Italian East Africa

Italian East Africa (Italian: Africa Orientale Italiana, A.O.I.) was a short-lived colonial possession of Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 in the Horn of Africa. It was established following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which led to the military occupation of the Ethiopian Empire (Abyssinia). It encompassed Italian Somaliland, Italian Eritrea and the acquired Ethiopian territories, all governed by a single administrative unit, the Governo Generale dell'Africa Orientale Italiana. Its establishment contributed significantly to the outbreak of the Second World War by exposing the weaknesses of the League of Nations.
Italian East Africa was divided into six governorates. Eritrea and Somalia, Italian possessions since the 1880s, were enlarged with captured Ethiopian territory and became the Eritrea and Somalia Governorates. The remainder of the occupied Ethiopian territories comprised the Harar, Galla-Sidamo, Amhara, and Scioa Governorates. At its largest extent, Italian East Africa occupied territories in British Somaliland, British Kenya, and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
During World War II, Italian East Africa became the battleground of the East African campaign (part of the Mediterranean and Middle East theater). After the Battle of Gondar in November 1941, it was occupied by a British-led force including colonial units and Ethiopian resistance fighters. Italian Somalia and Eritrea came under British administration, while Ethiopia regained its independence. In 1950, Allied occupied Somalia became the United Nations Trust Territory of Somaliland, administered by Italy from 1950 until its independence in 1960. Allied occupied Eritrea became an autonomous part of Ethiopia in 1952. It was later annexed by the Ethiopian Empire in 1962 and gained its independence in 1993 as Eritrea.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Italy sought to expand its colonial empire, competing with other European powers for overseas territories. Early efforts included the colonization of Eritrea (1890) and Italian Somaliland (1905), followed by the unsuccessful invasion of the Ethiopian Empire in the First Italo-Ethiopian War (1895–1896). After World War I, nationalist sentiments grew, fueled by the belief that Italy had been denied its rightful territorial rewards for its contribution to the war effort, a sentiment known as the Mutilated Victory (Italian: Vittoria Mutilata). The combination of mobilization costs and the social unrest that followed the war is widely thought to have strengthened Italian irredentism and nationalism. This frustration contributed to the rise of Benito Mussolini and his Fascist regime in 1922.
Mussolini injected a new and aggressive impetus into these frustrations and ambitions, framing colonial expansion as a means to restore Roman greatness, enhance national prestige, and solve Italy's economic problems by providing land and resources. Mussolini believed the Italian people lacked a strong nationalistic and colonial conscience and thus sought to cultivate these sentiments through Fascist propaganda, particularly in the lead-up to the invasion and during occupation of the Ethiopia Empire. This propaganda emphasized Italy's need for colonial territories (Italian: spazio vitale), the perceived danger of Ethiopian aggression, and the injustice of international opposition to Italian expansion. The conquest of Ethiopia in 1936 and the subsequent formation of Italian East Africa were presented as major achievements of the Fascist regime, aimed at fulfilling long-standing Italian ambitions and establishing Italy as a major power. Despite earlier consideration of a protectorate over parts of Ethiopia, the Fascist government pursued full conquest, driven by Mussolini's determination to achieve a significant colonial victory to bolster his regime's legitimacy and international standing. This ambition, however, was met with Ethiopian resistance and international complications. This further aligned Italy with Nazi Germany, setting the stage for its involvement in World War II.
The Italo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928 stated that the border between Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia was 21 leagues parallel to the Benadir coast. In 1934, a border clash at Ual-Ual between Italian and Ethiopian forces during a boundary survey provided Mussolini with a pretext for a war. The Second Italo-Ethiopian War began without prior declaration of war in October 1935, with Italy sending a modern army of two hundred thousand soldiers commanded by Marshal Emilio De Bono and General Rodolfo Graziani (and later Pietro Badoglio). This army was equipped with superior weaponry, including an air force and tanks. Italian troops used mustard gas in aerial bombardments (in violation of the Geneva Protocol and Geneva Conventions) against combatants and civilians in an attempt to discourage the Ethiopian people from supporting the resistance. This military superiority over the Ethiopian army, combined with the then Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie's initial strategy of engaging in frontal battles led to significant Italian victories. During the late stages of the war, Italian forces violated international agreements by bombing Red Cross ambulances and hospitals, claiming these actions were in retaliation for alleged Ethiopian atrocities.
