Rodolfo
Graziani: A Fascist Hero and the Butcher of Africa
Ghelawdewos Araia, Ph.D.
IDEA
Viewpoint
November
2, 2012
Rodolfo
Graziani has been dead for the last fifty-seven
years, but in 2012 the village of Affile in Italy
attempted to resuscitate him by erecting a
monument on his behalf and the lingering fascist
sympathizers. The mayor of Affile, Signor Ettore
Viri has been criticized for deciding to dedicate
a bust for Graziani, but contrary to negative
public reaction, he bragged about his commitment
to Graziani by saying, “the head is a dedication
of a citizen.” Yes, Graziani could be a citizen
and a hero to Ettore Viri and the fascist
riffraff, but to Africans he is a butcher fascist
murderer.
Ethiopians, in
particular, are outraged by the adamant behavior
of the mayor of Affile, the silence of the Italian
Government, and the acquiescence of the Vatican.
Ethiopians want justice to be served and Graziani
to be tried post-mortem in the international
criminal court for the heinous crimes he committed
in Ethiopia. The Global Alliance for Ethiopia, an
advocacy Ethiopian Diaspora group in the United
States, time and again have contacted the Vatican
and requested apology for the atrocities and
massacres committed against Ethiopians, but the
Pope has never responded.
While the
Vatican openly apologized for the Nazi crimes
against the Jewish people, it was either reluctant
to consider the Ethiopian demand for apology and
closure or simply opted to ignore the matter
altogether. The Vatican’s silence on the
Ethiopian cause could be interpreted in only two
ways: 1) At this juncture, Ethiopia is not a
strong nation despite the resolve, determination,
and pride of Ethiopians; 2) Ethiopians are
dark-skinned and the Ethiopians that are members
of the catholic faith are few and far in between.
I could not think of any other reason why the
Vatican should not publicly apologize to Ethiopia,
unless it has a hidden agenda in justifying the
crimes of Mussolini and Graziani in Ethiopia.
Why did Italy
attacked and invaded Ethiopia in 1935? One of the
reasons is imply political vindication on the part
of Italy. Ethiopians defeated the invading Italian
troops at the Battle of Adwa on March 1896; the
decisive Ethiopian victory was a pride for
Ethiopians and other Africans in the continent and
the Diaspora, but a shame and disgrace to Italy
and the disgrazia vergognoso Italians came
to avenge themselves forty years after Adwa. The
second reason, not quite salient in history books
and the political literature of the time, is that
Mussolini had a major agenda to revive the dying
Italian economy – and that was the prime goal of
the fascist party – by creating an Italian
empire and turning Ethiopia into a granary for
Italy.
Thus, on
October 3, 1935, Italian troops crossed the Mereb
River and invaded Ethiopia, but Ethiopians, though
caught by surprise, were determined to defend
their country and preserve their independence.
Stiff Ethiopian resistance in Tigray, particularly
in the Tembien and Amba Alage area, met Italian
troops; heavy fighting broke out in Wer’ee River
valley, in which hundreds died on either side. The
Emperor Haile Selassie himself came to Mai Chew to
fight the Italians, but this time, unlike Adwa,
the Italians had a distinct advantage of air power
and the use of mustard gas that was blinding and
killing the Ethiopian fighting forces on the
ground.
By January
1936, Graziani unleashed military offensive from
the Somali-Ethiopian border while Badoglio was
still fighting the Ethiopians at Amba Alage, and
it was after February that Ethiopian patriots
began to retreat and regroup in South and
Southwestern Ethiopia. Ethiopian patriots from
Tigray, Gondar, Wollo, Shewa, Gojjam, Sidamo,
Jimma, and other areas converged in Wellega and
Illubabor; and some defecting Eritreans also
joined the rank-and-file of the Ethiopian
resistance movement. The patriots decided Gore to
be as a temporary capital of Ethiopia or the
headquarters of the patriotic movement. Graziani,
cognizant of Ethiopian resistance movement around
Gore, stationed himself and his troops at
Yirga-Alem with the intention of either containing
the fighting forces or encircling and defeating
them.
The more
Italians seem to have the upper hand, the more
Ethiopian troops were on the retreat; on the Gore
front alone, Italians continuously bombarded the
villages and farms where Ethiopian patriots are
suspected to harbor. At one point fifty Italian
Air Force planes bombarded Southwestern Ethiopia,
and at this stage of the resistance the Emperor
decided to go on exile. Incidentally, Graziani
have been informed about Haile Selassie’s flight
and he planned to bombard the train that was
carrying the Emperor and his family, but since he
did not get approval from Mussolini he did not
execute his plan.
Interestingly,
even without the Emperor, Ethiopians continued to
resist and new guerrilla forces and organizations
such as the Black Lion, the Ethiopian Youth
Association, and the Ethiopian Women’s
Association were established. Despite the
formation of these organizations, however,
Ethiopian resistance had begun crumbling on
several fronts due to lack of coordination. On top
of this problem, some patriots have retreated to
lands outside Ethiopia, to Kenya and Sudan; others
have surrendered to the Italians; and still others
have gone underground and opted to become inactive
or semi-active. Very few patriots like Desta
Damtew fought till the last minute and till they
die or they were captured. But since Badoglio and
Graziani did not trust the Ethiopian patriots,
they have decided to exile the even the
surrendering Ethiopians to Eritrea and Italy, that
is to Nacura (west of Dahlak Kebir on the Red Sea)
or Asinara (a small island on the Mediterranean)
respectively.
