Yekatit 12
Encyclopedia
Yekatit 12 is a date in the Ethiopian calendar
, equivalent to 19 February in the Gregorian calendar
, which is commonly used to refer to the indiscriminate massacre and imprisonment of Ethiopia
ns by elements of the Italian occupation forces following an attempted assassination of Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani
19 February 1937. Viceroy Graziani had led the Italian forces to victory over their Ethiopian opponents in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
, and supreme governor of Italian East Africa
. This was the single worst atrocity committed by the Italian occupation forces.
Estimates of the number of people killed in the three days that followed the attempt on General Graziani's life vary. Ethiopian sources afterwards estimated as many as 30,000 people were killed by the Italians, while Italian sources claim only a few hundred were killed. Over the following week, numerous Ethiopians suspected or accused of opposing Italian rule were rounded up and executed, including members of the Black Lions
, and other members of the aristocracy; most of the 125 young men whom Emperor Haile Selassie had sent abroad to receive college education, and were still resident in Ethiopia, were killed. Many more were imprisoned, even collaborator
s like Ras Gebre Haywot, the son of Ras Mikael of Wollo
(who had been imprisoned by Emperor Haile Selassie for nine years prior to the Italian invasion), Brehane Markos, and even Ayale Gebre; the last named man had helped the Italians identify the two men who made the attempt on General Graziani's life.
on 31 March 1936, Emperor Haile Selassie left Ethiopia to address the League of Nations
to plead for their assistance against the Italians. He made his close friend and cousin Ras Imru Haile Selassie
his regent during his absence, who attempted to set up a Provisional Government at Gore
, in the southwestern part of the country. Gore, however, was located deep in the homeland of the Oromo people
, who opposed his attempts to maintain imperial hegemony; some went as far as to approach the British
to recognize their attempts to create a Western Galla Confederation. When the Italians advanced on Nekemte
24 October, Ras Imru found his position untenable and marched south in search of more welcoming surroundings. The two opponents maneuvered over southwestern Ethiopia, the Italians pursuing the Ethiopians, through the month of November until Ras Imru was caught on the banks of the Gojeb River
, where after fierce fighting Ras Imru surrendered 18 December.
Meanwhile, loyalists made a poorly organized attempt to recapture Addis Ababa 28 July. Various armed groups of Ethiopians pounced on the Italian positions in the capital city, taking the defenders by complete surprise; the first Italians they encountered were reportedly a group working on a well. However, General Gariboldi had expected an attack on the capital, and had prepared for this eventuality. Although a unit under Abebe Aragai had almost entered the Little Gebbi, where Viceroy Graziani was working, the Ethiopians were repulsed on all sides. Despite a last rally by Abuna
Petros on the final day of the battle, who led a final advance in St. George's Square, the attempt on the city failed.
Lastly, the remaining Ethiopian forces in the southeast were being run down. Ras Desta Damtew
and Dejazmach Beyene Merid
had remained in control of their provincial capitals at Irgalem and Goba
through November. On 23 November a motorized column under Captain Tucci had penetrated into the region, sparking a revolt by the local Sidama people
; Irgalem fell to the Italians on 1 December, and Ras Desta and Dejazmach Beyene Merid fell back into the mountains of Bale Province
. A game of cat-and-mouse followed, until the last few thousand soldiers under their command were cornered near Lake Shala
and annihilated by superior Italian numbers at the Battle of Gogetti 18 February 1937. Ras Desta managed to escape the battlefield alone, but was hunted down and executed a few days later. With Ras Desta Damtew's death, all organized Ethiopian resistance to the Italians was spent.
by his men, Graziani was inspecting a Ethiopian Orthodox church when he fell through a concealed hole in the floor, which he was convinced had been prepared as a mantrap for him. "From that incident," writes Anthony Mockler, "it is possible to date his paranoiac hatred of and suspicion towards the Coptic clergy." Despite this, to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Naples Graziani announced he would personally distribute alms to the poor on Friday, 19 February at the Little Gebbi.
