The Black Market in Occupied Italy and the Approach of Italian and German Authorities (1943–1945)

Abstract

This chapter explores the development of relationships between population and authorities in occupied Italy by examining the problematics of food shortages and the black market. Italy represented a peculiar case in the scenario of World War II as a consequence of its inefficient and insufficient system of production and supply of food and general goods. The situation deteriorated with the political and military collapse of 1943 and the following German occupation and creation of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana. By evaluating the documents collected in several Italian local archives the authors show how the population related with German and Italian authorities about supply matters, when and how conflicts arose between occupants and local administrators and how citizens faced the daily troubles provoked by the war and the occupation.