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{{Short description|Italian fascist politician and war criminal (1882–1955)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=AugustApril 20232024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Rodolfo Graziani
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| term_end4 = 9 May 1936
| predecessor4 = Maurizio Rava
| successor4 = [[Angelo De Ruben]]
| office5 = [[List of colonial governors of Italian Cyrenaica|Vice-Governor of Italian Cyrenaica]]
| term_start5 = 17 March 1930
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| alma_mater = [[Military Academy of Modena]]
| profession = [[Officer (armed forces)|Military officer]]
<!--Military service-->| allegiance = {{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} (1900–19431903–1943) <br> {{flag|Italian Social Republic|war}} (1943–1945)
| branch = {{army|Kingdom of Italy}} (1900–19431903–1943) <br> {{army|Italian Social Republic}} (1943–1945)
| serviceyears = 1900–19451903–1945
| rank = [[Marshal of Italy]]
| unit = [[Tenth Army (Italy)|Italian 10th Army]]<br>[[Army Group Liguria]]
| honorific_prefix = ''[[Marshal of Italy|Maresciallo d'Italia]]''
| battles = {{Tree list}}
* [[World War I]]
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}}
 
'''Rodolfo Graziani, 1st [[Marquis]] of Neghelli''' ({{IPA-|it|roˈdɔlfo ɡratˈtsjaːni}}; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominentan Italian military officer and war-criminal in the [[Kingdom of Italy]]'s [[Royal Italian Army|Royal Army]], primarily noted for his campaigns in [[Africa]] before and during [[World War II]]. A dedicated [[Italian fascism|fascist]] and prominent member of the [[National Fascist Party]], he was a key figure in the Italian military during the reign of [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]].
 
Graziani played an important role in the consolidation and expansion of the [[Italian colonial empire]] during the 1920s and 1930s, first [[Pacification of Libya|in Libya]] and then [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|in Ethiopia]]. He became infamous for harsh repressive measures, such as the use of [[Italian concentration camps|concentration camps]] that caused many civilian deaths, and for extreme measures taken against the native resistance of the countries invaded by the Italian army, such as the hanging of [[Omar Mukhtar]]. Due to his brutal methods used in Libya, he was nicknamed ''Il macellaio del Fezzan'' ("the butcher of [[Fezzan]]").<ref>[https://www.affrica.org/la-brutta-storia-del-monumento-a-graziani/ La brutta storia del monumento a Graziani]</ref> In February 1937, after an assassination attempt against him during a ceremony in [[Addis Ababa]], Graziani ordered a period of brutal retribution now known as [[Yekatit 12]]. Shortly after the [[Military history of Italy during World War II|Kingdom of Italy entered World War II]], he returned to Libya as the commander of troops in [[Italian North Africa]] but resigned after the 1940–41 [[Operation Compass|British offensive]] routed his forces; this campaign caused him other stress attacks, which he suffered from a snake accident during his military service in Libya that happened a few years before [[World War I]].
 
Following the [[fall of the Fascist regime in Italy]] in 1943, he was the only [[Marshal of Italy]] who remained loyal to [[Benito Mussolini]] and was named the Minister of Defence of the [[Italian Social Republic]], commanding [[National Republican Army|its army]] and returning to active service against the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] for the rest of the war. Graziani was never prosecuted by the [[United Nations War Crimes Commission]]; he was included on [[Italian war crimes|its list of Italians eligible to be prosecuted for war crimes]] but Allied opposition and indifference to the prosecution of Italian war criminals frustrated Ethiopian attempts to bring him to justice. In 19481950, an Italian court sentenced Graziani to 19 years of imprisonment for his [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|collaboration with the Nazis]]; he was released after serving only four months. In the last years of his life, he went into politics, entering in the [[Italian Social Movement]] and becoming also Honorary President in 1953, probably for his career during the Fascist period in Italy, and died a few years later in 1955.
 