While some Italians initially opposed the war due to fears of a broader European conflict and Italy's financial instability, the Italian public largely shifted to support Mussolini following reported victories. Selassie was forced to flee to England, with Italian forces entering the capital city, Addis Ababa by 5 May 1936. Shortly after, Mussolini proclaimed an "Italian Empire of Ethiopia" and the Italian Empire on May 9, 1936. Following the Italian conquest, Ethiopian patriotic resistance continued in various parts of the country, particularly in the north and northwest. The resistance, although facing the challenge of Italy's modern military and harsh reprisals, prevented Italy from fully controlling Ethiopia and hindered its plans for economic and demographic exploitation. This ongoing opposition set the stage for Ethiopia's eventual involvement in the Second World War.
Since 28 September 1923, The Ethiopian Empire had been one of the member states of the League of Nations after its membership was supported by Mussolini. Following Italy's invasion, the League imposed economic sanctions on Italy, restricting trade in arms, rubber, and certain raw materials. However, the sanctions did not include oil, which was needed for Italy's war effort. France and Britain, concerned about maintaining good relations with Italy against the growing German threat, hesitated to enforce harsher penalties (appeasement). In 1936, the League lifted the sanctions, effectively legitimizing Italy's conquest. The failure of the League to protect the Ethiopian Empire exposed its weaknesses, demonstrating its inability to deter aggression from major powers. This failure was a key moment in the lead-up to World War II, undermining the League's credibility as a force for global peace. Although Selassie fled to England and appealed to the League of Nations for help, many nations gradually recognized the Italian annexation for political and economic reasons. On 18 November 1936, the Italian Empire was recognised by the Empire of Japan and Italy recognised the Japanese occupation of Manchuria, marking the end of the Stresa Front. Mussolini's international popularity further decreased as he endorsed the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, beginning a political tilt toward Germany that eventually led to the downfall of Mussolini and the Fascist regime in Italy in World War II.
On 12 May 1936, the League of Nations allowed Selassie to address the assembly. Selassie was introduced as "His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Ethiopia" (French: Sa Majesté Imperiale, l'Empereur d'Éthiopie), to jeering and whistling by Italian journalists. The Romanian delegate Nicolae Titulescu shouted "To the door with the savages!" (Romanian: A la porte les sauvages!), and the journalists were removed from the hall. Selassie responded with a speech. In a speech on 30 June 1936 to the assembly, he predicted "It is us today, it will be you tomorrow" if the League of Nations permited Italian aggression. Mussolini grew frustrated over the continued recognition of Selassie by the League of Nations and on 11 December 1937 announced the withdrawal of Italy's delegation to the League.
On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on Britain and France, which made Italian military forces in Libya a threat to Egypt and those in the Italian East Africa a danger to the British and French territories in the Horn of Africa. Italian belligerence also closed the Mediterranean to Allied merchant ships and endangered British supply routes along the coast of East Africa, the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and the Suez Canal. (The Kingdom of Egypt remained neutral during World War II, but the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 allowed the British to occupy Egypt and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.) Egypt, the Suez Canal, French Somaliland and British Somaliland were also vulnerable to invasion, but the Comando Supremo (Italian General Staff) had planned for a war after 1942. In the summer of 1940, Italy was far from ready for a long war or for the occupation of large areas of Africa.
Hostilities began on 13 June 1940, with an Italian air raid on the base of 1 Squadron Southern Rhodesian Air Force (237 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF) at Wajir in the East Africa Protectorate (Kenya). In August 1940, the protectorate of British Somaliland was occupied by Italian forces and absorbed into Italian East Africa, which lasted around six months. Anthony Eden, the Secretary of State for War, convened a conference in Khartoum at the end of October 1940 with Selassie, South African Prime Minister Jan Smuts, Wavell, Lieutenant-General William Platt and Lieutenant-General Alan Cunningham. A plan to attack Italian East Africa, including support for Ethiopian resistance forces, was agreed. General Wavell, commander of British troops in the Middle East, charged Colonel Sandford to make plans to aid and mobilize the Ethiopian patriots.
