Banda Collotti

[K.Kocjancic]

One of the units of particular relevance was the Special Inspectorate for the Public Security of Venezia Guilia that was under the command of the Inspector General Giuseppe Gueli. Since 1942 this Inspectorate, with its Head Office in the notorious "Villa Trieste" of Via Beellosguardo, was set up with the specific purpose of enforcing anti-partisan repression and controlling the organisation of the factory workers.

The operational section of the Inspectorate became sadly known as the "Banda Collotti"("Collotti’s Gang") named after its Commander Gaetano Collotti. After the 8th September the "Banda Collotti" continued its anti-partisan activity under German command and was well remembered for its significant role in the capturing of the Jews.

http://www.deportati.it/campi/risiera/litorale_1.htm

Any other info on this unit?

TIA;
Kocjo

[daniele]

After September 8th 1943, continued the activities of the most hated institution of the Italian Police in this region, the ISPETTORATO SPECIALE DI PUBBLICA SICUREZZA for the Venezia Giulia, based in Trieste in Via Bellosguardo 8. It was headed by the Inspector Dott. Giuseppe Gueli, backed mostly by Giuseppe Sigilló, Domenico Miani, Gaetano Collotti and Luciano Palmisani.
The ISPETTORATO SPECIALE of Trieste, worked basically in town with around 100 men, but the half of them were directly used by German Police. It received orders directly by GESTAPO. Gaetano Collotti was commander of the Mobile team of the ISPETTORATO SPECIALE.

Regards

Daniele

[K.Kocjancic]

Thanks!

Regards,
Kocjo

[daniele]

Just found some members of the Banda Collotti:

Mario Fabian, killed in Basovizza
Alessio Mignacca, killed in Lubiana
Ferruccio Soranzio, killed in Lubiana
Domenico Sica, killed in Lubiana
Santo Camminiti
Argante Boato

I know I have more on it, I will post soon.

Daniele

[GLADIVM]

I do not have any further infos about Collotti activities in Trieste but I have news about his fate
Collotti managed to leave Trieste bfore Tito's bands arrival but he did not go far , on 27 April at "Agli Olmi " a small place near Oderzo in Veneto a car Fiat 1100 dark blue and a truck full of valuables were stoppped , on board there were Collotti , 6 of his men and his pregnant fiancee , one of the man was Rado Seliskar , a deserter from the partisans which had joined Banda Collotti .

Collotti was recognized by apartisan from Trieste and taken toghetr with the others at Mignagola Paper mill factory where a partisan chief called " Falco " had imprisoned dozens of fascist and set up a Kangaroo court , many of the fascists there were to die a painfull death in the following days .

While the car and truck disappeared Collooti and the others after a brief process , were shot inside the factory on 28 April around 10.00 A.M. , also shot was Collotti pregnant fiancee .

These infos are taken form the book " I Giorni di Caino " by Antonio serena and more recntly have been reportd in the book " Il Sangue dei Vinti " of Giampaolo Pansa .

Hope this to be of interest

Yours

GLADIVM

[K.Kocjancic]

Thank you both!

Didn't know that this unit was also in Ljubljana (Lubiana or Laibach) and that there were also Slovenes in it (Rado Seliškar).

Are there any photos of this unit? What about equipment and weapons?

Regards,
Kocjo

[daniele]

I don´t know if they were acting in Lubiana too. They were shot in Lubiana by partisan after the war.

[K.Kocjancic]

I don´t know if they were acting in Lubiana too. They were shot in Lubiana by partisan after the war.

Ooh - that's why they were in Ljubljana!

Where all those executed after the war? If so, they picked really good spot to execute a Faschist - Basovizza, where our countrymen were executed before WWII.

Regards,
Kocjo

[DrG]

Basovizza, where our countrymen were executed before WWII.

In 1930 four Slovenes of the Borba organization were executed, after a trial, in Basovizza because of the bombs that they had placed in the Faro della Vittoria and at the entrace of the offices of the newspaper "Il Piccolo" in Trieste, killing one man and wounding 3 other men.

[K.Kocjancic]

Death sentence (another 12 were sentence to time in prison) on four Slovenes:
- Ferdinand Bidovec,
- Zvonimir Miloš,
- Franjo Marušič and
- Alojz Valenčič was announced on 5.9.1930 by Special court in Trst (Trieste) and Rim (Rome). They were executed next day (6.9.).

They were all members of first anti-fascist organization in Europe/World - TIGR (Trst-Istra-Gorica-Reka).

