IV – The Resistance, the Salerno Turn, and the Birth of the “New Party” (1943–1945)

With the German attack on the Soviet Union, the International, which was by then reduced to a branch office of the USSR's "Foreign Ministry," immediately changed its position on the war, switching from the concept of "war of imperialisms" to that of "anti-fascist war." The communist parties were, according to the new strategy, supposed to put aside revolutionary ambitions and relaunch policies of broad convergence with other anti-fascist forces. It was not the subservience to the USSR's positions, which fundamentally had always existed, but the new need not to oppose the capitalist powers allied in the war that led to the dissolution of the International in 1943[1]. In reality, things did not change much in the communist world, as the USSR maintained unquestioned supremacy over the entire movement.

In Italy, from 1941, the PCI, thanks also to the important work of Umberto Massola, began to reorganize the clandestine network and make its voice heard, also through the dissemination of a bulletin, the "Quaderno del lavoratore" (Worker's Notebook), through which the Party's official positions, dictated directly by Togliatti via Radio Moscow, were spread. At the same time, numerous small groups, often with an autonomous political line, regained strength, continuing their internal struggle against Fascism.

On July 25, 1943, Mussolini was forced to resign after being outvoted in the "Grand Council of Fascism," and the sudden end of the fascist Government, with increased room for maneuver and the consequent release of PCI leaders from prison, gave greater vitality to the communists' organization. The line pursued by the PCI in those months, mainly driven by the grassroots, was rather radical and "also demanded the head" of the Monarchy; this position was further strengthened by September 8th and the King's flight.

The weight of the PCI in Italy had become very important also because in Northern Italy the war with the Germans and the fascists of the Salò Republic was still all to be fought, and from the autumn of 1943, communist militants were the predominant part of the clandestine Resistance groups, organized in the "Garibaldi Brigades" in the mountains and in the "GAP" (Patriotic Action Groups) and "SAP" (Patriotic Action Squads) in the cities. Besides armed struggle, the PCI continued its political work by organizing workers and promoting strikes and unrest, especially in the first months of 1944. The Badoglio Government's declaration of war against Germany placed the PCI at a crossroads: to continue the line, requested by the grassroots, of frontal opposition to Badoglio and the Monarchy, or to assume governmental responsibility.

In March 1944, Togliatti, after meeting with Stalin, returned to Italy and implemented what became famous as the "Salerno Turn" (svolta di Salerno), with which the PCI, prioritizing reasons of State over the deposition of the Monarchy, sanctioned its entry into the Government. The entry of the PCI into the Governments formed by Badoglio and the reformist socialist Bonomi was intended by Togliatti as an attempt to establish the Party as a responsible force and a founder of Italian democracy. The now imminent insurrection in the North, in which the PCI, due to its organization, played a hegemonic role, would do the rest. For this reason, Liberation Day on April 25, 1945, was celebrated without the uprisings, controlled by the PCI, leading to any attempt at revolution.

The strategy pursued was that of "progressive democracy," a logical continuation of the "new type of democracy," based on the idea that the participation of the masses in government and political life could, besides eliminating all "residues" of Fascism, introduce significant elements of Socialism into society. To achieve this, it was necessary for the Party to be rebuilt on different foundations and become a "New Party"[2], meaning a modern mass party with deep roots in workplaces and adhering to society. The Party therefore began a constant growth both from the point of view of organization, which developed widely across all Italian cities, and in terms of the number of members, increasing from 500,000 in 1944 to 1,700,000 in 1945, which led it to become the most important and largest communist party in Western Europe.

[1] Cf. Spriano, op. cit.
[2] Cf. Togliatti in “Partito Nuovo” and “Che cosa è il Partito Nuovo”, essays taken from Rinascita, Oct.–Nov.–Dec. 1944.