Behold Our New Empire Mussolini

Front matter

LOUISE DIEL

Translated from the German by

KENNETH KIRKNESS

Chapter I

The rate of progress. Do you know Italian East Africa ? Primavera Asmarina. The inhabitants.

The natives learn to work. Christian and Muss ulma n.

Is the war in Abyssinia really finished ? For the first time in history. How Italy treats her subjects. Addis Abeba past and present. ‘ At whatever cost, it must be done! ’ The Fascist programme of development.

‘ The desert and the night are our friends.’ The sex question. The principal cities in Italian East Africa.

Chapter II

How Italy rules. Our blood shall not be mixed. Italian settlement policy. Roman roads in the Fascist Empire. To what extent is Italian Ethiopia in a position to satisfy the needs of the Mother Country ?

The currency problem. Rome knows only one law.

The programme for the care of health. The Italian woman and her tasks upon Africal soil. The machinery as a whole. ,

^CHAPTER III

‘We are in Africa.’ My first dinner. IntheSiumagalle Gold-Mine. By bombing’plane to Lake Tana. Where the Queen of Sheba bathed. ‘ The most interesting zone in Old Eritrea.’ In Africa those who sleep die, those who work live. In the Witches’ Cauldron of Dankalia.

CONTENTS

The 4 Coffee Mill . 5 I forward Mussolini’s great gift of coffee to.the Winter Relief Fund. In the city of the eighty-six mosques. I turn from the beaten track. Asba Tafari t becomes Asba Littorio. First impressions of Addis Abeba. £ Brave colleague . 5 Scaremongers and scandalmongers. A glass of champagne with Ras Hailu. Where the ex-soldiers have settled. Flow the women live in Italian East Africa. Guest of Honour at a distribution of military decorations. A visit to the Cadi. Guest of the Viceroy. Contrasts in West Abyssinia. Who is suited for Africa. A record flight from Addis Abeba to Mogadiscio. In magnificent Somaliland. The historic road from Addis Abeba to Dessie. Conversations with the conquerors of Italian East Africa. The Flying Volcano.

CHAPTER IV The Economic Side

Can Italian East Africa be self-supporting in food ? Italian East Africa’s leading exports. The consumption capacity of the Abyssinian market. Is Abyssinia a rich country ? Transport and industrial development.

Epilogue..

PACK

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PACING PAGE

Placard proclaiming the ‘ Renaissance of the Empire *

Duke of Aosta.

At the Quayside in Massaua.

This is the condition in which the Italians discovered all Streets

WHEN THEY ENTERED ADDIS ABEBA EARLY IN May 1 936 . *31

The Fascio House, 4 Casa Littoria, 5 in Diredaua shortly before its completion.44

The New Fascio House, 6 Casa Littoria, 5 in Diredaua is being

EQUIPPED WITH a ClNEMA TO HOLD 1000 PERSONS ... 45

The Monday Market in Dessie, which is regularly attended by some 30,000 Natives.58

Branch of the Bank of Rome in Gondar.59

Native looking at a Show-case containing a Variety of Photo¬ graphs of Mussolini.72

Throughout Italian East Africa Soldiers and Workmen have left huge Inscriptions by the Roadside, honouring the King- Emperor, the Duce, and the Viceroy.73

Abyssinian Painters 5 * Studio 5 in Addis Abeba .... 88

The Somali Askari Saladas, who was N.C.O* of the Italian Native Guard in Ual-Ual during the critical days in the Autumn

A 4 Spaccio, 5 or General Store, which is run by Natives and is to be seen in all Towns.102

A Thief receiving a Public Flogging at the Scene of his Misdeeds —the Market Square ^ .403

The Newly-built Fascio Ho^in the main Street of Dessie . .116*

' Newly-erected Askari Village in the City of Massara . .117

The Memorial in Memory of the Historical Meeting of the Italian North and South Armies at Diredaua on 9 May 1936 . 130

Louise Diel in conversation with Native Women in Gambela, near the Sudan Frontier.131

Modern House in the New Residential Quarter ln Asmara, Capital of the Province of Eritrea.144

*7

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING

Entrance Gateway of the Diredaua Aerodrome, an important Air Junction on the Route from Djibuti to Addis Abeba .

