Moroccan Expeditionary Force: the main "thugs" of World War II ← Hodor. “War on Women”: what Moroccan Gumiers did during World War II

"Let me tell you about one group of victims - actual victims - of World War II that you have never heard of for the same reason. In May 1944, the Allies - the forces of "democracy" and "equality", the anti-Nazi and pro-Jewish forces - finally managed to capture Monte Cassino, in central Italy, from the German army, after they had bombed the 6th century monastery of Monte Cassino into ruins. The Allies included Moroccan troops. Even then they wanted "diversity" in their armed forces. The Moroccans were worthless soldiers, but these notorious sadists had no equal in killing prisoners after the end of the battles. They also differed in their rape of civilians. That night, after the end of the battle for Monte Cassino and the orderly withdrawal of the Germans, a division of Moroccan soldiers - 12,000 Moroccans - broke from their camp and, like locusts, descended on a group of mountain villages in the vicinity of Monte Cassino. They raped all the women and girls they could find in these villages - their number is estimated at 3,000 women, ranging in age from 11 to 86 years. They killed 800 male villagers who were trying to protect their women. They raped some women to such an extent that more than 100 of them died from it.

The inhabitants of these mountain villages are descended from the ancient "Volshi", one of the tribes of pre-Roman Italy, and their women are distinguished by their taller stature and gracefulness compared with other women in that part of Italy. Moroccan soldiers selected the most beautiful girls for gang rape and long lines of dark-skinned Moroccans lined up in front of each of them waiting their turn while other Moroccans held the victims. Two sisters, 15 and 18 years old, were raped by over 200 Moroccans each. One of them died from these rapes. Another has spent the last 53 years in psychiatric clinic. Moroccans also raped boys in villages. They also destroyed most of the buildings in these villages and stole everything of any value.

It is interesting to note that most of the historical works on the Battle of Monte Cassino published after the war make no mention of this action by our gallant colored North African allies. Even official history, published by the US Department of Defense, does not say what was done to the residents of these mountain villages. Jewish policy during and after the war was to ignore any atrocities committed by people on their side - unless they could attribute them to their enemies. For example, murder by firing squads of Jewish people belonging to the Soviet secret police [NKVD – Note. transl.], 15,000 Polish officers and intellectuals in 1940 were attributed to the Germans after the advancing german army discovered the corpses of several thousand victims in the Katyn Forest. Even years after the end of the war, many elements of the controlled media continued to repeat these lies about German guilt for the Katyn massacres. Jewish control of the media made this task easy.

And, of course, reports of atrocities committed against the Germans Soviet troops during and after the war were also kept silent. Soviet propaganda commissar Ilya Ehrenburg deliberately incited the horrendous mass rape of German women and girls, and the mass murder of German civilians and prisoners of war. This angry Jewish commissar openly called on the Red Army to rape German women and kill German civilians, including children. And they did. But of course Hollywood never made films about these horrendous atrocities. And, to my knowledge, none of the heirs of the Polish, German or Italian victims of the pro-Jewish Allies have made claims for compensation against the Allied governments."

"In addition, "At the end of 1943, the Montecassino monastery was included in the defensive system of the Gustav Line, however, the monastery itself, by order of Marshal Albert Casselring, was not fortified and German-Italian troops were not stationed there. This was done to save the monastery from Allied bombing, which would certainly follow if Monte Cassino was turned into a stronghold. However, the efforts of the Bavarian Kasselring were in vain; the Allies subjected the monastery to a three-day massive bombardment by aircraft and artillery, completely destroying ancient monastery Europe. Only one crypt has survived, in which the remains of St. Benedict of Nursia and St. Scholastica were kept."

The day after the battle, Moroccan Gumières from the French Expeditionary Force began to roam the surrounding hills, pillaging and pillaging local villages. Multiple crimes were committed against the local population, including rape (including of boys), murder and torture. These crimes became known in Italy as "Morocchinat" - "actions committed by Moroccans."

There is not a single military action in which civilians do not suffer. And it is difficult to determine whose suffering is greater, if, in fact, there is some kind of universal scale of suffering. Hunger, violence, humiliation - it is impossible to single out “the most terrible” from this list. You can talk about each separately or together.

In this regard, Italy, which started the war on the side of Germany, and in 1943 went over to the Allied camp, amazing country. Nazis and allies... Which of them are liberators and which are occupiers? For two years, in a small area, it was possible to observe the difference in treatment of the civilian population of the Germans and the Allies, who were in the same conditions. Every army on Italian territory thought of itself as a “liberation army.” And each was a foreign army. Who are the good ones? Who are the bad ones? All strangers.

