Italy Switches Sides in World War Two - War Against Humanity 077 - September 11, 1943

When Italy leaves WW2, The Nazi German Reich immediately begins occupying the country, and the occupied nations it has held until now.

Follow WW2 Day by Day on Instagram: @ww2_day_by_day
Follow TimeGhost History on Instagram: @timeghosthistory

Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Marek Kamiński
Community Management: Ian Sowden
Written by: Spartacus Olsson, Joram Appel
Research by: Joram Appel
Map animations by: Daniel Weiss
Map research by: Sietse Kenter
Edited by: Karol
Artwork and color grading by: Mikołaj Uchman
Sound design by: Marek Kamiński
Colorizations by:
Mikołaj Uchman
Spartacus Olsson

Special thanks to:

Charlie Spurr

Image sources:
Bundesarchiv
Yad Vashem: 1597_289, 17CO9, 5344, 7GO6, 8BO1, 2517/31, 7GO4, 2517/53, 2517/2
Imperial War Museums: HU 66051, HU 76018,
National Archives NARA
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
Division 24 emblem courtesy of Noclador from Wikimedia Commons
Picture of the Inside the barrack of the Campo di Fossoli courtesy of Fondazionefossoli

Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound:
Break Free - Fabien Tell
Dark Beginning - Johan Hynynen
Deviation In Time - Johannes Bornlof
Disciples of Sun Tzu - Christian Andersen
Guilty Shadows 4 - Andreas Jamsheree
It's Not a Game - Philip Ayers
Moving to Disturbia - Experia
Potential Redemption - Max Anson
Rememberance - Fabien Tell
Weapon of Choice - Fabien Tell

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

[WorldWarTwo]

What has Italy's role been thus far in the war against humanity waged by the Axis? Do they really deserve any credit for the meager protection they offered their Jewish citizens from Germany, or is their alliance with the Nazi state by extension a partnership in crime?

[TLTeo]

My grandfather was an army doctor in the military hospital in Turin. On Sep 8th when the surrender was revealed, he was left with no orders or instructions like most of the rest of the Italian Army in the North, so he decided to try to get to Milan to check on his family. When he got there he was arrested by German soldiers and, in his words, "taken away". He would always tell the story of how he'd walked the whole way between the two cities hiding from Allied aircraft and German patrols, but he refused to say anything about his captivity. Never a word about where he went or what he saw between 1943 and 1946 when he managed to return to Italy, he took it all with him when he passed away. My grandma said that he was changed after the war - his personality got darker, as if he couldn't feel happiness anymore, and eventually their marriage collapsed. Never forget.

[brainyskeletonofdoom]

My grandpa was a soldier ( formerly mountain artillery) deployed in the naval base of La Spezia as a Flak 88 gunner during the 8th of September. He told me that the commander gathered eveyone on the base and told them the can either go back to their families or follow German orders.
Luckily he lived relatively not too far from there, and he was able to walk home in one day, hiding from the German troops looking for disbanded soldiers.
He buried his uniform and under false identity he returned to his farming life in the mountains, able to provide again for his struggling family.
The secluded valley where he was from was choosen by ex-soldiers to became the base of the first partisan formations of the region, that later became a full division (Divisione Cichero); this made the nazifascist distrustful of the local peasants, and they set fire to the village two times.
My grandpa, while refusing to fight directly, as he was a devout christian with a religious education, saw the partisans as starving men hiding from the invaders, and helped them with food and info, becoming personal friend of their commander, nicknamed Bisagno. The nazifascists destroyed his home twice, and twice he rebuilt it with his own hands, stone after stone, and everytime they stole everything he had.
Coming from a military background, those partisans were very disciplined, effective and with high morale, so they became allies of the farmers, with a written code of honour that stated, between other things: "never steal from the people, always ask and always be thankful".
The partisans power increased greatly when they managed to recruit a battalion of fascist Alpini recruits sent for an antipartisan raid (from the Divisione Monterosa).
With this added manpower and equipment they managed to encircle the German garrison of the city of Genoa (one of the main Italian ports and industrial centre), which surrendered to them in exchange of being allowed to live the region unharmed. They liberated the strategic city before the arrival of Allied land forces.
After the war my grandfather became known as a firsthand source on partisan war, as he saw most of the major events with his own eyes, and even wrote two books, a great achievement at the time for a poor farmer. He passed away at 97 in 2010, having great health and memory until the end, proud to have saved his hometown and family more than one time without ever harming anyone.
The valley still is full of solitary crosses, marking executions in the woods and on the roadside, reminding us of what fascism did to those who wanted freedom and rights.

[francescorossi]

My grandfather Giuseppe fought with Rommel in Africa and was captured in Tobruk 1943. His brother Iano fought in Greece, when the armistice came he was deported to Germany but survived.

[alexamerling]

Italy: "Woohoo the war is over!"
Wehrmacht: "Not so fast."

[hillbillykoi]

The endings of this series are always so powerful. I end up just sitting in silence. Thank you all for what you do every week. Never forget.

[MrHusker]

My high school used to organise trips to Auschwitz and Terezín, where we even spent few nights with holocaust survivors telling their stories, visit to that place made sure that I will, as you say, never forget.

[hannahskipper]

How did I miss this episode for almost a week? I'm glad I finally caught it. Excellent work, Sparty and team. Never forget.

[arsefacek]

watching this series makes it all the more satisfying to watch the axis start collapsing in the main series

[Geoduck.]

Your last words were so appropriate while at the same time chilling. Well stated and true, thank you Spartacus,

[dylanhess]

That closing monolog was pure unfetered poetry of the highest order!

[mammuchan]

Every time in this series when I hear of a group of Jews that was previously “safe”, and are now going vulnerable to being caught up in the monstrous Holocaust, I feel sick to my stomach, in addition to the usual horro of these episodes. These people must have lived with the hope that they stood a chance to survive the war. Hope, such a bittersweet and dangerous emotion.

[gianniverschueren]

Ooof that's a really classy colour scheme, especially i combination with the jacket. Excellent tie indeed. 4.5/5

[Aramis]

My ancestors - first generation Italian- and German-Americans were sent to the Pacific during THE War. They all survived, by the grace of whatever deity you believe in - and always laughed when they heard someone say "Violence doesn't solve anything!" and would respond, "TELL THAT TO TOJO AND HIMMLER!"

[lttacos]

Excellent audio my dudes! I can hear you clearly and at 90%!!! Not sure what your doing but keep it up! Love the series when i can hear it!

[briantarigan]

Italians: *decided to surrender their weapons, sold them, or outright defect to Greek Partisans
Greeks: Christmas come early boys !!!

[gunman]

Missed the premiere due to the late timing and will probably catch the video later after work. Still, Italy's surrender and the changing of sides does make things a little complex to judge at times. Thanks guys for the great coverage as usual. Never forget.

[lacasadipavlov]

Italy did not switch side, it sued for peace

[Rendarth]

I really wonder what could have happened if Italy had planned more for the armistice. Most units had no orders at all on what to do. A general announcement to resist and hold positions (or conduct orderly retreats) could have gone a long way toward defeating Germany earlier.

[MGood-ijhi]

I've watched a lot of documentaries on World War Two, but this series alone is like having my face rubbed in the ugliness of that war because it covers the horror in weekly detail where most other examinations of that war just skim over it.