A Civil War (106 page)

1
The article ‘The Irish Flag' was published in
Workers' Republic
of 8 April 1916, and republished in P. Mac Aonghusa and L. Ó Régáin,
The Best of Connolly
, Cork: Mercier Press, 1967, pp. 195–7 (I thank Paul Ginsborg for giving me this information).

2
See Christopher Hill, ‘Gerrard Winstanley: 17
^th
Century Communist', lecture at Kingston University, 24 January 1996.

3
See
Autoritarismo
, p. 246; and the arguments of M. Barrès in
Scènes et doctrines du nationalisme
(Paris: Plon-Nourrit, 1925, vol. I, p. 105) with regard to the defence of the worker against the foreigner, cited by Marco Diani, ‘Metamorphosis of Nationalism: Durkheim, Barrès and the Dreyfus Affair',
Jerusalem Journal of International Relations
13: 4 (1991) pp. 71–94 (my thanks to Manco Diani for making me aware of this).

4
Collotti,
L'amministrazione tedesca
, p. 159 (the episode took place in February 1944).

5
Letter from the Turin SAP Division Command to the Command of the 1
^st
Sector, 25 January 1945 (IG,
BG
, 06106); letter from the PCI central commission for agitation and propaganda to the Lazio committee, which had requested advice on what reply to give to a request for clarification made on 12 December 1943 by Carla, Nistro and Leone, as regards the concept of
patria
. (
Documenti inediti sulle posizioni del PCI e del PSIUP
, pp. 125–31); ‘La Patria', Voce Operaia, 28 January 1944.

6
‘La classe operaia e la questione nazionale',
L'Unità
, Rome edition, 3 November 1943.

7
‘Circolare riservata ai comitati locali', 31 October 1943, published with the title ‘La politica del Partito d'Azione nei primi mesi della lotta armata', in
Formazioni GL
, pp. 48–53: p. 49.

8
‘Relazione attacco al … Val d'Ossola dal 12 al 24 giugno 1944' (IG,
BG
, 08648); Gorrieri,
La Repubblica di Montefiorino
, p. 451. The condemned man could also take solace in religion.

9
N.d., unsigned, in MRB, Raccolta Adversi. The leaflet was printed on the eve of the rice-workers' 12 June 1944 strike (see L. Arbizzani, ‘Manifesti, opuscoli, fogli volanti', in L. Bergonzini,
La Resistenza a Bologna. Testimonianze e documenti
, Istituto per la storia di Bologna, vol. IV, Bologna, 1975, p. 187). See also the first issue (n.d.) of
La Mondariso. Organo delle mondine bolognesi
.

10
La Lotta
, 30 June 1944, cited in Casali,
Il movimento di liberazione a Ravenna
, vol. I, p. 61.

11
Le Réveil des métallos. Organe de défense des métallos de la région rouennaise
, 1 September 1941.

12
The letter, which appeared in the Imola
La Comune
of April 1944, was cited in M. Legnani, ‘Aspetti economici delle campagne settentrionali e motivi di politica agraria nei programmi dei partiti antifascisti (1942–45)', in
Il Movimento di liberazione in Italia
78 (January–March 1965), pp. 21–2.

13
Testimony of Rosanna Rolando, later forgotten by the Republic and the Communist Party itself, Bruzzone and Farina, eds,
La Resistenza taciuta
, pp. 30–1.

14
Cited in Briguglio,
Clero e contadini
, p. 337.

15
See Pajetta,
Il ragazzo rosso va alla guerra
, p. 42.

16
Text of the ‘political hour' on ‘social classes' held by the 1
^st
Osoppo Brigade Command,
Le classi sociali
, in IZDG, envelope 272b, file. I/A.

17
‘Si tu veux la paix, main tendui aux ouvriers Allemands et Italiens',
La Vérité
, 30 July 1943 (editorial).

18
The expression is from V. Foa,
La Gerusalemme rimandata. Domande di oggi agli inglesi del primo Novecento
, Turin: Rosenberg e Sellier, 1985, p. 201.

19
See
La giovane vita di Dante Di Nanni raccontata da un suo compagno di lotta
, undated, without page numbers.

20
See Flamigni and Marzocchi,
Resistenza in Romagna
, pp. 137, 165–6, 178. The quote is from p. 165, while on p. 172 one of the accusations against Libero's partisans is that of having established a ‘Dipartimento del Corniolo' in the image of the Cisalpine Republic. The document to which it refers is a ‘Rapporto generale' by the Commander of the 8
^th
Romagna Brigade, Pietro Mauri, on military activity in Romagna up to 15 May 1944 (
Le Brigate Garibaldi
, vol. I, pp. 411–21).