In the history of the Second World War on Italian territory there is a period that historical literature The Apennines are called “the war on women” (“guerra al femminile”). Late 1943 - early 1945 An outbreak of violence against women in Italy. When you read the reports of these years, you see hundreds of recorded cases: German fury near Marzaboto, 262 cases in Liguria after the appearance of “Mongols” (Soviet deserters from Central Asia to the fascist army). But nothing compares to the “Moroccan horror”.

In fact, it was not only Moroccans, but also Tunisians, Algerians and Senegalese - troops who arrived from the former French colonies in North Africa. These were not even troops, but rather a “gathering”: in burnouses and with daggers on their belts in order to cut off the noses and ears of their enemies. They advanced shouting the Shahada, the Islamic creed: “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is His prophet.” The French expeditionary force consisted of twelve thousand "Moroccans".

Moroccan soldiers

On December 11, 1943, they set foot on Italian soil and the first reports of rape began. Did the Allies really have no choice? By that time, their troops in Italy were suffering heavy losses. Everything acquired such threatening proportions that de Gaulle, when visiting the Italian front in March 1944, declared that the “Moroccans” (goumiers - as the French themselves called them) would be used only to control public order, that is, to fulfill the role of carabinieri. At the same time, French officials strongly recommended “strengthening the contingent of prostitution.” What does "strengthen" mean? In the novels “Skin” by Curzio Malaparte, “Chochora” by Alberto Moravia, there are separate stories about what the situation leads to when innocence, based on ignorance and lack of experience, means nothing. Immaculate girls who went through these horrors could turn into prostitutes almost in the blink of an eye. In Naples in 1944, for an American soldier, a kilogram of meat cost more than a girl ($2-3).

Moroccan Goumiers marocains, photographs spring/summer 1943.

The tragedy was that potential rapists acted as “police.” Any European woman among the African corps was called “haggiala” - whore. This meant “to let the goat into the garden.” What happened next? The reports of the 71st German division on the situation in the town of Spigno for three days (May 15-17, 1944) recorded six hundred rapes of women. Yes, yes, these three days are a separate item. On May 14, the Allies won a final victory at Cassino, as a result they gave the Italian south to the mercy of the “Moroccans” for three days. The Africans themselves knew nothing about the war; it was enough for them that they were fighting in Europe among Europeans. These were wild and poor tribes, suffering venereal diseases. As a result, victims of violence were infected, which, coupled with a huge number of forced abortions, had simply catastrophic consequences for many villages in Tuscany and Lazio (regions of Italy).

Alphonse Juin, Marshal of France

According to German and American reports, the French commanders could not control them. And did you even want to? Alphonse Juin, Marshal of France, who had commanded the French "Fighting France" corps in northern Africa since 1942, gave a speech to his soldiers before the May battle: "Soldiers! You are not fighting for the freedom of your land. This time I tell you: if you win the battle, then you will have the best houses, women and wine in the world. But not a single German should be left alive. I say this and "I will keep my promise. Fifty hours after the victory you will be absolutely free in your actions. No one will punish you later, no matter what you do."

The Allies could not help but guess the consequences of this “carte blanche”. The civilized, cultured French had no illusions about the morals and customs of their North African warriors. Who is the bigger barbarian in this situation? A person who behaves within the framework of his life ideas, or one for whom this behavior is considered “immoral”, but he allows events to develop according to the worst-case scenario?

Yes, not all residents northern Africa have the habits of animals, but those who were sent to Europe in 1943-44 are described even in their own literature as, for example, the Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Gellain did: “These were savages who recognized strength and loved to dominate.”

The French knew their habits, principles and traditions very well. We can say that “cultural” weapons were deliberately used against the civilian population.

Pius XII, the Pope, formally writes an appeal to de Gaulle asking him to take action. The answer is silence.

Caption: "Protect! This could be your mother, your wife, your sister, your daughter"

But the ex-colonial depravity did not subside and continued in the cities of Checcano, Supino, Sgorgola and their neighbors: on June 2 alone, 5,418 rapes of women and children, 29 murders, 517 robberies were recorded. Many women and girls were raped, often repeatedly, as the soldiers were in the grip of unbridled excitement and sexual sadism. If husbands and parents stood up for women, houses were burned and livestock was completely destroyed.

Testimonies of female victims from the official transcript of testimony in the lower house of the Italian Parliament. Meeting of April 7, 1952:

“Malinari Veglia, at the time of the events, she was 17 years old. Her mother gives testimony about the events of May 27, 1944, Valekorsa.