==Early life==
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==Military career==
In 19001903, he joined the [[Royal Italian Army]] as a reserve officer cadet whilst studying at university. In 1906, he passed a competitive examination for reserve officers to be made regular and became a second lieutenant, stationed at the 1st regiment of Grenadiers in Rome.<ref>{{cite book| chapter= p. 19| first=Rodolfo |last= Graziani |title=Una vita per l'Italia |location = Italy | publisher=Mursia |date=1994}}</ref>
Graziani's first posting was to [[Italian Eritrea]] where he learned Arabic and [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]]. In 1911, whilst in the Eritrean countryside, he was bitten by a snake which resulted in him being hospitalized.<ref>{{cite book| chapter= p. 21| first=Rodolfo |last= Graziani |title=Una vita per l'Italia |location = Italy | publisher=Mursia |date=1994}}</ref> Because of this, he never served in the [[Italo-Turkish War]]. After his convalescence, he was repatriated to Italy where he was promoted to captain. In 1918, during [[World War I]], Graziani in the ''Regio Esercito'' became the youngest [[Italian Army ranks|''Colonnello'']] (Colonel) in Italian history.
 
===Libya===
In 1930, the Fascist government appointed Graziani Vice-Governor of Cyrenaica and commander of the Italian forces in [[Libya]]. He served there until 1934. During those four years, he [[Pacification of Libya|suppressed the Senussi rebellion]]. In this so-called "pacification", he was responsible for the construction of [[Italian concentration camps in Libya|several concentration camps]] and [[labor camp]]s, where thousands of Libyan prisoners died. Some prisoners were hanged, such as [[Omar Mukhtar]], or shot, but most prisoners died of starvation or disease.<ref>[http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/humanities/story/0,,512212,00.htm Italian atrocities in world war two | Education | The Guardian:# Rory Carroll # The Guardian, # Monday June 25 2001]</ref> His deeds earned him the nickname "[[List of military figures by nickname|the Butcher of Fezzan]]" among the Arabs.<ref>Hart, David M. ''Muslim Tribesmen and the Colonial Encounter in Fiction and on Film: The Image of the Muslim Tribes in Film and Fiction.'' Het Spinhuis, 2001. Pagep. 121. {{ISBN|90-5589-205-X}}</ref> ButFascist propaganda, Italianshowever, called him [[List of military figures by nickname|the Pacifier of Libya]] (''Pacificatore della Libia'').
 
In 1935, Graziani was appointed Governor of [[Italian Somaliland]].
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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 121-2051, Rom, Beisetzung italienischer Polizeichef Bocchini.jpg|thumb|left|German and Italian state officials attending the funeral of Rome police chief and prominent Fascist Party member [[Arturo Bocchini]] on 21 November 1940. From left to right, [[Karl Wolff]], [[Reinhard Heydrich]], Adelchi Serena, [[Heinrich Himmler]], [[Emilio De Bono]], [[Dino Grandi]], and a German diplomat.]]
 
At the start of [[World War II]], Graziani, now styled 1st Marquis of Neghelli, was still Commander-in-Chief of the ''Regio Esercito''′s{{'}}s General Staff. After the death of Marshal [[Italo Balbo]] in a [[friendly fire]] incident on 28 June 1940, Graziani took his place as [[Governor General]] and Commander-in-Chief of [[Italian North Africa]].
 
