Marocchinate, the dark side of liberation.

We all know the cruelties and the violences made by the german army during the second world war, but we have to face also the other side of the war, cause even if a population was freed by the allies or the russian army, in each case it would have had to suffer other violences, rapes and murders.

I want to tell you just one of this episodes, just to give the idea of how much horrible and unright the war is on both sides.

it was the 1944, and for many months the allied army was blocked on the Gustav Line, that divided the already freed south italy from the north still accupied by the german army.

The Gustav line passed through the city of Cassino, in which there was a famous and anciet monastery.

Even after the useless bombing of the monastery the Allied army was still blocked, unable to break the german posit

ions.

The final attack was perpretated by the Gourmiers, north african irregular troups under the lead of the french general Alphonse Juin.

Juin in a yellow card promised the following things to the Gourmiers if they would have been the ones to break for first the german lines:

« Soldati! Questa volta non è solo la libertà delle vostre terre che vi offro se vincerete questa battaglia. Alle spalle del nemico vi sono donne, case, c'è un vino tra i migliori del mondo, c'è dell'oro. Tutto ciò sarà vostro se vincerete. Dovrete uccidere i tedeschi fino all’ultimo uomo e passare ad ogni costo. Quello che vi ho detto e promesso mantengo. Per cinquanta ore sarete i padroni assoluti di ciò che troverete al di là del nemico. Nessuno vi punirà per ciò che farete, nessuno vi chiederà conto di ciò che prenderete » <Soldiers! this time is not only the freedom of your lands that I promise you if you win this battle. behind your enemies there are women, houses, there si the best wine of the world, there is gold. All this will be your if you will win. You have to kill all the germans and go over their lines at all costs. All that I said I will keep. For 50 hours you will be the lords and masters of all the goods you will find over the enemy's lines. No one will punish you for what you will take and no one will ask you anything about what you will do.> The Gourmiers as I said passed over the Aurunci Mounts and reached the back of the german army allowing the XIII British company to go over the Gustav line and to push the german much more north. Juin as well kept his word, and for 50 horus the Goumiers sacked many cities, raping both women and children in a number not inferior than 1500 and causing the death of many of them. But the Gourmiers not only made this, but everytime they were in the position to be the first to strike and to push back the german army the generals allowed them to rape thousand of women and to torcture and rape also the children. For a people already suffering cause of the german occupation this was really the sad taste fo teh liberation, and the most horrible thing is that no one has ever been punished for this, cause france was a winning power while italy was on its knees. One of the many dark sides of liberation.