They were walking along the Monte Lupino street when they saw the "Moroccans". The warriors approached the women. They were clearly interested in young Malinari. The women began to beg not to do anything, but the soldiers did not understand them. While the two held the girl's mother, the others took turns raping her. When the last one finished, one of the “Moroccans” took out a pistol and shot Malinari.

Elisabetta Rossi, 55, Farneta, tells how, wounded in the stomach with a knife, she watched as her two daughters, 17 and 18 years old, were raped. She received the wound when she tried to protect them. A group of “Moroccans” left her nearby. The next victim was a five-year-old boy who rushed towards them, not understanding what was happening. The child was thrown into a ravine with five bullets in the stomach. A day later the baby died.

Emanuella Valente, May 25, 1944, Santa Lucia, was 70 years old. An elderly woman walked calmly down the street, sincerely thinking that her age would protect her from rape. But he turned out to be, rather, her opponent. When she was spotted by a group of young "Moroccans", Emanuella tried to run away from them. They caught up with her, knocked her down, and broke her wrists. After this, she was subjected to group abuse. She was infected with syphilis. She was ashamed and difficult to tell the doctors what exactly happened to her. The wrist remained injured for the rest of his life. She perceives her other illness as martyrdom.”

Did other allies or fascists know about the actions of the Franco-African Korps? Yes, since the Germans recorded their statistics, as mentioned above, and the Americans made offers to “get prostitutes.”

The final figures for the victims of the “war against women” vary: DWF magazine, No. 17 for 1993, cites the historian’s information about sixty thousand women raped in less than a year as a result of the “Moroccans” playing the role of police in southern Italy. This number is based on statements from victims. In addition, many women who, after such events, could no longer get married or continue normal life, committed suicide, went crazy. These are outrageous stories. Antoni Collicki, who was 12 years old in 1944, writes: “... they entered the house, held a knife at the throats of the men, looked for women...”. What follows is the story of two sisters who were abused by two hundred “Moroccans.” As a result, one of the sisters died, the other ended up in a mental hospital.

On August 1, 1947, the Italian leadership submitted a protest to the French government. The answer is bureaucratic delays and chicanery. The issue was raised again in 1951 and in 1993. There is talk about the Islamic threat, about intercultural communication. This question remains open to this day.

Burnus - a cloak with a hood, made of thick woolen material, usually white; were originally common among the Arabs and Berbers of North Africa.

Curzio Malaparte is a famous Italian journalist and writer, 1898-1957, a contemporary of the fascist and post-fascist history of the country.

Alberto Moravia is an Italian writer, short story writer and journalist.

Juin - (Juin) Alphonse (1888-1967), Marshal of France (1952). Commander of the French troops in Tunisia (1942-43), expeditionary force in Italy (1944), commander-in-chief of the troops in the North. Africa (1947-51), commander ground forces NATO in Central Europe (1951-56).

When we're talking about about the horrors and atrocities of the Second World War, as a rule, the acts of the Nazis are meant. Torture of prisoners, concentration camps, genocide, extermination of civilians - the list of Nazi atrocities is inexhaustible.

However, one of the most terrible pages in the history of World War II was written in it by units of the Allied troops who liberated Europe from the Nazis. The French, and in fact the Moroccan expeditionary force received the title of the main scumbags of this war.

Moroccans in the Allied ranks

Several regiments of Moroccan Gumières fought as part of the French Expeditionary Force. Berbers, representatives of the native tribes of Morocco, were recruited into these units. The French army used Goumieres in Libya during World War II, where they fought Italian forces in 1940. Moroccan Gumiers also took part in the battles in Tunisia, which took place in 1942-1943.

In 1943, Allied troops landed in Sicily. Moroccan gumiers were placed at the disposal of the 1st American Infantry Division by order of the allied command. Some of them took part in the battles for the liberation of the island of Corsica from the Nazis. By November 1943, Moroccan soldiers were redeployed to the Italian mainland, where in May 1944 they crossed the Avrounque Mountains. Subsequently, regiments of Moroccan Gumiers took part in the liberation of France, and at the end of March 1945 they were the first to break into Germany from the Siegfried Line.

Why did the Moroccans go to fight in Europe?

The Gumiers rarely went into battle for reasons of patriotism - Morocco was under the protectorate of France, but they did not consider it their homeland. The main reason the prospect was decent by the standards of the country wages, increasing military prestige, showing loyalty to the heads of their clans who sent soldiers to fight.

The Gumer regiments were often recruited from the poorest inhabitants of the Maghreb, the mountaineers. Most of them were illiterate. French officers had to play the role of wise advisers with them, replacing the authority of the tribal leaders.

