Italian Social Republic
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The Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI) was a nationalist country which existed during the Second World War, and was in north and central Italy in those areas not occupied by the allied invaders.
Contents
History
It was established on September 1943 after Benito Mussolini was released from internment by German parachutists commanded by Otto Skorzeny, and existed until 1945. Was closely allied with National Socialist Germany during this time. The RSI claimed full sovereignty but was largely dependent on the German Wehrmacht to maintain it. The state was informally known as the Salò Republic (Repubblica di Salò) because the RSI's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mussolini) was headquartered in Salò, a small town on Lake Garda.
The context of RSI's creation
On 24 July 1943, after the Allied landings in Sicily (de), the Grand Fascist Council, on a motion by its chairman, Dino Grandi, voted for a motion of no confidence in Mussolini. The next day, King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed Mussolini from his offices and ordered him arrested. The new government, under Marshal Pietro Badoglio, began secret negotiations with the Allied powers and made preparation for the unconditional surrender of Italy. These surrender talks meant a commitment from Badoglio not only to leave the Axis alliance but also to have Italy declare war on Germany.
While Germany formally recognised the new status quo in Italian politics, they quickly intervened by sending some of the best Wehrmacht units to Italy. This was done both to resist further Allied advances and to deal with the predictable imminent defection of Italy. While Badoglio still swore loyalty to Germany and the Axis, Italian government emissaries had already signed the armistice in Allied-occupied Sicily (in Cassibile) on September 3rd.
On September 8th Badoglio announced Italy's surrender. Adolf Hitler and his staff, long aware of the coming betrayal, acted immediately by ordering German troops to seize control of northern and central Italy. The Germans disarmed the stunned Italian troops and took over all of the Italian Army's materials and equipment.
While in captivity, the new Italian government had moved Mussolini from place to place in order to frustrate any would-be rescuers. Finally, the Germans determined that he was at the Campo Imperatore Hotel at Gran Sasso in the Abruzzo mountains. Four days later, on September 12th, a daring German paratrooper action, led by Otto Skorzeny and called Unternehmen Eiche (or "Operation Oak"), succeeded in freeing Mussolini and he was safely flown to Bavaria. His liberation made it possible for a new, German-dependent Fascist Italian state to be created in the unoccupied parts of Italy.
History of the RSI
On 23 September 1943, Mussolini declared that the coup d'état against him had been thwarted. He further declared that his government was continuing as a Republic, with himself as leader. Fearing possible civil unrest and uneasy over the proximity of Rome to the Allied lines, the Germans advised against Mussolini's return there following his liberation. Mussolini therefore established his capital in the Villa Feltrinelli at Salò on Lake Garda, midway between Milan and Venice.
On 25 April 1945, Italian Social Republic came to an end. The Allied armies with the significant help of communist terrorists managed to oust the Germans from Italy. On April 28th, Mussolini, his mistress (Clara Petacci), several RSI ministers and Fascist party members were captured and murdered by said terrorists.
The Italian Social Republic had existed for slightly more than one and a half years.
Italian Islands of the Aegean
By the armistice of 1943, Italy still maintained one colonial possession, the Italian Islands of the Aegean. The Italian Social Republic delegated to the local colonial administration full control over the archipelago and its inhabitants, endorsing full cooperation with the German forces.
See also
Further reading
- Giulio Poggiaroni: Decima MAS. Italian Frogmen, 2020
- Dr. Marco Novarese: Decima! The X-mas & The Italian Social Republic 1943–1945, Axis Europa Books, 2001
External links
References
- ↑ Pauley Bruce F., 2003, Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini: Totalitarianism in the Twentieth Century Italy, Wheeling, Harlan Davidson, page=228, edition=2nd, isbn=088295993X
