page_title: Italian resistance movement
section_title: Revenge killings
hierarchical_section_title: Italian resistance movement / Liberation / Revenge killings
caption_attribution_description: English: The dead body of Benito Mussolini next to his mistress Claretta Petacci and those of other executed fascists, on display in Milan on 29 April 1945, in Piazzale Loreto, the same place that the fascists had displayed the bodies of fifteen Milanese civilians a year earlier after executing them in retaliation for resistance activity. The photograph is by Vincenzo Carrese. The bodies, from left to right, are: Nicola Bombacci Benito Mussolini Claretta Petacci Alessandro Pavolini Achille Starace Deutsch: Die Leichen von Benito Mussolini, seiner Gefährtin Claretta Petacci und anderer faschistischer Funktionäre, in Mailand am 29. April 1945. Photo von Vincenzo Carrese. Von links nach rechts: Nicola Bombacci Benito Mussolini Claretta Petacci Alessandro Pavolini Achille Starace Italiano: Il corpo senza vita di Benito Mussolini accanto a quello della sua compagna Claretta Petacci e a quelli di altri gerarchi fascisti fucilati, esposti a Milano il 29 aprile 1945, in piazzale Loreto, nello stesso luogo in cui i fascisti avevano fucilato alcuni partigiani. Fotografia di Vincenzo Carrese. I corpi, da sinistra verso destra: Nicola Bombacci Benito Mussolini Claretta Petacci Alessandro Pavolini Achille Starace Español: El cuerpo sin vida de Benito Mussolini junto al de su compañera Claretta Petacci y al de otros líderes fascistas fusilados, expuesto en Milán el 29 de abril de 1945, en piazzale Loreto, ubicación donde los fascistas italianos habían fusilado a algunos partisanos. Fotografía de Vincenzo Carrese. Los cuerpos, de izquierda a derecha: Nicola Bombacci Benito Mussolini Claretta Petacci Alessandro Pavolini Achille Starace Français&#160;: Les cadavres de Benito Mussolini à côté de sa maîtresse Claretta Petacci et de ses compagnons fascistes, exposés à Milan le 29 avril 1945, sur piazzale Loreto, c.-à-d. au même endroit où les fascistes avaient fait fusiller de nombreux partisans. Photographie de Vincenzo Carrese. Ce sont, de gauche à droite, les corps de&#160;: Nicola Bombacci Benito Mussolini Claretta Petacci Alessandro Pavolini Achille Starace Română: Corpurile fasciștilor executați de partizani, expuse în Milano. De la stânga la dreapta: necunoscu (numit ironic Gelormini) Benito Mussolini Claretta Petacci Alessandro Pavolini Achille Starace Português: O cadáver de Benito Mussolini ao lado do da sua companheira Claretta Petacci e de outros fascistas fuzilados, exposto em Milão em 29 de Abril de 1945, na Piazzale Loreto, a mesma praça onde os fascistas haviam exposto os corpos de quinze civis milaneses um ano antes após executarem-nos como retaliação pelas suas actividades de resistência. Foto de Vincenzo Carrese. Os corpos, da esquerda para a direita, pertencem a: Nicola Bombacci Benito Mussolini Claretta Petacci Alessandro Pavolini Achille Starace Svenska: Benito Mussolinis döda kropp bredvid hans älskarinna Claretta Petacci och andra avrättade fascister, till allmän beskådan i Milano den 29 april 1945, på Piazzale Loreto, samma plats där fascisterna hade hängt upp kropparna av femton milanesiska civilister ett år tidigare, efter att ha avrättat dem som hämnd för motståndsaktivitet. Fotografiet är taget av Vincenzo Carrese. Kropparna är, från vänster till höger: Nicola Bombacci Benito Mussolini Claretta Petacci Alessandro Pavolini Achille Starace
context_page_description: The Italian resistance movement is an umbrella term for Italian resistance groups during World War II. It was opposed to the forces of Nazi Germany as well as Nazi Germany's Italian puppet state regime, the Italian Social Republic, especially following the German invasion and military occupation of Italy between September 1943 and April 1945. Known as partisans, the brutal conflict they took part in is referred to as the Italian Liberation War or as the Italian Civil War. The modern Italian Republic was declared to be founded on the struggle of the Resistance.
context_section_description: A score-settling campaign (Italian: resa dei conti) ensued against pro-German collaborators, thousands of whom were rounded up by the vengeful partisans. Controversially, many of those detainees were speedily court martialed, condemned and shot, or killed without trial. Minister of Interior Mario Scelba later put the number of the victims of such executions at 732, but other estimates were much higher. Partisan leader Ferruccio Parri, who briefly served as Prime Minister after the war in 1945, said thousands were killed. Some partisans, such as perpetrators of the Schio massacre, were trialed by an Allied Military Court.
  During the waning hours of the war, Mussolini, accompanied by Marshal Graziani, headed to Milan to meet with Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster. Mussolini was hoping to negotiate a deal, but was given only the option of unconditional surrender. His negotiations were an act of betrayal against the Germans. When confronted about this by Achille Marazza, Mussolini said, "They [the Nazis] have always treated us as slaves. I will now resume my freedom of action." With the city already held by resistance fighters, Mussolini used his connections one last time to secure passage with an escaping German convoy on its way to the Brenner Pass with his mistress Claretta Petacci. On the morning of 27 April 1945, Umberto Lazzaro (nom de guerre 'Partisan Bill'), a partisan with the 52nd Garibaldi Brigade, was checking a column of lorries carrying retreating SS troops at Dongo, Lombardy, near the Swiss border. Lazzaro recognized and arrested Mussolini. The task of executing Mussolini was, according to the official version, given to a 'Colonel Valerio' (identified as Walter Audisio) and the bodies of Mussolini and Petacci were later brought to Milan and hung upside down in the Piazzale Loreto square. Eighteen executed prominent Fascists (including Mussolini, Fernando Mezzasoma, Luigi Gatti, Alessandro Pavolini and Achille Starace) were displayed in the square; this place was significant because the bodies of 15 executed enemies of Mussolini's regime had been displayed in this square the previous year.
caption: Mussolini - captured and executed by Italian Partisans, along with his mistress Clara Petacci and three other Fascist officials. (Milan, 1945)
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