In the crowd that formed that Friday morning were two young Eritreans named Abraha Deboch and Mogus Asgedom. Finding their fortunes limited in the Italian colony, they had come to Ethiopia to enroll in the Menelik II School, where recent events had overtaken them. Apparently accommodating himself to the new administration, Abraha gained employment with the Fascist Political Bureau, where his Eritrean origin, knowledge of Italian, and familiarity with the city made him useful. However, according to Richard Pankhurst
, Abraha Deboch was bitterly opposed to the Italians, especially its racist practices. Before leaving their house, Abraha had placed an Italian flag on the wooden floor, driven a bayonet through it, then tied an Ethiopian flag to the bayonet.
The official ceremony began as might be expected. Viceroy Graziani made a speech, a number of Ethiopian notables made their submission to the victors, Italian planes made a fly-over above the city, and at 11 o'clock officials began distributing the promised alms to priests and the poor.
Abraha and Mogus managed to slip through the crowd to the bottom of the steps to the Little Gebbi, then began throwing grenades. According to one account, they managed to lob 10 of them before escaping in the resulting confusion. According to Richard Pankhurst, they were rushed from the scene by a third conspirator, a taxi driver named Simeyon Adefres. Pankhurst also credits him with providing the grenades that Abraha and Mogus threw.
Behind them, the dead included Abuna Qerellos's umbrella-bearer. The wounded included the Abuna himself, the Vice-Governor General Armando Petretti, General Liotta of the Air Force, and the Viceroy himself; one grenade exploded next to him, sending 365 fragments into his body. Viceroy Graziani was rushed to the Italian hospital where he was operated on immediately, and saved. General Liotta lost his leg to the attack.
For a while Abraha and Mogus hid at the ancient monastery of Debre Libanos
but soon moved on, seeking sanctuary in Sudan. Somewhere in Gojjam
local inhabitants, always suspicious of strangers, murdered them.
For the rest of that day, through Saturday and Sunday, Italians killed Ethiopians with daggers and truncheons to the shouts of "Duce! Duce!" and "Civilta Italiana!" They doused native houses with gasoline and set them on fire. They broke into the homes of local Greeks and Armenians and lynched their servants. Some even posed on the corpses of their victims to have their photographs taken.
The attempted murder provided the Italians with the reason to implement Mussolini's order, issued as early as 3 May 1936, to summarily execute "The Young Ethiopians", the small group of intellectuals who had received college education from American and European colleges. The same day as the assassination, a military tribunal was set up, and by nightfall 62 Ethiopians were tried and shot. "The Graziani Massacre marked the almost total liquidation of the intellectual component of the Resistance," writes Bahru Zewde.
Thousands of Ethiopians of all classes were sent to detention camps at Danan
in the Ogaden
and Nokra in the Dahlak Archipelago
. Conditions at Danan were inhospitable, and Graziani had given orders that the prisoners would receive only the bare minimum of food and water. As Sbacchi notes, "Poor facilities, including latrines, the humid climate, malaria, stomach infections, and venereal disease took many lives, especially among those compelled to work on the irrigation canal or on the banana and sugar-cane plantations." Between ten percent and half of the prisoners died at Danan.
Conditions at Nokra were even worse than at Danan, according to Sbacchi. The detainees sent there joined 500 prisoners serving life sentences for serious political crimes, increasing the total number incarcerated to 1,500. These inmates at Nokra were forced to work in the island quarries, manufacturing cement. Temperatures at Nokra averaged 122 °F (50 °C); the inmates suffered from lack of fresh water, sunstroke, marsh fever, and dysentery.
The final reprisal struck in May. Investigators found that Abraha and Mogus had stayed a while at Debra Libanos, and slight circumstantial evidence suggested that the monks had foreknowledge of their plans. Graziani, mindful of his misadventure at Jijiga, believed they were complicit and 19 May cabled the local commander, "Therefore execute summarily all monks without distinction including the Vice-Prior." The following day, ironically a feast day of their patron saint Tekle Haymanot
, 297 monks plus 23 laymen were shot -- the entire population of the monastery.
Ethiopian calendar
The Ethiopian calendar , also called the Ge'ez calendar, is the principal calendar used in Ethiopia and also serves as the liturgical calendar for Christians in Eritrea belonging to the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Church and Lutheran Evangelical Church of Eritrea...
, equivalent to 19 February in the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
, which is commonly used to refer to the indiscriminate massacre and imprisonment of 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...
ns by elements of the Italian occupation forces following an attempted assassination of Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli , was an officer in the Italian Regio Esercito who led military expeditions in Africa before and during World War II.-Rise to prominence:...
