Rodolfo Graziani



Marshal Rodolfo Graziani was an officer in the Kingdom of Italy's royal army during World War I and World War II, primary known for being a leading figure in the African campaigns before and during both conflicts. A dedicated fascist, he was a key figure in the Italian military during the reign of Victor Emmanuel III.

Graziani played an important role in the consolidation and expansion of Italy's empire during the 1920s and 1930s, first in Libya and then in Ethiopia. He became infamous even among the other colonial powers for harsh repressive measures, such as the use of concentration camps, that caused many civilian deaths, and for extreme measures taken against the native resistance such as the hanging of Omar Mukhtar. In February 1937, after an assassination attempt during a ceremony in Addis Ababa, Graziani authorized a period of brutal retribution now known as Yekatit 12. Shortly after Italy entered World War II he returned to Libya as the commander of troops in Italian North Africa but resigned after the 1940–41 British offensive routed his forces.

Following the 25 Luglio coup in 1943, he was the only Marshal of Italy who remained loyal to Benito Mussolini and was named the Minister of Defence of the Italian Social Republic, commanding its army and returning to active service against the Allies for the rest of the war.

Graziani was never prosecuted by the United Nations War Crimes Commission; he was included on its list of Italians eligible to be prosecuted for war crimes, but Italy and Britain opposed post-war Ethiopian attempts to bring him to trial. In 1948, an Italian court sentenced him to 19 years' imprisonment for collaboration with the Nazis, but he was released after serving only four months. He died of natural causes in Rome on January 11, 1953, at age 72.