Rodolfo Graziani
Encyclopedia
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (August 11, 1882 - January 11, 1955), was an officer in the Italian
Regio Esercito (Royal Army) who led military
expedition
s in Africa
before and during World War II
.
in the province of Frosinone
. In 1903, he decided to pursue a military career. He served in World War I
and became the youngest Colonello
(Colonel) in the Regio Esercito.
. He was responsible for suppressing the Senussi
rebellion. During this so-called "pacification
", he was responsible for the construction of several concentration camps and labor camp
s, where thousands Libyan prisoners died, some killed directly by hanging, like Omar Mukhtar
, or bullets, but most indirectly by starvation or disease. His deeds earned him the nickname "the Butcher of Fezzan" among the Arabs, but was called by the Italians the Pacifier of Libya (Pacificatore della Libia).
From 1926-1930, Graziani was the Vice Governor of Italian Cyrenaica
in Libya. In 1930, he became Governor of Cyrenaica and held this position until 1934, when it was determined that he was needed elsewhere. In 1935, Graziani was made the Governor of Italian Somaliland
.
)
In 1935-1936, during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
, Graziani was the commander of the southern front. His army invaded Ethiopia
from Italian Somaliland
and he commanded Italian forces at Battles of Genale Doria
and the Ogaden
. However, Graziani's efforts in the south were secondary to the main invasion launched from Eritrea
by Generale Emilio De Bono
and continued by Marshal of Italy
Pietro Badoglio
. It was Badoglio and not Graziani who entered Addis Ababa
in triumph after his "March of the Iron Will
". But it was Graziani who said: "The Duce
will have Ethiopia, with or without the Ethiopians."
Addis Ababa
fell to Badoglio on 5 May 1936. Graziani had wanted to reach Harar
before Badoglio reached Addis Ababa, but failed to do so. Even so, on 9 May, Graziani was awarded for his role as commander of the southern front with a promotion to the rank of Marshal of Italy. During his tour of an Ethiopian Orthodox church in Dire Dawa, Graziani fell into a pit covered by an ornate carpet, a trap that he believed had been set by the Ethiopian priests to injure or kill him. As a result he held Ethiopian clerics in deep suspicion.
After the war, Graziani was made Viceroy
of Italian East Africa and Governor-General
of Shewa/Addis Ababa. After an unsuccessful attempt to kill him by two Eritreans on 19 February 1937 (and after other murders of Italians in occupied Ethiopia), Graziani ordered a bloody and indiscriminate reprisal upon the conquered country, later remembered by Ethiopians as Yekatit 12: thousands of civilian inhabitants of Addis Ababa were killed indiscriminately, another 1,469 were summarily executed by the end of the next month, and over one thousand Ethiopian notables were imprisoned then exiled from Ethiopia. He became known as "the Butcher of Ethiopia". Also in connection with the attempt on his life, Graziani authorized the massacre of the monks of the ancient monastery of Debre Libanos
and the large number of pilgrims who had traveled there to celebrate the feast day of the founding saint of the monastery. Graziani's suspicion of the Ethiopian Orthodox clergy (and the fact that the wife of one of the assassins had briefly taken sanctuary at the monastery) had convinced him of the complicity of the monks in the attempt on his life.
From 1939-1941, Graziani was the Commander-in-Chief
of the Regio Esecito′s General Staff.
, Graziani was still Commander-in-Chief
of the Regio Esercito′s General Staff. After the death of Marshal
Italo Balbo
in a friendly fire
incident on 28 June 1940, Graziani took his place as Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa
and as the Governor General of Libya.
Initially giving Graziani a deadline of 8 August, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini
ordered Graziani to invade Egypt
with the 10th Army. Graziani expressed doubts about the ability of his largely un-mechanized
force to defeat the British
and put off the invasion for as long as he could.
However, faced with demotion, Graziani ultimately followed orders and elements of the 10th Army invaded Egypt
on 9 September. The Italians made modest gains into Egypt and then prepared a series of fortified camps to defend their positions. In 1941, Graziani resigned his commission after the British counterattack
ed and the 10th Army was completely defeated by them during Operation Compass
.
On 25 March 1941, Graziani was replaced by Generale Italo Gariboldi
, and remained inactive for two years.
Graziani was the only Italian Marshal to remain loyal to Mussolini after Dino Grandi
's Grand Council of Fascism
coup
.