How the Moroccan Gumiers fought

At least 22,000 Moroccan nationals took part in the battles of World War II. The permanent strength of the Moroccan regiments reached 12,000 people, with 1,625 soldiers killed in action and 7,500 wounded.

According to some historians, Moroccan warriors performed well in mountain battles, finding themselves in familiar surroundings. The homeland of the Berber tribes is the Moroccan Atlas Mountains, so the Gumiers tolerated transitions to the highlands well.

Other researchers are categorical: the Moroccans were average warriors, but they managed to surpass even the Nazis in the brutal killing of prisoners. The Gumiers could not and did not want to give up the ancient practice of cutting off the ears and noses of the corpses of enemies. But the main horror settlements, which included Moroccan soldiers, there were mass rapes of civilians.

Liberators became rapists

The first news about the rape of Italian women by Moroccan soldiers was recorded on December 11, 1943, the day the Humiers landed in Italy. It was about four soldiers. French officers were unable to control the actions of the Gumiers. Historians note that "these were the first echoes of the behavior that would later be long associated with the Moroccans."

Already in March 1944, during de Gaulle's first visit to the Italian front local residents turned to him with an urgent request to return the Gumiers to Morocco. De Gaulle promised to involve them only as carabinieri to protect public order.

On May 17, 1944, American soldiers in one of the villages heard the desperate screams of raped women. According to their testimony, the Gumiers repeated what the Italians did in Africa. However, the allies were really shocked: the British report speaks of rapes by Gumiers right on the streets of women, little girls, teenagers of both sexes, as well as prisoners in prisons.

Moroccan horror at Monte Cassino

One of the most terrible deeds of the Moroccan Gumers in Europe is the story of the liberation of Monte Cassino from the Nazis. The Allies managed to capture this ancient abbey of central Italy on May 14, 1944. After their final victory at Cassino, the command announced “fifty hours of freedom” - the south of Italy was given over to the Moroccans for three days.

Historians testify that after the battle, Moroccan Gumiers committed brutal pogroms in the surrounding villages. All the girls and women were raped, and even the teenage boys were not saved. Records from the German 71st Division record 600 rapes of women in the small town of Spigno in just three days.

More than 800 men were killed while trying to save their relatives, friends or neighbors. The pastor of the town of Esperia tried in vain to protect three women from the violence of Moroccan soldiers - the Gumeras tied the priest up and raped him all night, after which he soon died. The Moroccans also plundered and carried away everything that had any value.

The Moroccans chose the most beautiful girls for gang rape. Queues of gumiers lined up at each of them, wanting to have fun, while other soldiers held the unfortunate ones back. Thus, two young sisters, 18 and 15 years old, were raped by more than 200 gumiers each. Younger sister died from her injuries and ruptures, the eldest went crazy and was kept in a psychiatric hospital for 53 years until her death.

War on women

In the historical literature about the Apennine Peninsula, the time from the end of 1943 to May 1945 is called guerra al femminile - “the war on women.” During this period, French military courts initiated 160 criminal proceedings against 360 individuals. Death sentences and heavy punishments were imposed. In addition, many rapists who were taken by surprise were shot at the scene of the crime.

In Sicily, the Gumiers raped everyone they could capture. Partisans in some regions of Italy stopped fighting the Germans and began saving the surrounding villages from the Moroccans. The huge number of forced abortions and infections with sexually transmitted diseases had terrible consequences for many small villages and hamlets in the regions of Lazio and Tuscany.

Italian writer Alberto Moravia wrote his most famous novel“Ciocharia” based on what he saw in 1943, when he and his wife were hiding in Ciocharia (a locality in the Lazio region). Based on the novel, the film “Chochara” (in English release - “Two Women”) was shot in 1960 with Sophia Loren in leading role. The heroine and her young daughter, on the way to liberated Rome, stop to rest in the church of a small town. There they are attacked by several Moroccan Gumiers, who rape both of them.

Victim Testimonies

On April 7, 1952, testimonies from numerous victims were heard in the lower house of the Italian Parliament. Thus, the mother of 17-year-old Malinari Vella spoke about the events of May 27, 1944 in Valecorse: “We were walking along Monte Lupino Street and saw Moroccans. The soldiers were clearly attracted to young Malinari. We begged not to touch us, but they didn’t listen to anything. Two of them held me, the rest raped Malinari in turns. When the last one finished, one of the soldiers took out a pistol and shot my daughter.”

