Campbell, Ian L. “Italian Atrocities in Ethiopia: An Enquiry into the Violence of Fascism’s First Military Invasion and Occupation”

In his article “Italian Atrocities in Ethiopia: An Enquiry into the Violence of Fascism’s First Military Invasion and Occupation,” Ian L. Campbell analyzes the atrocities perpetrated by Italian Fascists in Ethiopia during the invasion that started in 1936. He focuses on the different factors that facilitated and enabled these atrocities.

According to Campbell, Fascist propaganda played a major role, as did opportunism and careerism. The mission was presented as a valuable opportunity for Italians of all classes, from the peasants to the clergy, and Campbell shows how both regular conscripts, such as carabinieri, as well as the Blackshirt militia participated in the atrocities.

Moreover, Campbell discusses two factors that contributed to the brutality –  and impunity – of the Italian troops: Mussolini’s explicit policy of terror and the framing of the invasion as a crusade.
Evidence, such as official military documents, telegrams and correspondence between Mussolini and the marshals in Ethiopia, clearly shows that Mussolini ordered a war of extermination, while violent marshals like Rodolfo Graziani further incited the use of extreme violence. Entire villages were destroyed, civilians, including women and children, were massacred. Campbell especially discusses the extreme brutality employed to kill Ethiopians: the use of gas, skinnings, beheadings, and public hangings. According to Campbell, among the reasons for this violence were “nationalistic fervour, the glorification of war, dehumanization and demonization of the enemy and a culture of brutality” (123).

A further context Cambell discusses is the influence of the Catholic Church and its close ties to Mussolini’s regime. Initially, the public opinion perceived the colonial campaign as something distant and even irrelevant. However, after the Lateran Treaty, Catholic propaganda began to promote the campaign as a crusade against pagans, designed to bring Christianity to Africa and to lead the Italians to a spiritual renewal. According to Campbell, this bond between sacrality and fascism created “a powerful amalgam of nationalist, spiritual and political dogma” (129).

Other factors impacted, intensified, and encouraged the Italian troops. Often, the Italian militaries delegated the killings to local people, groups of Muslim warriors or Ethiopians who were fighting against Haile Selassie. Many Eritreans deserted in order not to be forced to commit atrocities. Atrocities were also committed as reprisals, for example the infamous Yekatit 12 reprisal. Yekatit 12 refers to a date in the Ethiopian calendar on which 30.000 Ethiopians were imprisoned and massacred following an attempt to assassinate Graziani. 

Finally, Campbell discusses how the Fascist culture of masculinity and hero worship also contributed to fostering violence and brutality, especially among Blackshirts, who saw themselves as the young Italian elite.

This article is an excellent resource for scholars interested in Italian colonial crimes.

Author of this entry: Chiara Ausiello.

Campbell, Ian L. “Italian Atrocities in Ethiopia: An Enquiry into the Violence of Fascism’s First Military Invasion and Occupation.” Journal of Genocide Research, 2021, 24.1, pp. 119-133.