Italy after VE Day the rewriting of history

[fat tony]

https://journals.openedition.org/temoigner/5447

Part of the rewriting of history of Italy in WWII was sacrificing to the cause of post war national unity, Italian slave labour deported to Germany as 'voluntary civilian internees.' The Italian government recognized the 'volunteer' status imposed on all of them en masse on orders of Hitler.

For these people, it meant they were denied veteran's benefits for a significant time.

The entirety of the Italian Armed Forces was treated with cold ruthless efficiency by Hitler after the Italian Armistice.

So the general theme appears to be cleansing entire political categories of people for 'national unity.'

An interesting, lengthy, and very detailed article.

 

[Jon9021]

I’ve read several books about the Italian army in WWII. One British POW captured in North Africa spent 6 months in an Italian camp before being sent to one in Germany. He said the Italians were far more brutal and fanatical than in the German camps.

 

[rajczak_kashka]

I’ve read several books about the Italian army in WWII. One British POW captured in North Africa spent 6 months in an Italian camp before being sent to one in Germany. He said the Italians were far more brutal and fanatical than in the German camps.

Because Italians were socialists ……

 

[Jon9021]

Because Italians were socialists ……

As opposed to the kind hearted nazis??

 

[rajczak_kashka]

As opposed to the kind hearted nazis??

good point

 

[fat tony]

The USSR had pull in Italy at the end of WWII. A marker of this was the big wave of summary executions. It was turned around in subsequent elections but Italy through the Cold War era was an unstable place. Its interesting that the USSR conducted campaigns in Norway and (?) Austria, yet at least Norway returned to some kind of normalcy.

The article repeatedly mentions the clear desire to erase the 3 years of Italian history as a member of the Axis.