A Civil War (82 page)

98
LRSI
, p. 168, letter to mother of Umberto Scaramelli, 28 October 1944.

99
Letter of 29 April to the mother of Paolo Comelli of Udine, born 1907, shot in Valsassina on 30 April 1945 (
LRSI
, p. 231).

100
Letters of 30 November 1944 and another undated from Sergio Mannucci, of Florence, fallen fighting the partisans on 21 November 1944 (
LRSI
, p. 172).

101
Revelli,
La guerra dei poveri
, p. 200 (17 April 1944).

102
‘Relazione sull'attacco al presidio di Fara', by the Command of the 81
^st
Brigade Volante Loss, 21 March 1945 (IG,
BG
, 08315).

103
Letter of 3 September 1944 from Myrio Montanari, born 1917, shot in early May 1945 (
LRSI
, pp. 160–61).

104
Letter from Mario Amprimo, born in Trieste in 1926, shot by the partisans in March 1945.

105
Calamandrei,
La vita indivisibile
, p. 137 (2 March 1944).

106
‘Il tempo del bastone e della carota' (‘The time for the stick and for the carrot') was the subtitle Mussolini gave to the anonymously published series of articles appearing in the
Corriere della Sera
in nineteen non-consecutive instalments from 24 June to 18 July 1944, under the title ‘Storia di un anno'. In the last piece, the author revealed his true identity. See B. Mussolini,
Opera omnia
, edited by E. and D. Susmel, Florence: La Fenice, 1951–64, XXXIV (1961), pp. 301–444.

107
See Battaglia,
Storia della Resistenza
, p. 138, and Gallerano. ed.,
L'altro dopoguerra
.

108
Gobetti,
Diario partigiano
, p. 25. This sense of becoming estranged from normal life, continuing in its ordinary rhythms, was described with particular intensity by those who were deported to extermination camps. ‘The tracks that honeymooning couples' trains glided along were no less smooth under our weight, and by day, in the countryside, people would stand to watch as our train passed'. R. Antelme,
La specie umana
, Turin: Einaudi, 1954, p. 31 (original edition:
L'espèce humaine
, Paris: Gallimard, 1947), cited in A. Rossi-Doria, ‘Memoria e storia dei Lager nazisti. A proposito di “La vita offesa” ', in
Movimento operaio e socialista
X (1987), p. 94. We could also cite the final scene of the Losey film
Monsieur Klein
, where the Jews are taken away while all around them the everyday activity of a market continues.

109
‘Organizzare la guerra partigiana',
L'Unità
Rome edition, 30 December 1943.

110
See, for example, how it is recorded in Artom,
Diari
, p. 72. See also the audiovisual collection on the deportations from the Rome Ghetto of 16 October 1943, produced by the Istituto Romano per la Storia d'Italia dal Fascismo alla Resistenza, the Comunità Israelitica di Roma and the Comune's Prima Circoscrizione, which can be consulted at the Archivio Storico Audiovisivo del Movimento Operaio in Rome. An echo of the absurd trust in the Fascists can be found in M. Michaelis,
La persecuzione degli ebrei
, in Poggio, ed.,
La Repubblica sociale italiana
, pp. 367–85. In Paralup, the area where the first GL bands were being formed in the Cuneese region, the partisans, particularly those who were themselves Jewish, called in vain on the Jewish families there seeking refuge before the predictable fascist raid, which, indeed, led to their capture (testimony to the author from Mario Giovana, whom I thank).

111
‘The population is a little hostile to us, because it is said that we are all volunteers', wrote one airman (‘Esame della corrispondenza censurata al 30 giugno 1944', in ACS, SPD, CR, RSI, envelope 9, folder 3).

112
The 26 July letter is published as an appendix in Francovich,
La Resistenza a Firenze
, pp. 296–7.

113
‘Lettera inviata dal Comando del raggruppamento alla Società subalpina di imprese ferroviarie di navigazione del lago Maggiore, 12 ottobre 1944' (
Le Brigate Garibaldi
, vol. II, pp. 437–8). See also the 11 June 1944 warning given by the Piacenza province divisions' command to the director of the local prisons (ibid., p. 31). In the summer of 1944 this author personally warned the director of the Castelfranco Emilia prison that if he was handed over to the Germans to be deported to Germany or to the Fascist firing-squad – which had recently decimated the political prisoners – then his friends would really make him pay for it.

