Italian Fascist War Crimes in Ethiopia - Societa italiana di storia ...

Italian Fascist War Crimes in Ethiopia: A
History of Their Discussion, from the
League of Nations to the United Nations
(1936–1949)
Richard Pankhurst
Addis Ababa University
Introduction
The 1935–36 Italian fascist invasion and subsequent occupation of Ethiopia
were accompanied by numerous atrocities: the use of mustard gas, the bombing
of Red Cross hospitals and ambulances, the execution of captured prisoners
without trial, the Graziani massacre, the killings at Däbrä Libanos monastery,
and the shooting of “witch-doctors” accused of prophesying the end of fascist
rule. These acts are historically interesting, not only in themselves, but also in
that they were brought to the international community’s attention on two separate
occasions: to the League of Nations, when they were committed, and later,
to the United Nations.
Fascist atrocities, though widely condemned by individuals and organizations,
passed officially unnoticed by the League of Nations and were the subject
of judicial consideration only after Italy’s entry into the European World War
in 1940. The question of these crimes was then reopened, in the newly established
UN War Crimes Commission. Though based on power politics and political
opportunism, the founding of this body reflected a shift in international
thinking and re-shaping of international law.
The present article, which throws incidental light on changing international
attitudes to Ethiopia, attempts to trace the tortuous history of these war-crimes
discussions, and to examine why the efforts of the Ethiopian government to
have war-criminals tried were less successful than those of other Allies.
© Northeast African Studies (ISSN 0740-9133)
Vol. 6, No. 1-2 (New Series) 1999, pp. 83-140
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