By Benito Mussolini
One of the unique aspects of our war has not yet been emphasized: the fact that the Italian Social Republic remains loyal to a solemn commitment made on behalf of the people by the ex-king!
"Soldiers of the land, sea and air!
As Supreme Head of all the Forces on land, sea, and in the air, in accordance with my own feelings and the tradition of my House, I once more, just as I did twenty-five years ago, come among you.
I entrust the command of the troops operating on all fronts to the Head of the Government, Duce of Fascism, First Marshal of the Empire.
My first thought goes out to you, while, sharing with me the deep attachment and complete devotion to our immortal Fatherland, you are preparing, together with our ally Germany, to face new and difficult trials with an invincible faith in overcoming them.
Soldiers of the land, sea and air!
United with you as never before, I am sure that your courage and the patriotism of the Italian people will once again find means to guarantee the victory of our glorious forces."The supreme postulate which motivates the whole action of the Italian Social Republic is precisely the continuation of the war against the enemy, alongside our German ally. Juridically, the situation has changed only in this way: we no longer recognize the ex-king as our supreme head and instead the people have conferred upon Mussolini the command already entrusted to him by the then reigning sovereign. Mussolini's supposed resignation, which in fact never took place, is historically and constitutionally null and so is the Grand Council's order of the day.
It is not our custom to quibble, especially in today's situation, but it is good to underline the fact that, apart from any military influence, the king could not constitutionally act as he acted, so much so that the anti-Fascists had to get rid of him as well as Lieutenant Umberto, demonstrating — by refusing to take an oath to the monarchy — that the monarchy itself is now stripped of all legality and constitutionality. It is in the process of complete liquidation, a liquidation which will also lead to the occupied territories becoming explicitly republican. But in the present moment they do not dare create a Republic, merely out of spite for us, for the fact that we have fundamentally resolved this institutional crisis. It is safe to say that if there was no Republic in the north, then today there would be no Monarchy reigning at the Quirinal in Rome, but rather a Republic reigning from the Chigi Palace.
When on June 11th Vittorio Emanuele proclaimed Italy's entry into the war against the Anglo-French, he did so in full possession of his will — although his mental faculties are not exactly spectacular — but he nonetheless exerted the powers accorded to him by the Constitution in the name of the people. On the other hand, when he had Mussolini arrested through criminal trickery, and stabbed Fascism in the back (the same Fascism which had made him an emperor!), and began to make deals with the enemy, and when he abandoned Rome after signing the disgraceful and suicidal armistice, and when he declared war on Germany, thereby literally switching from one side to the other, he no longer represented the will of the nation and no longer has the right to speak in the name of the people. His treason strips him of his regalia and brands him for his individual shame, just like the traitors whom Dante assigns to the ninth circle of hell.
For this reason the king ceased to be such on September 8th, even if the anti-Fascist leaders did not acknowledge it until nine months later; that is why his son is forced to surrender the most sacred and solemn prerogative of a sovereign: the oath to the person of the king. There are no obligations towards the monarchy; therefore, in essence, the monarchy no longer exists. Republican Italy, which acts on the level of reality and loyalty, wants to keep the freely signed pacts intact, because only in this way can the cause of the Italian people be served in every eventuality. Nothing can be born from betrayal except more betrayal. He who stabs in the back will be stabbed in the back. The Anglo-Americans did not want to give us what we were entitled to; they never resigned themselves to recognizing the rights and needs of the Italian people. Will they suddenly change their attitude now, after we fought them for three years? Now, after having massacred and exploited us? Now, while treason puts us in a state of painful inferiority?
Our enemies firmly intend to make us pay "the transit ticket", as Churchill says; and they will be sure not to apply a reduced rate. Therefore, today the Italians are divided into two broad categories: those who keep their word given to our faithful, loyal and powerful ally; and those who, at a given moment, claiming they did not want to continue the war anymore (which is not even true, because less than a month later they declared war on Germany), abandoned the struggle and betrayed our ally.
Certainly it is easier and can be more fruitful to fight for petty personal hatred and abandon oneself to minor and major vendettas, rather than putting one's own interests and life in the service of the Fatherland. But we continue the war in order to save Italy; and if the path is one of sacrifice and danger, it is also one of true solidarity and honor. Regardless of numerical considerations, ours is truly the struggle of all Italians against the natural enemy of the Fatherland.
Fortunately for our children, one day this huge storm will pass. Only then will the truly impartial historian be able to pass judgment; but the Italians who continue the struggle alongside the German ally, loyal to their word given four years ago, to the word consecrated in the proclamation of the ex-sovereign himself, do not fear being judged by history. We have betrayed no one, neither the people, nor the faith, nor ourselves. Our word of honor can still be given and believed in. The medals of valor we earned by fighting against the Anglo-Americans will continue to adorn our breasts and ennoble our souls. We will not be participating in the monstrous spectacle of tearing off our ribbons awarded to us in the three years of war against the plutocracies and against Bolshevism, nor will we be pinning beside them new awards obtained by fighting for the plutocracies and for Bolshevism.
After victory is achieved and spirits are appeased, the misdeeds of Savoy, Badoglio and all those others who have indulged in their nefarious game against the Italian people will appear in all their dreadful magnitude as a tragic painting of hatred and pain. And everyone will understand that the loyal continuation of the war against the Anglo-Americans would have inflicted less grief on Italy, less disasters and less pain, and above all it would not have divided us as we are now. Reuniting Italy and the Italians will be a tough job; and this is why it is "our" goal, our mission, the mission of those who will always hold high and wave the banner of Italian honor.