114
See, for example, in the Rome edition of
L'Unità
: ‘Dopo l'ultimo movimento dei questori. Avvertimento!' (17 November 1943); ‘Gesto nazionale di alcuni attori' (7 December 1943); ‘Il coprifuoco a Roma. Avvertimento alla polizia' (30 December 1943); ‘Stiano in guardia i poliziotti (“la Giustizia popolare sarà senza pietà”)' (6 January 1944); ‘I portieri debbono aiutare i patrioti' (6 January 1944); ‘Ultimo avvertimento alla polizia' (12 February 1944). Togliatti gave a stark warning on Radio Milano Libertà (Radio Mosca) on 30 December 1943 (Togliatti,
Opere
, vol. IV: 2, p. 514). ‘Lettere ai funzionari di polizia' and paragraph 6 of the PCI leadership circular to all federations of 1 January 1944 (
Le Brigate Garibaldi
, vol. I, p. 212).

115
Bolis,
Il mio granello di sabbia
, p. 75

116
The RSI interior minister Paolo Zerbino himself spoke of the CLNAI's functioning in its latter phase as a ‘shadow government', in a statement made to Giorgio Bocca (see Bocca,
La Repubblica di Mussolini
, p. 319). For the ‘third government' formulation, see Pavone,
Tre governi
.

117
See G. Grassi, ‘Introduzione' to the
Atti clnai
, p. 21, which refers to some efforts made in this manner.

118
Atti clnai
, pp. 172–7.

119
Proceedings of 1 December 1944 (
Resistenza e ricostruzione in Liguria
, p. 160).

120
See Bernardo,
Il momento buono
, pp. 268, 158.

121
For the position taken by the CLN, see
CLNAI
, pp. 121–2. On the loan affair as a whole, see L. Ganapini, ‘Lotte operaie: Milano', in
Operai e contadini
, pp. 175–80, 189–92, and then the section ‘Un miliardo per la Repubblica ambrosiana', in Ganapini,
Una città, la guerra
, Milan: Franco Angeli, 1988, pp. 116–20.

122
See P. Baffi,
Studi sulla moneta
, Milan: Giuffrè, 1965, p. 232.

123
Legnani,
Potere, società ed economia
, p. 20.

124
INSMLI,
CLNAI
, envelope 6, folder 3, subfolder 3.

125
See his letter ‘Ai compagni del CLNAI', 8 August 1944 (
Atti CLNAI
, p. 155).

126
I am referring to the
luogotenenziale
(king's lieutenant's) legislative decree of 5 October 1944, No. 249. In the report presented to the commission charged with preparing its text, no reference is made to the CLNAI's position. The report is in ACS, Presidenza del Consiglio dei ministri 1948–1950, envelope 37, folder 1.1.26/13504, subfolder o. Its author, Arturo Carlo Jemolo, communicated its main substance in a ‘note' in
Le fonti di diritto vigenti in Italia. Profili giuridici della tragedia italiana
, which can be found in the
Atti della Reale Accademia Peloritana
V (1944), pp. 127–50; see also, F. Margiotta Broglio, ed., in
Nuova Antologia
CXX: 2153 (January–March 1985), pp. 12–30.

127
The report of the commission, comprising Jemolo, the lawyer Antonio Galamini and a civil servant, dated 26 July 1945, is in ACS, Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri: 1948–1950, envelope 37, folder 1.1.26/13504, subfolder 9. For the affair as a whole, see Pavone,
Tre governi
, pp. 450–2. The Versailles National Assembly of 1871 took more drastic measures to confront the decrees emanating from the Paris Commune. It went so far as to deny the validity of registrations of marital status, but to avoid the inevitable bother arising from this, it was forced to accept marriages and the registration of one's natural children being written up
ex novo
on the initiative of the parties concerned, or, failing this, upon the request of the state attorney (see Jemolo,
Le fonti di diritto vigenti in Italia
, p. 26).

128
See Deakin,
Brutal Friendship
, p. 364.

129
See the SID (Defence Information Services) report of 29 February 1944, cited in Rizzi,
Lo sguardo del potere
, p. 87.

130
‘Relazione al ministro dell'Interno del capo della provincia (prefetto) Quarantotto', 7 January 1944, cited in Revelli,
La guerra dei poveri
, pp. 437–8.

