Italian Social Republic

They occupied Rome, disarmed Italian units across the peninsula, and rescued Mussolini from captivity.

In the north, they installed him as a figurehead of a new puppet state, the Italian Social Republic, headquartered at Salo on Lake Garda.

From that moment, Italy was divided.

South of the front, the Allies advanced slowly up the peninsula, North of it, German troops and the remaining Italian forces held firm.

But his fall did not end fascism in Italy as it was still under Nazi control.

In September, German forces broke Mussolini out of captivity, and Hitler installed him as the head of a new fascist state in northern Italy, the Italian Social Republic.

When the bombing of Gorla took place in October 1944, Milan remained under German occupation and the control of Mussolini's reconstituted regime.

During that time, Milan became a hub for the Italian resistance.

He could also be held accountable for crimes against peace, considering his role as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces when Italy declared war on France and Britain.

However, after weeks of secret negotiations on September 3rd, badoglio's man general catalano signed a secret armistice with u.s general walter bedell smith on september the 8th the agreement was made public pulling italy out of the axis pact but then things became messy mussolini was freed by german paratroopers on september the 12th with the complicity of fascist hardliners thus the dictator was reinstated as head of a new state the italian social republic in control of the northern and central sections of the italian boot king and badoglio supported by the allied expeditionary forces retained control of the south thus italy was now embroiled in a civil war layered on top of the larger global conflict that was still raging on the one side the italian social republic and german forces deployed to italy on the other the allies the co-belligerent italian troops who had disavowed fascism plus an aggressive partisan movement which targeted nazi fascist forces deep inside their territory as was the case elsewhere in europe partisan action was met with brutal reprisals against civilians enacted by both local fascists and german nazis this led to a paradoxical situation in the setting of a war crimes tribunal a prospective post-war italian government could have played the part of both the defendant and the victim as i said it's a mess But it gets even worse.

Following the September 8th armistice, Badoglio and US General Eisenhower signed a second agreement on September 29th, the Instrument of Surrender.

According to its Article 29, the new Italian government was obliged to arrest and surrender into the hands of the United Nations to, quote, Benito Mussolini, his chief fascist associates, and all persons suspected of having committed war crimes or analogous offenses whose names appear on lists to be communicated by the United Nations." and who now or in the future are on territory controlled by the allied military command or by the Italian government this was all rather awkward considering that the signatory himself Marshall badoglio could have easily made it onto that list nonetheless shortly afterward the war crime section of the British foreign office made a drastic decision they would bar british authorities from apprehending any individual who had supported the allied war effort after september 1943 this decision would later be adopted by the combined chiefs of staff this meant that all allied forces not just the brits were now expected not to arrest any suspected war criminal provided they had joined the co-belligerent army or the resistance movement in northern italy This was essentially a get-out-of-jail-free card for the likes of Badoglio.

But how about those staunch fascists still active in the Italian Social Republic? The desire to punish them was still alive and kicking, especially amongst Italians themselves.

The CLN, the National Liberation Committee overseeing the resistance, had even endorsed a rather radical plan formulated in part by Winston Churchill in late 1943. according to the plan the united nations would draft a list of 50 to 100 italian fascist criminals who could then be executed on the spot without incurring any punishment on the individuals who killed them it was a nationally sponsored hit list essentially no jurisprudence needed this would be much simpler than involving the courts or allowing for you know basic human rights it's the good guys doing the killing this time after all the executed and the forgiven however the intricacies of the armistice and the civil war already showed the signs of allied ambivalence towards italian authorities when it came to punishment for crimes nonetheless the allies were less ambiguous when it came to their war aims their armies advanced towards the north of the peninsula was slow but relentless by April 1945 the German occupation forces were retreating to Austria and the fascist loyalist forces were crumbling by the 25th of the month World War II officially ended in Italy initiating a short yet intense period of trials executions and retribution against fascists no longer in power Benito Mussolini himself and 17 of his top officials were executed by resistance factions on April 28.

More fascist party officials, police commissioners, military leaders, and even regular foot soldiers would be tried and sentenced to death by improvised courts, also set up by the resistance.

This all worked.

A new Italian government under Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio surrendered to the Allies on September 3.

Germany responded by springing former Prime Minister Benito Mussolini from prison and establishing on September 23 the Italian Social Republic, or RSI, a.k.a. the Republic of Salo.

This Italian declaration of war came as the Allies were moving on.

German occupied slash RSI ruled Rome.

I mean, the, the rump state in '43.

I mean, the rump state of the Salò Republic endured.

But, um, you know, it's, uh... [sighs] The big contribution of Gasperi, um, one of the major international, um, one of the major international newspapers, which in those days a political newspaper, a new political newspaper having international circulation was a big deal.

Um, he wrote a column where, uh, and this was in nine- this was in 1934.

The surrender came after a series of defeats in North Africa and Sicily.

German forces quickly responded by seizing control of Northern and Central Italy, freeing Benito Mussolini from arrest, and restoring him as the head of a new fascist regime known as the Italian Social Republic.

The Nazis disarmed Italian troops, took over their intelligence services, and occupied Rome.

Many Italian fascists, including those who had worked in Italian intelligence, continued to serve their former Axis partners.