Giovanni Pesce
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Pesce was an Italian anti-fascist partisan who fought in the Spanish Civil War
and World War II
. A former Communist councillor for Milan, he wrote extensively about his experiences in several books.
, Italy. His father worked as a low-paid miner and his mother ran a restaurant for miners out of the family's home. The mining community was populated mostly by immigrants, especially Italians. After he completed his education, Pesce began working in the mines as a teenager. Through living around and working in the mines, he discovered socialist and left-wing politics—both especially popular among the immigrant miners—and became a convinced communist. Along with the other miners, he struggled for better wages and working conditions through demonstrations and related activism.
in the Spanish Civil War. Pesce fought among International Brigade volunteers from several dozen other nations, saw a lot of action, and successfully used both machine guns and light anti-tank small arms.
. The Germans and fascists discovered Pesce's significance and codename, but although they used their anti-partisan personnel to try to find and capture him, they never succeeded.
Pesce survived the war and wrote about his experiences. He died on July 27, 2007 in Milan.
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. A former Communist councillor for Milan, he wrote extensively about his experiences in several books.
Early life
Pesce was raised in Grand Combe near Nîmes, France, the son of working class immigrants from PiedmontPiedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, Italy. His father worked as a low-paid miner and his mother ran a restaurant for miners out of the family's home. The mining community was populated mostly by immigrants, especially Italians. After he completed his education, Pesce began working in the mines as a teenager. Through living around and working in the mines, he discovered socialist and left-wing politics—both especially popular among the immigrant miners—and became a convinced communist. Along with the other miners, he struggled for better wages and working conditions through demonstrations and related activism.
Spanish Civil War
When Pesce was still in his teens, he volunteered to fight in the International BrigadesInternational Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
in the Spanish Civil War. Pesce fought among International Brigade volunteers from several dozen other nations, saw a lot of action, and successfully used both machine guns and light anti-tank small arms.
World War II
Pesce's Spanish Civil War career ended with incarceration as a prisoner of war among fellow International Brigade volunteers. When he got out, he went to Piedmont to stay with his extended family, and discovered first-hand the fascism that had taken hold there. Connecting with other ex-International Brigade fighters and communist activists, he seamlessly made the transition from anti-Franco Spanish Civil War fighter to Italian World War II anti-fascist and anti-Nazi partisan. As a member of the GAP (Gruppi di Azione Populari), Pesce lived clandestinely, and planned and participated in many successful partisan guerilla actions (including sabotage and assassinations against Italian fascists, German military personnel, and their collaborators) throughout World War II years. His codename for part of the war was "Visone", which is both a province of Piedmont and the Italian word for minkMink
There are two living species referred to as "mink": the European Mink and the American Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and...
. The Germans and fascists discovered Pesce's significance and codename, but although they used their anti-partisan personnel to try to find and capture him, they never succeeded.
Pesce survived the war and wrote about his experiences. He died on July 27, 2007 in Milan.
Hidden V-2 / V-2 Fuse Mechanism Factory
Pesce planned an attack against a hidden, secret factory that was producing crucial parts for V-1 and V-2 rockets. Around that time the rockets were being used en masse by the Germans to attack civilian areas on the coast of Britain. On the afternoon of December 9, 1945, he and other GAP volunteers executed the attack. The GAP set their bombs to go off immediately after the workers left for the day, so that the workers would not be injured. After the bombs exploded, Pesce walked among the throng of workers to distribute anti-fascist fliers explaining the action (the purpose of the factory had been kept secret from the workers) and shout anti-fascist slogans before he fled.Colonel Cesarini
In March, 1945, Pesce planned and single-handedly carried out the assassination of Colonel Cesarini, an Italian fascist who had overseen a massive wave of arrests and deportations to German concentration camps of Italian factory workers (anti-fascist sentiment had been running high in the factory). In broad daylight and on a crowded city street, Pesce used revolvers to kill both Cesarini and Cesarini's bodyguard.Sources
- And No Quarter: An Italian Partisan in World War II, Memoirs of Giovanni Pesce, translated by Frederick M. Shaine, Ohio University Press, 1972, ISBN 8214-0081-9.