131
Fondo RSI
, No. 889.

132
Ibid., No. 283.

133
Ibid., No. 485.

134
Ibid., No. 1039.

135
Letter from Franca Barbier di Vercelli, 24 July 1944 (
LRSI
, p. 135).

1
See the editorial of
Italia Nuova
of 4 April 1944, ‘Chiarimenti'; the 24 January 1944 issue; and the 1 March 1944 issue's article, ‘Le premesse fondamentali della ricostruzione'.

2
See the article, ‘Monarchia e sinistra', in
L'Italiano
, Rome, 15 March 1944. On 15 December 1943 the paper had taken a position against the ‘so-called revolution'.

3
Cited in Degli Espinosa,
Il Regno del Sud
, p. 81.

4
‘Relazione mensile riservatissima, dal luglio al novembre 1944, del generale Taddeo Orlando al presidente del Consiglio e ministro dell'Interno Bonomi' (in the ACS, cited in Aga-Rossi,
La situazione politica ed economica
, pp. 102–27).

5
The order of the day was widely reproduced in the Resistance press. See its text in Bonomi,
Diario
, pp. 123–4.

6
Leaflet of 2 April 1944, written by the Modena CLN's chair, the Christian Democrat Alessandro Coppi (see Gorrieri,
La Repubblica di Montefiorino
, p. 175).

7
See the article, ‘Sangue', in its 5 May 1944 Rome edition.

8
See its Rome edition's articles ‘Gli artefici della guerra civile', ‘Italia e Antitalia: gli eroi di Monte Canino', and ‘Il nostro fronte'.

9
The document is republished in part, without any indication of its source (probably the De Gasperi archive) in Bianchi,
I cattolici
, pp. 268–71.

10
See the pamphlet
CLNAI – Comando del CVL. Guerra di liberazione. Esperienze e figure del CVL
, Rome 1945.

11
See the Rome edition's articles ‘Risposta al Primo Ministro inglese' and ‘Che cosa vogliono gli operai'.

12
Such was the response of the Astigiano Gruppi di difesa della donna to the appeal for peace that the
podestà
had made for Easter 1945. They add that it was ‘all too easy' to invoke concord now that the time to settle accounts was approaching (cited in Bravo,
La Repubblica partigiana dell'Alto Monferrato
, p. 230).

13
Avanti!
, Rome edition, 30 December 1943, article ‘La figura del Caduto'.

14
Northern edition, 22 July 1944, editorial ‘La tragedia'.

15
Editorial ‘La rivoluzione italiana', in
L'Italia Libera
, Lombardy edition, 22 May 1944.

16
Bianco,
Guerra partigiana
, p. 20.

17
Inverni (V. Foa),
I partiti
, p. 73

18
‘
Guerra di rivoluzione
', editorial of
Giustizia e Libertà. Notiziario dei patrioti delle Alpi Cozie
, September 1944 (cited in Giovana,
Storia di una formazione partigiana
, p. 199).

19
Introduzione alla vita politica (per gli italiani cresciuti sotto il fascismo)
, Edizioni del Comando delle formazioni partigiane Giustizia e Libertà, p. 2. The author was Massimo Mila.

20
Circular of 31 October 1943, cited in Valiani,
Il partito d'azione
, p. 77.

21
‘Relazione del commissario politico del Comando piemontese delle formazioni Giustizia e Libertà', 31 December 1944 (
Formazioni GL
, p. 273).

22
See Giovana,
Storia di una formazione partigiana
, p. 256.

23
Rome edition, editorial ‘La politica di Badoglio'.

24
‘Per l'unità del popolo italiano nella lotta contro il nazismo e il fascismo', a long, notable article in the Rome edition, which, in a bitter polemic against Badoglio, reflected the Rome leadership group's understanding of the left turn that had followed 8 September 1943.

25
Rome edition, 5 October 1943, article ‘Governo di Partiti'.

26
‘Due svolte. La nostra organizzazione di fronte ai compiti nuovi', in
La nostra lotta
1 (October 1943), p. 19.

27
Testimony of Lidia Beccaria Rolfi, a primary-school teacher, in Bravo and Jalla,
La vita offesa
, p. 82.

28
Atti CVL
, Appendix 1, p. 546.

29
The ‘Direttive' were published in
La Nostra Lotta
III: 7 (10 April 1945), pp. 31–3. Secchia republished them in
Il PCI e la guerra di liberazione
, pp. 1010–11, but omitting the passage here cited, which can instead be found in Longo,
Sulla via dell'insurrezione nazionale
, p. 344, or on pp. 591–2 of
Le Brigate Garibaldi
, vol. III.