Elisabetta Rossi, 55, from the Farneta area, recalled: “I tried to protect my daughters, aged 18 and 17, but I was stabbed in the stomach. Bleeding, I watched as they were raped. A five-year-old boy, not understanding what was happening, rushed towards us. They fired several bullets into his stomach and threw him into a ravine. The next day the child died.”

The atrocities that the Moroccan Gumiers committed in Italy for several months were given the name marocchinate by Italian historians - a derivative of the name home country rapists.

October 15, 2011 President National Association marocchinate victims Emiliano Ciotti assessed the scale of the incident: “From the numerous documents collected today, it is known that there have been at least 20,000 registered cases of violence. This number still does not reflect the truth - medical reports from those years report that two thirds of women raped, out of shame or modesty, chose not to report anything to the authorities. Taking a comprehensive assessment, we can confidently say that at least 60,000 women have been raped. On average, North African soldiers raped them in groups of two or three, but we also have testimonies from women raped by 100, 200 and even 300 soldiers,” Ciotti said.

Consequences

After the end of World War II, Moroccan gumiers were urgently returned to Morocco by the French authorities. On August 1, 1947, the Italian authorities sent an official protest to the French government. The answer was formal replies. The problem was raised again by the Italian leadership in 1951 and 1993. The question remains open to this day.

Moroccan Mountain Corps of the French Expeditionary Force at Monte Cassino

France held out against Nazi Germany in World War II for just over one month. The collaborationist Vichy regime went over to the side of the Germans, but not everyone followed his example; the battle for the colonies began, during which the “Gumiers” - Moroccan soldiers - found themselves on the side of the anti-Hitler coalition.

At the beginning of 1944, Allied forces in Italy reached the Gustav Line, a complex of German fortifications completely covering the entire width of the Apennine Peninsula.
In just a few months, the coalition forces lost half personnel, not to mention non-combat losses, air superiority could not change the situation much. For 4 months the allies were marking time, the morale of the soldiers was falling day by day...
Among the many motley units of the Allies, the French expeditionary corps stood apart, more than 2/3 of which consisted of local African units, immigrants from Morocco and Algeria.
Moroccan riflemen or Gumiers, like other colonial formations, gained fame as excellent hardy and competent fighters in the mountains. The units were formed primarily along tribal lines under the command of French officers. The uniform retained the key elements of the traditional costume - gumiers were instantly recognizable by their turbans and gray striped or brown "djellaba" (cloak with a hood). National sabers and daggers were also left in service; it was the curved Moroccan dagger with the letters GMM that became the symbol of the units of the Moroccan Gumiers.
The fighters performed well in the Reef War and Libya.

But no one could imagine how they would manifest themselves later...

French General Alphonse Juin, who had commanded the expeditionary force of “Fighting France” in North Africa since 1942, decided to motivate his soldiers and gave them a speech: “Soldiers! You are not fighting for the freedom of your land. This time I am telling you: if you win battle, then you will have the best houses, women and wine in the world. But not a single German should be left alive! I say this and I will keep my promise. Fifty hours after the victory you will be absolutely free in your actions. No one will punish you later, no matter what you do!!!"
The African units, inspired by the call of the commander who had served with them since the formation of the units, went into battle shouting in honor of the Prophet...

On May 14, with faith in Allah, promised hours of “rest,” one way or another, the Moroccans were able to break through and ensure victory for the allies.

Already on May 15, soldiers of the French Expeditionary Force began to wander through the adjacent hills, robbing and plundering local villages.

According to some German and American reports, the French commanders were unable to control the Africans. And did you even want to?
The civilized, cultured French had no illusions about the morals and customs of their North African warriors. Not all inhabitants of northern Africa have the habits of animals, but those who were sent to Europe in 1943-44 are described even in their own literature as, for example, the Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Gellain did: “They were savages who recognized strength, loved to dominate."
The French knew their habits, principles and traditions very well. We can say that “cultural” weapons were deliberately used against the civilian population.

Back in March 1944, de Gaulle, in his first visit to the Italian front, first spoke about the return of the Gumiers to Morocco. However, they limited the matter to the fact that they tried to increase the number of prostitutes in the places where African troops were quartered, by the way, without success.
It is not difficult to imagine what began in the territory occupied by Africans. In the cities of Checcano, Supino, Sgorgola and their neighbors: as of June 2, there were 5,418 recorded rapes of women and children, 29 murders, 517 robberies. Many women and girls were raped repeatedly. Naturally, husbands and parents stood up for the women; often these were partisans. Men were killed with particular cruelty, tortured, often castrated and raped...

