Italian East Africa (Italian:Africa Orientale Italiana, A.O.I.)[3] was acolonial possession ofFascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 in theHorn of Africa.[4][5][6] It was established following theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War, which led to themilitary occupation of theEthiopian Empire (Abyssinia).[7][8] It encompassedItalian Somaliland,Italian Eritrea and the acquired Ethiopian territories, all governed by a single administrative unit, the Governo Generale dell'Africa Orientale Italiana.[4][9] Its establishment contributed significantly to the outbreak of the Second World War by exposing the weaknesses of theLeague of Nations.[10][11][12]
Italian East Africa was divided intosix governorates. Eritrea and Somalia, Italian possessions since the 1880s, were enlarged with captured Ethiopian territory and became theEritrea and Somalia Governorates. The remainder of the occupied Ethiopian territories comprised theHarar,Galla-Sidamo,Amhara, and Scioa Governorates. At its largest extent, Italian East Africa occupied territories inBritish Somaliland,British Kenya, andAnglo-Egyptian Sudan.[13] By 1939, it was settled by about 165,270 Italian colonists.
During World War II, Italian East Africa became the battleground of theEast African campaign (part of theMediterranean and Middle East theater).[14] After theBattle of Gondar in November 1941, it was occupied by aBritish-led force including colonial units and Ethiopianresistance fighters.[15][16] All former Italian territories came under British administration;[7]occupied Ethiopia was ruled until full sovereignty wasrestored in 1944. In 1950,Allied occupied Somalia became theUnited NationsTrust Territory of Somaliland, administered byItaly from 1950 until its independence in 1960.Allied occupied Eritrea became anautonomous part of Ethiopia in 1952. It was later annexed by the Ethiopian Empire in 1962 and gained its independence in 1993 asEritrea.[17]
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Italy sought to expand itscolonial empire, competing with other European powers for overseas territories. Early efforts included the colonization of Eritrea (1890) and Italian Somaliland (1905), followed by the unsuccessful invasion of theEthiopian Empire in theFirst Italo-Ethiopian War (1895–1896).[18] AfterWorld War I, nationalist sentiments grew, fueled by the belief that Italy had been denied its rightful territorial rewards for its contribution to the war effort, a sentiment known as the Mutilated Victory (Italian:Vittoria Mutilata).[19][20] The combination of mobilization costs and the social unrest that followed the war is widely thought to have strengthenedItalian irredentism and nationalism.[21] This frustration contributed to the rise ofBenito Mussolini and his Fascist regime in 1922.[22]
Mussolini injected a new and aggressive impetus into these frustrations and ambitions, framing colonial expansion as a means torestore Roman greatness, enhance national prestige, and solve Italy'seconomic problems by providing land and resources.[23][24] Mussolini believed the Italian people lacked a strong nationalistic andcolonial conscience and thus sought to cultivate these sentiments throughFascist propaganda, particularly in the lead-up to the invasion and during occupation of the Ethiopia Empire.[25] This propaganda emphasized Italy's need forcolonial territories (Italian:spazio vitale), the perceived danger of Ethiopian aggression, and the injustice of international opposition to Italian expansion.[26] Theconquest of Ethiopia in 1936 and the subsequent formation of Italian East Africa were presented as major achievements of the Fascist regime, aimed at fulfilling long-standing Italian ambitions and establishing Italy as a major power.[27][23] Despite earlier consideration of aprotectorate over parts of Ethiopia, the Fascist government pursuedfull conquest, driven by Mussolini's determination to achieve a significant colonial victory to bolster his regime's legitimacy and international standing.[28] This ambition, however, was met withEthiopian resistance andinternational complications.[29][16] This furtheraligned Italy withNazi Germany, setting the stage for its involvement in World War II.[30]
TheItalo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928 stated that the border between Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia was 21leagues parallel to theBenadir coast. In 1934, aborder clash atUal-Ual between Italian and Ethiopian forces during a boundary survey provided Mussolini with a pretext for a war.[31] TheSecond Italo-Ethiopian War beganwithout prior declaration of war in October 1935, with Italy sending amodern army of two hundred thousand soldiers commanded by MarshalEmilio De Bono and GeneralRodolfo Graziani (and laterPietro Badoglio). This army was equipped with superior weaponry, including anair force andtanks. Italian troops usedmustard gas in aerial bombardments (in violation of theGeneva Protocol andGeneva Conventions) against combatants and civilians in an attempt to discourage the Ethiopian people from supporting the resistance.[32][33][34] This military superiority over theEthiopian army, combined with the then Ethiopian EmperorHaile Selassie's initial strategy of engaging infrontal battles led to significant Italian victories.[35] During the late stages of the war, Italian forces violatedinternational agreements by bombingRed Cross ambulances and hospitals, claiming these actions were in retaliation for allegedEthiopian atrocities.[36][37]
