Giacomo Matteotti Assassinated (1924)

Tue Jun 10, 1924

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Giacomo Matteotti was an anti-fascist Italian socialist politician. After publicly denouncing Mussolini in 1924, he said “now start composing your oration for my funeral” and was assassinated by fascists on this day in 1924.

As a young adult, Matteotti was active in the socialist movement and the Italian Socialist Party. He was imprisoned in Sicily for opposing Italy’s entry into World War I (and was interned in Sicily during the conflict for this reason).

Matteotti spoke openly against Italian Fascism and Benito Mussolini, and for a time was leader of the opposition to the National Fascist Party (NFP). In 1921, he denounced fascist violence in a pamphlet titled “Inchiesta socialista sulle gesta dei fascisti in Italia” (“Socialist enquiry on the deeds of the fascists in Italy”).

On May 30th, 1924, speaking in the Italian Parliament, he alleged that the Fascists committed fraud in the recently held elections and denounced the violence that they used to gain votes. On this day that year, Matteotti was kidnapped and killed by fascists.

After Matteotti’s body was discovered, Mussolini took full responsibility for the murder as head of the Fascist party (although whether he gave a direct order for the murder remains uncertain) and dared his critics to prosecute him for the crime. This challenge went unaccepted.

After the Second World War ended, Italian fascists Amerigo Dumini, Giuseppe Viola, and Amleto Poveromo were sentenced to thirty years in prison for their involvement in Matteotti’s murder.