The controversy surrounding the tribute to three Italian divers killed in attacks on British ships in Gibraltar during World War II has diplomatic consequences (the act was supported by the Italian Embassy), policies (there is a complaint for violation of the Historical Memory Law), historical (it is a reflection of the indirect participation of Franco in the conflict) and even literary, because it revolves around a book of Arturo Pérez Reverte.
In El Italiano, the writer tells the story of one of the combat divers of the Army of Fascist Italy which, between 1942 and 1943, sank or damaged up to fourteen Allied ships in the waters surrounding Gibraltar and the Bay of Algeciras. A “dangerous adventure,” the book tells, with exciting missions and a love story with a young bookseller.
Three of those real-life soldiers (Licio Visinitini, Giovanni Magro and Salvatore Leone), were honored on December 9 in the Cadiz town of La Línea de la Concepción and in Gibraltar. His relatives, war veterans, the senator came from Italy. Roberto Menia of Brothers of Italy (Giorgia Meloni’s party). And, from Spain, the military attaché of the Italian Embassy and members of the consulate in Seville.
The three divers died on December 8, 1942. They belonged to the Tenth MAS Flotillaone of the most popular formations in fascist Italy composed of divers and engineers under the command of the “Duce” Benito Mussolini. They used modern submersible devices that came out of the Olterra shipdocked in a Spanish port, to attack British ships.
What was going to be an official event with the support of the La Línea Town Hall and the discovery of commemorative plaques on an existing monolith in honor of another deceased civilian submariner, finally remained a mere private act, according to Europa Sur; a kind of posthumous marine funeral.
A formal complaint from Forum for the Memory of Campo de Gibraltar, presented to the Government subdelegation and addressed to the Ministry of Presidency and Democratic Memory of Félix Bolaños, aborted the plan that had been in preparation for months. Articles 35 and 38 of the Historical Memory Law of 2022 were being violated, by wanting to place “fascist symbols” and “exalt fascism”points out the organization.
Protests against the plaque to Italian submariners in La Linea / Forum for the Memory of Campo de Gibraltar
“That is whitewashing fascism. Imagine that an attempt is made in Euskadi to pay homage to the pilots who bombed Guernica,” he says in conversation with this newspaper. Juan Moriche, of the Forum for the Memory of Campo de Gibraltar.
The Italian Embassy He did not wish to comment for this article.
“They followed orders”
Those who defend the tribute claim that it was three soldiers carrying out ordersand which continue to be decorated by the Italian Government.
“There were only three young divers who died in the line of duty during the cruel world war and died in our waters. They were given a maritime funeral, wreaths of flowers and roses released into the sea. “It was an act without any political connotation,” one of those attending the tribute in La Línea tells this newspaper. Liberal Angel Fernandezretired ship captain. “Several members of the Tenth MAS Flotilla were given medals and warships were named after them. “If they had fascist connotations, none of them would have those honors,” notes Liberal.
The historian and the PP abound in the same idea Alfonso Escuadra: “The vast majority of this unit later stayed with the anti-fascist side in the war. Some fought with the partisans against the German occupation forces.”
“Don’t tell us that they were poor Italian soldiers,” Moriche criticizes. “They were members of an Army that collaborated to establish Franco’s bloody dictatorship and that had collaborated in the crimes against humanity of the Italian Army, including bombings against civilians fleeing on the road,”
“More Italian fascists”: press headline of the time about Italian soldiers in Gibraltar / .
One of the three, Licio Visinitini, appears on the website of the Italian Presidency as a “gold medal for valor.” It was awarded to him on August 21, 1944, still under the dictatorship, for being a “officer whose indomitable courage It was equal to his iron tenacity, that after a long, difficult and dangerous training, he penetrated as an operator of underwater assault vehicles into one of the most powerful and defended enemy naval bases.” The note on the Presidency’s website highlights that he underwent a harsh “clandestine” life and maintained “a superhuman contempt for danger and a sublime love for his homeland.”
The City Council did not pay for the trips
The Forum’s complaint and a demonstration of around thirty people forced the La Línea City Council to reverse the official acts at the last minute.
“It was canceled because there was a confusion in the format and we were unaware that there could be a possible violation of the Democratic Memory Law. When in doubt, it was decided to suspend,” he assures this newspaper. Juan Francomayor of La Línea from the La Línea 100×100 party.
Why did you initially accept a controversial program, which included giving badges to some Army sailors under Mussolini’s command? For Moriche, Alfonso Escuadra managed to “convince the mayor of La Línea, Juan Franco, to carry out the project, taking advantage of the success of Pérez-Reverte’s book”. The underlying idea is to make the monolith a place for tourists to visit and for history enthusiasts. “There are a series of places related, for example in San Roque, with the true history of the role played by Spain in the world war,” says Escuadra.
“The City Council has no relationship with Alfonso Escuadra,” says Juan Franco about this “local author” member of the Campogibraltareños Studies Group and councilor for 12 years with the Popular Party and before that with GIL. The Linense councilor denies that the trip of the Italians were borne by the council, one of the questions raised by the Campo de Gibraltar Democratic Memory Forum.
“Italian secret base”
On June 10, 1940, the then president of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Italy, Benito Mussolini ordered the invasion of southern France. Italy’s entry into the war, on the side of the German Nazis, caught the tanker Olterra docked in the Bay of Algeciras. It is soon converted into a secret Italian base to launch Italian submariners against British ships.
Today, 84 years later, three of the submariners of the fascist army They have been remembered by their families in the waters where they died. But their names have not finally been placed on the Linen monolith, the work of Nacho Falgueras. The inscription continues to read: “To the submariners who, like you, left their lives at sea. Your companions.” It is dedicated to Cristóbal Peralta, a diver who died 30 years ago in a work accident trying to remove an anchor from a Cepsa ship refueling station. The monolith will remain dedicated to a civilian, who died in a work accident and now in democracy.
