The Rebirth of Italian Communism, 1943–44: Dissidents in German-Occupied Rome

Description

During the final years of the Second World War, a decisive change took place in the Italian left, as the Italian Communist Party (PCI) rose from clandestinity and recast itself as a mass, patriotic force committed to building a new democracy. This book explains how this new party came into being. Using Rome as its focus, it explains that the rebirth of the PCI required that it subdue other, dissident strands of communist thinking. During the nine-month German occupation of Rome in 1943-44, dissident communists would create the capital’s largest single resistance formation, the Communist Movement of Italy (MCd’I), which galvanised a social revolt in the capital's borgate slums. Exploring this wartime battle to define the rebirth of Italian communism, the author examines the ways in which a militant minority of communists rooted their activity in the everyday lives of the population under occupation. In particular, this study focuses on the role of draft resistance and the revolt against labour conscription in driving recruitment to partisan bands, and how communist militants sought to mould these recruits through an active effort of political education. Studying the political writing of these dissidents, their autodidact Marxism and the social conditions in which it emerged, this book also sheds light on an often-ignored underground culture in the years that preceded the armed resistance that began in September 1943. Revealing an almost unknown history of dissident communism in Italy, outside of more recognisable traditions like Trotskyism or Bordigism, this book provides an innovative perspective on Italian history. It will be of interest to those researching the broad topics of political and social history, but more specifically, resistance in the Second World War and the post-war European left. Acknowledgements Contents Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction: The Many Refoundations of Italian Communism 1.1 History from Below 1.2 Inventing Traditions 1.3 Structure Chapter 2: ‘You Just Wait Till Stalin Gets Here…’ Communist Conspiracies in Rome, 1939–42 2.1 The Writing on the Wall 2.2 The Long Journey Through Fascism 2.3 Scintilla 2.4 The British ‘Buldog’ Spurned 2.5 ‘From the Clandestine Grouplet to Mass Work’ Chapter 3: The Resistance Begins 3.1 The War Comes Home 3.2 The Overthrow of Mussolini, and the ‘45 Days’ 3.3 The Rome PCI After 25 July 3.4 The Foundation of the Movimento Comunista d’Italia 3.5 The United Front 3.6 8 September: A Chaotic Collapse 3.7 A Single Communist Movement? Chapter 4: The Borgate Rise 4.1 A ‘Red Belt’? 4.2 Motors to Resistance 4.3 The MCd’I’s Command Structure 4.4 The ‘Banda Rossi’ 4.5 Strategic Directives 4.6 7 November Chapter 5: The Allies’ Approach 5.1 Insurrectionary Plans 5.2 Military Contacts and POWs 5.3 The Churchill Speech 5.4 The CLN Crisis 5.5 The ‘Committee of Public Safety’ Chapter 6: The Forces of Repression 6.1 The Arsenal of Repression 6.2 Via Rasella and the Fosse Ardeatine 6.3 A Retreat Chapter 7: Stalin’s Intervention 7.1 The Turn Before Salerno 7.2 Togliatti’s Return 7.3 A Narrative of Betrayal 7.4 Tito’s Alternative 7.5 Doppiezza and Soviet Foreign Policy Chapter 8: The Missing Insurrection 8.1 A Peaceful Takeover 8.2 The Moment of Liberation 8.3 Open Organisation 8.4 The ‘Red Army’ 8.5 From Resistance to Insurrection Chapter 9: Social Conflict in Post-Liberation Rome 9.1 The Anger of Crowds 9.2 Holdout Partisans 9.3 Criminalisation 9.4 Unity Projects 9.5 The Communist Idea 9.6 A Cold War Republic Chapter 10: Conclusion: The ‘Red Resistance’ and Its Myths 10.1 Writing Their Own History 10.2 The Ora X of Insurrection 10.3 The New Anti-fascism 10.4 The Years of Lead 10.5 The Passing of an Illusion Bibliography Index