By early 1941, Italian forces had been largely pushed back from Kenya and Sudan. On 6 April 1941, Addis Ababa was occupied by the 11th (African) Division, which received the surrender of the city. The remnants of the Italian forces in the Italian East Africa surrendered after staging a last stand at the Battle of Gondar in November 1941. In Ethiopia, some Italian forces continued to fight in an Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia against the British and Ethiopian forces until the Armistice of Cassibile (3 September 1943) ended hostilities between Italy and the Allies. In January 1942, with the final official surrender of the Italians, the British signed an interim Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement with Selassie, acknowledging Ethiopian sovereignty. Makonnen Endelkachew was named as Prime Minister and on 19 December 1944, the final Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement was signed.
In the peace treaty of February 1947, Italy officially renounced sovereignty over its African colonies of Libya, Eritrea and Somalia (art. 23) and recognized the independence of Ethiopia (art. 33). Italy further agreed to:
Eritrea was placed under British military administration and became an autonomous part of Ethiopia in 1952. After 1945, Britain controlled both Somalilands, as protectorates. In November 1949, the United Nations granted Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland under close supervision, on condition that Somalia achieve independence within ten years. British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as the State of Somaliland, the Trust Territory of Somalia (ex-Italian Somaliland) became independent on 1 July 1960 and the territories united as the Somali Republic. After the war, Italian Ethiopians were given a full pardon by the newly returned Selassie, as he saw the opportunity to continue the modernization efforts of the country.
Italian East Africa was administered by a single administrative unit, the Governo Generale dell'AOI. (GGAOI), with the city of Addis Abeba as its capital. The The colonial government was overseen by Ministry of Italian Africa (Italian: Ministro per l'Africa italiana) and was administered by a Viceroy of Ethiopia and Governor General of Italian East Africa, appointed by the Italian king. Victor Emmanuel III of Italy consequently adopted the title of "Emperor of Ethiopia". The dominion was further divided for administrative purposes into six governorates, further divided into forty commissariati.
Fascist colonial policy in Italian East Africa had a divide and conquer characteristic. To weaken the Orthodox Christian Amhara people who had run Ethiopia in the past, territory claimed by Eritrean Tigray-Tigrinyas and Somalis was given to the Eritrea Governorate and Somalia Governorate. Reconstruction efforts after the war in 1936 were partially focused on benefiting the Muslim peoples in the colony at the expense of the Amhara to strengthen support by Muslims for the Italian colony. In 1938 Mussolini enacted The Italian Racial Laws (Italian: Leggi Razziali), which institutionalized racial discrimination against Italian Jews and African inhabitants of the Italian Empire. These laws, and later a policy of pacification by apartheid, enforced segregation and reinforced racial hierarchies in Italy's colonies, further aligning Italian fascism with Nazi ideology.
When established in 1936, Italian East Africa consisted of the old Italian possessions in the Horn of Africa: Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, combined with the recently conquered Empire of Ethiopia. The territory was divided into the six governorates: Eritrea and Somalia, consisting of the respective former colonies, enlarged with territory from Ethiopia. The remainder of "Italian Ethiopia" consisted of the Harar, Galla-Sidamo, Amhara, and Addis Abeba Governorates. The Addis Abeba Governorate was enlarged into the Scioa Governorate with territory from neighboring Harar, Galla-Sidamo and Amhara in November 1938.
Italian East Africa was briefly enlarged in 1940, as Italian forces invaded British Somaliland, thereby bringing all Somali territories, aside from the small colony of French Somaliland, under Italian administration. At its largest extent, The colony occupied territories in British Somaliland, British Kenya, and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. However, it was dismembered only a year later, when in the course of the East African campaign.
Italy's Fascist regime encouraged Italian peasants to colonize Ethiopia by setting up farms and small manufacturing businesses. However, few Italians came to the Ethiopian colony, with most going to Eritrea and Somalia. While Italian Eritrea enjoyed some degree of development, supported by nearly 80,000 Italian colonists, by 1940 only 3,200 farmers had arrived in Ethiopia, less than ten percent of the Fascist regime's goal. Continued insurgency by native Ethiopians, lack of natural resources, rough terrain, and uncertainty of political and military conditions discouraged development and settlement in the countryside.
Italians constructed a road between Addis Ababa and Massaua, Addis Ababa and Mogadishu, and Addis Ababa to Assab. 900 km of railways were reconstructed or initiated (like the railway between Addis Ababa and Assab), dams and hydroelectric plants were built. Public companies were established in Ethiopian governorates, such as the Ethiopian Electricity Company (Italian: Imprese elettriche d'Etiopia). Italians built additional airports and in 1936 started the Linea dell'Impero, a flight connecting Addis Ababa to Rome. The line was opened after the Italian conquest of Ethiopia and was followed by the first air links with the AOI governorates. The route was enlarged to 6,379 km and initially joined Rome with Addis Ababa via Syracuse, Benghazi, Cairo, Wadi Halfa, Khartoum, Kassala, Asmara, Dire Dawa.
