October 2, 1943
I read with great emotion the account of the grandiose gathering at the Adriano Theatre, and due to the tone of the event and the impressive number of attendees, I consider it one of the decisive signs of the recovery.
Your most passionate speech has certainly deeply touched the hearts not only of the officers who had the privilege of hearing you, but the hearts of all the officers worthy of being Italian and worthy of being officers.
Once we separate the wheat from the chaff once and for all, the Officer Corps must be and will be the standard-bearer of military renaissance, for the honor for the future of our beautiful dear and sacred Italy.
The incisive words of General Stahel are also such as to seal the fraternal bond of Axis soldiers. Based on many indications, it appears that the Italian people — beaten and humiliated by the disgraceful betrayal, hatched to their detriment above all else — are on back their feet. Once again, history must recognize that our people always possess the millenary faculty to rise again — even in the most difficult and dramatic situations — as soon as a watchword and the new spirit exalt the hearts and will of everyone.
Today this new spirit is summed up in the formula "Fascism and Republic", and it is under this revolutionary banner that the Italian soldiers will resume their place in battle.
MUSSOLINI