19 February 1937. Viceroy Graziani had led the Italian forces to victory over their Ethiopian opponents in 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...
, and supreme governor of Italian East Africa
Italian East Africa
Italian East Africa was an Italian colonial administrative subdivision established in 1936, resulting from the merger of the Ethiopian Empire with the old colonies of Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea. In August 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to Italian East Africa...
. This was the single worst atrocity committed by the Italian occupation forces.
Estimates of the number of people killed in the three days that followed the attempt on General Graziani's life vary. Ethiopian sources afterwards estimated as many as 30,000 people were killed by the Italians, while Italian sources claim only a few hundred were killed. Over the following week, numerous Ethiopians suspected or accused of opposing Italian rule were rounded up and executed, including members of the Black Lions
Black Lions (organization)
The Black Lions were an anti-fascist resistance movement during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia. As Bahru Zewde notes, in spite of its "marginal impact on the Resistance" the Black Lions were "eloquent attempts to give the struggle coherent ideological and political direction."-History:The...
, and other members of the aristocracy; most of the 125 young men whom Emperor Haile Selassie had sent abroad to receive college education, and were still resident in Ethiopia, were killed. Many more were imprisoned, even collaborator
Collaborator
Collaborator or collaborators may refer to:* Collaboration, working with others for a common goal* Collaboration: Japanese Agents and Local Elites in Wartime China, a 2005 history book by Timothy Brook...
s like Ras Gebre Haywot, the son of Ras Mikael of Wollo
Mikael of Wollo
Mikael of Wollo , born Mohammed Ali, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He was the father of the "uncrowned" Emperor Iyasu V. He changed his name to Mikael upon converting to Christianity.- Life :Mohammed Ali, an Oromo, was born in Wollo...
(who had been imprisoned by Emperor Haile Selassie for nine years prior to the Italian invasion), Brehane Markos, and even Ayale Gebre; the last named man had helped the Italians identify the two men who made the attempt on General Graziani's life.
Background
Following the defeat of the Ethiopian forces under his personal command of at the Battle of MaychewBattle of Maychew
The Battle of Maychew was the last major battle fought on the northern front during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The battle consisted of a failed counterattack by the Ethiopian forces under Emperor Haile Selassie making frontal assaults against prepared Italian defensive positions under the...
on 31 March 1936, Emperor Haile Selassie left Ethiopia to address the League of Nations
League 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...
to plead for their assistance against the Italians. He made his close friend and cousin Ras Imru Haile Selassie
Imru Haile Selassie
Leul Ras Imru Haile Selassie was an Ethiopian noble, soldier, and diplomat. He was also the cousin of Emperor Haile Selassie.-Biography:...
his regent during his absence, who attempted to set up a Provisional Government at Gore
Gore, Ethiopia
Gore is a town in southwestern Ethiopia. Located south of Metu in the Illubabor Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2085 meters....
, in the southwestern part of the country. Gore, however, was located deep in the homeland of the Oromo people
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
, who opposed his attempts to maintain imperial hegemony; some went as far as to approach 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...
to recognize their attempts to create a Western Galla Confederation. When the Italians advanced on Nekemte
Nekemte
Nekemte is a market town in western Ethiopia. Located in the Misraq Welega Zone of the Oromia Region , Nekemte has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2,088 meters....
24 October, Ras Imru found his position untenable and marched south in search of more welcoming surroundings. The two opponents maneuvered over southwestern Ethiopia, the Italians pursuing the Ethiopians, through the month of November until Ras Imru was caught on the banks of the Gojeb River
Gojeb River
The Gojeb River is eastward-flowing tributary of the Omo River in Ethiopia. It rises in the mountains of Guma, flowing in almost a direct line its confluence with the Omo at....
, where after fierce fighting Ras Imru surrendered 18 December.
Meanwhile, loyalists made a poorly organized attempt to recapture Addis Ababa 28 July. Various armed groups of Ethiopians pounced on the Italian positions in the capital city, taking the defenders by complete surprise; the first Italians they encountered were reportedly a group working on a well. However, General Gariboldi had expected an attack on the capital, and had prepared for this eventuality. Although a unit under Abebe Aragai had almost entered the Little Gebbi, where Viceroy Graziani was working, the Ethiopians were repulsed on all sides. Despite a last rally by Abuna
Abuna
Also see Leaders of ChristianityAbun is the honorific title used for any bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as well as of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church...