The Djibouti–Addis Ababa Railway, the most significant railway in Italian East Africa, was acquired following the Italian conquest of Ethiopia in 1936. Until 1935, steam trains operated the 784 km route, taking about 36 hours to travel between Addis Ababa and Djibouti. In 1938, Italy introduced four high-capacity "Type 038" rail-cars, derived from the Fiat ALn56 model, increasing speeds to 70 km/h and reducing travel time to 18 hours. These diesel railcars remained in use until the mid-1960s. Major stations offered bus connections to other cities in Italian East Africa, and a fire brigade unit was established near Addis Ababa station—the only one of its kind in Africa at the time.
Italians invested substantively in Ethiopian infrastructure development. However Ethiopia and Italian East Africa proved to be extremely expensive to maintain, as the budget for the fiscal year 1936-37 had been set at 19.136 billion lira to create the necessary infrastructure for the colony. At the time, Italy's entire yearly revenue was only 18.581 billion lira.
Prior to Fascism, education in Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea had primarily been the responsibility of both Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries. With Mussolini's rise to power, government schools were created which eventually incorporated the Catholic missionaries' educational programmes while those of the Protestant missionaries became marginalised and circumscribed. Andrea Festa, who was made director of the central office governing primary education in Eritrea in November 1932, declared in 1934 that Fascist efforts in education needed to ensure that native Africans were "acquainted with a little of our civilisation" and that they needed to "know Italy, its glories, and ancient history, in order to, become a conscious militia man in the shade of our flag." Such education initiatives were designed to train Africans in a variety of practical tasks useful to the Fascist regime as well as to indoctrinate them with the tenets and lifestyle of Fascist ideology with the aim of creating citizens obedient and subservient to the state.
The propagandistic nature of the education was especially apparent in history textbooks issued to African children, which entirely omitted any discussion of events such as Italian disunity, Giuseppe Mazzini's "Young Italy" movement, the revolutions of 1848, or Giuseppe Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand and instead stressed the "glories" of the Roman Empire and those of the Italian state that claimed to be its successor. Glorification and lionisation of Mussolini and his "great work" likewise pervaded them, while periods during which Libya and other then-Italian possessions had been controlled by older, non-Italian empires, such as the Ottoman Empire, were portrayed through an unflattering lens. Use of the Fascist salute was mandatory in schools for African children, who were constantly encouraged to become "little soldiers of the Duce", and every day there was morning ceremony at which the Italian flag was hoisted and patriotic songs were sung. Italian children, whose education the Fascist government prioritised over that of Africans, received education similar to that in Fascist Italy's metropole, though with some aspects of it tailored to the local situation in East Africa. Fascist education in the colony proved to be a failure in the end, with only one twentieth of Italian colonial soldiers possessing any literacy.
In Italian East Africa, Fascist Italy sought to neutralize any educational institutions which provided instruction to Africans beyond the level expected by Fascist ideology. In particular the secondary education network in the Ethiopian Empire had prepared and enabled a relatively small but significant amount of Ethiopians to study abroad at universities in Europe. As a result of this policy and state-sponsored mass murder, post-World War II Ethiopia found itself impoverished of skilled workers due to the very limited and propagandistic education provided to its non-Italian inhabitants under Mussolini's rule. During World War II, few African natives displayed any loyalty to the Fascist state that the state's schools had so fervently tried to instill.
On 5 May 1936 the capital Addis Ababa was captured by the Italians: on 22 May three new stamps showing the King of Italy were issued. Four further values inscribed "ETIOPIA" were issued on 5 December 1936. After that date, the stamps were issued with the name "Africa Orientale Italiana" on it.
In 1939, there were 165,267 Italian citizens in Italian East Africa, mostly concentrated in Asmara, Addis Ababa, and Mogadishu. The total population was estimated at 12.1 million, with an uneven distribution across the region. Eritrea had around 1.5 million people in 90,000 square miles (16.7 people per square mile), Ethiopia had 9.5 million people in 305,000 square miles (31 people per square mile), and Italian Somaliland had 1.1 million people in 271,000 square miles (4 people per square mile). Most Italians in Ethiopia were troops because Ethiopian resistance in the country side made permanent settlement difficult. Frequent attacks disrupted efforts to establish enough farms and secure food supplies, preventing the troops from transitioning into farming colonists.