PAGE

Emperor Meneuk’s Mausoleum in Addis Abeba

The magnificent §omali Guard outside the Viceregal Palace . 159 Louise Diel inspects the big Caproni Aircraft Factory (Eritrea) / 172

The Coptic Bishop of Aksum allows the costly Golden Crown, with its Two Lions and Figure of St. Michael, to be brought out of the Church of Mary of Zion, which no Woman is allowed to enter.

One Hundred Tons of Harrar Coffee being loaded at Diredaua to Commence its Journey via Djibuti to Hamburg . .188

This charming little Mosque was built in Harrar and opened in December 1937. j8g

The Scene from new Addis Abeba puts one in mind of a German Suburban Colony.

This Fascist Memorial was recently erected at the Junction of Three Roads near Dessee.

Marshal Graziani.

205 220

Marshal Badoguo

Marshal de Bono Louise Diel

Map of Italian East Africa

. 240 . 241 Endpaper

IN THE TEXT

Part Plan of the City of Addis Abeba

Signor Mussolini sends Coffee for Fund.

Ras Hailu’s Dedication

Marshal Graziani’s Dedication .

Marshal Badoguo’s Dedication .

Marshal de Bono’s Dedication .

the German Winter Relief .156

.182

.223

..

.231

Introduction

‘ A | AHE Empire is an accomplished fact.’

I The line joining Milan to Mogadiscio has been X drawn on the map of the world. Rome is creating for itself a new sphere by the Red Sea and building its arch of triumph as far as the Equator. A young, growing nation’s new territory can, thanks to active minds and willing hands, look to a promising future. Progress is being achieved, and work done, that is a tribute to the statesman¬ like qualities of the men who direct affairs.

Fascist imperialism rejects arbitrary methods and ruth¬ less exploitation. It is making good on the basis of the recognition, amply confirmed by experience, that the greatest victories are not won, nor rewarded, by money or the equivalent of money—if that were not so, the March on Rome, and the March from Rome, would become mile¬ stones without historic importance. Its purpose was, is, and will be, to supply a capable and diligent people with the best and quickest means of development. A nation which lacks space and essential endowments cannot progress.

None is better able to sympathize with this demand for profitable colonial possessions than we Germans, whose hearts echo the words of Herr Hitler: “ Without the addition of colonies, German territory is too small to guaran^ tee undisturbed, safe^nd permanent sustenance of the people.... Germany demands colonial equality.”

- We protest against the suppression of our freedom and rights, for we are not content to be restricted to confined Middle-European space, with its scanty supplies of raw material, any more than Italy was content to be regarded as ‘ Prisoner of the Mediterranean.’

ii

INTRODUCTION

Be it observed that the Mediterranean is a sea free to the world and that the nations whose shores it washes are free nations. la Naples—not far from the now famous place where, in October 1936, the statue of St. Augustus was unveiled in honour of the troops who started out from there to conquer an empire—the ‘ Mediterranean Lighthouse 5 keeps guard and sends nightly its warning light in the direc¬ tion taken by the steamers which cross to Sicily, the Isola Imperiale.

In the summer of 1937, for the first time on record, the big Italian manoeuvres were held on the Island of Eternal Spring. These ‘ Imperial Manoeuvres ’ provided Mussolini and the entire Italian nation with the proud certainty that Sicily, the * bridge-head of the Empire,’ could now be looked upon, as the official statement announced, as im¬ pregnable. Never again would a foreign soldier set foot on its shores. The significance of this established fact may be gained from what the Duce stated in his speech at Palermo. “ For your island one of the happiest epochs in your four thousand-year-old history is beginning. This epoch is closely bound up with an historic event which we have the great happiness of witnessing : the founding of the Second Roman Empire —Sicily represents the geographic centre of the Empire .”

That was what Mussolini, the ‘ Founder of the Empire,’ told his people on an occasion when he came into closer personal touch with them than at any previous time. He visited the peasant population, danced with the women, went down into the sulphur mines, and swam far out to sea—when will his feet touch land at Massaua or Assab ? f&hssi will a huge electric sign,' Dux ’—similar to the one on Monte Pellegrino above PalenW-sJune on the Red Sea coast to mark the gratitude of all thosAcolonists who have been enabled to establish homes on African soil instead of, as in earlier times, merely existing there as foreign settlers ?

