Figure 1.--When the Italians switched sides, the Germans were ready. They had moved forces into Italy and seized most of the Italian Army, now considered traitors. The Germans encountered little resistance. Gen. Badolio has not briefed Italian commanders as to what was about to happen. Any Italians that resisted were shot. Here are newly arrived Italian 'military internees' in a German camp after Operation Achse (September 1943). 'Military Internee' status was devised by the Germans to evade regulations about treatments of POWs.

An Itaian POW wrote home to his mother in Sicily. "Mamma. They feed us like we are guests not prisoners. White bread everyday, meat, vegetables. More food than we saw in two year of war. I cannot understand these Americans." It took 8 months, but his relieved mother got the letter.

-- Giuseppe Morelli, Camp Hereford, Texas, April 1943. Ironically, America is where many Sicilians wanted to immigrate.

Italy is one of the major European countries, with a population comparable to that of Britain and France. Mussolini tried to turn the country into a military power. He ranted aboiy8 million bayonets, but failed catastrophically. The country simply did not have an adequate industrial base. Some say that Italian do not make good soldiers. That is debatable. What is not debatable is that he Italian soldiers were poorly led, equipped, and supplied, often mistreated by their officers. Italy was a major combatant in important World War II campaigns, losing all of them. The only victory was in Ethiopia before the War (1935). As a result, large numbers of Italians were made POWs, something like 1.5 million men. After only a few months of combat in the Western Desert against a small British force, the Italian forces collapsed (December 1940). British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden quipped, "Never before in history had so many surrendered to so few. Where ever the Italians fought, they were defeated (East Africa, Tunisia, and Stalingrad) meant that there was no possibility of retreat--whole armies were captured in their entirety. Italians were captured by the Soviets in the East, mostly at Stalingrad (November 1942). The Soviets captured some 60,000 Italian, destroying the Italian Army in Russia (Armata Italiana in Russia -- ARMIR).. The Western Allies captured many more in East Africa, North Africa, and Sicily (1940-43). That total comes to about 0.5 million. Almost all of the Italian POWs held by the Western Allies survived the War. Few of the Italians captured by the Soviets survived. The crowning insult was that ironically the largest numbers of Italian POWs were taken by their German ally when Italy tried to exit the War (1943). When the Germans seized control of Italy--over 1 million Italians were seized as part of Operation Achse, although a number managed to escape (September 1943). The Germans transported some 0.8 million Italian soldiers to the Reich for slave labor under brutal condition. 【Moore】 The Germans committed numerous atrocities against their former allies in the process. Most Italians never understood why they were at war with America. The Allies also used the Italian POWs for labor as part of Italian Service Units. This was voluntary. The Americans and British held the Italians under correct conditions. The Briish held Italian POWs in various locations. They were were well fed and received medial care. The luckiest Italin POWs were the 50,000 sent to American camps. The British treated the Italians correctly, but the food left much to be desired. In cotrast, food was notan isue in America POW camps. The Italians had hit the POW jackpot. POWs gained weight. Italians, especially those from southern Italy, ate much better in American camps than in Italian military service. Many ate better than they had in civilian life. The Italian POWs were not returned to Italy until after the War. Almost all survived. After the Italian surrender to the Western Allies (September 1943), the Italian military that escaped German internment was not held as POWs because Italy had switched sides. They did not, however, play a significant role in the Italian campaign driving out the Germans.

Sources

Moore, Bob. "Enforced Diaspora: The Fate of Italian Prisoners of War during the Second World War." War in History Vol. 22, No. 2 (April 2015), pp. 174-90.

Created: 9:28 PM 9/7/2025
Last updated: 9:28 PM 9/7/2025