21
Interview with Angelo Raffaelli, born in 1902, a Communist, in G. Contini,
Memoria e storia. Le Officine Galileo nel racconto degli operai, dei tecnici, dei manager
, Milan: Franco Angeli, 1985, pp. 359, 351–5.

22
Remo Righetti, in Portelli,
Biografia di una città
, p. 146.

23
On this, see the calmly worded yet sharp exposition of the issue, stressing the full value of the Livorno split, in the 26 October 1943
L'Unità
Rome edition's commentary on the pact for unity in action with the Socialists.

24
La Vérité
, 30 July 1943.

25
‘La Federazione di Ancona alla Direzione centrale del Partito: relazione politica', n.d., but early December 1943 (
Le Brigate Garibaldi
, vol. I, pp. 147–8).

26
See ‘La nostra guerra',
Avanti!
, Rome edition, 26 September 1943.

27
‘L' ora che incalza',
Avanti!
, Rome edition, 20 May 1944.

28
See ‘Norme nell'attuale situazione politico-militare', probably produced by the Command of C Division, 25 December 1944 (
Formazioni GL
, p. 259).

29
M. Agulhon, ‘Les communistes et la libération de la France' (paper to the ‘Colloque international “La libération de la France” ', 28–31 October 1974), cited in Quazza,
Resistenza e storia d'Italia
, p. 188.

30
Letter of 10 November 1943 from the ‘Secretariat of the Communist Party' to the Turin organisation, which criticises the inadequate link that No. 8 of
Il Grido di Spartaco
drew between economic demands and the struggle against the Germans and fascists. The letter was written by Longo (Secchia,
Il PCI e la guerra di liberazione
, p. 177).

31
Progetto di piano di lavoro del Partito d'azione
, INSMLI,
Carte Damiani
(envelope I, folder 7).

32
‘La via giusta',
L'Unità
, Northern edition, 24 December 1943.

33
‘Giù la maschera agli affamatori del popolo',
L'Unità
, Northern edition, 31 October 1943.

34
L'Unità
, Northern edition, 29 September 1943.

35
‘Via dalle file del CLN I capitalisti – i traditori' (‘Kick the capitalists-traitors out of the CLN')
Il Combattente
, 1 January 1944. Again, this combination of the two terms might have more than one interpretation: did it mean expelling all of the capitalists as well as all of the traitors, or only those capitalists who were also traitors? Or, perhaps, that capitalists could not but be traitors?

36
‘Non c' è tempo da perdere', editorial of
L'Unità
, Northern edition, 10 January 1944.

37
Togliatti,
Opere
, vol. V, p. 76. See the article in
L'Unità
, Northern edition, 20 February 1944, ‘I grandi capitalisti vendono le nostre macchine ai tedeschi'.

38
See ‘Informazioni da Torino' by Alfredo, official responsible for the Piedmont insurrectionary triumvirate, of 13 December 1944,
Le Brigate Garibaldi
, vol. III, p. 67) and ‘Scioperi e dimostrazioni di popolo in tutta l'Italia occupata',
L'Unità
, Northern edition, 10 December 1944.

39
L'Unità
, Rome edition, 23 March 1944.

40
Atti CLNAI
, p. 111.

41
93. Organe des héritiers de la Révolution française
, July 1942, p. 3, which even invokes ‘the ancient land of Gaul'. The first issue of the paper, published in St Étienne in May 1942, bore these words by Joseph Barthélemy as an epigraph: ‘Liberty is still spelled in French letters.'

42
La Riscossa italiana
, June 1944.

43
‘Sestri Ponente – Dalla San Giorgio',
L'Unità
, Ligurian edition, 5 September 1944.

44
INSMLI,
CLNAI
, envelope 8, folder 2, subfolder 10.

45
Ibid.

46
The document is published, undated, as an appendix to Bravo,
La Repubblica partigiana dell'Alto Monferrato
, p. 234.

47
The text of the warning is in ISRT,
Archivio Medici Tornaquinci
, envelope 4, IV, 1, No. 7. The CLN recalled its own decree No. 11 of 4 February 1944.

48
Atti CLNAI
, pp. 121, 107–8. On the PCI's insistent work to involve the CLNAI in the March 1944 strike by means of the aforementioned appeal, see Ganapini,
Lotte operaie: Milano
, p. 182 (and also the elaboration of this essay in
Una città, la guerra
).

49
INSMLI,
CLNAI
, envelope 5, file 2. On the economic commission, see the record of the 5 February 1945 CLNAI meeting in
Atti CLNAI
, pp. 243–7.

