Under German Occupation: The Beginnings of the Resistenza

Author: Milan Spindler

In the ten months following the onset of German occupation in autumn 1943, the Resistenza underwent a complex process of development. Politically, the Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale (CLN) emerged as the central coordinating body, establishing itself as the leading organ of the resistance after 8 September 1943. At the same time, the first partisan groups began gaining practical experience in armed combat during the autumn and winter of 1943/44. These two dimensions, political leadership and military practice, formed the basis for the consolidation and expansion of the Resistenza in spring 1944.