On this day, 30 July 1906, Italian anti-fascist and anarchist Alfonso Failla was born in Sicily. From the age of 19 he took part in the armed resistance to fascism: including the 1925 Battle of Siracusa where local residents and dock workers inflicted heavy losses on an invading force of 1,000 armed fascists. He was jailed by the fascists in 1930, and he remained imprisoned until 1943.
When Mussolini’s government collapsed, many anti-fascists were released from prison, but anarchists were not. Instead, many were transferred to a prison camp in Renicci d’Anghiari, Arezzo, where prisoners were tortured in appalling conditions.
Despite being stabbed with a bayonet, Failla led a mass revolt and escape from the camp. He then got involved in the wartime resistance movement, and helped free hundreds of Italian prisoners being marched to Nazi death camps. He remained active until the end of his life in 1986.
We have been fortunate enough to interview surviving members of the Italian resistance for a forthcoming podcast. Subscribe today on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts to ensure you don’t miss it: https://open.spotify.com/show/3dqQUrBAmXgoU1Q6hcUnBXhttps://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2046093805575759/?type=3