Regards,
Kocjo

[DrG]

They were all members of first anti-fascist organization in Europe/World - TIGR (Trst-Istra-Gorica-Reka)

From my sources they were members of the more moderate Borba, not of the TIGR.
The claim that it was the first anti-fascist organization is simply baseless: you are forgetting all the Italian antifascists, active well before the TIGR. The only difference is that usually Italian antifascists avoided to use bombs and other terroristic ways of fighting (at least untill the armistice of 1943), unlike the Yugoslav-backed TIGR in Italy (and, needless to say, the Italian-backed Ustasha in Yugosliavia).

[K.Kocjancic]

All books on this states that they were TIGR.

OK, let me rephrase this:

first anti-fascist organization in Europe/World

to

"first anti-fascist organization with goal to liberate uppressed people from Italian occupation".

Already in 1919 there was organization of Slovenes, with goal to liberate Primorska region and reunite with Slovenia/Yugoslavia. When fascists came to power in 1922, they had just old enemy with new names. So you can say, that TIGR was fighting against faschists before fascists came to power.


You speak of

all the Italian antifascists, active well before the TIGR

Can you state some info on this matter and any illegal anti-fascists organization(s) in Italy?

Regards,
Kocjo

[DrG]

All books on this states that they were TIGR.

My source is "Foibe" by Gianni Oliva, whose source is Galliano Fogar, "L'antifascismo monfalconese tra le due guerre", Feltrinelli, Milano, 1982.

Already in 1919 there was organization of Slovenes, with goal to liberate Primorska region and reunite with Slovenia/Yugoslavia. When fascists came to power in 1922, they had just old enemy with new names. So you can say, that TIGR was fighting against faschists before fascists came to power.

In other words it was an irredentistic Slovene organization, that became antifascist only because Italy became a Fascist state.

Can you state some info on this matter and any illegal anti-fascists organization(s) in Italy?

This topic would be at least huge. Just to summarize: since Fascism was born to fight against Communists and Socialists, it's obvious that Italian antifascists existed already at the birth of Fascism. Untill the March on Rome (28 Oct. 1922, 1st Mussolini Govern with the alliance of Nationalists, Catholics and Liberals), and then the suppression of all parties in 1925 (included the former allies of the Fascists) the opposition to Fascism, often with violence (there were fightings between Fascist and Communist bands, that caused hundreds of deaths), was open. Then members of the anti-fascist parties (mostly of the Communist, financed by USSR) fought against Fascism, but often only through propaganda, not with armed opposition. There were some attempts to the life of the Duce (4 in 1925-26, one in 1931 and one in 1932) and some demonstrative actions (flights on Milan,1930, and Rome,1931, throwing leaflets), but all unsuccessfull, also because of the consistent support of public opinion to Fascism (openly supported also by the Church after the Lateran Pacts of 1929).
After the 4th attempt to the life of the Duce in 1926 it was decided to create the Tribunale Speciale per la Difesa dello Stato (Special Tribunal for the Defence of the State), that since its institution (1 Feb. 1927) till its end (25 July 1943) put on trial 5,619 people, condemned 4,596 to a total of 27,735 years of jail (average=6 years), 3 life imprisonments and 42 death sentences (only 31 executed).

[K.Kocjancic]

Already in 1919 there was organization of Slovenes, with goal to liberate Primorska region and reunite with Slovenia/Yugoslavia. When fascists came to power in 1922, they had just old enemy with new names. So you can say, that TIGR was fighting against faschists before fascists came to power.

In other words it was an irredentistic Slovene organization, that became antifascist only because Italy became a Fascist state.

TIGR was first a liberation "movement" to free Slovenes from Italian occupation. When Italy had became Fascist, they also became anti-fascist.

I don't know why Italians are so anti-TIGR. They were fighting against Fascists, right?

BTW. Can you provide meaning of "irredentistic"? I can't find this word in any of dictionaries (mine or on-line)?

Regards,
Kocjo

[DrG]

TIGR was first a liberation "movement" to free Slovenes from Italian occupation. When Italy had became Fascist, they also became anti-fascist.
I don't know why Italians are so anti-TIGR. They were fighting against Fascists, right?

Because, as you have already explained, it was anti-Italian and became anti-Fascist only for the fact that it was the govern of Italy. Its actions caused the death of innocent Italians and its own name is far from being liked by Italians given that is composed of the names of Italian cities (Trieste, Gorizia and Fiume) and a region (Istria) claimed by Yugoslavia (Fiume, now called Rijeka, and Istria were annexed by it after WW2). I know the Slovene and Croat theories about those lands and I wouldn't like to discuss them here.

Can you provide meaning of "irredentistic"? I can't find this word in any of dictionaries (mine or on-line)?

It means something made to unify a part of a nation under foreign control with its fatherland. It's from the Italian "Irredentismo", but I've seen that word used, very rarely, in English and it's in my Eng. dictionary.