September 8th. The decision

After September 8^th, 1943, the various divisions of the Italian army, which were fighting on several fronts, simply dissolved. There was a widespread and desperate search for civilian clothes in an effort to evade capture by the former German ally and return home. The disbanded soldiers embodied the drama of the Italians at the close of the war. The horror of death, the enormity of destruction and deprivation that touched the extremes of human endurance, to which was soon added the bitter certainty of imminent defeat, destroyed all the illusions fostered by fascism. War was now being waged on the nation’s soil with the German occupation, bombings, and the allies’ landings. The origins of the Resistance, whether "active" or "passive", which most Italians supported, can be explained not only by the failure of the regime, but also by the Italians’ weariness and their rejection of war. Yet there were those who opted, instead, for the uniform of Salò. These, the last arrivals among the ranks of fascism, would not accept the Duce’s removal, but above all, they were incensed by "the betrayal" perpetrated by the "felon king" who signed the armistice.