Occupying Puglia: The Italians and the Allies, 1943-1946 Amy Louise Outterside Doctor of Philosophy School of History, Classics and Archaeology July 2015 1 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................ 3 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................................. 4 Abbreviations ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 Map of Puglia ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Narratives of the Italian campaign .................................................................................................................. 9 Allied Military Government .......................................................................................................................... 17 Key historiography on Southern Italy ........................................................................................................... 23 Puglia ............................................................................................................................................................. 27 Chapter 1 ........................................................................................................................................................... 33 Bombing, Requisitioning and Reconstructing .............................................................................................. 33 Bombing ........................................................................................................................................................ 38 The Second Pearl Harbour: Bari 2 December 1943 ...................................................................................... 49 Déja Vu: The Second Bari Disaster, 9 April 1945 ........................................................................................ 58 Requisitioning ............................................................................................................................................... 62 The Allies and the Reconstruction of Puglia, 1943-1946 ............................................................................. 69 Rubble, Roads and Railways ......................................................................................................................... 71 Housing ......................................................................................................................................................... 75 Monuments and Fine Art .............................................................................................................................. 77 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 80 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................................................... 81 Civilian Protest .............................................................................................................................................. 81 Food Situation ............................................................................................................................................... 84 Food Protests ................................................................................................................................................. 92 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 107 Chapter 3 ......................................................................................................................................................... 109 Political Protest ........................................................................................................................................... 109 Employment/Unemployment ...................................................................................................................... 109 Agricultural Disturbances ........................................................................................................................... 118 Political rivalry in Puglia ............................................................................................................................ 128 Written Forms of Protest ............................................................................................................................. 141 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 147 Chapter 4 ......................................................................................................................................................... 149 Disease ........................................................................................................................................................ 149 Sanitation and Hygiene ............................................................................................................................... 150 Malaria ........................................................................................................................................................ 157 Typhus ......................................................................................................................................................... 170 Smallpox ..................................................................................................................................................... 175 Bubonic Plague attacks Taranto .................................................................................................................. 178 Other Diseases: Tuberculosis, Typhoid and Scabies .................................................................................. 180 Medical Supplies ......................................................................................................................................... 181 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 182 Chapter 5 ......................................................................................................................................................... 184 Prostitution and Venereal Disease .............................................................................................................. 184 Prevention ................................................................................................................................................... 192 The Treatment of Women ........................................................................................................................... 200 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 208 Chapter 6 ......................................................................................................................................................... 209 Crime ........................................................................................................................................................... 209 Curfew, Weapons and Inconsiderate Allies ................................................................................................ 212 Petty Theft, Mugging and the Black Market ............................................................................................... 219 Violent Crime .............................................................................................................................................. 231 Dangerous Crossings-Traffic Accidents ..................................................................................................... 238 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 243 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................... 245 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................... 253 2 Abstract In recent years there has been a revival in the study of the civilian experience of war. Compared to other belligerent countries such as Germany, Italy’s experience of Allied bombing and occupation has been neglected. Such an absence from the historiography is unjustifiable; Italians were bombed intensely and endured a long occupation and reconstruction by the Allies. This led to the development of complex relationships between the two groups. This study hopes to contribute to the revival of interest in the social history of the civilian