50
October 1943 letter, in Secchia,
Il PCI e la guerra di liberazione
, pp. 173–5. In a subsequent letter of 10 November, Secchia recognised the improvements made in No. 4 of
La Fabbrica
, but again criticised an appeal devoted more to inciting the ‘patriotism of the industrialists' than the ‘workers' spirit of struggle', and considering the title of the article ‘Gli operai non temono la fama' (‘The workers are not afraid of hunger') to be ‘absolutely wretched'. (pp. 177–8).

51
The proposal fell, having been backed by the Communists alone (testimony of Vittorio Foa to the author, September 1986). According to the ISTAT index, 50,000 lire in 1944 corresponded to 3,850,000 as of 1990.

52
Letter to the Turin organisation, 10 November 1943, in Secchia,
Il PCI e la guerra di liberazione
, p. 176.

53
‘Direttive per l'atteggiamento da prendersi nei confronti dei fascisti e dei capitalisti', 21 September 1943 (
Le Brigate Garibaldi
, vol. II, p. 109). Gibelli and Ilardi have a rather reductive interpretation of this document, insofar as they believe it speaks to the PCI's foreignness to the shop floor, as expressed in their
Lotte operaie: Genova
, pp. 120–1.

54
‘Due svolte. La nostra organizzazione di fronte ai compiti nuovi', in
La nostra lotta
, 1 October 1943, p. 17. On the ‘reproletarianisation' of the PCI in the period after 8 September, see Ganapini,
Lotte operaie: Milano
, pp. 154–5. On the social composition of the PCI during the Resistance, see Spriano,
Storia del Partito comunista italiano
, vol. 5, Chapter 4, ‘I quadri decidono di tutto'.

55
‘Rapporto del Federale di Venezia', signed ‘Spino', 4 February 1945 (IG,
Archivio PCI
); Brunetti's report, ‘La situazione politico-militare nella città di Pistoia e le sue province', 10 February 1944 (
Le Brigate Garibaldi
, vol. I, p. 260).

56
Letter ‘Cari compagni', n.d. but February 1944 (IG,
Archivio PCI
).

57
‘Perché i comunisti lottano per l'unità della classe operaia',
L'Unità
, Northern edition, 8 October 1944 (in the section ‘Domande e risposte').

58
According to a 26 November 1943 letter with which Secchia communicated (and expressed his agreement with) Longo's viewpoint; and another letter, also by Secchia, of 19 November (Longo,
I Centri dirigenti del PCI
, pp. 157, 130).

59
See his ‘Rapporto d'organizzazione',
La nostra lotta
II, 19–20 (25 November 1944), pp. 21–2.

60
‘Perché dobbianto essere marxisti?',
L'Unità
, Ligurian edition, 23 November 1944 (in the section ‘Domande e risposte').

61
‘Riunione del PCI tenuta ad assemblea', 1 April 1945 (
Le Brigate Garibaldi
, vol. III, p. 560).

1
See N. Gallerano, L. Ganapini, M. Legnani, eds,
L'Italia dei quarantacingue giorni
, Chapter 4, ‘Gl: scioperi contro la guerra e la questione sindacale'; and ‘L' accordo sulle commissioni interne (2 semptembre 1943)', in V. Foa,
Sindacati e lotte operaie
, Turin: Loescher, 1975, pp. 43–6.

2
‘Salutiamo nelle Commissioni Interne una vittoria della iniziativa e della decisione degli operai italiani',
L'Unità
, Northern edition, 7 September 1943. See also the previous issues of 4 and 22 August.

3
‘Volontà ed azione operaia',
L'Italia Libera
, 21 August 1943, see also the 5 August issue.

4
For the case of Genoa, see Gibelli,
Genova operaia
, p. 61. For the position taken against the Badoglian commissions by the Milan ‘Fascio' squadrists, see Ganapini,
Lotte operaie: Milano
, p. 161.

5
The first quote is taken from C. Dellavalle,
Lotte operaie: Torino
, in
Operai e contadini
, p. 203. Dellavalle refers to the ‘Considerazioni sulla situazione generale del Piemonte con particolare riferimento a Torino, 30 settembre 1943', held in IG,
Archivio PCI
and reproduced in Secchia,
Il PCI e la guerra di liberazione
, pp. 119–23 – though the version of the text published in Secchia's volume does not include the words cited by Dellavalle. The second quote is taken from ‘Rapporto da Torino', 6 October 1943, also cited in Dellavalle,
Lotte operaie: Torino
, p. 203.