The renaissance, after fifteen centuries, of the Roman Empire, that is Italy’s victory in East Africa, is to us, as representatives of a leading European Great Power, also of

INTRODUCTION

*3

deep significance, and we follow the progress of this hitherto undeveloped land with sympathetic interest. It is, however, very difficult for us to obtain a true picture of wjat is taking place, by reason of the many unreliable new? items, pro¬ ceeding from hostile sources, and incorr^ft reports—these do not intend to mislead but are misleading through ignor¬ ance of the true facts—which reach us from time to time.

What is Italian Ethiopia now like ? Is it possible * over there ’ to live and travel decently ? That is what everyone interested in the subject asks.

This book contains the answer. This I can supply not only candidly and honestly, but fairly comprehensively, too, as I travelled in almost every part of the country and was able to see all I wanted to see.

My readers will readily understand that I feel not a little proud, and consider myself exceedingly fortunate, to be the first of my sex in the writing profession to have set eyes upon Abyssinia since the change. I travelled alone, taking with me, in lieu of companions, a camera and a typewriter. I carried no weapons of any description. Instead, I took along a walking-stick, which at the very start I managed to leave somewhere in Asmara. I never had occasion sub¬ sequently to regret its loss. All the same, I make no pretence of being particularly courageous or even daring. I never regarded my journey in the light of an adventure, but set out with the serious motive of seeing, learning, and experi¬ encing enough of the Abyssinia of to-day to enable me to give a true description of the country.

In discussing my third visit to Africa—the first took me to Libya, the second to Tunis—Signor Mussolini said : “ You will find a good deal less ‘ Africa ’ than you expect.”

We shall see how coy^ct he was.

Chapter I The Rate Of Progress

I T was a strange African scene that we saw. What an uproar, what restless activity, what feverish haste ! It was enough to make ordinary people dizzy. If only the wheels would stop, and other movements cease, for a moment, one might have some chance of taking in the picture; but even then it would be very difficult to notice all the details.

That scene is characteristic of A.O.I. (AfHca-Orientale- Italiana, in other words Italian East Africa), where events overtake each other at remarkable speed. What happened last week, to-day is something so remote as to be almost forgotten. One might suppose that this bustling activity would lead to a good deal of confusion and chaotic con¬ ditions, and from what I have said in the opening lines of this chapter, one would be perfecdy justified in reaching such a conclusion. Let it be said at once that if we judge on that assumption, we shall be judging falsely.

Cart and lorry wheels never stop turning, and, Sundays as well as weekdays, men’s fists, hardened and calloused, hammer unceasingly. The guiding principles are—don’t stop; keep at it; work steadily on towards the goal. The object of it all is to p£ve the way, here on unprepared African soil, for the settlers who are to make the land their home. That is why the wheels go on turning and why everyone is anxious to make progress at die greatest possible speed.

Is it possible now, in these first stages of construction, for things to be any different ? In all spheres of life preparatory

16 C BEHOLD OUR NEW EMPIRE 5 —MUSSOLINf

work must first be undertaken, and, whatever it happens tc be, a start has to be made. Tasks of such difficulty can onl} be mastered with the aid of abundant energy and willingness to work":

What is being done is amazing. Statistics at first glance are of little value ; they are always out of date. To-da) we see a house in the first stages of building ; to-morrow the roof is on. Development advances with such giant strides that anyone accustomed to normal conditions and measures of time suddenly finds his thoughts unable tc keep pace with it.

Rather over a decade ago, I witnessed the great e Pros¬ perity Drive * in the United States, and I have seen in South America, too, how rapidly life can go round. But that was nothing in comparison with the drumlike rhythm which has seized the Italians in East Africa, and evidently is not going to release its hold in a hurry.

It is my wish to provide readers with an opportunity oi examining (as though through a magnifying-glass) this highly-important work of development, which has been going on now for more than eighteen months, so that they may get to know it in all its phases and features.