While some Italians initially opposed the war due to fears of a broader European conflict and Italy'sfinancial instability, the Italian public largely shifted to support Mussolini following reported victories.[38] Selassie was forced to flee toEngland, with Italian forcesentering the capital city,Addis Ababa by 5 May 1936. Shortly after, Mussolini proclaimed an "Italian Empire of Ethiopia" and theItalian Empire on May 9, 1936.[39] Following the Italian conquest,Ethiopian patriotic resistance continued in various parts of the country, particularly in the north and northwest. The resistance, although facing the challenge of Italy's modern military and harsh reprisals, prevented Italy from fully controlling Ethiopia and hindered its plans foreconomic and demographic exploitation.[40][16][41] This ongoing opposition set the stage for Ethiopia's eventualinvolvement in theSecond World War.[15]
Since 28 September 1923, the Ethiopian Empire had been one of the member states of theLeague of Nations after its membership was supported by Mussolini.[42] Following Italy'sinvasion, the League imposedeconomic sanctions on Italy, restricting trade in arms,rubber, and certainraw materials.[31] However, the sanctions did not includeoil, which was needed for Italy's war effort.[43] France and Britain, concerned about maintaining good relations with Italy against the growingGerman threat,hesitated to enforce harsher penalties (appeasement). In 1936, the League lifted the sanctions, effectively legitimizing Italy's conquest. The failure of the League toprotect the Ethiopian Empire exposed its weaknesses, demonstrating its inability to deter aggression from major powers. This failure was a key moment inthe lead-up to World War II, undermining the League's credibility as a force for global peace.[10][11][12] Although Selassie fled toEngland and appealed to the League of Nations for help, many nations gradually recognized the Italian annexation for political and economic reasons.[44][45] On 18 November 1936, theItalian Empire was recognised by theEmpire of Japan and Italy recognised the Japanese occupation ofManchuria, marking the end of theStresa Front. Mussolini's international popularity further decreased as he endorsed theannexation of Austria byNazi Germany, beginning a political tilt toward Germany that eventually led to thedownfall of Mussolini and the Fascist regime in Italy inWorld War II.
On 12 May 1936, the League of Nations allowed Selassie to address the assembly. Selassie was introduced as "His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Ethiopia" (French:Sa Majesté Imperiale, l'Empereur d'Éthiopie), to jeering and whistling by Italian journalists.[46] The Romanian delegateNicolae Titulescu shouted "To the door with the savages!" (Romanian:A la porte les sauvages!), and the journalists were removed from the hall. Selassie responded with a speech.[47][48][49][50] In a speech on 30 June 1936 to the assembly, he predicted "It is us today, it will be you tomorrow" if the League of Nations permitted Italian aggression.[12] Mussolini grew frustrated over the continued recognition of Selassie by the League of Nations and on 11 December 1937 announced the withdrawal of Italy's delegation to the League.[51]
On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on Britain andFrance, which made Italian military forces inLibya a threat toEgypt and those in the Italian East Africa a danger to the British and French territories in theHorn of Africa. Italian belligerence also closed the Mediterranean to Allied merchant ships and endangered British supply routes along the coast of East Africa, theGulf of Aden,Red Sea and theSuez Canal. (TheKingdom of Egypt remainedneutral during World War II, but theAnglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 allowed the British to occupy Egypt andAnglo-Egyptian Sudan.)[52]: 6–7, 69 Egypt, the Suez Canal,French Somaliland andBritish Somaliland were also vulnerable to invasion, but theComando Supremo (Italian General Staff) had planned for a war after 1942. In the summer of 1940, Italy was far from ready for a long war or for the occupation of large areas of Africa.[52]: 38–40
