#arditidelpopolo

[francescosatanassi]

SIAM DEL POPOLO GLI ARDITI

Per rispondere alle violenze dello squadrismo, nel giugno del 1921 nacquero a Roma gli Arditi del Popolo, squadre di proletari con lo scopo di combattere il fascismo sul loro stesso terreno: quello dello scontro armato. La tendenza anarchica del movimento portò i partiti socialista, comunista e repubblicano a prenderne le distanze. In Romagna erano presenti sicuramente nel ravennate e nel riminese. Su Cesena si dice non fossero presenti, così come a Forlì, almeno secondo alcuni dirigenti comunisti che nel dopoguerra affermarono che ci furono alcune riunioni tra socialisti, comunisti e anarchici forlivesi ma alla fine non se ne fece nulla. In realtà, il 21 luglio, 'La Romagna socialista' dava notizia della loro formazione anche a Forlì. Negli stessi giorni, al funerale del comunista Pietro Casadei, ucciso durante alcuni scontri a Cesena, tramite un manifesto la famiglia ringraziò apertamente le squadre comuniste e gli Arditi del Popolo. Il 28 agosto su 'La lotta di classe' si parla di loro: “Abbiamo ricevuto un elenco di sottoscrizioni per Arditi del Popolo da Forlì”, mentre lo studioso locale Elio Santarelli li descrisse come dei "gruppi paramilitari che a Forlì si costituirono nel luglio 1921 seguendo l’esempio di altre parti d’Italia". Anche 'Il Pensiero Romagnolo' ne parlò, scrivendo che "alle bande fasciste si oppongono le bande proletarie.” Per togliere ogni dubbio, ho trovato due volantini firmati proprio dagli Arditi del Popolo forlivesi: uno (del quale ho tagliato una lunga citazione nella parte centrale) per chiamare il popolo a manifestare contro la pena inflitta agli anarchici Sacco e Vanzetti; l’altro per indignarsi dell'imminente patto di pacificazione tra socialisti e fascisti, e annunciare la nascita del movimento in città e la sua precisa finalità: “Rispondere con eguale violenza a tutte le violenze che saranno usate contro il popolo; adoperando gli stessi sistemi che finora sono stati adoperati contro di esso. La spietata ma necessaria legge del taglione sarà la nostra divisa!"

[radicalgraff]

Arditi del Popolo mural in San Lorenzo, Rome

the AdP was a militant antifascist organisation formed in late June 1921, to combat the rise of Mussolini’s Blackshirts. 

The paramilitary organisation comprised anarchist, left socialist, communist and republican militants who quickly set up local sections  all parts of the Italy. At least 144 sections had been set up by the end of summer 1921, with a total of about 20,000 members. The largest sections were the Lazio sections with about 3,300 members, followed by Tuscany, 18 sections, with a total of 3,000 members.

The AdP first saw action in Piombino on 19 July 1921, when they attacked a fascist meeting place and rounded up the fascists inside.

The above mural portrays the Battle of San Lorenzo of May 24, 1922, when the increasingly confident Blackshirt movement made its latest attempt to invade the district, carrying the remains of a fallen soldier to the Verano cemetery. Unmoved by the patriotic display, women threw pans of boiling water from the windows at the Fascist marchers. Amid the confusion AdP members opened fire, forcing the Blackshirts into a humiliating retreat.

Sadly, just as the AdP was building up the momentum on the streets, they were betrayed by the Socialist Party who were more interested in signing a pact of non-aggression with the fascists; at a time when the fascists were at their most vulnerable. Socialist militants were forced by their leadership to withdraw from the AdP, while the CGL union ordered its members to leave the organisation.

The communists went a step further by forming their own seperate squads thus decimating the movement further. According to Gramsci, “the tactic corresponded to the need to prevent the party membership being controlled by a leadership that was not the party leadership”.

Quite soon, only 50 sections of 6,000 members remained, supported both by the anarcho-syndicalist Unione Sindicale Italiana (USI) & the anarchist Unione Anarchica Italiana (UAI).

[danizignyc]

Today's mood/homework assignment: read about #arditidelpopolo. An antifascist group in the 1920s that managed to repel 20000 blackshirts from taking Parma. Yes THAT Parma as in cheese and ham. Back then, the fascists had not yet taken over. People would still stand against them, often to their end. We're quite literally repeating the last century and it's frightening. (at Mulberry St, Little Italy)

[radicalgraff]

Mural in Rome, to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the formation of the Arditi del Popolo, a militant antifascist organisation formed in late June 1921, to combat the rise of Mussolini's Blackshirts. The AdP was a working class paramilitary organisation, comprising anarchist, left socialist, communist and republican militants. The AdP was run along military lines and formed a rapid reaction force to respond to fascist threats. AdP behaviour was dictated by whatever political group held sway in a particular locale, although most sections were allowed virtual autonomy over their actions. These sections were quickly set up in all parts of the country. At least 144 sections had been set up by the end of summer 1921, with a total of about 20,000 members. The largest sections were the Lazio sections with about 3,300 members, followed by Tuscany, 18 sections, with a total of 3,000 members. The AdP first saw action in Piombino on 19 July 1921, when they attacked a fascist meeting place and rounded up the fascists inside. However, just as the AdP was building up the momentum on the streets, they were betrayed by the Socialist Party who were more interested in signing a pact of non-aggression with the fascists; at a time when the fascists were at their most vulnerable. Socialist militants were forced by their leadership to withdraw from the AdP, while the CGL union ordered its members to leave the organisation. The communists went a step further by forming their own seperate squads thus decimating the movement further. According to Gramsci, “the tactic corresponded to the need to prevent the party membership being controlled by a leadership that was not the party leadership”. Quite soon, only 50 sections of 6,000 members remained, supported both by the anarcho-syndicalist Unione Sindicale Italiana (USI) & the anarchist Unione Anarchica Italiana (UAI).