Petros on the final day of the battle, who led a final advance in St. George's Square, the attempt on the city failed.
Lastly, the remaining Ethiopian forces in the southeast were being run down. Ras Desta Damtew
Desta Damtew
Ras Desta Damtew was an Ethiopian noble, an army commander, and a son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I.-Biography:...
and Dejazmach Beyene Merid
Beyene Merid
Beyene Merid, Beine Merid, was an Ethiopian army commander, a patriot, and the son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I.-Bibliography:...
had remained in control of their provincial capitals at Irgalem and Goba
Goba
Goba is a town in south-central Ethiopia. Located in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region approximately 446 km southeast of Addis Ababa, this city has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2,743 meters above sea level...
through November. On 23 November a motorized column under Captain Tucci had penetrated into the region, sparking a revolt by the local Sidama people
Sidama people
The Sidama people of southern Ethiopia are an ethnic group whose homeland is in the Sidama Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region of Ethiopia. They number 2,966,474 of whom 149,480 are urban inhabitants, the fifth most populous nation in Ethiopia...
; Irgalem fell to the Italians on 1 December, and Ras Desta and Dejazmach Beyene Merid fell back into the mountains of Bale Province
Bale Province, Ethiopia
Bale is the name of two former polities located in the southeastern part of modern Ethiopia.- The medieval dependency of Bale :...
. A game of cat-and-mouse followed, until the last few thousand soldiers under their command were cornered near Lake Shala
Lake Shala
Lake Shala lies in Ethiopia south of Addis Ababa, in the Abijatta-Shalla National Park. The lake is 28 kilometers long and 12 wide, with a surface area of 329 square kilometers. It has a maximum depth of 266 meters and is at an elevation of 1,558 meters...
and annihilated by superior Italian numbers at the Battle of Gogetti 18 February 1937. Ras Desta managed to escape the battlefield alone, but was hunted down and executed a few days later. With Ras Desta Damtew's death, all organized Ethiopian resistance to the Italians was spent.
Attack on Viceroy Graziani
Despite having unquestioned control over the African empire. at the beginning of February 1937 Viceroy Graziani still mistrusted its inhabitants. During the previous year, following the capture of JijigaJijiga
Jijiga is a city in eastern Ethiopia and the capital of the Somali Region of that country. Located in the Jijiga Zone approximately 80 km east of Harar and 60 km west of the border with Somalia, this city has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1,609 meters above sea...
by his men, Graziani was inspecting a Ethiopian Orthodox church when he fell through a concealed hole in the floor, which he was convinced had been prepared as a mantrap for him. "From that incident," writes Anthony Mockler, "it is possible to date his paranoiac hatred of and suspicion towards the Coptic clergy." Despite this, to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Naples Graziani announced he would personally distribute alms to the poor on Friday, 19 February at the Little Gebbi.
In the crowd that formed that Friday morning were two young Eritreans named Abraha Deboch and Mogus Asgedom. Finding their fortunes limited in the Italian colony, they had come to Ethiopia to enroll in the Menelik II School, where recent events had overtaken them. Apparently accommodating himself to the new administration, Abraha gained employment with the Fascist Political Bureau, where his Eritrean origin, knowledge of Italian, and familiarity with the city made him useful. However, according to Richard Pankhurst
Richard Pankhurst (academic)
Richard Keir Pethick Pankhurst OBE is a British academic with expertise in the study of Ethiopia.-Early life and education:...
, Abraha Deboch was bitterly opposed to the Italians, especially its racist practices. Before leaving their house, Abraha had placed an Italian flag on the wooden floor, driven a bayonet through it, then tied an Ethiopian flag to the bayonet.
The official ceremony began as might be expected. Viceroy Graziani made a speech, a number of Ethiopian notables made their submission to the victors, Italian planes made a fly-over above the city, and at 11 o'clock officials began distributing the promised alms to priests and the poor.
Abraha and Mogus managed to slip through the crowd to the bottom of the steps to the Little Gebbi, then began throwing grenades. According to one account, they managed to lob 10 of them before escaping in the resulting confusion. According to Richard Pankhurst, they were rushed from the scene by a third conspirator, a taxi driver named Simeyon Adefres. Pankhurst also credits him with providing the grenades that Abraha and Mogus threw.
