League of Fiume
The League of Fiume (
The organization was initially meant to help all oppressed nationalities in their struggle for political dignity and recognition, establishing links to many movements on various continents, but despite the links to various struggling groups across the international scene, it never found the necessary external support for success. Its most notable legacies remain today the Regency of Carnaro's recognition of the Soviet Union, first state entity in the world to have done so, as well as the recognition of the independence of the Irish Free State before the government of Great Britain had done so, mostly thanks to the pressures of minister Henry Furst.[2][3]
Aims and aspirations
The project for the creation of a League of Oppressed Peoples had deep roots in D’Annunzio's thought, for he had conceived of his Fiuman endeavor in "universal" terms almost from the beginning. The comandante was not content to see the scope of his action limited to the city of Fiume, and he had established contacts with other foreign movements very early on.
The guiding spirit of the Lega di Fiume was Léon Kochnitzky, the Belgian poet who had come to Fiume late in the fall of 1919, left the city during the crisis of December, and then returned in January to become the head of the Fiuman International Relations Bureau (Ufficio Relazioni Esteriori). This institution, acting with scarce finances and only a handful of employees, attempted to enlist the support of foreign movements – and foreign powers – in behalf of the Fiuman "cause". At first, Kochnitzky (with the assistance of Eugenio Coselschi, Ludovico Toeplitz, Giovanni Bonmartini, Henry Furst and others) was content to gather statements of support from the representatives of movements sympathetic to D’Annunzio. By early spring there was abundant evidence that an "anti-League of Nations" would be able to count upon a wide range of support, and Kochnitzky decided to request the creation of a formal organization. There was good reason to be optimistic about the league as one learns from a long series of
Kochnitzky saw the league as the vehicle for shattering the old order and establishing a world governed by the principles expounded in Italy and Life. It was, then, part of the sharp turn to the Left that characterized the policies of the Command during this period, and Kochnitzky significantly maintained that it was essential to acquire the support of the Soviet Union for the Lega. He considered this inevitable, claiming that Communist Russia, "like all spiritually alive elements of our time", could not fail to recognize the value of the new "International". Further, Kochnitzky urged D’Annunzio to support the Hungarian Communists and to issue an attack against
Kochnitzky's conception of the Lega di Fiume was in line with the design for the Republic of the Carnaro. Both committed the Command to an alliance with radical socialist forces, and both demonstrated D’Annunzio's willingness to embrace the fundamental tenets of the European Left. Consequently, the plans for the league were subject to the same pressures as the planes for the Carta del Carnaro: as the internal position of Command was weakened by the attacks of the National Council, and when attempts to ally with Socialists failed (whether within Italy or on a European scale, as in the case of the talks with Vodovosoff), the project was threatened. Kochnitzky was aware of these problems, and explicitly linked the destiny of the league to the political situation in Fiume: “I know very well,” he told the commander on 29 March that "we can run into grave difficulties, given the internal situation in Fiume, and the numerous expulsions of the working-class elements...".
The league was placed in serious jeopardy by the events of early April 1920, and by Easter, Kochnitzky's messages to D’Annunzio were tinged with apprehension. On
Represented peoples
With genuinely global aspirations, the League of Fiume aimed to unite all of the following:
I. – Representatives of oppressed peoples: Fiume of Italy, the Islands,
II. – Representatives of the countries unjustly damaged by the Treaty of Versailles:
III. – Delegations of parties and groups sympathizing with "Fiumanism", mainly Italian, French, English and American.[7]
Ireland
In 1919 the revolutionary
References
- ^ Claudia Salaris, Alla festa della rivoluzione. Artisti e libertari con D'Annunzio a Fiume, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2002.
- ^ Renzo De Felice, D'Annunzio politico (1918-1928), Roma-Bari, Giuseppe Laterza e figli, 1978
- ^ Enrico Galmozzi, Il soggetto senza limite. Interpretazione del dannunzianesimo, Milano, 1994
- ^ Michael Arthur Ledeen, D'Annunzio: The First Duce, The League of Fiume, Piscataway, Transaction Publishers, 2002, pp. 177-179
- ^ Claudia Salaris, Alla festa della rivoluzione. Artisti e libertari con D'Annunzio a Fiume, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2002, pp. 42-43
- ^ Claudia Salaris, Alla festa della rivoluzione. Artisti e libertari con D'Annunzio a Fiume, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2002, pp. 42-43
- ^ De Felice, D'Annunzio politico 1918-1938, cit., pp. 73-74
- ^ "An Irishman's Diary on Gabriele d'Annunzio – the 'John the Baptist of Fascism' and would-be IRA quartermaster". The Irish Times.