He was appointed Minister of Defence of the Italian Social Republic
by the "Duce" and oversaw the mixed Italo-German
Army Group Liguria
(Armee Ligurien
) commanded by General Alfredo Guzzoni
. He was able to obtain a defeat of the Allies in the "battle of Garfagnana
" in December 1944.
At the end of the war, Graziani spent a few days in San Vittore prison in Milan
before being transferred to Allied
control. He was brought back to Africa
in Anglo-American custody, staying there until February 1946. Allied forces then felt the danger of assassination or lynching had passed (many thousands of fascists were murdered in Italy in summer and fall 1945), and returned him to Procida
prison in Italy.
In 1948, a military tribunal sentenced Graziani to a further 19 years′ jail, as punishment for his collaboration with the Nazis; but he was released after serving only a few months of the sentence. He was never prosecuted for specific war crimes. Unlike the Germans and Japanese, Italians were not subjected to prosecutions by Allies tribunals.
Graziani in the early 1950s did some political activity with the neofascist Movimento Sociale Italiano, and become the "Honorary President" of this Italian party in 1953. In January 1955, at 72, he died of natural causes in Rome.
failed to do trials against Graziani and other Italian authorities before WWII.
In 1943 the Allied Powers agreed to create a new body to replace the League: the United Nations
. The "United Nations War Crimes Commission" was created to investigate war crimes. On March 4, 1948 charges against Graziani were presented to the United Nations War Crimes Commission
. The commission was given evidence of the Italian policy of systematic terrorism and Graziani’s self-admitted intention to execute all Amharas authorities, and cited a telegram from Graziani to General Nasi, in which he had written, “Keep in mind also that I have already aimed at the total destruction of Abyssinian chiefs and notables and that this should be carried out completely in your territories.” The UN commission agreed that there was a prima facie case against eight Italians including Graziani.
The British Foreign Office consistently opposed Ethiopia’s inclusion in this Commission and the trial of Italian crimes committed during the 1935–36 invasion. Ethiopian efforts to bring Graziani to trial were frustrated by intransigence, by both Italy and Britain, and were finally abandoned, under pressure from the Foreign Office, whose support the Ethiopian Government considered essential for its claim to Eritrea.
However, in 1948 an Italian tribunal condemned Graziani to 19 years, but he served only four months because his lawyers demonstrated that he "received orders".
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
Regio Esercito (Royal Army) who led military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
expedition
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
s in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
before and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Rise to prominence
Rodolfo Graziani was born in FilettinoFilettino
Filettino is a village located about 70 km east of Rome and about 30 km north of Frosinone. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 542 and an area of 77.5 km²....
in the province of Frosinone
Province of Frosinone
The Province of Frosinone is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 comuni . Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area of 3,244 km², and a total population of 489,042 .The Province was established by Royal Decree on 6 December 1926 with territories belonging to Lazio...
. In 1903, he decided to pursue a military career. He served in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and became the youngest Colonello
Italian Army Ranks
This chart represents the Italian Army rank insignia used on the slip-on of winter service uniforms. The color of the uniforms is khaki.Officers who are assigned to a position acting in a higher rank than their own wear the insignia of the higher rank but the highest star of the insignia is trimmed...
(Colonel) in the Regio Esercito.
In Libya
In the 1920s, Graziani commanded the Italian forces in LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. He was responsible for suppressing the Senussi
Senussi
The Senussi or Sanussi refers to a Muslim political-religious order in Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi, Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Senussi was concerned with both the decline of Islamic thought and spirituality and the weakening of Muslim political...
rebellion. During this so-called "pacification
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
", he was responsible for the construction of several concentration camps and labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
s, where thousands Libyan prisoners died, some killed directly by hanging, like Omar Mukhtar
Omar Mukhtar
Omar Mukhtar , of the Mnifa, was born in the small village of Janzour, near Tobruk in eastern Barqa in Libya. Beginning in 1912, he organized and, for nearly twenty years, led native resistance to Italian colonization of Libya. The Italians captured and hanged him in 1931...
, or bullets, but most indirectly by starvation or disease. His deeds earned him the nickname "the Butcher of Fezzan" among the Arabs, but was called by the Italians the Pacifier of Libya (Pacificatore della Libia).
