Italy

Italy was established as a kingdom (under Victor Emmanuel II) and nation-state in 1861. In 1922, as a result of a national crisis and the threat of political unrest, King Victor Emmanuel III transferred power to the leader of the fascist movement, Benito Mussolini. The latter established a dictatorship as prime minister and allied himself with the German “Führer” Adolf Hitler (Steel Pact) in the 1930s. Although the king opposed Italy’s entry into the war, Mussolini declared war on the Western powers in 1940. On July 24, 1943, the Fascist Grand Council deposed Mussolini after the Allies landed in southern Italy. Victor Emmanuel III had Mussolini arrested and ordered Marshal Badoglio to form a military government; fascist organizations were banned. The supreme command was now taken over by the king himself, and on September 8, 1943, after negotiations with the Western powers, he declared an armistice. As a result, the German Armed Forces occupied large parts of northern and central Italy and captured Italian soldiers in all theaters of war. About 650,000 men were deported to the Reich territory as “Italian military internees” for forced labor. After the liberation of Rome by the Allies, Badoglio resigned, and the king transferred the official duties to his son Umberto II. In June 1946, the monarchy in Italy ended after a referendum.