workingclasshistory:

On this day, 18 April 1945 workers in Turin, Italy, walked out on strike in protest at Nazi Germany occupation. Workers and resistance fighters distributed leaflets the previous night calling for a walkout. On the morning of April 18, factories, workshops, shops, markets, schools, transport and postal and telephone services were all shut down.
Some workers, like at Fiat Mirafiori, occupied their plants, while thousands of others took to the streets. A huge march went through Piazza Sabotino, headed by women carrying Italian flags and placards, calling on the fascists to surrender, and singing the “Red Flag”.
One eyewitness, Giorgio Amendola, reported: “What impressed me was the confidence of the crowd, the firm and serene courage and an air of celebration and joy, everyone was happy and seemed to be saying: you see how strong we are. The fascists did not show up. In fact, the whole neighborhood was in our hands”.
Just over a week later, on April 27, partisans entered the city and by the following day the last remaining fascist troops had fled.
We are currently producing a podcast miniseries about the partisan resistance in Italy, in conversation with surviving participants. You can get first listen, and help support our work like this by joining us on patreon. This helps us fund our work like producing the podcast, funding translation and transcription, purchasing research materials and so on. Learn more, sign up and get access to exclusive content at https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory
Pictured: partisans in Turin around this time https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=611190447720841&set=a.602588028581083&type=3