Hostilities began on 13 June 1940, with an Italian air raid on the base of1 Squadron Southern Rhodesian Air Force (237 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF) atWajir in theEast Africa Protectorate (Kenya). In August 1940, theprotectorate ofBritish Somaliland was occupied by Italian forces and absorbed into Italian East Africa, which lasted around six months.[53]Anthony Eden, theSecretary of State for War, convened a conference in Khartoum at the end of October 1940 with Selassie, South African Prime MinisterJan Smuts, Wavell, Lieutenant-GeneralWilliam Platt and Lieutenant-GeneralAlan Cunningham. A plan to attack Italian East Africa, including support for Ethiopian resistance forces, was agreed.[54]General Wavell, commander of British troops in the Middle East, chargedColonel Sandford to make plans to aid and mobilize the Ethiopian patriots.[55][56]
By early 1941, Italian forces had been largely pushed back fromKenya andSudan. On 6 April 1941,Addis Ababa was occupied by the11th (African) Division, which received the surrender of the city.[52]: 421–422 The remnants of the Italian forces in the Italian East Africa surrendered after staging a last stand at theBattle of Gondar in November 1941. In Ethiopia, some Italian forces continued to fight in anItalian guerrilla war in Ethiopia against the British and Ethiopian forces until theArmistice of Cassibile (3 September 1943) ended hostilities between Italy and the Allies.[57] In January 1942, with the final official surrender of the Italians, the British signed an interimAnglo-Ethiopian Agreement with Selassie, acknowledging Ethiopian sovereignty.Makonnen Endelkachew was named as Prime Minister and on 19 December 1944, the final Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement was signed.
In thepeace treaty of February 1947, Italy officially renounced sovereignty over its African colonies of Libya, Eritrea and Somalia (art. 23) and recognized the independence of Ethiopia (art. 33).[58] Italy further agreed to:
Eritrea was placed underBritish military administration and became anautonomous part of Ethiopia in 1952. After 1945, Britain controlled both Somalilands, asprotectorates. In November 1949, the United Nations granted Italy trusteeship ofItalian Somaliland under close supervision, on condition that Somalia achieve independence within ten years.[59] British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as theState of Somaliland, theTrust Territory of Somalia (ex-Italian Somaliland) became independent on 1 July 1960 and the territories united as theSomali Republic.[60]: 835 After the war,Italian Ethiopians were given a full pardon by the newly returned Selassie, as he saw the opportunity to continue the modernization efforts of the country.
Italian East Africa was administered by a single administrative unit, the Governo Generale dell'AOI. (GGAOI), with the city of Addis Abeba as its capital.[61][62] The colonial government was overseen byMinistry of Italian Africa (Italian:Ministro per l'Africa italiana) and was administered by aViceroy of Ethiopia and Governor General of Italian East Africa, appointed by the Italian king.Victor Emmanuel III of Italy consequently adopted the title of "Emperor of Ethiopia". The dominion was further divided for administrative purposes intosix governorates, further divided into fortycommissariati.
Fascist colonial policy in Italian East Africa had adivide and conquer characteristic. To weaken the Orthodox ChristianAmhara people who had run Ethiopia in the past, territory claimed by EritreanTigray-Tigrinyas andSomalis was given to theEritrea Governorate andSomalia Governorate.[63]: 5 Reconstruction efforts after the war in 1936 were partially focused on benefiting the Muslim peoples in the colony at the expense of theAmhara to strengthen support byMuslims for the Italian colony.[63]: 5
In 1938 Mussolini enactedThe Italian Racial Laws (Italian:Leggi Razziali), which institutionalizedracial discrimination againstItalian Jews and African inhabitants of the Italian Empire. These laws, and later a policy of pacification by apartheid, enforced segregation and reinforcedracial hierarchies in Italy's colonies, further aligning Italian fascism withNazi ideology. Italians and Natives were racially segregated and lived in separate parts of towns.[64] Interracial marriage was prohibited and so was having children between those of different races. However concubinages did exist. Those who were mixed-race could not get Italian citizenship or go to schools meant for Italians. Married Italian colonists had to bring their families and those who were unmarried could not employ servants.[65]
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When established in 1936, Italian East Africa consisted of the old Italian possessions in theHorn of Africa:Italian Eritrea andItalian Somaliland, combined with the recently conqueredEmpire of Ethiopia.[66] The territory was divided into thesix governorates:Eritrea andSomalia, consisting of the respective former colonies, enlarged with territory from Ethiopia. The remainder of "Italian Ethiopia" consisted of theHarar,Galla-Sidamo,Amhara, andAddis Abeba Governorates. The Addis Abeba Governorate was enlarged into theScioa Governorate with territory from neighboring Harar, Galla-Sidamo and Amhara in November 1938.