Behind them, the dead included Abuna Qerellos's umbrella-bearer. The wounded included the Abuna himself, the Vice-Governor General Armando Petretti, General Liotta of the Air Force, and the Viceroy himself; one grenade exploded next to him, sending 365 fragments into his body. Viceroy Graziani was rushed to the Italian hospital where he was operated on immediately, and saved. General Liotta lost his leg to the attack.
For a while Abraha and Mogus hid at 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...
but soon moved on, seeking sanctuary in Sudan. Somewhere in Gojjam
Gojjam
Gojjam was a kingdom in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This region is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudan...
local inhabitants, always suspicious of strangers, murdered them.
Reprisals
The Italian response was immediate. According to Mockler, "Italian carbinieri had fired into the crowds of beggars and poor assembled for the distribution of alms; and it is said that the Federal Secretary, Guido Cortese, even fired his revolver into the group of Ethiopian dignitaries standing around him." Hours later, Cortese gave the fatal order:- Comrades, today is the day when we should show our devotion to our Viceroy by reacting and destroying the Ethiopians for three days. For three days I give you carte blanche to destroy and kill and do what you want to the Ethiopians.
For the rest of that day, through Saturday and Sunday, Italians killed Ethiopians with daggers and truncheons to the shouts of "Duce! Duce!" and "Civilta Italiana!" They doused native houses with gasoline and set them on fire. They broke into the homes of local Greeks and Armenians and lynched their servants. Some even posed on the corpses of their victims to have their photographs taken.
The attempted murder provided the Italians with the reason to implement Mussolini's order, issued as early as 3 May 1936, to summarily execute "The Young Ethiopians", the small group of intellectuals who had received college education from American and European colleges. The same day as the assassination, a military tribunal was set up, and by nightfall 62 Ethiopians were tried and shot. "The Graziani Massacre marked the almost total liquidation of the intellectual component of the Resistance," writes Bahru Zewde.
Thousands of Ethiopians of all classes were sent to detention camps at Danan
Danan, Ethiopia
Danan is a town in the eastern part of Ethiopia known as the Ogaden. Located in the Gode Zone of the Somali Region , and it is located the main road between Gode and Kebri Dahar the nearest towns with electricity. This town has a latitude and longitude of .Danan has a camp for refugees and...
in the Ogaden
Ogaden
Ogaden is the name of a territory comprising the southeastern portion of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia. The inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali and Muslim. The title "Somali Galbeed", which means "Western Somalia," is often preferred by Somali irredentists.The region, which is...
and Nokra in the Dahlak Archipelago
Dahlak Archipelago
The Dahlak Archipelago is an island group located in the Red Sea near Massawa, Eritrea. It consists of two large and 124 small islands. The pearl fisheries of the archipelago have been famous since Roman times and still produce a substantial number of pearls. Only four of the islands are...
. Conditions at Danan were inhospitable, and Graziani had given orders that the prisoners would receive only the bare minimum of food and water. As Sbacchi notes, "Poor facilities, including latrines, the humid climate, malaria, stomach infections, and venereal disease took many lives, especially among those compelled to work on the irrigation canal or on the banana and sugar-cane plantations." Between ten percent and half of the prisoners died at Danan.
Conditions at Nokra were even worse than at Danan, according to Sbacchi. The detainees sent there joined 500 prisoners serving life sentences for serious political crimes, increasing the total number incarcerated to 1,500. These inmates at Nokra were forced to work in the island quarries, manufacturing cement. Temperatures at Nokra averaged 122 °F (50 °C); the inmates suffered from lack of fresh water, sunstroke, marsh fever, and dysentery.
The final reprisal struck in May. Investigators found that Abraha and Mogus had stayed a while at Debra Libanos, and slight circumstantial evidence suggested that the monks had foreknowledge of their plans. Graziani, mindful of his misadventure at Jijiga, believed they were complicit and 19 May cabled the local commander, "Therefore execute summarily all monks without distinction including the Vice-Prior." The following day, ironically a feast day of their patron saint Tekle Haymanot
Tekle Haymanot
Tekle Haymanot or Takla Haymanot was an Ethiopian monk who founded a major monastery in his native province of Shewa...
, 297 monks plus 23 laymen were shot -- the entire population of the monastery.