Allies and Italians Under Occupation - by I Williams (Hardcover)

About the Book

"War is chaos; an occupying force must bring order out of that chaos. The Allied Occupation of Italy is studied by examining crime, law and order in Sicily and southern Italy, where all forms of Allied and liberated Italian government were used and which also contained Italy's two historically most troublesome areas, Naples and Sicily. Effective society requires law and order to exist; this book examines the behaviour of a million Allied servicemen on the ordinary citizens of Italy, recently 'the enemy', from the nuisance of drunkenness to rape and murder. Many Italian law and order issues were caused by political conflict, land occupations and the poor availability of food and other essentials. The last led to unrest, discontent, a thriving black market, prostitution and a resurgence of crime. All these are examined, using original documents, as are police and Allied performance and the curious absence of the Mafia"--

Book Synopsis

Using original documents, the Allied Occupation of southern Italy, particularly Sicily and Naples, is illustrated by examining crime and unrest by Allied soldiers, deserters, rogue troops and Italian civilians from drunkenness, theft, rape, and murder to riots, demonstrations, black marketeering and prostitution.

Review Quotes

To come

About the Author

Isobel Williams gained a PhD with the Italian Department of Swansea University in 2006, after a BA in Italian in 2001 and a BSc in Microbiology and Zoology in 1974, also at Swansea University, UK. She has had a varied career, mostly spent in Hong Kong and Japan.