Italian East Africa was briefly enlarged in 1940, as Italian forcesinvadedBritish Somaliland, thereby bringing all Somali territories, aside from the small colony ofFrench Somaliland, under Italian administration. At its largest extent, The colony occupied territories inBritish Somaliland,British Kenya, andAnglo-Egyptian Sudan. However, it was dismembered only a year later, when in the course of theEast African campaign.[67]
Italy's Fascist regime encouraged Italian peasants to colonize Ethiopia by setting up farms and small manufacturing businesses.[63]: 5 However, few Italians came to the Ethiopian colony, with most going to Eritrea and Somalia. While Italian Eritrea enjoyed some degree of development, supported by nearly 80,000Italian colonists,[69] by 1940 only 3,200 farmers had arrived in Ethiopia, less than ten percent of the Fascist regime's goal.[63]: 6 Continuedinsurgency by native Ethiopians, lack of natural resources, rough terrain, and uncertainty of political and military conditions discouraged development and settlement in the countryside.[63]: 6
The Italians made a significant effort to build roads in the territory and most of the money given to the territory by the government for "civilian works" between 1937 and 1941 were for building roads.[70] The number of laborers numbered in the thousands and were recruited from Italy, Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen; though the most demanding work was left to laborers who were not Italian. It was reported that "at the height of construction, nearly 64,000 Italians relocated to the AOI to build roads".[71] Italians constructed a road between Addis Ababa andMassaua, Addis Ababa andMogadishu, and Addis Ababa toAssab.[72]
Dams andhydroelectric plants were also built. Public companies were established in Ethiopian governorates, such as the Ethiopian Electricity Company (Italian:Imprese elettriche d'Etiopia).[73]
Italians built additional airports and in 1936 started theLinea dell'Impero, a flight connecting Addis Ababa toRome. The line was opened after theItalian conquest of Ethiopia and was followed by the first air links with the AOI governorates. The route was enlarged to 6,379 km and initially joinedRome withAddis Ababa viaSyracuse,Benghazi,Cairo,Wadi Halfa,Khartoum,Kassala,Asmara,Dire Dawa.[73]
900 km of railways were reconstructed or initiated (like the railway between Addis Ababa andAssab).[73] TheDjibouti–Addis Ababa Railway, the most significant railway in Italian East Africa, was acquired following the Italian conquest of Ethiopia in 1936. Until 1935, steam trains operated the 784 km route, taking about 36 hours to travel between Addis Ababa and Djibouti. In 1938, Italy introduced four high-capacity "Type 038" rail-cars, derived from the Fiat ALn56 model, increasing speeds to 70 km/h and reducing travel time to 18 hours. These diesel railcars remained in use until the mid-1960s. Major stations offered bus connections to other cities in Italian East Africa, and a fire brigade unit was established near Addis Ababa station—the only one of its kind in Africa at the time.[74][75][76][77]
Italians invested substantively in Ethiopian infrastructure development. However Ethiopia and Italian East Africa proved to be extremely expensive to maintain, as the budget for thefiscal year 1936–37 had been set at 19.136 billionlira to create the necessary infrastructure for the colony.[63]: 5 At the time, Italy's entire yearly revenue was only 18.581 billion lira.[63]: 5
-_Hafen_-_Annemarie_Schwarzenbach_-_SLA-Schwarzenbach-A-5-23-129.jpg)
Farming was encouraged particularly in Ethiopia for settlement purposes. Most of Italian East Africa's exports were bananas and pineapples. While most of Italy's exports to Italian East Africa were food products consisting of: "wheat flour and semolina, pasta, salt, sugar, cheese, cured meats, canned vegetables and meat, olive oil, wine, spirits, and mineral water". Farming was not as successful as anticipated by the Italians in Ethiopia due to factors such as having poor relations with native Ethiopians and having goals that were "too ambitious to fulfill". A sharecropping system was encouraged in Ethiopia by the Italian colonial authorities. The final wheat harvest in 1940 was bad due to agrasshopper plague and a fungus outbreak.[78] Efforts were made to increase existing cotton production in Ethiopia which prior to the arrival of the Italians in Ethiopia was done at a small scale.[79]
Prior to Fascism, education inItalian Somaliland andItalian Eritrea had primarily been the responsibility of both Roman Catholic and Protestantmissionaries.[80] With Mussolini's rise to power, government schools were created which eventually incorporated the Catholic missionaries' educational programmes while those of the Protestant missionaries became marginalised and circumscribed.Andrea Festa, who was made director of the central office governing primary education inEritrea in November 1932, declared in 1934 that Fascist efforts in education needed to ensure thatnative Africans were "acquainted with a little of our civilisation" and that they needed to "know Italy, its glories, and ancient history, in order to, become a conscious militia man in the shade of our flag." Such education initiatives were designed to train Africans in a variety of practical tasks useful to the Fascist regime as well as to indoctrinate them with the tenets and lifestyle of Fascist ideology with the aim of creating citizens obedient and subservient to the state.[81]
