Italy, Anti-Fascist Partisan Armband, WWII.
This anti-fascist partisan armband is from WWII and it was made somewhere between 1943 and 1945. The anti-fascist movement was initially composed of independent groups primarily dawn from the members of political parties outlawed by the fascist regime. Frequently led by officers loyal to the monarchy, the partisans often took inspiration from the wishes of the king or the allies.
Italy surrendered to the allies on the 8th of September 1943 but some areas in the north and center of the country stayed in the hands of the Germans. Autonomous formations were formed wherever possible by the anarchists who threw themselves into the fighting in areas such as Milan, Genoa, Carrera and Pistoia. After 20 years of fascist dictatorship, all opposition was labeled as "communist" and anarchists were imprisoned and exiled for their actions.
This armband features the colors of the Italian flag although the stripes appear horizontally rather than vertically. The top stripe is red, the middle stripe is white and the bottom stripe is green. This armband is a field expedient and it features an impression of the partisan seal from a rubber stamp and this impression bears an inscription that can be seen around the five pointed star, which was the symbol for the Italian Republic a few years after the war ended.
There are some stitches on the reverse side of the armband in white string in the center that look likely to have been hand sewn on to hold the armband in place.