The Italian dictator [[Benito Mussolini]] had given Graziani a deadline of 8 August 1940 to invade Egypt with the [[10th Army (Italy)|10th Army]]. Graziani doubted the ability of his largely-unmechanized force to defeat the British and put off the invasion for as long as he could.
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However, faced with demotion, Graziani ultimately followed orders, and four divisions of the 10th Army [[Italian invasion of Egypt| invaded Egypt]] on 9 September. The Italians achieved only modest gains in Egypt and then prepared a series of fortified camps to defend their positions. In December 1940, in [[Operation Compass]] the British counterattacked and completely defeated the 10th Army. On 25 March 1941, Graziani was replaced by General [[Italo Gariboldi]]. Graziani remained mostly inactive for the next two years. During his time in Italy, he played a role in suppressing the Italian anti-fascist movement.<ref>''Encyclopedia of World War II''</ref>
 
Graziani was the only Italian Marshal to remain loyal to Mussolini after the [[fall of the Fascist regime in Italy]], and he joined Mussolini in the north after the [[Armistice of Cassibile|Italian surrender]] (some say that he choosechose to adhere to the [[Italian Social Republic]] for his dislike for [[Pietro Badoglio]], who had signed the Armistice of Cassibile with the alliesAllies and because he was his worst enemy during the fascist period). He was appointed Minister of Defence of the Italian Social Republic by Mussolini<ref>{{YouTube|XRb1JsiaV_g|Video of Graziani in 1944 (in Italian)}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2023}} and oversaw the mixed Italo-[[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Army Group Liguria]] (''Armee Ligurien''). Graziani defeated Allied forces in the December 1944 "[[Battle of Garfagnana]]" and led a joint Italian-German force that included the "MonteItalian Rosa"2nd alpineGrenadier divisionDivision and'Littorio', the3rd "Marine Division 'San Marco"' marineand divisionthe 4th Alpine Division 'Monte Rosa' , the ENR divisions that trained are from Germany.
 
When Mussolini fled northward on 25 April 1945, Graziani was left as the ''de facto'' leader of what remained of the Italian Social Republic. [[Death of Benito Mussolini|Mussolini was captured and executed on 28 April 1945]]. The following day, [[Surrender of Caserta|GermanAxis forces in Italy surrendered]], and Graziani's ownsent a delegation at Caserta to surrender followedthe [[National Republican Army]], and at the same day. He handed himself to the [[US IV Corps]]. on 1 May 1945. Graziani ordered all Italian RSI units to surrender.
 
At the end of World War II, Graziani spent a few days in the [[San Vittore Prison]] in [[Milan]] before he was transferred to Allied control. He was brought back to Africa in Anglo-American custody and stayed there until February 1946. Allied forces then felt the danger of his assassination or lynching had passed (many thousands of fascists were murdered in Italy in the summer and autumn of 1945) and so moved Graziani to the [[Procida]] prison in Italy.
 
==War crimes and indictments==
[[File:Marshal Graziani 1940 (Retouched).jpg|thumb|upright|Graziani in 1940]]
Before the Second World War, the [[League of Nations]] did not prosecute Graziani and the Italian authorities for war crimes in Ethiopia. In one case, Graziani had ordered his troops to use chemical weapons against [[Nasibu Zeamanuel]]'s troops in [[Gorrahei]] on 10 October 1935.<ref>{{cite book|first=David|last= Thomas P. Ofcansky, Chris Prouty, Hamilton Shinn|title=Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia|page=89|publisher= The Scarecrow Press, Inc|year=2004|isbn=978-0-8108-4910-5}}</ref> Although the Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs gave the League of Nations irrefutable evidence of what the Italian military had done from within a few hours of its invasion on 3 October 1935 to 10 April of the following year, no action was taken. Incidents included the use of poison gas and the bombing of Red Cross hospitals and ambulances.<ref name="pankhurst">{{cite journal|last=Pankhurst|first= Richard|title=Italian Fascist War Crimes in Ethiopia: A History of Their Discussion, from the League of Nations to the United Nations (1936–1949)|journal=Northeast African Studies|volume =6|issue=1–2|year=1999|pages=127–136|doi= 10.1353/nas.2002.0004|doi-access=free}}</ref>
 