From 1926-1930, Graziani was the Vice Governor of Italian Cyrenaica
Italian Cyrenaica
Italian Cyrenaica was an African colony, in present day eastern Libya, of the Kingdom of Italy from 1927 to 1934. It was part of the Italian North Africa territory conquered from the Ottoman empire in 1911.-History:...
in Libya. In 1930, he became Governor of Cyrenaica and held this position until 1934, when it was determined that he was needed elsewhere. In 1935, Graziani was made the Governor of Italian Somaliland
Italian Somaliland
Italian Somaliland , also known as Italian Somalia, was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy from the 1880s until 1936 in the region of modern-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th century by the Somali Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate, the territory was later acquired by Italy through various...
.
In Ethiopia
(see also: Tito MinnitiTito Minniti
Tito Minniti was an Italian pilot who was killed after he was captured by Ethiopians during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War in 1935 near Degehabur. His death and alleged torture became an atrocity story justifying the use of mustard gas against the Ethiopians...
)
In 1935-1936, during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
, Graziani was the commander of the southern front. His army invaded Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
from Italian Somaliland
Italian Somaliland
Italian Somaliland , also known as Italian Somalia, was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy from the 1880s until 1936 in the region of modern-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th century by the Somali Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate, the territory was later acquired by Italy through various...
and he commanded Italian forces at Battles of Genale Doria
Battle of Genale Doria
The Battle of Genale Doria was a battle on the "southern front" fought during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The battle consisted almost entirely of air attacks by the Italian Royal Air Force against an advancing and then withdrawing Ethiopian army under Ras Desta Damtu...
and the Ogaden
Battle of the Ogaden
The Battle of the Ogaden was battle fought in 1936 in the southern front of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The battle consisted of attacks by the Italian forces of General Rodolfo Graziani, the Commander-in-Chief of the forces on the "southern front," against Ethiopian defensive positions...
. However, Graziani's efforts in the south were secondary to the main invasion launched from Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
by Generale Emilio De Bono
Emilio De Bono
Emilio De Bono was an Italian General, fascist activist, Marshal, and member of the Fascist Grand Council . De Bono fought in the Italo-Turkish War, World War I, and the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.-Early life:De Bono was born in Cassano d'Adda...
and continued by Marshal of Italy
Marshal of Italy
Marshal of Italy was a rank in the Italian Royal Army . Originally created in 1924 by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini for the purpose of honoring Generals Luigi Cadorna and Armando Diaz, the rank was granted to several other general officers from 1926 to 1943...
Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino was an Italian soldier and politician...
. It was Badoglio and not Graziani who entered Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
in triumph after his "March of the Iron Will
March of the Iron Will
The March of the Iron Will , or the Iron-Will Column , was a Fascist propaganda event staged during the final days of the Italian invasion of Ethiopia...
". But it was Graziani who said: "The Duce
Duce
Duce is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word dux, and cognate with duke. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as Il Duce of the movement and became a reference to the dictator position of Head of Government and Duce of Fascism of Italy was established...
will have Ethiopia, with or without the Ethiopians."
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
fell to Badoglio on 5 May 1936. Graziani had wanted to reach Harar
Harar
Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...
before Badoglio reached Addis Ababa, but failed to do so. Even so, on 9 May, Graziani was awarded for his role as commander of the southern front with a promotion to the rank of Marshal of Italy. During his tour of an Ethiopian Orthodox church in Dire Dawa, Graziani fell into a pit covered by an ornate carpet, a trap that he believed had been set by the Ethiopian priests to injure or kill him. As a result he held Ethiopian clerics in deep suspicion.
After the war, Graziani was made Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
of Italian East Africa and Governor-General
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
of Shewa/Addis Ababa. After an unsuccessful attempt to kill him by two Eritreans on 19 February 1937 (and after other murders of Italians in occupied Ethiopia), Graziani ordered a bloody and indiscriminate reprisal upon the conquered country, later remembered by Ethiopians as Yekatit 12: thousands of civilian inhabitants of Addis Ababa were killed indiscriminately, another 1,469 were summarily executed by the end of the next month, and over one thousand Ethiopian notables were imprisoned then exiled from Ethiopia. He became known as "the Butcher of Ethiopia". Also in connection with the attempt on his life, Graziani authorized the massacre of the monks of the ancient monastery of Debre Libanos
Debre Libanos
Debre Libanos is a monastery in Ethiopia, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the Oromia Region. Founded in the thirteenth century by Saint Tekle Haymanot, the monastery's chief abbot, called the Ichege, was the second most powerful official in the Ethiopian Church after the Abuna.The monastery...
and the large number of pilgrims who had traveled there to celebrate the feast day of the founding saint of the monastery. Graziani's suspicion of the Ethiopian Orthodox clergy (and the fact that the wife of one of the assassins had briefly taken sanctuary at the monastery) had convinced him of the complicity of the monks in the attempt on his life.
