Badoglio government

The Badoglio government was the first Italian government of the post-fascist era. She came into office in July 1943 when the dictatorial ruling Benito Mussolini was overthrown by opposition fascists and monarchist forces who wanted to break the alliance with National Socialist Germany and to forestall an anti-fascist mass movement. The government switched to the side of the Allies and declared war on the formerly allied Germany in October 1943. In April 1944 Badoglio formed a second cabinet with the involvement of the previously excluded parties.

history

Italy enters the war

In 1940 Marshal Pietro Badoglio was a staunch opponent of Italian entry into the war on the side of Hitler's Germany . Mussolini finally declared war when France's defeat in the western campaign was sealed. Badoglio only resigned from the post of Chief of Staff of the armed forces in the course of the disastrous Italian campaign against Greece . His successor was Ugo Cavallero .

Putsch against Mussolini

Under the influence of the military catastrophes in North Africa (including the Second Battle of El Alamein ) and on the Don , where the Italian Expeditionary Army in the Soviet Union had been almost completely destroyed in the winter of 1942/43, the smoldering crisis of the fascist regime broke out openly in the spring of 1943 . After the Allied landing in Sicily , leading fascists had pleaded for the meeting of the Grand Fascist Council for various reasons . Shortly after the session on July 25, 1943, King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed . Benito Mussolini and had him imprisoned. Immediately afterwards the king appointed the politically relatively inexperienced Marshal Badoglio as prime minister and informed him of the ministers to be appointed (these he had chosen together with Count Pietro d'Acquarone).

Formation of government under Badoglio

The first cabinet consisted only of people from Mussolini's circle. The new government tried to strike a balance between the claims of the allies, who landed in Sicily on July 10, 1943 , and their ally Germany. In the "45 days" ( quarantacinque giorni ), the period between the fall of Mussolini and the occupation by German troops, the fascist PNF party and the institutions of the regime disappeared almost silently. Badoglio also formally dissolved the Partito Nazionale Fascista with effect from August 6, 1943 . When the Allies forced their bombing raids on Italian cities , Badoglio entered into secret ceasefire negotiations with them.

Disarmed Badoglio soldiers in Bolzano (September 1943), admission by a propaganda company

The resulting surrender of Italy was announced on September 8, 1943. The surrender meant a change of front, but without most of the Italian soldiers being informed. The Wehrmacht then started the Axis case and occupied northern and central Italy, enclosed the city of Rome and took about 800,000 Italian soldiers prisoner; thousands of Italian soldiers were shot dead after their capture, especially in the Aegean and Greece. The Germans liberated Mussolini on the Gran Sasso and installed him on September 23, 1943 as head of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana or Republic of Salò , based in Salò on Lake Garda. The fascist Black Brigades also fought against Italian partisans and troops from the Badoglio government. The king fled with Badoglio and two ministers via Pescara to unoccupied Brindisi . Under pressure from the Western Allies, the Badoglio government declared war on Germany on October 13, 1943. The Nazi press commented on the declaration of war against Germany as "ridiculous" and described Badoglio as a "traitor".

The second cabinet

The allies advancing in Italy placed the provinces they occupied under the Badoglio government, but in return demanded that the fascists should begin to be purged quickly. But soon the Allies had to increase the pressure because Badoglio was reluctant to act. At the same time, there was pressure from anti-fascists, such as the head of the Communist Party, Palmiro Togliatti, who was returning from exile . On April 22, 1944, Badoglio had to form a new government. In addition to the military and technocrats, it included the Democrazia Cristiana (DC), Partito Comunista Italiano (PCI), PSI and other smaller parties (PLI, PDL, PdA). After the liberation of Rome by the Allies on June 4, 1944, the anti-fascists forced Badoglio to resign on June 8. His successor Ivanoe Bonomi continued the purges more drastically with a cabinet of returned emigrants and anti-fascists.

Personnel composition

Badoglio I cabinet

Presidium of the Council of Ministers
President of the Council of Ministers	Pietro Badoglio	July 28, 1943 to April 17, 1944
State Secretary	Pietro Baratono	November 16, 1943 to February 1, 1944
	Dino Philipson	February 1 to April 17, 1944
Ministries
Exterior
minister	Raffaele Guariglia	July 28, 1943 to February 11, 1944
	Pietro Badoglio	February 11 to April 17, 1944, ad interim
Colonies
minister	Melchiade Gabba	July 27, 1943 to February 24, 1944
	Pietro Badoglio	February 24 to April 17, 1944, ad interim
Interior
minister	Umberto Ricci	July 28, 1943 to February 11, 1944
	Vito Reale	February 11 to April 17, 1944
State Secretary	Vito Reale	November 16, 1943 to February 11, 1944
	Pietro Capasso	February 24 to April 17, 1944
Judiciary
minister	Gaetano Azzariti	July 26, 1943 to February 15, 1944
	Ettore Casati	February 15 to April 17, 1944
State Secretary	Giuseppe Salvatore De Santis	November 16, 1943 to February 15, 1944
Finances
minister	Domenico Bartolini	July 27, 1943 to February 11, 1944
	Guido Jung	February 11 to April 17, 1944
State Secretary	Guido Jung	November 16, 1943 to February 11, 1944
currency	(incorporated into the Ministry of Finance on June 2, 1944)
minister	Giovanni Acanfora	July 26, 1943 to February 24, 1944
	Guido Jung	February 24 to June 2, 1944, ad interim
war
minister	Antonio Sorice	July 26, 1943 to February 11, 1944
	Taddeo Orlando	February 11 to April 17, 1944
State Secretary	Taddeo Orlando	November 15, 1943 to February 11, 1944
aviation
minister	Renato Sandalli	July 27, 1943 to April 17, 1944
marine
minister	Raffaele de Courten	July 27, 1943 to April 17, 1944
State Secretary	Pietro Barone	November 16, 1943 to April 17, 1944	responsible for merchant marine
War economy	(dissolved June 27, 1944)
minister	Carlo Favagrossa	July 27, 1943 to June 27, 1944
Agriculture and forest
minister	Alessandro Brizzi	July 27, 1943 to February 11, 1944
	Falcone Lucifero	February 11 to April 17, 1944
State Secretary	Tommaso Siciliani	November 16, 1943 to February 11, 1944
Trade and industry	(renamed to Commerce, Industry and Labor in August 1943)
minister	Leopoldo Piccardi	July 26 to November 16, 1943
	Epicarmo Corbino	February 11 to April 17, 1944
State Secretary	Epicarmo Corbino	November 16, 1943 to February 11, 1944
Public Works
minister	Domenico Romano	July 27, 1943 to February 11, 1944
	Raffaele De Caro	February 11 to April 17, 1944
State Secretary	Raffaele De Caro	November 16, 1943 to February 11, 1944
communication
minister	Federico Amoroso	July 27, 1943 to February 11, 1944
	Tommaso Siciliani	February 11 to April 17, 1944
State Secretary	Giovanni Di Raimondo	November 16, 1943 to April 17, 1944	responsible for railways
	Mario Fano	November 16, 1943 to April 17, 1944	responsible for post and telegraph systems
Culture
minister	Guido Rocco	July 27 to August 15, 1943
	Carlo Galli	August 15, 1943 to February 24, 1944
	Giovanni Cuomo	February 24 to April 17, 1944, ad interim
National upbringing
minister	Leonardo Severi	July 27, 1943 to February 11, 1944
	Giovanni Cuomo	February 11 to April 17, 1944
State Secretary	Giovanni Cuomo	November 16, 1943 to February 11, 1944

