Spanish Civil War

By sebastianokelly

I will upload the photographs of the Spanish Civil War that Amedeo Guillet gave me once I have unearthed them.

They were in a leather bound albums with the Fascist fasces symbol on them. There were some grim pictures, including identity cards from young communists and International Brigade volunteers fighting for the opposing Republican side. There was also a gruesome picture of a dead youth chained to a machine gun so he could not run away.

Such things were not all Fascist propaganda and the civil war made Amedeo face uncomfortable truths about Fascist Italy that he had long ignored.

He served in Spain because he was flattered General Frusci asked him to be his ADC, with no prompting from his family.

But after he returned, he wanted to be as far from Europe as he could. He transferred to Italian East Africa, and the idea was that Beatrice, his fiancee, would join him there after their marriage.

They would be like pioneers, rebuilding their lives in the new Italian empire where the Duke of Aosta had taken over as viceroy from the brutal and inept Graziani.