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History

The history of the Italian Resistenza begins with a bang: following military failures, the Fascist Grand Council orders the imprisonment of Benito Mussolini on July 25, 1943. His successor in office, the fascist Pietro Badoglio, declares a unilateral armistice with the Allied troops on September 8, 1943. The Allies conquer Italy from the south. General Eisenhower broadcasts a statement about this on the radio that was not coordinated with the White House.

The birth of the Resistenza

This has two serious consequences:

1. National Socialist Germany „liberates“ the imprisoned Duce from his captivity on the Gran Sasso a few days later. Hitler orders the establishment of the Italian Social Republic in Salò sul Garda under his and fascist leadership.

2. The scattered Italian troops in the north of the country are trying, on the one hand, to get south. For many soldiers, however, the way is too dangerous. Because of their military training, they are the ideal nuclei of the forming resistance against Nazi Germany and its puppet government in Salò. Numerous other segments of the population of northern Italy sympathize with these resistance cells. Even parts of society whose sympathy for fascism before the war was unquestioned are realizing just in time how badly the regime had misled them. The clergy and the bourgeoisie are also now recognizing the necessity of resolute action.

Was the Resistenza communist?

Thus, it comes about that almost all social groups, albeit to varying degrees, resolutely oppose the fascist enemy. While the Americans and British remain somewhat reserved toward the Resistenza (primarily regarding weapons supplies) because they assume the communist factions are directed from Moscow, later analyses show that this concern was unfounded. 

Italy wants to be recognized as a member of the Western community of values across all political currents.

Following a guerrilla war without parallel in European history, the Resistenza also marched victoriously into the northern cities on April 25, 1945.

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Posts on the subject

 Op. 39 uses metaphors to approach the terrible period between 1921 and 1945. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine had a decisive influence on the creation of the following work. A now completely totalitarian regime makes its politically apathetic population believe that the enemy of the system—namely, the liberally constituted democracies—is threatening „holy“ Russia, and, before the eyes of a world population initially watching in disbelief, unleashes a war of annihilation against a much smaller country.

Incredulous as we were at first, we are now just as appalled, and certain parallels to the fascist Italy of the first half of the 20th century come to mind.

While Italy's initial war aim was North Africa, after 1943 the will to destroy turned inward, directed against the internal enemy—the rapidly forming partisans—and its own population.

An irony of history is that a good portion of these partisans placed their hope precisely in that Russia which, 80 years later, itself becomes a murderous imperial power.

In film and symphony, we trace the emergence of liberally constituted Italy in 3 movements. What preconditions must even be in place for a fascist regime to emerge? Doesn't each of us, in certain situations, contribute our mite? In dream images, 6 social classes (peasants, clergy, bourgeoisie, workers, intellectuals, soldiers) are linked with 6 deadly sins from Dante Alighieri's Purgatorio.