From 1939-1941, Graziani was the Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the Regio Esecito′s General Staff.
In World War II
At the start of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Graziani was still Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the Regio Esercito′s General Staff. After the death of Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo was an Italian Blackshirt leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force , Governor-General of Libya, Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa , and the "heir apparent" to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.After serving in...
in a friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
incident on 28 June 1940, Graziani took his place as Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa
Italian North Africa
Italian North Africa was the aggregate of territories and colonies controlled by Italy in North Africa from 1911 until World War II...
and as the Governor General of Libya.
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
ordered Graziani to invade Egypt
Italian invasion of Egypt
The Italian Invasion of Egypt was an Italian offensive action against British, Commonwealth and Free French forces during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. Initially, the goal of the offensive was to seize the Suez Canal. To accomplish this, Italian forces from Libya would have...
with the 10th Army. Graziani expressed doubts about the ability of his largely un-mechanized
Mechanization
Mechanization or mechanisation is providing human operators with machinery that assists them with the muscular requirements of work or displaces muscular work. In some fields, mechanization includes the use of hand tools...
force to defeat the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and put off the invasion for as long as he could.
However, faced with demotion, Graziani ultimately followed orders and elements of the 10th Army invaded Egypt
Italian invasion of Egypt
The Italian Invasion of Egypt was an Italian offensive action against British, Commonwealth and Free French forces during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. Initially, the goal of the offensive was to seize the Suez Canal. To accomplish this, Italian forces from Libya would have...
on 9 September. The Italians made modest gains into Egypt and then prepared a series of fortified camps to defend their positions. In 1941, Graziani resigned his commission after the British counterattack
Counterattack
A counterattack is a tactic used in response against an attack. The term originates in military strategy. The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy in attack and the specific objectives are usually to regain lost ground or to destroy attacking enemy units.It is...
ed and the 10th Army was completely defeated by them during Operation Compass
Operation Compass
Operation Compass was the first major Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during World War II. British and Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces in western Egypt and eastern Libya in December 1940 to February 1941. The attack was a complete success...
.
On 25 March 1941, Graziani was replaced by Generale Italo Gariboldi
Italo Gariboldi
Italo Gariboldi was a senior officer in the Italian Royal Army before and during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
, and remained inactive for two years.
Graziani was the only Italian Marshal to remain loyal to Mussolini after Dino Grandi
Dino Grandi
Dino Grandi , Conte di Mordano, was an Italian Fascist politician, minister of justice, minister of foreign affairs and president of parliament.- Early life :...
's Grand Council of Fascism
Grand Council of Fascism
The Grand Council of Fascism was the main body of Mussolini's Fascist government in Italy. A body which held and applied great power to control the institutions of government, it was created as a party body in 1923 and became a state body on 9 December 1928....
coup
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
.
He was appointed Minister of Defence of the Italian Social Republic
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
by the "Duce" and oversaw the mixed Italo-German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Army Group Liguria
Army Group Liguria
Army Group Liguria was an army group formed for the National Republican Army . The ENR was the national army of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's Italian Social Republic...
(Armee Ligurien
Army Group Liguria
Army Group Liguria was an army group formed for the National Republican Army . The ENR was the national army of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's Italian Social Republic...
) commanded by General Alfredo Guzzoni
Alfredo Guzzoni
Alfredo Guzzoni was an Italian military officer who served in both World War I and World War II.-Italian Army:Guzzoni joined the Italian Royal Army and fought in World War I....
. He was able to obtain a defeat of the Allies in the "battle of Garfagnana
Battle of Garfagnana
The Battle of Garfagnana was an offensive of the Axis forces in the western section of the Gothic Line during World War II. The offensive was even called in Italian: "Offensiva di Natale"...
" in December 1944.
At the end of the war, Graziani spent a few days in San Vittore prison in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
before being transferred to Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
control. He was brought back to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
in Anglo-American custody, staying there until February 1946. Allied forces then felt the danger of assassination or lynching had passed (many thousands of fascists were murdered in Italy in summer and fall 1945), and returned him to Procida
Procida
Procida is one of the Flegrean Islands off the coast of Naples in southern Italy. The island is between Cape Miseno and the island of Ischia. With its tiny satellite island of Vivara, it is a comune of the province of Naples, in the region of Campania. The population is about ten...
prison in Italy.