During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Italian forces used between 300 and 500 tons of mustard gas (yperite) against both military and civilian targets, despite being a signatory to the 1925 Geneva Protocol banning chemical warfare. This gas, produced during World War I, was a decisive factor in the conflict, with historian Walter Laqueur estimating that up to one-third of Ethiopian casualties resulted from chemical weapons. Although Italy justified its use of gas by citing the execution of pilot Tito Minniti, Mussolini had authorized gas attacks two months before Minniti’s death and later expanded their use on a massive scale. Mustard gas was delivered via bombs and gas shells, sprayed from aircraft onto Ethiopian soldiers, villages, and even Red Cross medical units. The attacks, which the Italians attempted to keep secret, were exposed by the International Red Cross and foreign observers. Selassie, in his plea to the League of Nations, condemned the use of chemical weapons, detailing their widespread and horrific effects on people, animals, and the environment. Ethiopian forces employed Dum-Dum bullets, banned under the Hague Convention, and reportedly mutilated captured Eritrean Askari and Italian soldiers. On 13 February 1936, a camp of civilian workers for the logistics company Gondrand, engaged at the time in road construction, was attacked and massacred at dawn by Ethiopian soldiers under the orders of Ras Imru. The massacre was publicized by Fascist Italy in an attempt to justify its ongoing invasion and the escalating the brutality of the reprisals.
On 19 February 1937, to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Naples, Rodolfo Graziani announced he would personally distribute alms to the poor at the Genete Leul Palace (also known as the Little Gebbi). Two young Eritreans living in Ethiopia named Abraha Deboch and Mogus Asgedom made an attempt on Graziani's life by throwing grenades. Following the attempt, Italian soldiers raided the Debre Libanos monastery, where the assassins were believed to have taken refuge, and executed hundreds of the monks and nuns. Italian forces, mostly Blackshirts, then continued to carry out brutal reprisals in Addis Ababa. Over the next three days, thousands of Ethiopian civilians were massacred, according to Ethiopian estimates, ranging from 19,000 to 30,000 deaths. Italian troops, Blackshirt militias, and Fascist supporters set fire to homes, businesses, and churches, killing indiscriminately. The massacre has come to be known as Yekatit 12 (the date in the Ethiopian language). After the massacres, Graziani became known as "the Butcher of Ethiopia" and was subsequently removed by Mussolini. Mussolini viewed the action as a major setback for Fascist propaganda and was concerned that the growing resentment among the natives would increase the number of individuals joining the resistance. As a result, Graziani was replaced by Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, whose pacification by apartheid approach minimized the risk of a united front against the Italians as an aftermath of the massacre.
Nocra prison camp was a notorious Italian detention facility located on Nocra Island in the Dahlak Archipelago, Eritrea. Originally established by the Italians in the late 19th century, it was used throughout the colonial period as a remote and harsh prison for political dissidents, Ethiopian resistance fighters, and other individuals deemed threats to Italian rule. The prison was infamous for its inhumane conditions, including extreme heat, forced labor, and inadequate food. Prisoners were subjected to harsh punishments, with many dying due to disease or malnutrition. During the Italian occupation of Ethiopia (1936-1941), Nocra housed much of the intelligentsia of Ethiopia with some being executed and the remainder exiled to penal colonies. As a result, post-World War II Ethiopia found itself impoverished of skilled workers.
The Danane concentration camp was another Italian concentration camp established near Mogadishu in Italian East Africa. Danane concentration camp Prisoners were transported from Addis Ababa to Danane in covered trucks by night to avoid them being seen. By the time they arrived at Danane, a journey of more than four weeks, several had died of disease and hardships along the way. Conflicting reports make it hard to accurately assess the extent of death among the prisoners. Graziani ordered that they be given only enough food to survive, and the conditions in which they were held were dire. The facilities were poor, with insufficient latrines, and they faced a humid climate that contributed to outbreaks of malaria, stomach infections, and venereal diseases.
9°2′48″N 38°45′28″E﻿ / ﻿9.04667°N 38.75778°E﻿ / 9.04667; 38.75778