sguardo del potere, p. 97).

  76 ‘You say that the Alpini haven’t yet arrived, but I have to tell you that they have all managed to flee’. Letter sent from Vigliano d’Asti (‘Esami della corrispondenza censurata al 30 giugno 1944’, in ACS, SPD, CR, RSI, envelope 9, folder 3).

  77 Information sent to various CLNs and Commands of the CVL, 23 March 1945 (INSMLI, CLNAI, envelope 7, folder 2, subfolder 11).

  78 See Giovana, Storia di una formazione partigiana, p. 278.

  79 Chiodi, Banditi, p. 56 (25 August 1944).

  80 See Pansa, L’esercito di Salò, pp. 192–3: GNR report of 19 August and 19 October 1944, relating to the zone of Sestrini Levante (the first was written just twenty days after the division’s return to Italy).

  81 Letter to Nuto and Dado, Pradleves, 31 October 1944 (see Revelli, La guerra dei poveri, pp. 467–8).

  82 Those involved were the Alpini of the Tridentina division – the case is therefore different from that of the Monterosa – captured at the Brenner pass and concentrated, in Italian SS uniforms, in a barracks in Cuneo. See ibid., p. 154, beneath the date 30 November 1943.

  83 Tarchi (G. Tolloy), Con l’armata italiana in Russia, p. 187.

  84 Rochat, Memorialistica e storiografia, p. 481.

  85 Annotations beneath the dates 23 August and 14 February 1944 (Revelli, La guerra dei poveri, pp. 322, 172–3).

  86 Fogar has drawn attention to this component of the Osoppo formations in Le brigate Osoppo-Friuli, pp. 269–360.

  87 See Padoan (Vanni), Abbiamo lottato insieme, p. 190.