Temporary exhibition “Besetzung 43-45 dall’Armistizio alla Liberazione” (Occupation 43-45 from Armistice to Liberation)

Duration of the exhibition: From Sunday, November 17, 2024, to Sunday, May 25, 2025

At: Museo 1914-1945, Via del Lavoro 66, Montecchio Maggiore (Vicenza)

Opening hours

The exhibition will be open during the museum’s regular opening hours:

Monday-Wednesday-Friday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Other days and times by appointment.

Sponsors and Collaborators

With the patronage of:

  • Veneto Region
  • Province of Vicenza
  • Municipality of Montecchio Maggiore

With the collaboration of:

  • Italian War History Museum of Rovereto
  • Historical Archives of the Municipality of Montecchio Maggiore
  • Club Modellistico 4 Gatti – Vicenza
  • And with memorabilia from private collections: Giorgio Breviglieri, Massimo Padovan, Fabio Zucconi

Brief description of the historical context

The temporary exhibition Besetzung 43-45 is being held to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Italy from Nazi-Fascism, which took place on April 28, 1945, in the Vicenza area.

Chronologically, it represents an ideal continuation of the 2023 exhibition “I am not the sand of just any desert,” which recounted the events that ended the war in the colonies and led to the invasion of the European continent by Allied troops.

The theme is taken up again where it left off, with Operation Husky, the Anglo-American landing in Sicily in July 1943, which not only marked the beginning of a military campaign that lasted over twenty months but also led to a series of increasingly dramatic events that profoundly affected the lives of millions of Italians and the history of our country.

With the Armistice of September 8, the war of liberation from Nazi occupation began, and, even worse, the dramatic civil war.

Liberation came and it was the end of a nightmare, but the price paid was very high.

The exhibition takes its title from the German word “besetzung,” which literally means “occupation,” referring to the occupation of the peninsula by Nazi forces and the events related to it.

The exhibition

The exhibition is divided into several sections:

  • Operation Husky
  • Political events between July 25 and September 8
  • The German occupation; Italian military internees
  • The Italian military campaign
  • A divided Italy (the Kingdom of the South, the Social Republic, and the National Liberation Committee)
  • The war in the Agno Valley: the MNR Undersecretary of State in Montecchio Maggiore, the Reperto Gamma in Valdagno, the German headquarters of the Southern Army Group in Recoaro, the Todt Organization
  • The bombings, massacres, and reprisals

Hundreds of historically significant artifacts are on display, including numerous objects and uniforms from the prestigious Italian War History Museum in Rovereto and from private collectors throughout northern Italy. Also on display for the first time is a model of the Undersecretariat of the Republican National Navy located in Montecchio in the Mondeo area.

There are also several original documents and posters from the period, some of which have been provided by the Historical Archive of Montecchio Maggiore.

Purpose of the exhibition

As is always the case with exhibitions of this kind, the exhibition does not claim to be exhaustive, given the complexity of the subject matter.

However, through the dozens of memorabilia on display, it aims to raise awareness of the upcoming anniversary by offering a general overview of the conditions in Italy during the middle and final stages of World War II.

Above all, it aims to highlight the internal division of the country, torn apart by fratricidal conflict, focusing on the variety of groups involved in the Resistance and the Liberation forces.

Finally, given the importance of the area in the final phase of the war, part of the exhibition is dedicated to events that took place in the Vicenza area and the Agno Valley.

Aimed at everyone, the exhibition is also intended for school groups, offering them an additional interpretation and perspective on the subject.