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However, the Allies questioned the veracity of Ethiopia's claim against the Italians on the grounds that it was impossible to identify which individuals in the Italian military hierarchy had actually issued the criminal orders. The British government was the firmest supporter of that stance, and the United States pursued a policy "largely characterized by ambivalence towards Italian aggression". The Ethiopian government made a direct request to the "[[Four Policemen]]", but that was immediately rejected on technical grounds. In addition, many in the Italian press firmly opposed any Italian officer being put on trial for war crimes. Faced with such resistance and indifference, Ethiopia had no choice but to back down from their requests, to the consternation of many Ethiopians.<ref>{{cite book|first=Saheed A.|last= Adejumobi|title=The History of Ethiopia|url=https://archive.org/details/historyethiopia00adej_403|url-access=limited|publisher=Greenwood Press, London|year=2007|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyethiopia00adej_403/page/n110 90]|isbn= 9780313322730}}</ref><ref>{{citation |first=Luigi|last= Prosperi|title=The Missed Italian Nuremberg: The History of an Internationally-sponsored Amnesty|publisher=University of Rome|year=2016|url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=2887267|quote= draft version of a paper selected by Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law, and presented on 25.11.2016 at the "Debacles" Conference. }}</ref>
 
In 19481950, an Italian military tribunal sentenced Graziani to 19 years in jail for collaborating with the Nazis, but he was released after only four months because his lawyers demonstrated that his actions had been only after he "received orders". He never faced any further prosecutions for any other specific war crimes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/rodolfo-graziani_(Dizionario-Biografico)|title= Rodolfo Graziani biography|first= Angelo |last=Del Boca|work=Treccani Enciclopedia Italiana |lang=it}}</ref> Unlike the Germans and the Japanese, the Italians did not have their commanders subjected to prosecutions by Allied tribunals.
 
In the early 1950s, Graziani had some involvement with the [[neo-fascist]] [[Italian Social Movement]] (MSI), and he became the "Honorary President" of the party in 1953. Though the MSI saw Graziani as a [[figurehead]], they also believed politically he could not be trusted as he had too often refused to obey the party’s directives. He would later explain his motivations for joining the group:<blockquote>‘I joined the MSI because it mirrors my beliefs and convictions. However, it would be absurd to think that a new Fascist dictatorship could be set up today. History teaches us that dictatorships don’t spring up like mushrooms.'</blockquote>During the summer of 1954, Graziani resigned from MSI.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Cova |first=Alessandro |url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=PiBnEAAAQBAJ&newbks |title=Rodolfo Graziani: Story of an Italian General |date=2022-03-31 |publisher=Fonthill Media |language=en |chapter=A Sentence Which is More Like an Acquittal}}</ref>
In the early 1950s, Graziani had some involvement with the [[neo-fascist]] [[Italian Social Movement]] (MSI), and he became the "Honorary President" of the party in 1953.
 
==Death==
By autumn 1954, Graziani was losing strength and he began experiencing mounting health issues. His mental health had deteriorated to the point that he sometimes woke up thinking he was still imperial [[viceroy]] in [[Addis Ababa]]. By years end he was suffering from acute pain and on 26 December 1954, he underwent surgery. It went well and he began recovering during the first week of January 1955. On 10 January, his health suddenly rapidly declined. At midnight he went into a coma, briefly regaining consciousness at 4 am and stated his later words, ‘If my time has come, I’ll go calmly to be judged by God’. He died in Rome at 6 am on 11 January 1955 at the age of 72.<ref name=":0" />
He died, aged 72, of natural causes in Rome.
 