In 1948, a military tribunal sentenced Graziani to a further 19 years′ jail, as punishment for his collaboration with the Nazis; but he was released after serving only a few months of the sentence. He was never prosecuted for specific war crimes. Unlike the Germans and Japanese, Italians were not subjected to prosecutions by Allies tribunals.
Graziani in the early 1950s did some political activity with the neofascist Movimento Sociale Italiano, and become the "Honorary President" of this Italian party in 1953. In January 1955, at 72, he died of natural causes in Rome.
Trials
The League of NationsLeague of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
failed to do trials against Graziani and other Italian authorities before WWII.
In 1943 the Allied Powers agreed to create a new body to replace the League: the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. The "United Nations War Crimes Commission" was created to investigate war crimes. On March 4, 1948 charges against Graziani were presented to the United Nations War Crimes Commission
United Nations War Crimes Commission
The United Nations War Crimes Commission was a commission of the United Nations that investigated allegations of war crimes committed by the Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II.The Commission began its work at the behest of the United States and the other Allied nations in 1943, prior to...
. The commission was given evidence of the Italian policy of systematic terrorism and Graziani’s self-admitted intention to execute all Amharas authorities, and cited a telegram from Graziani to General Nasi, in which he had written, “Keep in mind also that I have already aimed at the total destruction of Abyssinian chiefs and notables and that this should be carried out completely in your territories.” The UN commission agreed that there was a prima facie case against eight Italians including Graziani.
The British Foreign Office consistently opposed Ethiopia’s inclusion in this Commission and the trial of Italian crimes committed during the 1935–36 invasion. Ethiopian efforts to bring Graziani to trial were frustrated by intransigence, by both Italy and Britain, and were finally abandoned, under pressure from the Foreign Office, whose support the Ethiopian Government considered essential for its claim to Eritrea.
However, in 1948 an Italian tribunal condemned Graziani to 19 years, but he served only four months because his lawyers demonstrated that he "received orders".
Books
Graziani wrote some books; the most important are:- Ho difeso la Patria (una vita per l'Italia)
- Africa settentrionale 1940-41
- Libia redenta
Military career
- 1915-1918—Service in World War I
- 1921-1934—Service in Libya
- 1926-1930—Vice Governor-GeneralGovernor-GeneralA Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
of Italian Cyrenaica - 1930-1934—Governor-General of Italian Cyrenaica
- 1935-1936—Governor-General of Italian SomalilandItalian SomalilandItalian Somaliland , also known as Italian Somalia, was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy from the 1880s until 1936 in the region of modern-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th century by the Somali Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate, the territory was later acquired by Italy through various...
- 1936-1937—Governor-General and Viceroy of EthiopiaColonial heads of Italian East AfricaThe following is a list of colonial heads of Italian East Africa, an Italian dominion from 1936 to 1941....
; promoted to Marshal of ItalyMarshal of ItalyMarshal of Italy was a rank in the Italian Royal Army . Originally created in 1924 by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini for the purpose of honoring Generals Luigi Cadorna and Armando Diaz, the rank was granted to several other general officers from 1926 to 1943... - 1940-1941—Commander-in-ChiefCommander-in-ChiefA commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of Italian North AfricaItalian North AfricaItalian North Africa was the aggregate of territories and colonies controlled by Italy in North Africa from 1911 until World War II...
and Governor-General of LibyaColonial heads of LibyaList of Colonial Heads of LibyaFor continuation after independence, see: List of heads of state of Libya... - 1943-1945—Minister of Defence for the Italian Social RepublicItalian Social RepublicThe Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
Trivia
- He is related to Tony GrazianiTony GrazianiAnthony Robert Graziani was an American football quarterback who played for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League, and the Los Angeles Avengers and Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. Graziani played college football at the University of Oregon...
, a former NFLNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and current Arena Football League quarterback for the Philadelphia SoulPhiladelphia SoulThe Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII...
. - He was portrayed by actor Oliver ReedOliver ReedOliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
in the movie Lion of the DesertLion of the DesertLion of the Desert is a 1981 Libyan historical action film starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader fighting the Italian army in the years leading up to World War II and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani, who attempted to defeat Mukhtar. It was...
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