Here it is not so much a matter of quoting figures and record sums, although these objective, reliable witnesses, so useful as guides and indicators, should certainly not be despised. But the trouble is that they do not stay constant; all the time they are being beaten and left behind. Con¬ sequently, in forming our estimate of conditions as a whole, we should never regard statistics as wholly reliable, even ii these be the latest figures available, for one must not forget Jhat after a few months, or indeed in a much shorter time, they will be no longer accurate. Nevertheless, statistics dc provide us with something upon which to base our calcula¬ tions, and they serve a useful purpose as a starting-point from which we can proceed, without it being necessary repeatedly to call upon fresh figures for assistance.

The period which I propose to examine step by step is fundamentally important and will pass into history as the

DUKE OF AOSTA

ITALIAN EAST AFRICA TO-DAY lj

first and most momentous epoch in the creation of the Italian colonial empire, in the course of which a State, hitherto existing in very primitive circumstances, is being Europeanized.

DO YOU KNOW ITALIAN EAST AFRICA?

The old Abyssinian inland empire, which lies in North- East Africa, between the 5th and 15th degrees N. of the Equator, is described in a few words. It occupies a thirtieth part of the Black Continent (30 million square kilometres), that is it consists of approximately one million square kilometres, and is, therefore, more than twice as large as the German Reich and three times the size of Italy. Onethird of Africa (10 million square kilometres) is held by Britain, and 43 per cent (13 million square kilometres) belongs to France. A third is roughly as large as the whole of Europe. What remains is divided between Italy (3,200,000 square kilometres), Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and independent Egypt. Germany formerly possessed 2,700,000 square kilometres of African territory.

About a half of Abyssinia lies above 6000 feet above sea level. Even to-day there are mountain groups, virtually unexplored, which in the past have been inaccurately marked on the map. It has now been found, too, that the same thing can be said of many of the small rivers and places. It may be assumed that new surveys will be carried out, showing that the well-watered highland area, fed by the Atbara, the Setit, the Mareb, and the Sobat, which flows into the White Nile, has up to now been incorrectly marked. Whether the all-important Lake Tana and the the Blue Nile will also procjuce surprises of a like nature is for the present a matter of conjecture.

A network of roadless valleys and mule-tracks made it appear impossible, especially during the four-month rainy period from June to September, for an army to advance into the country. There were good reasons for it being stated in the autumn of 1935, when hostilities were com¬ menced, that the nature of the country and absence of

B

IS ‘ BEHOLD OUR NEW EMPIRE ’—MUSSOLINI

roads would provide a European expeditionary force with almost insuperable difficulties and that, even should these be overcome, the high plateau of the interior, with its rugged mountains and rocky valleys, still would represent an impregnable fortress. One needs only to fly over the land in an aeroplane to appreciate the terrible magnificence of this lonely stretch of mountains, whose highest peaks are in the region of 15,000 feet, and to look down upon the awe-inspiring Devil’s Kitchen of Dankalia, with its neigh¬ bouring giant volcanoes, caved-in craters and motionless lava-fields, in order to understand why for so long Ethiopia was permitted to remain unchallenged an independent land, and continue—after Egypt and China—as the oldest State on earth. And anyone who has personally experi¬ enced the horrors of the endless, sun-scorched plain, where water is almost non-existent and vegetation totally non¬ existent—who knows this side of ‘ Africa ’ needs not to be told that the Italian campaign was anything but a picnic. A stranger in the land has not to look far before also finding similar stretches in the proximity of the coast. In the neighbourhood of the ports of Massaua and Assab, on the Red Sea coast, few Europeans would be able to maintain good health permanently. On the Sudan frontier, too, which lies in the west of Abyssinia, not many white men could stand the climate for any long period of time.

Having started by describing those natural character¬ istics of the country which are far from being attractive, we must in justice hasten to add that there are many areas in Italian East Africa which are indescribably lovely, fertile, arui fruitful. I have often been able to compare scenes with similar ones in Switzerland or .Italian Tuscany, and there were many times when I imagined myself in the Dolomites ; for a while it was hard to realize that I was in Africa. I can easily understand that many Italians, even those who come from the Italian Riviera, feel so much at home on African soil that they have no desire to leave it again.

Abyssinia connects with Italy’s oldest colony, gained in 1885, .Eritrea (on the Red Sea) in the north, and Somaliland

(on the Indian Ocean) in the south, so that Italian East Africa now forms a united territory occupying an area of over 1,700,000 square kilometres, the longest distance between any two points being 1250 miles. Incidentally, it is interesting to recall that the former frontiers between Abyssinia and the two Italian colonies also had a total length of 1250 miles. The Italian colonial empire thus equals a sixth of France’s colonial empire.