The violence began with the victory at Monte Cassino in Italy. and continued until the beginning of 1945, already on German territory, after which the Africans were returned to Morocco and Algeria.. But let’s dwell on Italy in detail...

Testimonies of female victims from the official transcript of testimony in the lower house of the Italian Parliament. Meeting of April 7, 1952:
“Malinari Vella, she was 17 years old at the time of the events. Her mother gives testimony about the events of May 27, 1944, Valekorsa.
They were walking along the Monte Lupino street when they saw the "Moroccans". The warriors approached the women. They were clearly interested in young Malinari. The women began to beg not to do anything, but the soldiers did not understand them. While the two held the girl's mother, the others took turns raping her. When the last one finished, one of the “Moroccans” took out a pistol and shot Malinari.
Elisabetta Rossi, 55, Farneta, tells how, wounded in the stomach with a knife, she watched as her two daughters, 17 and 18 years old, were raped. She received the wound when she tried to protect them. A group of “Moroccans” left her nearby. The next victim was a five-year-old boy who rushed towards them, not understanding what was happening. The child was thrown into a ravine with five bullets in the stomach, where he suffered for a day, after which he died.
Emanuella Valente, May 25, 1944, Santa Lucia, 70 years old.
An elderly woman walked calmly down the street, sincerely thinking that her age would protect her from rape. But he turned out to be, rather, her opponent. When she was spotted by a group of young "Moroccans", Emanuella tried to run away from them. They caught up with her, knocked her down, and broke her wrists. After this, she was subjected to group abuse. She was infected with syphilis. She was ashamed and difficult to tell the doctors what exactly happened to her. The wrist remained injured for the rest of his life. She perceives her illness as martyrdom.”
Ada Andreini 24 years old, June 29, 1944
“On June 29, at approximately midnight, seven Moroccan soldiers broke down the door to the house, killed the men and raped the girl in the presence of her 81-year-old grandmother and 5-year-old son.”
Yolanda Paccioni is 18 years old.
“On May 23, a group of Moroccans grabbed me and other girls. We tried to resist but realized that it would only get worse. The soldiers were surprised by the obedience that appeared and put down their weapons, I managed to throw off the Moroccan and ran. Shots rang out and they hit me in the neck. The remaining girls had it much worse..."
Antoni Colliki, 12 years old: “... when I entered the house, they were holding a knife at the throats of the men, looking for women... then they raped two sisters, who were abused by two hundred “Moroccans.” As a result, one of the sisters died a few days later, the other ended up in a mental hospital.”
Archbishop Toscabelli:
“In a hospital in Siena: 24 girls aged 12 to 14 years old with serious internal bleeding were raped; In the city of Esperia, 700 women were raped, which amounted to 99% of the female population.”

Notable among the murders in Esperia is the death of Don Alberto Terrilli, a priest of the local church of Santa Maria di Esperia, who died after being beaten and raped for several hours, tied to a tree. On May 17, he tried to hide local women and nuns in the monastery, who were also raped in front of the pastor.

Also shocking is the murder of Anastasio Gigli, 11 years old, Leppini Rocacorga. The boy's parents died earlier. The boy was the first to catch the eye of the Gumiers entering the city, who demanded to show them where the well was located. The child got scared and tried to run away from them... Later the boy was found with his stomach torn open in a ditch near the well...

One report states: “20 percent of women are infected with syphilis, 90 percent with gonorrhea; 40 percent of men are infected with wives; 81 percent of buildings are destroyed; 90 percent of cattle are destroyed...”

The resulting figures of violence by French Gumières in Italy were called the “war on women.” or marroquinate. The number of victims varies, it is not possible to establish an exact figure: there are about 80,000 registered statements from victims. Many women were simply embarrassed to report facts of rape, many committed suicide, went crazy... In total, researchers talk about 180,000 victims...

This begs the question: What about the allies?
But nothing... The command somewhere turned a blind eye to what was happening, somewhere it was paid off, and when it was not possible to hush up the matter, the perpetrators had to be tried, although in 1945 only 360 people were sentenced to death, and even a number of Gumiers were shot in units, but these the data has not been made public. Only 15 cases of soldiers being shot by officers on June 26, 1944 are known. Most were sentenced to forced labor and fines.

The British report said, "...women, girls, teenagers and children were raped in the street, men were castrated... American soldiers entered the city just then and tried to intervene, but the officers stopped them, saying that they were not there, and that the Moroccans gave us this victory."

US Army Sergeant McCormick, who served in the African campaign, recalled: “We asked our Lieutenant Bazik what to do, to which he replied: “I think they are doing what the Italians did with their women in Africa.” We wanted to add that Italian troops did not enter Morocco, but we were ordered not to interfere.”

