Refugees, Human Rights and Realpolitik by Daphna Sharfman

Author:Daphna Sharfman [Sharfman, Daphna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, General, Middle East, Israel & Palestine, Europe, Italy, Jewish, Military, World War II, Holocaust
ISBN: 9781351995443
Google: mvSDDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-01-14T16:13:25+00:00

Pedaliu points out that Italy’s bitter reaction, manifested in riots and violence against Allied troops, aimed primarily at Britain, caused further damage to Anglo-Italian relations.43 Charles observes that Italian dissatisfaction with the peace treaty focused largely on Britain’s attitude.44

The issue of Italian war criminals evolved around Italy’s opposition to the insertion of a war crimes clause into the peace treaty; it was also firmly against the prospect of extraditing suspected criminals to Yugoslavia or any other country. However, the Allies decided on 26 June 1946 to include Article 45 of the treaty, which obliged Italy to apprehend and surrender for trial alleged Italian war criminals. In September the Italian government, aiming to protect its sovereignty by resisting extradition of its nationals to foreign countries, announced that a commission of enquiry had decided to prosecute forty military officers and high-ranking Fascist officials on war crime charges. None of them were properly punished. Under the circumstances, Italy also chose not to pursue its own war crime claims against Germany, including the heinous war crimes that took place in the Greek island of Cephalonia: ‘All this was indicative of a state that was looking firmly to the future and was anxious to bury its wartime past’.45

This policy was accepted by the Americans and more reluctantly by the British, who agreed to slacken the pressure on Italy to hand over war criminals to Yugoslavia. There was concern regarding Italian political stability under De Gasperi government and the loss of British influence in Italy.46

Italy’s Foreign Minister, Count Sforza, presented an immediate Italian appeal for revision of the treaty, which was to become a cornerstone of Italian politics. He also asked for a meeting with Bevin but Britain refused to comply until Italy had signed and ratified the treaty. Following ratification of the peace treaty by Italy on 31 July and by the Four Powers in mid-September, Britain appointed Sir Victor Mallet as the new ambassador to Italy, as an indication of the normalization of relations. The British turned down the Italian request regarding the colonies in Africa:

For Italy, the colonies were the symbol of Great Power status proving they were not in total decline. But for the British they represented punishment, the price of aggression, prevention of future aggression and the relegation of Italy to second-class status.47

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