The frontiers of Italian East Africa, apart from those which are provided by the sea, meet those of French and British Somaliland in the north-east and that of Southern Sudan in the west. Obviously, the Suez Canal, which was opened in 1869, joining the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, is of the utmost importance to Italian East Africa, and Italy could never suffer its loss.

c PRIMAVERA ASMARINA*

Italians and travellers of many other nationalities have always been loud in their praises of the Sicilian spring, which, as Primavera Siciliana , has long enjoyed a world-wide reputation. There is little doubt, too, that that reputation will last. At the same time, the splendid climate of Asmara (in Eritrea), of Dembi Dollo (Western Abyssinia), of Harar (.Primavera Hararina ), and many other places, can well compete with that of Sicily. It might be added, though, that Asmara possesses a rare air similar to that of Addis Abeba, where at an altitude of about 8000 feet one would, of course, expect it. Many Europeans, myself among them, do not feel particularly well in these two cities and suffer from palpitation of the heart and other inconveniences associated with height. Th^ sudden changes in temperature after sunrise and sunset also have a bad effect on many people. It is a slow process accustoming oneself to nights which are very cold, mornings and evenings which are rather cool and to middle-days with summer heat.

We have heard and read a lot about the tropical fever climate of the low-lying marshy areas and primeval forests of Abyssinia, and of the ‘great 5 rainy period (June to

October)—the ‘ small ’ rainy period is during April and May—of which the traveller who starts his journey at the end of October is supposed to discover no trace. I made many notes of these reports before starting out on my journey, but soon discovered on my arrival in the country how one may be misled by them. When I reached Addis Abeba at the end of November, it was raining in torrents, and for days the deluge continued, making me bitterly regret my unwise action in leaving my umbrella at home. On the other hand, I found that I was extremely lucky in taking my tropical helmet to Massaua, which I did despite the many assurances, verbal and written, that no European wore a casco there. How it is possible to exist in that hot, humid greenhouse atmosphere without one, I cannot imagine. According to other reports, the malaria boundary was reached at about 3000 feet. I also found that that statement had no foundation in fact.

Of the three climatic belts which encircle Abyssinia I only got to know two. These were the first, between the alti¬ tudes of 3500-5000 feet, with an average shade temperature of 75-95 degrees, and the second with an average temperature of 55-80 degrees, situated at 5500-10,000 feet. I made practically no acquaintance with the third zone, which lies between the altitudes of 10,000 and 14,000 feet. Of certain short mountain expeditions, and of my travels by land and air, I do not wish to speak at present.

There is no question that the climate in the higher regions is easier to support than that of the plains. I always felt at my best at altitudes between 4000 feet and 5500 feet, particularly in well-wooded districts. On many occasions when we were travelling by motor we met with tropical, sub-tropical, and European vegetation on the same day.

One lives according to the sun-dial. At six in the moming, day suddenly breaks, and from minute to minute you see it getting lighter. At six o’clock in the evening, with equal suddenness, darkness spreads. This abrupt change from day to night, and from night to day, seems to me symbolical of African life and movement. We miss the transition periods, the hours of dawn and dusk, the budding and slowly fading periods of life. Man, beast, and plant, suddenly appear to us in their full maturity, and with equal suddenness and rapidity they grow old and perish. The 'tropics bestow their gifts in lavish abundance, and snatch them back with frightful grueSomeness, almost before there has been a chance to appreciate their virtues.

It will not suffice to describe the climate here as * fright¬ fully hot 5 and there as c pleasantly warm 5 ; it is a climate too varied to permit of such brief descriptions. Why, for instance, should a robust, healthy Italian during his twoyear stay in Italian East Africa lose sixteen strong, healthy teeth ? So many similar, and often distinctly unpleasant, symptoms can only be set down to the climate—scientific investigations are now being carried out in this direction. In any case, it is clear that the European is strongly in¬ fluenced, both mentally and physically, by the African soil and its climate. He himself seldom stops to think of this matter, but we find him one day complaining that he is c no longer the man he used to be. 3 Actually, it is not 4 he 9 who is at fault, but c it, 5 the climate, which is beginning to take effect. About this matter I have more to say later on.