The propagandistic nature of the education was especially apparent in history textbooks issued to African children, which entirely omitted any discussion of events such as Italian disunity,Giuseppe Mazzini's "Young Italy" movement, therevolutions of 1848, orGiuseppe Garibaldi'sExpedition of the Thousand and instead stressed the "glories" of theRoman Empire and those of the Italian state that claimed to be its successor. Glorification and lionisation of Mussolini and his "great work" likewise pervaded them, while periods during whichLibya and other then-Italian possessions had been controlled by older, non-Italian empires, such as theOttoman Empire, were portrayed through an unflattering lens.[80] Use of the Fascist salute was mandatory in schools for African children, who were constantly encouraged to become "little soldiers of theDuce", and every day there was morning ceremony at which the Italian flag was hoisted and patriotic songs were sung. Italian children, whose education the Fascist government prioritised over that of Africans, received education similar to that in Fascist Italy'smetropole, though with some aspects of it tailored to the local situation in East Africa. Fascist education in the colony proved to be a failure in the end, with only one twentieth of Italian colonial soldiers possessing any literacy.[82]
In Italian East Africa, Fascist Italy sought to neutralize any educational institutions which provided instruction to Africans beyond the level expected by Fascist ideology.[81] In particular the secondary education network in theEthiopian Empire had prepared and enabled a relatively small but significant amount of Ethiopians to study abroad at universities in Europe. As a result of this policy and state-sponsored mass murder, post-World War II Ethiopia found itself impoverished of skilled workers due to the very limited and propagandistic education provided to its non-Italian inhabitants under Mussolini's rule.[83] DuringWorld War II, few African natives displayed any loyalty to the Fascist state that the state's schools had so fervently tried to instill.[82]
| Frontal Image | Back Image | Amount | Color | Frontal Description | Back Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | 50 Lire | Green | LIRE CINQVANTA – BANCA D'ITALIA | 50 LIRE – Lupa romana |
 |  | 100 Lire | Green/gray | LIRE CENTO – BANCA D'ITALIA – Dea Roma | LIRE CENTO – BANCA D'ITALIA – Aquila |
On 5 May 1936 the capital Addis Ababa was captured by the Italians: on 22 May three new stamps showing the King of Italy were issued. Four further values inscribed "ETIOPIA" were issued on 5 December 1936. After that date, the stamps were issued with the name "Africa Orientale Italiana" on it.[84][citation needed]
In 1939, there were 165,267 Italian citizens in Italian East Africa, mostly concentrated inAsmara, Addis Ababa, andMogadishu. The total population was estimated at 12.1 million, with an uneven distribution across the region. Eritrea had around 1.5 million people in 90,000 square miles (16.7 people per square mile), Ethiopia had 9.5 million people in 305,000 square miles (31 people per square mile), and Italian Somaliland had 1.1 million people in 271,000 square miles (4 people per square mile). Most Italians in Ethiopia were troops because Ethiopian resistance in the countryside made permanent settlement difficult. Frequent attacks disrupted efforts to establish enough farms and secure food supplies, preventing the troops from transitioning into farming colonists.[85]
| English | Capital | Total population[2] | Italians[2] | Tag | Coat of Arms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amhara Governorate | Gondar | 2,000,000 | 11,103 | AM |  |
| Eritrea Governorate | Asmara | 1,500,000 | 72,408 | ER |  |
| Galla-Sidamo Governorate | Jimma | 4,000,000 | 11,823 | GS |  |
| Harar Governorate | Harar | 1,600,000 | 10,035 | HA |  |
| Scioa Governorate | Addis Ababa | 1,850,000 | 40,698 | SC |  |
| Somalia Governorate | Mogadishu | 1,150,000 | 19,200 | SOM |  |
During theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War, Italian forces used between 300 and 500 tons ofmustard gas (yperite) against both military and civilian targets, despite being a signatory to the 1925Geneva Protocol banning chemical warfare.[86] This gas, produced during World War I, was a decisive factor in the conflict, with historian Walter Laqueur estimating that up to one-third of Ethiopian casualties resulted from chemical weapons.[87] Although Italy justified its use of gas by citing the execution of pilot Tito Minniti, Mussolini had authorized gas attacks two months before Minniti's death and later expanded their use on a massive scale. Mustard gas was delivered via bombs and gas shells, sprayed from aircraft onto Ethiopian soldiers, villages, and even Red Cross medical units.[32][33] The attacks, which the Italians attempted to keep secret, were exposed by theInternational Red Cross and foreign observers.[36][37] Selassie, in his plea to the League of Nations, condemned the use of chemical weapons, detailing their widespread and horrific effects on people, animals, and the environment.