By sending
patriots into exile and weakening the Ethiopian
resistance the Italians thought they could now
proclaim Ethiopia as part of their East African
colony, and Graziani and his fascist associates
had planned a major reception in Addis Ababa, in
which they would celebrate the victory over
Ethiopia. It was not meant to be! The grim moment
for Adolfo Graziani and his comrades-in-arms had
arrived on February 19, 1937 when two patriots, of
Eritrean origin, namely Abraha Deboch and Moges
Asghedom made a surprise attack on Graziani by
throwing hand grenades. Graziani was wounded and
taken to the hospital but survived with some 350
stitches on his body; General Aurelio Liotta, who
was sitting near Graziani, however, lost his right
eye and his right leg while many died.
For any attack
the Ethiopians inflicted upon Italians,
counterattack was habitually conducted by the
Italians and in most instances, the fascists had
retaliated without mercy. They even shot and
killed Abuna Petros, massacred the monks, priests,
and deacons of the monastery of Debre Libanos, and
have ordered to murder all resisting patriots.
Graziani also
ordered the wanton killings of Addis Ababans and
the burning of the city in retaliation to the
attempt of his life. Some observers of the day
argued that he was not in a position to do so
because he was recovering in the hospital, but
this argument is untenable because his
subordinates could not act on their own without
the order of their commanders. Other observers of
the time contend that Graziani was neurotic and
out of his mind (“by reason of insanity” as we
say in modern parlance) when he carried out the
massacre of Addis Ababa in 1937, but this is not
true either. Mussolini, in fact, posted Graziani
in Ethiopia because the latter was known for his
bestial cruelty and for his murderous action
against the people of Libya (the Senusi
resistance) in 1922, in which 60,000 Libyans were
massacred. Graziani indeed is the butcher of
Africa and perhaps a hero to some Italians.
While Italians
were massacring innocent Ethiopians, bombed
villages and towns, and used extensive mustard gas
against Ethiopians in the mid-1930s, the Vatican
was silent. If at all, it was collaborating with
the fascists in their occupation of Ethiopia. In
some instances, Vatican envoys served as
go-between Mussolini and Haile Selassie and
offered the Emperor some compensation in lieu of
his abdication or surrendering to the Italians.
“The Pope confirmed that the secretary of state
of the Vatican Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli (later
Pope Pius XII) offered Haile Selassie £1 million
on behalf of Italy in return of his abdication. In
late 1936, the negotiation failed when the negus
refused to accept the Italian terms.”1
It is with the
full approval of Mussolini and the acquiescence or
collaboration of the Vatican that Graziani and his
subordinates carried out the massacre of Addis
Ababa. Here below is how Sbacchi summarizes it:
The
Carabinieri and soldiers on duty fired into the
crowd and rounded up everyone within the precincts
of the palace. Wholesale executions followed at
once in the grounds and the adjoining filed. A
large number of innocent spectators lost their
lives. For two and half days, there followed
reprisals against the Ethiopians. It was an orgy
of murder, robbery and arson on the part of the
Italians. No one was spared. Ethiopians were
hunted through the streets and into their
dwellings all over the town and beaten, shot,
bayoneted or clubbed to death; their dwellings
were burnt by flame-throwers and petrol, and in
some cases people were burnt inside their huts;
women, children, and priests, received the same
brutality. Ethiopians were thrown over the parapet
of a bridge onto the boulders below, a fifteen
meter drop, and those still alive were finished
off with rifles. Extensive areas in every quarter
were ablaze, and more than 4000 huts were
destroyed. The Italian reaction in burning
Ethiopian huts was intensified by the explosions
of ammunition hidden in the burning dwellings. The
church of St. George was set on fire and twenty
mines had been placed to blow it up. As if this
barbaric fury was not enough, Graziani planned to
destroy Addis Ababa and place its inhabitants in
concentration camps. Mussolini forbade this
draconian measure for fear of negative world
public opinion.2
The bust of
Graziani at Affile is not going to hide the crime
against humanity perpetrated by the fascists in
Ethiopia and elsewhere. The mayor of Affile and
the provincial as well as national governments of
Italy are advised to rethink the erection of the
monument and rather reconcile with Ethiopians
before it is too late. On the other hand, it is
gratifying to witness some progressive Italians
file charges against Ettore Viri and Affile and we
invite readers to read the attached document of
the Attorney General of the Republic of Prato.
Notes: 1.
Alberto Sbacchi, Ethiopia Under Mussolini:
Fascisim and the Colonial Experience, Zed
Book, 1985, p. 123
2. Alberto Sbacchi,
Ibid, p. 190
All Rights
Reserved. Copyright © IDEA, Inc. 2012. Dr.
Ghelawdewos Araia can be contacted for educational
and constructive feedback via dr.garaia@africanidea.org
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