In early days, the Italian Government in Eritrea and Somaliland was already maintaining numerous, big and small, meteorological stations. Since the spring of 1937, six central observatories have been established in the principal cities of Italian East Africa: Addis Abeba, Gimma, Gondar, Asmara, Harar, and Mogadiscio. In addition, thirty main stations and roughly half a hun¬ dred smaller ones have been started. Professor Fantoli, organizer and head of the # colonial meteorological service, personally covered 7500 miles between March and July, 1937. He stated that according to his observations most rain would occur in the south-west zone of the high plateau, that is in the neighbourhood of Gore. Information of that type is of the utmost value in determining the best sites for raising new crops and starting new settlements. The fact that very active work is being undertaken in this particular sphere helps one to gain some idea of the thorough methods which are being employed in Italian East Africa.

THE INHABITANTS

I have not yet picked up two books which were in agree¬ ment about the size of the native population in Abyssinia. As a national census has never been taken in Abyssinia, it is quite impossible to say definitely whether 5 million or 20 million inhabitants is nearer the truth. No doubt, the Italians, too, are finding difficulties in compiling statistics of this nature. In the various districts a reasonably accurate estimate can be arrived at by counting the number of tukuls (the round huts of the natives). But to go farther, and count, family by family, the scattered peasant population, is an infinitely more difficult matter, firstly, for the reason that travel itself is anything but easy in the remote districts and, secondly, because many tribes are constantly on the wander. Moreover, large numbers of the peasant popula¬ tion spend several days each week on their way to the nearest market place to dispose of their produce on market days.

According to an Italian estimate of 30 July 1936 the total number of inhabitants in Italian East Africa was 7,600,000. These are split up as follows :

Eritrea

. 1 million

Somaliland .

. 1 >3 millions

Amharaland

* 2

Galla-Sidama Zone

Harar Province

Addis Abeba District

• 3 >>

The modem historical and ethnological student would find a rich and as yet practically untouched field for his investigations, and the language expert would be in his dement. There are not less than fifty different languages and a large number of widely differing dialects, which have not yet received the close attention of the expert. Great difficulties have stood in the way of visiting all districts for the purpose of thoroughly studying their inhabitants, and explorations of this kind were often undertaken at con¬ siderable personal risk, owing to the fact that each prince (Ras) and headman (Shoum) was a law unto himself, and treated the ‘ intruder, 5 even if the latter were fully furnished with official documents, as mood and avarice dictated. He might be permitted to stay on, in which case he would probably be very badly treated, or he might be forced immediately to turn back.

Naturally, all this has been altered, and soon the world of learning will be able to decide not only whether it be true that the Queen of Sheba indeed had some connection with the ‘ Royal House of Solomon, 5 but also whether there is any truth in the claim that a third of the Abyssinian population is comprised of Semitic Amharas whose ancestors are said to have settled in the land 600 years b.c. Presently, too, we should be in a position to know more about the numbers and characteristics of the Somalis, Gallas, and Danakils, who belong to a superior class of native and are said to make up the remaining two-thirds of the population.

At the commencement of the war, Italy made known— and she has given practical proof of this since—that she had no desire to interfere with native differences and century-old quarrels ;. all her subjects were to receive like treatment. For the Hamitic Gallas, who in ferocity leave nothing to be desired, a better time is now starting, and they take advan¬ tage of every opportunity of having their revenge on the Amharas who for years were their oppressors. But the latter, clever, warlike, and grasping, are well able to take care of themselves and still understand how to instil fear into their foes. Italy is steadily and relentlessly putting into practice the declaration given by Mussolini on 9 May 1936 :

4 1 want to create for all Ethiopian races an Empire of civilization and humanity. 5

The natives have now begun to feel that in might and greatness Mussolini and his principal lieutenants are a match for the man whose name, to-day as much as at any time, means to them everything that is mighty and powerful

—that of Emperor Menelik. For many years after his death, which occurred about a quarter of a century ago, the magic of his name held the disunited tribes in some kind of check. The last Negus, Haile Selassie, was not a bom leader, and he failed to gain the unconditional support of his people in the hour of danger.