Throughout World War 2, there were a number of people who were recruited by German authorities
such as the SS and the Gestapo to hunt down resistance inside of occupied countries.
Inside of lands such as Yugoslavia, there was a huge effort by local people to bring
down the occupation, and to fight against the German Army.
The Germans treated those who fought in the resistance terribly, and they were often tortured.
One example is the young teenage girl Lepa Radic, a girl who helped the Partisans to
evacuate wounded soldiers from the battlefield.
However Lepa Radic at the age of just 17 was brought out in front of a crowd and was executed
showing how ruthless the German army could be.
But inside of Italy, there was one man who created a group which became linked to the
Germans and the Nazis, as they were responsible for hunting down partisans, and taking a lead
in anti partisan activity in the Republic of Salo.
But Pietro Koch would be executed for his actions at just the age of 26.
Join us today as we look at the execution of the man that Mussolini feared, and as always
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Pietro Koch was born on the 18th August 1918, and his father was an officer in the Imperial
German navy, and he was born in Benevento.
He was a leftenant in the Grenadiers after he enlisted in the Italian Royal Army in 1939,
however he did not get on very well.
Pietro was eventually sacked from the army, as he would insult and defy a superior officer,
but then as the Second World War broke out and Mussolini would ally himself with his
close friend Adolf Hitler.
Because of this Italy and the Nazis were allied together in the Axis alliance, and the Italians
would be heavily involved in many campaigns of the Second World War including even in
Africa.
But Pietro Koch was then called back into the army on the eve of the war as Italy needed
as many men as possible, but regardless of his previous discipline issues, Pietro saw
service with the Italian Army until the Armistice with the allies was signed in September 1943,
but following this he then moved to Florence.
Pietro then established himself in the Italian Social Republic in the north, which would
later be led by Mussolini after Hitler placed him in control of the Nazi puppet state following
being freed by the Germans in the Gran Sasso Raid.
But then he joined the Special Service of the Republican Police, which at the time were
led by Tullio Tamburini.
But Pietro Koch would go further as he would then establish a group of paramilitaries which
would become notorious for their brutality and actions.
Koch established the Banda Koch, which was a special task force that would hunt down
partisans inside of the Italian Social Republic, and they would then hand these over to the
Germans, where they were threatened with torture, incarceration inside of a concentration camp
and even execution.
The Partisans in Italy had emerged as an anti fascist movement and organisation, and they
opposed the establishment of the Nazi Puppet state in the north, and also Mussolini.
It would be Partisans who would fight against Italian Fascists, and they were the ones who
also executed Mussolini when he was captured.
Pietro Koch’s group of men would be protected by the SD in Rome, and in particular by Herbet
Kappler the Chief of the SD.
He was colluding with the Nazis to defeat their enemies, and he was allowed free rein
to do what ever he wanted with Partisans and because of this Koch developed a reputation
for being a brutal torturer.
He did whatever he want, and Banda Koch were known for their cruelty, and their reputation
spread within the Partisans.
He was even allowed to use his own prisons to hold Partisans, and he also utilised torture
chambers trying to gain more information from the captives.
He wanted to bring down the partisans completely, and he used different torture methods to get
information.
But he was also responsible for murder and execution, and it was believed that Pietro
Koch was responsible for hundreds of deaths of Partisans.
He was a violent extremist, and there were others he was working with and collaborating
with including police chief Pietro Caruso, but Koch was a man who was greatly feared.
The Italian Social Republic were concerned about his brutality, and they even granted
an amnesty for political prisoners inside of the prisons who were not charged with murder.
This was because they worried that Pietro Koch would wade into the prisons and would
carry out more executions without any questions asked.
He was operating in similar ways as established brutes such as Heinrich Himmler would work,
quietly carrying out executions with his SS.
But as mentioned, Benito Mussolini even believed that Pietro Koch was a savage, and even the
former Fascist dictator of Italy was scared of him and was greatly intimidated by him.
Mussolini was worried that he would at some point be taken prisoner in a power play by
Koch to seize control, and Mussolini feared being held captive inside of one of Koch’s
prisons.
In fact Mussolini even spoke with his close friend and ally Renzo Montagna about what
to do with Pietro.
They came up with a play, and Montagna then arrested Pietro Koch for his involvement in
brutal crimes, and with this Koch was then rounded up and along with a number of his
officers he was held in prison.
In October 1944 Mussolini had him locked up as he was ultimately worried by him, and he
was charged with the brutality and crimes which were too much, and were un-necessary.
But then the war was turning greatly at this time against the Italians, and the Allies
following the invasion of Sicily were advancing north throughout the country.
They seized Rome and then Florence, and with this they rampaged into the Italian Social
Republic, and Mussolini then went on the run before he was captured.
However Pietro Koch then also fell into the hands of the Allies, and it’s not known
if the Allies realised the nature of his crimes, however he was then handed over to an Italian
tribunal to assess whether he was guilty or not.
He was charged and convicted of six different offences, relating to the murder and torture
of partisans.
For this he was sentenced to death.
On the 4th June 1945, Pietro Koch was taken to Rome and specifically to Forte Bravetta,
and he was to be executed by a firing squad.
He was joined by a number of guards and also a priest who administered him the last rights
right next to the stool where he was to be executed on.
The Firing squad was gathered and they were all stood in their black uniforms armed with
their rifles, and then Pietro was led over to the chair where he was secured and tied
to it.
The stool was placed in a way that Pietro Koch would be shot in the back, which was
considered very shameful in military circles, as it was honourable for someone to face their
firing squad.
But then the firing squad were ordered to get ready, and they readied their weapons
before they shot straight into Pietro Koch, instantly killing him.
Officials went to check the execution had been performed successfully, and it had.
Pietro Koch was a man whose ruthlessness and brutality was unrivalled inside of Italy,
to the point where Benito Mussolini even feared him.
The former dictator of Italy then ordered his arrest as he was concerned that Koch’s
forces would turn on him.
But he was a man who had a history of notoriety following being ousted out of the army, but
he was a hunter who was responsible for the murder and execution of dozens of partisans.
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