In June 1944, the head of the Vatican, Pope Pius XII, sent a protest about the wave of violence that was sweeping Italy to General de Gaulle, in which he outlined a request to take action and send only Christian troops to Rome. In response, he received assurances of heartfelt sympathy...

On August 1, 1947, the Italian leadership submitted a protest to the French government. In response - bureaucratic delays, chicanery... and a departure to the “weak morality of Italian women provoking Muslim Moroccans...”

As a result, France generously acknowledged a number of cases of violence and agreed to pay compensation to the victims from 30 to 150 thousand lire, the total amount of payments was reduced by war reparations from Italy.

The reflection of the events that took place in art is most clearly shown in the film by Vittorio de Sica “Ciochara”, and the film by John Huston “The White Book”.

Ordinary Italians have not forgotten what the Moroccans did in the cities. The French, especially those of African origin, are not liked in Italy. and to this day. It is significant that in the town of Pontecorvo, when a monument to the fallen Gumeras was erected, the next day it was broken. The French Embassy restored the stele, but immediately a severed pig's head appeared on it (I won't talk about pigs in Islam). In another Italian town, only the intervention of the carabinieri saved a bus with French veterans from tipping into the abyss when local residents became aware of the trip to the battlefields.

The issue of marroquinata was repeatedly tried to be brought to the international court in 1951, 1993 and 2011, but to this day it remains open...

materials were taken from Italian websites, including the website of the National Association of Victims of Homicides. (A.N.V.M.)

When talking about the horrors and atrocities of the Second World War, as a rule, we mean the acts of the Nazis. Torture of prisoners, concentration camps, genocide, extermination of civilians - the list of Nazi atrocities is inexhaustible.

However, one of the most terrible pages in the history of World War II was written in it by units of the Allied troops who liberated Europe from the Nazis. The French, and in fact the Moroccan expeditionary force received the title of the main scumbags of this war.

Moroccans in the Allied ranks

Several regiments of Moroccan Gumières fought as part of the French Expeditionary Force. Berbers, representatives of the native tribes of Morocco, were recruited into these units. The French army used Goumieres in Libya during World War II, where they fought Italian forces in 1940. Moroccan Gumiers also took part in the battles in Tunisia, which took place in 1942-1943.

In 1943, Allied troops landed in Sicily. Moroccan gumiers were placed at the disposal of the 1st American Infantry Division by order of the allied command. Some of them took part in the battles for the liberation of the island of Corsica from the Nazis. By November 1943, Moroccan soldiers were redeployed to the Italian mainland, where in May 1944 they crossed the Avrounque Mountains. Subsequently, regiments of Moroccan Gumiers took part in the liberation of France, and at the end of March 1945 they were the first to break into Germany from the Siegfried Line.

Why did the Moroccans go to fight in Europe?

The Gumiers rarely went into battle for reasons of patriotism - Morocco was under the protectorate of France, but they did not consider it their homeland. The main reason was the prospect of decent wages by the standards of the country, increased military prestige, and the manifestation of loyalty to the heads of their clans, who sent soldiers to fight.

The Gumer regiments were often recruited from the poorest inhabitants of the Maghreb, the mountaineers. Most of them were illiterate. French officers had to play the role of wise advisers with them, replacing the authority of the tribal leaders.

How the Moroccan Gumiers fought

At least 22,000 Moroccan nationals took part in the battles of World War II. The permanent strength of the Moroccan regiments reached 12,000 people, with 1,625 soldiers killed in action and 7,500 wounded.

According to some historians, Moroccan warriors performed well in mountain battles, finding themselves in familiar surroundings. The homeland of the Berber tribes is the Moroccan Atlas Mountains, so the Gumiers tolerated transitions to the highlands well.

Other researchers are categorical: the Moroccans were average warriors, but they managed to surpass even the Nazis in the brutal killing of prisoners. The Gumiers could not and did not want to give up the ancient practice of cutting off the ears and noses of the corpses of enemies. But the main horror of the populated areas that Moroccan soldiers entered was the mass rape of civilians.

Liberators became rapists

The first news about the rape of Italian women by Moroccan soldiers was recorded on December 11, 1943, the day the Humiers landed in Italy. It was about four soldiers. French officers were unable to control the actions of the Gumiers. Historians note that "these were the first echoes of the behavior that would later be long associated with the Moroccans."

Already in March 1944, during de Gaulle’s first visit to the Italian front, local residents turned to him with an urgent request to return the Gumiers to Morocco. De Gaulle promised to involve them only as carabinieri to protect public order.