More than 100,000 people came to his funeral in front of the [[San Roberto Bellarmino, Rome|church of Saint Bellarmino]] in Rome. Crowds holding banners, singing hymns and giving [[Roman salute|fascist salutes]] packed the streets.<ref name=":0" />
 
===Mausoleum controversy===
In August 2012, $160,000 of public money was used to help finance the building of a large monument atop Graziani's tomb in [[Affile]]. The subscription was supplemented by private funding from the mayor of Affile, EttoreErcole Viri. The new mausoleum was engraved with the words "Fatherland" and "Honor". Local left-wing politicians and national commentators harshly criticized the monument whereas the town's "mostly conservative" population approved.<ref name="NYTimes-2012-08-28">{{cite news | title=Village's Tribute Reignites a Debate About Italy's Fascist Past| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/29/world/europe/village-reignites-debate-over-italys-fascist-past.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&| first=Gaia | last=Pianigiani | work=[[The New York Times|New York Times]]| date=29 August 2012 | page=A6 | access-date=25 March 2019}}</ref> Public funding for the Graziani monument was suspended by the newly elected Lazio administration after the 2013 regional elections.<ref name="Bruh Yihunbelay">{{cite news| title=Governor of Lazio calls for withdrawal of funds for Graziani monument| url=https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/index.php/news-headlines/item/421-governor-of-lazio-calls-for-withdrawal-of-funds-for-graziani-monument| first=Bruh | last=Yihunbelay | work=[[The Reporter (Ethiopia)|The Reporter]] | date=27 April 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530024312/https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/index.php/news-headlines/item/421-governor-of-lazio-calls-for-withdrawal-of-funds-for-graziani-monument| archive-date=30 May 2013 | url-status=dead}}</ref> A statement from [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ethiopia)|Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] said Graziani did not deserve to be memorialized but instead be condemned in history for his war crimes, genocidal behavior and [[crimes against humanity]].<ref name="Bruh Yihunbelay"/> In 2017, Viri and two other Affile town councillors were convicted of the crime of "fascism apology" for building the monument and were given jail sentences, although the court did not order the removal of the monument.<ref name=Local>{{cite news |last=Phelan |first=Jessica |title=Italian mayor, councillors jailed over monument to fascist general |url= https://www.thelocal.it/20171108/affile-mayor-jailed-rodolfo-graziani-fascist-monument |newspaper=The Local (Italy) |date=8 November 2017 |accessdate=7 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Mayor, two councillors convicted for apology of Fascism |url= https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2017/11/07/mayor-two-councillors-convicted-for-apology-of-fascism-2_41f25d43-07d5-4b26-ad51-436e0662acf9.html|newspaper=[[Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata|ANSA]] |date= 7 November 2024|accessdate=7 January 2024}}</ref>
 
==Books==
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* ''Cirenaica pacificata''
* ''Pace romana in Libia''
* Il Fronte Sud
 
==Military career==
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* Cova, Alessandro. ''Rodolfo Graziani: Story of an Italian general''. Fonthill Media, 2021, {{ISBN|9781781558515}}.
* Del Boca, Angelo''Naissance de la nation libyenne'', Editions Milelli, 2008, {{ISBN|978-2-916590-04-2}}.
* Pankhurst, Richard. ''History of the Ethiopian Patriots (1936-19401936–1940), The Graziani Massacre and Consequences''. Addis Abeba Tribune editions. {{ISBN?}}
* Rocco, Giuseppe. ''L'organizzazione militare della RSI, sul finire della seconda guerra mondiale''. Greco & Greco Editori. Milano, 1998 {{ISBN?}}
 
==External links==
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[[Category:1955 deaths]]
[[Category:Field marshals of Italy]]
[[Category:Genocide perpetrators]]▼
[[Category:Governors of Italian Somaliland]]
[[Category:Governors-Generalgeneral of Italian Libya]]
▲[[Category:GenocideLibyan genocide perpetrators]]
[[Category:Italian anti-communists]]
[[Category:Italian colonial governors and administrators]]
[[Category:Italian East Africa]]
[[Category:Italian generals]]
[[Category:Italian mass murderers]]
[[Category:Italian military personnel of the Italo-Turkish War]]
[[Category:Italian military personnel of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War]]
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[[Category:People of the Italian Social Republic]]
[[Category:Yekatit 12]]
[[Category:Second Italo-Senussi War]]
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