“Unraveling the Mystery: Why Italy Escaped a Post-War Reckoning for Its Atrocities”
Which was all rather awkward, considering that the signatory himself, Marshal Badoglio, could have easily made it on that list! Nonetheless, shortly afterwards, the War Crimes Section of the British Foreign Office made a drastic decision: they would bar British authorities from apprehending any individual who had supported the Allied war effort after September 1943.
This decision would be later adopted by the Combined Chiefs of Staff. This meant that ALL Allied forces – not just the Brits! – were now expected NOT to arrest any suspected war criminal, provided they had joined the co-belligerent army or the resistance movement in Northern Italy.
This was essentially a get-out-of-jail free card for the likes of Badoglio!
But how about those staunch Fascists still active in the Italian Social Republic? Well, the desire to punish them was still alive and kicking, especially amongst Italians themselves! The CLN, the National Liberation Committee overseeing the resistance, had even endorsed a rather radical plan formulated in part by Winston Churchill in late 1943. According to the plan, the United Nations would draft a list of 50 to 100 Italian fascist criminals, who could then be executed on the spot without incurring any punishment on the individuals who killed them. A nationally sponsored hit list, essentially. No jurisprudence needed. Much simpler than involving the courts or allowing for basic human rights. It’s the good guys doing the killings, afterall.
The Executed and the Forgiven