On May 17, 1944, American soldiers in one of the villages heard the desperate screams of raped women. According to their testimony, the Gumiers repeated what the Italians did in Africa. However, the allies were really shocked: the British report speaks of rapes by Gumiers right on the streets of women, little girls, teenagers of both sexes, as well as prisoners in prisons.

Moroccan horror at Monte Cassino

One of the most terrible deeds of the Moroccan Gumers in Europe is the story of the liberation of Monte Cassino from the Nazis. The Allies managed to capture this ancient abbey of central Italy on May 14, 1944. After their final victory at Cassino, the command announced “fifty hours of freedom” - the south of Italy was given over to the Moroccans for three days.

Historians testify that after the battle, Moroccan Gumiers committed brutal pogroms in the surrounding villages. All the girls and women were raped, and even the teenage boys were not saved. Records from the German 71st Division record 600 rapes of women in the small town of Spigno in just three days.

More than 800 men were killed while trying to save their relatives, friends or neighbors. The pastor of the town of Esperia tried in vain to protect three women from the violence of Moroccan soldiers - the Gumiers tied the priest up and raped him all night, after which he soon died. The Moroccans also plundered and carried away everything that had any value.

The Moroccans chose the most beautiful girls for gang rape. Queues of gumiers lined up at each of them, wanting to have fun, while other soldiers held the unfortunate ones back. Thus, two young sisters, 18 and 15 years old, were raped by more than 200 gumiers each. The younger sister died from injuries and ruptures, the eldest went crazy and was kept in a psychiatric hospital for 53 years until her death.

War on women

In the historical literature about the Apennine Peninsula, the time from the end of 1943 to May 1945 is called guerra al femminile - “the war on women.” During this period, French military courts initiated 160 criminal proceedings against 360 individuals. Death sentences and heavy punishments were imposed. In addition, many rapists who were taken by surprise were shot at the scene of the crime.

In Sicily, the Gumiers raped everyone they could capture. Partisans in some regions of Italy stopped fighting the Germans and began saving the surrounding villages from the Moroccans. The huge number of forced abortions and infections with sexually transmitted diseases had terrible consequences for many small villages and hamlets in the regions of Lazio and Tuscany.

The Italian writer Alberto Moravia wrote his most famous novel, Ciociara, in 1957, based on what he saw in 1943, when he and his wife were hiding in Ciociara (a locality in the Lazio region). Based on the novel, the film “Chochara” (in English release – “Two Women”) was shot in 1960 with Sophia Loren in the title role. The heroine and her young daughter, on the way to liberated Rome, stop to rest in the church of a small town. There they are attacked by several Moroccan Gumiers, who rape both of them.

Victim Testimonies

On April 7, 1952, testimonies from numerous victims were heard in the lower house of the Italian Parliament. Thus, the mother of 17-year-old Malinari Vella spoke about the events of May 27, 1944 in Valecorse: “We were walking along Monte Lupino Street and saw Moroccans. The soldiers were clearly attracted to young Malinari. We begged not to touch us, but they didn’t listen to anything. Two of them held me, the rest raped Malinari in turns. When the last one finished, one of the soldiers took out a pistol and shot my daughter.”

Elisabetta Rossi, 55, from the Farneta area, recalled: “I tried to protect my daughters, aged 18 and 17, but I was stabbed in the stomach. Bleeding, I watched as they were raped. A five-year-old boy, not understanding what was happening, rushed towards us. They fired several bullets into his stomach and threw him into a ravine. The next day the child died.”

Morocchinate

The atrocities that the Moroccan Gumiers committed in Italy for several months were given the name marocchinate by Italian historians, a derivative of the name of the home country of the rapists.

On October 15, 2011, the President of the National Association of Victims of Marocchinate, Emiliano Ciotti, assessed the scale of the incident: “From the numerous documents collected today, it is known that there have been at least 20,000 registered cases of violence. This number still does not reflect the truth - medical reports from those years report that two thirds of women raped, out of shame or modesty, chose not to report anything to the authorities. Taking a comprehensive assessment, we can confidently say that at least 60,000 women have been raped. On average, North African soldiers raped them in groups of two or three, but we also have testimonies from women raped by 100, 200 and even 300 soldiers,” Ciotti said.

Consequences

After the end of World War II, Moroccan gumiers were urgently returned to Morocco by the French authorities. On August 1, 1947, the Italian authorities sent an official protest to the French government. The answer was formal replies. The problem was raised again by the Italian leadership in 1951 and 1993. The question remains open to this day.