Badoglio II cabinet

Presidium of the Council of Ministers
President of the Council of Ministers	Pietro Badoglio	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
Vice-President of the Council of Ministers	Palmiro Togliatti (PCI)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
State Secretary	Renato Morelli (PLI)
without business area
minister	Benedetto Croce (PLI)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
minister	Carlo Sforza (independent)
minister	Giulio Rodinò di Miglione (DC)
minister	Pietro Mancini (PSIUP)
Ministries
Exterior
minister	Pietro Badoglio (military)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
Colonies
minister	Pietro Badoglio (military), ad interim	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
Interior
minister	Salvatore Aldisio (DC)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
State Secretary	Nicola Salerno (PSIUP)
	Filippo Caracciolo (PdA)
Judiciary
minister	Vincenzo Arangio-Ruiz (PLI)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
State Secretary	Nicola Lombardi (PDL)
Finances
minister	Quinto Quintieri (PDL)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
State Secretary	Antonio Pesenti (PCI)
war
minister	Taddeo Orlando (military)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
State Secretary	Mario Palermo (PCI)
aviation
minister	Renato Sandalli (military)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
marine
minister	Raffaele de Courten (military)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
State Secretary	Domenico Albergo (PSIUP)	responsible for merchant marine
Agriculture and forest
minister	Fausto Gullo (PCI)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
State Secretary	Gino Bergami (independent)
Trade, industry and work
minister	Attilio Di Napoli (PSIUP)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
State Secretary	Francesco Sansonetti
Public Works
minister	Alberto Tarchiani (PdA)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
State Secretary	Adolfo Cilento (PDL)
communication
minister	Francesco Cerabona (PDL)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
State Secretary	Giovanni Di Raimondo (independent)		responsible for railways
State Secretary	Mario Fano (independent)		responsible for post and telegraph systems
National upbringing	(renamed Public Education on May 29, 1944 )
minister	Adolfo Omodeo (PdA)	April 22nd to June 8th, 1944
State Secretary	Angelo Raffaele Jervolino (DC)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See also Wikipedia in Italian .
2. ↑ Sicily and the Surrender of Italy, page 281 (Chapter XV: Dissolution of the Rome-Berlin Axis )
3. ^ Peter Tompkins: Treason in Italian . Molden Verlag 1967. Excerpts from it here: Peter Tompkins: Mussolini's fall and Italy's change of front 1943 (3rd part). In: Der Spiegel 14/1967.
4. ↑ The NSDAP -Blatt West German observers devoted in its issue No. 524 of October 14, 1943 Bodoglio on the front page wide room and wrote, among other things. "Badoglio with this declaration of war again proved 'that he was the British-only tool American war criminal. He thus crowns treason. Nobody, not even in the enemy camp, takes this creature seriously. "
5. ↑ Der Spiegel 14/1967: Divorce in Italian. Mussolini's fall and Italy's change of front in 1943 (part 4) . See also Part 1 , Part 2 and Part 3
6. ↑ PDF of the Amministrazione dell'Interno (Italian)

literature

• Piero Pieri:  Badoglio, Pietro. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 5:  Bacca-Baratta. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1963.
• Ivan Palermo, Storia di un armistizio (= Le Scie 52). Mondadori, Milan 1967 (Italian)
• Hans Woller: The accounting for fascism in Italy 1943 to 1948 (= sources and representations on contemporary history. Vol. 38). Oldenbourg, Munich et al. 1996, ISBN 3-486-56199-5 .
• Denis Mack Smith: Modern Italy. A political history. New Haven / London 1997 (English)
• Claudio Pavone: Una guerra civile. Saggio storico sulla moralità nella Resistenza , 1991. Paperback 2006, ISBN 978-8833916767
  • English translation: A Civil War: A History of the Italian Resistance . ISBN 978-1781687772 (2013)
• Ernesto Galli della Loggia: La morte della patria: La crisi dell'idea di nazione tra Resistenza, antifascismo e Repubblica , 1998.