Italian-speaking foreigners (European) in the Italian armed forces

[kolja]

How common was it for Italian-speaking foreigners (from European countries) to be recruited into the Italian armed forces?
I read on another website that there were a few Ukrainian students in Rome who were hired to join the ARMIR on the Eastern-Front, to work as translators. I assume if they were hired as translators that they could thus speak Italian.
Let us exclude ethnic-Italians from this discussion (such as the ethnic-Italian community in France), and focus on non-Italian people from Europe (like those Ukrainians) who could speak Italian.

 

[DrG]

May you link the site referring to the Ukrainians, please? I remember I read about them somewhere, but don't remember where...

With regards to your question, I can provide an answer which is not entirely in topic. In other words, I am referring to three Italian citizens of Armenian ancestry who were recruited by the SIM thanks to their linguistical skills: Giovan Battista Peltechian, Clemente Eghinlian, Riccardo Guruzian. The were parachuted in Syria in July 1942, but then captured, tortured and executed on 26 September 1942. If you search their names online you will find a few accounts about them.

 

[kolja]

I tried to re-access the website where I found the mention of the Ukrainians, but unfortunately the link appears to be dead now

http://ukr-ww2.onestop.net/italy.html

It was a long time ago that I read it, so maybe the website is not online any more. It was a web-page that had some information about Ukrainians in WW2.

With regards to your question, I can provide an answer which is not entirely in topic. In other words, I am referring to three Italian citizens of Armenian ancestry who were recruited by the SIM thanks to their linguistical skills: Giovan Battista Peltechian, Clemente Eghinlian, Riccardo Guruzian. The were parachuted in Syria in July 1942, but then captured, tortured and executed on 26 September 1942. If you search their names online you will find a few accounts about them.

That is interesting, thanks for sharing. Who were they captured and killed by?

 

[jwsleser]

Not an area on which I have much information/research. I am glad DrG responded.

There are photographs of Ukrainian/Russian translators working for the CSIR/ARMIR. Whether they were university students from Rome or recruited locally in the Ukraine I can not say. Note that they weren't in the Italian military. One had to be an Italian citizen to be in the military.

I assume that this question is recognizing a difference between foreign units raised by Italy but not part of the R.E., and those individuals that are actually in the R.E. The 5ª cp. para. that jumped onto Kefalonia had a military Greek translator, but he was an ethic Albanian with Italian citizenship.

 

[kolja]

Whether they were university students from Rome or recruited locally in the Ukraine I can not say. Note that they weren't in the Italian military. One had to be an Italian citizen to be in the military.

Actually I think I recall the website saying something about the students being naturalised as part of their admission into the ARMIR. But maybe I am mis-remembering...

I assume that this question is recognizing a difference between foreign units raised by Italy but not part of the R.E., and those individuals that are actually in the R.E.

This question is excluding foreign "auxiliary" units (like the MVAC) that were not directly part of the Italian state apparatus, but the question includes any armed force of the Italian state itself. So for example my question would include Regia Esercito, Regia Marina, and Regia Aeronautica, as well as paramilitaries directly linked to the Italian government, like the MVSN. In fact, I think I remember reading somewhere that the MVSN had Maltese and Albanians in its ranks, but I don't know enough to confirm that...

 

[DrG]

I tried to re-access the website where I found the mention of the Ukrainians, but unfortunately the link appears to be dead now

http://ukr-ww2.onestop.net/italy.html

It was a long time ago that I read it, so maybe the website is not online any more. It was a web-page that had some information about Ukrainians in WW2.

That is interesting, thanks for sharing. Who were they captured and killed by?

Ahah! That page (its archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20070802152251/http://ukr-ww2.onestop.net/italy.html) was, in turn, the source I found more than 18 years ago when I wrote about this same topic on the Axis History Forum here: https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=35065

The three Italo-Armenians were captured and executed by the British. I haven't found accounts in English language, but this one is a bit more detailed than the other ones you can find online: https://www.storiaverita.org/2021/1...e-ancora-oggi-sconosciuta-di-roberto-roggero/

 

[kolja]

Ahah! That page (its archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20070802152251/http://ukr-ww2.onestop.net/italy.html) was, in turn, the source I found more than 18 years ago when I wrote about this same topic on the Axis History Forum here: https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=35065

That's the one, I'm glad to see there's still an archive available. So yes, it seems like they did indeed join the regular Italian army as foreign Italian-speakers, even though they became naturalised as part of the process.

The three Italo-Armenians were captured and executed by the British. I haven't found accounts in English language, but this one is a bit more detailed than the other ones you can find online: https://www.storiaverita.org/2021/1...e-ancora-oggi-sconosciuta-di-roberto-roggero/

Thank you for sharing that, maybe one day when my Italian lessons have finally worked I will be able to read more about this

 

[DrG]

Meanwhile, Google Translate has reached a good level of accuracy: https://www-storiaverita-org.transl..._sl=it&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=it&_x_tr_pto=wapp

 

[jwsleser]

Yes, I use Google for a quick translation. I am familiar with the translation of certain military terms in that software, so can get a useful translation of a long document/book chapter almost as fast as my scanner can work.