Quick Facts
Biography
Carlo Scorza (15 June 1897, Paola, Province of Cosenza – 23 December 1988) was a prominent member of the National Fascist Party of Italy during World War II. He built his reputation in the Fascist paramilitary group known as the Blackshirts, and later rose to the position of party secretary, second only to Benito Mussolini in authority over the wartime Italian state. His brief and rocky tenure began in the spring of 1943 and ended with the party's collapse and abolition at the end of July.
Life
Born in the town of Paola, Scorza participated in World War I in the Bersaglieri corps where he reached the rank of Tenente (lieutenant). After the war he joined Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party and participated in acts of violence against communists and socialists in the area around Lucca. After participating in the March on Rome, he worked for a brief time as a journalist, then he was named Federale (chief provincial party officer) of the Province of Lucca.
In 1930, Scorza was appointed to direct the key Party youth organization, Gruppo Universitario Fascista. The following year he was named as a member of the Direttorio (a high national body) of the National Fascist Party. He strongly opposed the Azione Cattolica and his behavior forced Mussolini to dismiss him from the Direttorio. He participated in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War and the Spanish Civil War. In 1940 he came back to national political activities.
Secretary of PNF
In April 1943, Scorza was named Secretary of the National Fascist Party, replacing the ineffectual Aldo Vidussoni. He remained fully dedicated to Mussolini and he assumed his office with an uncompromising demand – "Everybody and everything for the war."
Despite his enthusiasm, Scorza failed in his efforts to revitalize the party. On 25 July 1943, the President of the Italian wartime Parliament, Dino Grandi, put forth to the Fascist Grand Council a motion to remove Mussolini from office. Scorza, who also held the position of Secretary of the Grand Council, voted against it, but the motion carried and Mussolini was arrested by the Carabinieri. After the Italian armistice, Scorza himself was arrested in the Nazi-controlled Italian Social Republic. He was charged with treason for failing to counter the anti-Fascist coup d'etat, but he was acquitted by a special tribunal in April 1944.
Later life
At the end of World War II, Scorza fled to Argentina. He was tried in absentia by the Allies and sentenced to thirty years imprisonment. He was later granted amnesty and he returned to Italy in 1955. Scorza died in Florence on 23 December 1988.