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[PANEL] 0515 THE ITALIAN OCCUPATION OF ETHIOPIA: RECENT STUDIES
Organizers:
SELTENE Seyoum, Research and Publications Office, Unity University, Ethiopia
Irma TADDIA, University of Bologna, Italy
Paper presenters:
GASHAW Ayferam; Irma TADDIA; Michael GÜTERBOCK; SELTENE Seyoum; Mario LOZANO ALONSO
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AMETSEGNA WASHA (THE CAVE OF ZERET) IN MENZ KEYA GEBREAL DISTRICT: FIGHTING AGAINST FASCISM AND COLONIALISM DURING THE SECOND ITALO-ETHIOPIAN WAR [Abstract ID: 0515-02]
The Second Italo-Ethiopian War was a colonial war fought between the armed forces of Italy and the armed forces of Ethiopia; it started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The colonial war ended in favor of the Fascist force and consequently this led to the five-year Italian occupation and to bitter patriotic resistance internally and diplomatic offence externally. However, the five-year Italian rule over Ethiopia was not a peaceful experience of colonial rule. They were continuously harassed by Ethiopian patriots and had to live entrenched in their isolated fortifications. Italians also committed several crimes against humanity: they used poison gas, burnt down villages and slaughtered civilians. In this case, Ametsegna Washa – some call it “the cave of Zeret” – was one of the forgotten massacres, which happened in 1939, where up to more than 4,000 Ethiopians were gassed and machine-gunned. This paper attempts to describe and analyze the forgotten massacres of the inhabitants of Menz in Ametsegna Washa (The cave of Zeret) by Fascist Italy in 1939. In doing so, the study employs qualitative research in which empirical data was collected from primary and secondary data. Primary data was gathered through qualitative field research observation and key informant interviews with direct victims, elders and experts at Menz keya gebreal woreda tourism office. Secondary data was gathered from books, published and unpublished journals, and historical records of patriots. In this light, the study employed qualitative data analysis and in particular descriptive narration. The findings of the study were that they attacked the mouth of the cave with artillery and machine-gun fire, and as a result more than 6,000 people lost their lives, while those who escaped from the massacre faced a number of problems. However, the palace is not protected and, therefore, the government as well as the other concerned bodies should give serious attention to preserving and memorializing the historical cave.
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ITALY THE LAST EMPIRE: MODERN HORN HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY [Abstract ID: 0515-03]
The Italian Empire has been defined as a peculiar colonialism and Italian historians for a long period developed a colonial stereotype. Only recently, scholars succeeded to overcoming the previous vision, connecting Italian colonialism to the mainstream of international studies, including research promoted by African scholars. The Italian Imperial dream collapsed at early stage, following the military occupation of Ethiopia, owing to Italian decision to get involved in the Second World War in 1939. By 1941 the Allied troops had already occupied a large area of the Horn. In this paper, the author analyses the legacy of Italian politics, the different impact of Italian defeat and the role of independent Horn countries between 1941 and 1960. At the same time the international diplomacy developed an interaction between nationalism rooted on colonialism - Eritrea and Somalia - and the new hegemonic role of Ethiopia. The unpredictable end of Italian rule left no significant consequences for the former colonial authorities during the decolonisation process. Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia need to be treated in a peculiar context, the international context, and not mere as a case of colonial reliance.
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THE ITALIAN INVASION IN 1935. A SHORT VIEW FROM OUTSIDE AND BY A TIGRINIAN NOVELISTIC RETROSPECTION [Abstract ID: 0515-04]
The paper, based on the files of the archive of the German ministry of Foreign Affairs, in its first part is about what has been the the German look on the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 – the official one and the popular reception with a glance at the historical background. In this context, there will be given an outline of the activities of the German Embassy in Ad-dis Abeba, even in everyday issues, meandering between requests of a state with racist ideo-logy and traditional common sense of professional diplomats of pre-fascistic schooling. In Tigrinian literature the memory of this war is small and late compared e.g. with the reception of the Civil War in Erythrea, only one novel treating with this topic: Wåddi Waʽro „Son of a Lioness“ by Bǝrhanä ʼAččame. The thesis is that Tigrinian literature as an emerging one has not to avoid comparison (although probably being almoust unknown outside the Horn of Africa and the diaspora), which may be demonstrated by this book, too. But the author, a champion in describing the psychology of his individuals and combining their features with the course of events, complaining the want of literary coverage of this war aims even further, at developing his language to still higher stages. Moreover, the main topic giving only the background, the novel lives by its individual features, presenting a vast range of national traditions etc. The part of women is the traditional one – modern gendering was no issue two generations ago. After this pioneer work, for the future we may hope for still other coverages of this theme, perhaps also by other media, for instance by film. It would be desirable, if there would be developing a mutual exchange of this – also of the historical research, of course – between Africa and the Western World.
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THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS IN THE ETHIOPIAN RESISTANCE: 1939-1940 [Abstract ID: 0515-05]
The Ethiopian resistance and liberation movement against the Fascist Italian occupation (1936-1941) demanded the alliance of national and international forces. One major example of this was the dispatch of political and special diplomatic missions from abroad to Ethiopia with the hope of fomenting the national liberation movement. So far, scholars have focused on this issue from the viewpoint of Europe. However, an in-depth investigation of the issue leads to a presentation of this topic from another angle, that is, from an European-Ethiopian perspective. This study is based on a historical analysis of data, to check their validity and accuracy. It identifies three international missions: Langrois-Masfen, Monnier-Lorenzo and Sandford-Kabbada. From the several missions carried out during this period, that of Langrois-Masfen has been sufficiently discussed in other studies already. This study specifically focuses on the Monnier-Lorenzo mission of 1939-1940. An analysis of the study shows that there were international collaborative efforts to promote Ethiopian resistance. Assessing the extent and magnitude of the collaboration, this study hopes to fill some of the gaps in the study of Ethiopian resistance against the Italian occupation.
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THE SECOND SPANISH REPUBLIC AND THE ITALIAN OCCUPATION OF ETHIOPIA: ANALYSING REACTIONS FROM THE SPANISH POLITICIANS AND MEDIA [Abstract ID: 0515-01]
The Second Spanish Republic was a turbulent period in Spanish history in which the bitter struggle between right and left forces ended in the disastrous Spanish Civil War. The position of Spanish society and the Republican Government towards the Second Italo-Ethiopian War has not previously been explored, mainly because most academics have focused on other aspects of this period. During the time of this conflict, a major Spanish intellectual, Eduardo Ortega y Gasset protested against the fascist aggression against Ethiopia. His book “El conflicto ítalo-etíope” will be analysed here. Many other members of the Spanish intelligentsia (Pío Baroja, Concha Espina, etc.) expressed their sympathy for the Abyssinian cause, but the Spanish Government, then ruled by a right-wing coalition, showed little interest in this war. The aim of this paper is to clarify the Spanish perspectives on the conflict, analysing the positions of the main intellectuals and politicians of the time and of the main newspapers. The notes, official declaration and other documents issued by the Government of the Republic regarding the conflict, with its position in the League of Nations, will also be analysed.