Ethiopian forces employedDum-Dum bullets, banned under theHague Convention, and reportedly mutilated capturedEritrean Askari and Italian soldiers. On 13 February 1936, a camp of civilian workers for the logistics companyGondrand, engaged at the time in road construction, wasattacked and massacred at dawn by Ethiopian soldiers under the orders ofRas Imru. The massacre was publicized by Fascist Italy in an attempt to justify its ongoing invasion and the escalating brutality of the reprisals.[88][89][90]
On 19 February 1937, to celebrate the birth of thePrince of Naples,Rodolfo Graziani announced he would personally distribute alms to the poor at theGenete Leul Palace (also known as the Little Gebbi). Two youngEritreans living in Ethiopia named Abraha Deboch and Mogus Asgedom made an attempt on Graziani's life by throwing grenades.[91] Following the attempt, Italian soldiers raided theDebre Libanos monastery, where the assassins were believed to have taken refuge, and executed hundreds of the monks and nuns.[63]: 5 Italian forces, mostlyBlackshirts, then continued to carry out brutal reprisals inAddis Ababa. Over the next three days, thousands of Ethiopian civilians were massacred: estimates range from 1,400 to 19,000 deaths,[92][93] while Ethiopians claimed 30,000 victims. Italian troops,Blackshirt militias, and Fascist supporters set fire to homes, businesses, and churches, killing indiscriminately.[63]: 5 [94] The massacre has come to be known asYekatit 12 (the date in the Ethiopian language).[95] After the massacres, Graziani became known as "the Butcher of Ethiopia" and was subsequently removed byMussolini.[96] Mussolini viewed the action as a major setback for Fascist propaganda and was concerned that the growing resentment among the natives would increase the number of individuals joining the resistance.[97] As a result, Graziani was replaced byPrince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, whose pacification by apartheid approach minimized the risk of a united front against the Italians as an aftermath of the massacre.[98]
Nocra prison camp was a notorious Italian detention facility located onNocra Island in theDahlak Archipelago, Eritrea. Originally established by the Italians in the late 19th century, it was used throughout the colonial period as a remote and harsh prison forpolitical dissidents,Ethiopian resistance fighters, and other individuals deemed threats to Italian rule. The prison was infamous for its inhumane conditions, includingextreme heat,forced labor, andinadequate food.[99] Prisoners were subjected to harsh punishments, with many dying due to disease ormalnutrition.[100] During the Italian occupation of Ethiopia (1936-1941), Nocra housed much of theintelligentsia of Ethiopia with some being executed and the remainder exiled to penal colonies. As a result, post-World War II Ethiopia found itself impoverished of skilled workers.[101]
TheDanane concentration camp was another Italianconcentration camp established nearMogadishu in Italian East Africa.[102] Danane concentration camp Prisoners were transported fromAddis Ababa to Danane in covered trucks by night to avoid them being seen. By the time they arrived at Danane, a journey of more than four weeks, several had died of disease and hardships along the way.[102] Conflicting reports make it hard to accurately assess the extent of death among the prisoners.Graziani ordered that they be given only enough food to survive, and the conditions in which they were held were dire.[103] The facilities were poor, with insufficient latrines, and they faced ahumid climate that contributed to outbreaks ofmalaria, stomach infections, andvenereal diseases.[104][105]
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