Fascism's European Empire: Italian Occupation During the Second World War

A controversial reappraisal of the Italian occupation of the Mediterranean during the Second World War which Davide Rodogno examines for the first time within the framework of fascist imperial ambitions. He focuses on the European territories annexed and occupied by Italy between 1940 and 1943: metropolitan France, Corsica, Slovenia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Western Macedonia, and mainland and insular Greece. He explores Italy's plans for Mediterranean expansion, its relationship with Germany, economic exploitation, the forced 'Italianisation' of the annexed territories, collaboration, repression, and Italian policies towards refugees and Jews. He also compares Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany through their dreams of imperial conquest, the role of racism and anti-Semitism, and the 'fascistization' of the Italian Army. Based on largely unpublished sources, this is a groundbreaking contribution to genocide, resistance, war crimes and occupation studies as well as to the history of the Second World War more generally.

A controversial reappraisal of Italian occupation of the Mediterranean during the Second World War.

Davide Rodogno is Academic Fellow in the School of Modern History at the University of St Andrews.Adrian Belton is a freelance translator specialising in the humanities and the social sciences.

Introduction; Part I: Prologue: the conquered territories. 1. Italo-German relations in Mediterranean Europe; 2. The New Mediterranean Order; 3. The discrepancy between Fascism's plans for domination and actual occupation; 4. Mussolini, the civil and military authorities and the coordination of occupation policies; 5. The conquerors; Part II: 6. Relations with the occupied countries; 7. Economic valorization and the exploitation of the occupied territories; 8. The forced Italianization of the new provinces; 9. Collaboration; 10. Repression; 11. Policy towards refugees and Jews; Epilogue; Appendices; Archival sources; Printed sources and bibliography.