[Translate to English:] In una località della zona rastrellata, non identificata, il fotografo ha catturato un'immagine emblematica del drammatico evolversi della situazione nei villaggi dell'Appennino: sul muro di un edificio, le vecchie scritte del regime fascista, come
A telling image of the situation in the villages of the Apennines in the summer of 1944: the fading propaganda slogans of the Fascist regime, such as “vincere,” had been overlaid by the partisans with new inscriptions praising the leaders of the Allied coalition, the resistance fighters, and their commander Armando (Mario Ricci). Following the renewed German occupation, these slogans were erased and replaced with the names of Hitler and the “Duce” © BArch, Bild 101 I/480/2231/17A, fot. Seyfarth (Luftflotte 2)

Climax and Crisis of Armed Resistance

Author: Milan Spindler

Summer 1944 marked an initial high point of the Resistenza: thousands of new members joined the armed groups, and liberated areas emerged in several regions. Yet this upswing was not to last; it was soon followed by serious setbacks and a deep crisis in the winter of 1944/45. Organisational shortcomings, inadequate equipment, and the hardships of daily warfare posed immense challenges to the resistance. At the same time, the German occupiers and the Italian Fascists of the Repubblica sociale italiana (RSI) intensified their repression: through systematic violence, they sought to crush the resistance and destroy its social foundations.

Florence, Summer 1944 - The Symbolic Liberation of a Major City

One outstanding success of the Resistenza during this period was the liberation of Florence in August 1944. Here, the movement was able to prove that it could not only operate militarily underground, but was also capable of mobilising the support of the population and bringing the city under its control.

  • 16 August 1944, a group of partisans discuss the capture of a sniper during the liberation of Florence © US NARA, Signal Corps 218883 / Fot. Yaskell
  • back © US NARA, Signal Corps 218883 / Fot. Yaskell
  • 7 September 1944, a demonstration by partisans in Piazza della Signoria in Florence © US NARA, Signal Corps 194995 / Fot. Yaskell
  • back © US NARA, Signal Corps 194995 / Fot. Yaskell
  • 12 September 1944, leaders of the Third Brigade of the Garibaldi Potente Division pose for a photograph with members of the Signal Corps © US NARA, Signal Corps 195055 / Fotografo ignoto
  • back © US NARA, Signal Corps 195055 / Fotografo ignoto
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