Rodolfo Graziani
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rodolfo Graziani, Marchese di Neghelli (August 11, 1882—January 11, 1955), was an Italian military officer who led expeditions in Africa before and during World War II and a war criminal responsible for thousands of Libyan and Ethiopian civilian deaths.
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[edit] Rise to prominence
Born in Filettino (near Frosinone), he served in World War I, and became the youngest colonel in the Italian Royal Army. In the 1920s, Graziani commanded the Italian forces in Libya, responsible for pacifying the Senussi rebels. During this so-called pacification, he was responsible for the construction of several concentration- and labor camps, where tens of thousands Libyan prisoners died, if not killed directly by hanging, like Omar Mukhtar, or bullets, then indirectly by starvation or disease. In 1935-36 during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, Graziani was the commander of the Italian army which invaded Ethiopia. While governor of Ethiopia, he survived an assassination attempt on February 19, 1937, and directed the bloody repression that followed, becoming known as "the Butcher of Ethiopia".
[edit] In World War II
During World War II he commanded the Tenth Army, stationed in Libya. He became commander after the death of Italo Balbo killed by Italian "friendly fire" on June 28, 1940. After the declaration of war, Mussolini ordered Graziani to use his army in an invasion of Egypt. Graziani expressed doubts about the ability of his largely un-mechanized force could defeat the British, however, he followed orders and the Tenth Army attacked on September 13. He resigned his commission in 1941 after being defeated by the British in Operation Compass, following the defeat of his army.
He was the only one of the Italian marshals to remain loyal to Mussolini after Dino Grandi's Grand Council of Fascism coup, and was appointed Minister of Defence of the Italian Social Republic. Graziani also commanded the mixed Italo-German Armee Ligurien. At the end of the war, Graziani spent a few days in San Vittore prison in Milan before being transferred to Allied control. He was brought back to Africa in Anglo-American custody, staying there until February of 1946. Allied forces then felt the danger of assassination or lynching had passed and returned him to Procida prison in Italy. In 1950, a military tribunal sentenced him to prison for a term of 19 years as punishment for his collaboration with the Nazis, but he was released after serving only a few months of the sentence. He died in Rome.
[edit] Military career
- ? - 1918 -- service in World War I
- 1921-33 -- service in Libya
- 1935 -- governor of Italian Somaliland
- 1936-37 -- viceroy of Ethiopia; promoted to Marshal of Italy
- 1940 -- governor of Libya
- 1943 -- Minister of Defence for the Italian Social Republic
[edit] Trivia
- He is related to Tony Graziani, a former NFL and current Arena Football League quarterback for the Philadelphia Soul.
- He was portrayed by actor Oliver Reed in the movie Lion of the Desert.
