Italy Invaded Sarandë and Gave it a New Name

The new Porto Edda honored Mussolini’s daughter

Edda Mussolini, courtesy of Wikipedia

Italy invaded Albania in April 1939 to establish a protectorate. Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini strove to expand his imperial ambitions and dominate the Balkans. He wanted to stop the Germans from expanding their reach along the Adriatic and Ionian seas.

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During World War I, Italy had leverage over Albania for political and economic reasons. Albanians attacked Italy’s holdings and drove them out with the Vlora War of 1920.

With the onslaught of World War II, Italy again sought to control Albania. Along with Germany and Japan, Italy was an important member of the Axis powers. Mussolini, known as Il Duce, was the leader of Italy’s Fascist regime.

Italy invades Albania

Italy again invaded Albania in June 1939 and occupied the country until 1943. At the time of the invasion, the Italian Government gave the city of Sarandë (Saranda) a new name: Porto Edda. Edda was the cherished daughter and first child of Mussolini.

Edda was born in 1910 in the commune of Forli, Romagna, northern Italy. At the time, her father was editor of the pro-war newspaper Il Popolo d’Italia in Milan. Edda lived with her mother while Mussolini worked in Milan. Mussolini became the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922, which required the family to move to Rome in 1929.

As a young woman, Edda bore a rebellious streak. She had a difficult time meeting men, as the men she did meet feared her. They were alarmed by her strong outward nature and that her father was the Prime Minister.

Eventually, she met Galeazzo Ciano, an advocate for her father’s Fascism. They married within five months of Edda’s move to Rome. They lived briefly in Shanghai, China, where her husband was appointed Italian Foreign Minister.

World War II

The Axis and Allied powers fought each other, bringing about the Great War. By default, Edda Mussolini played an observable role in the War. She supported her father’s Fascism to the point that she earned the label of Lady of the Axis. She was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, July 24, 1939. Her prominence in the War represented the image of Italian dominance in the Balkans. During the War, Edda volunteered with the Italian Red Cross.

July 24, 1939, on en.Wikipedia.org

In 1941, Edda was serving on the Italian ship Po (interesting name since the word for Yes in Albanian is Po), which was outfitted as a hospital.

British aircraft bombed the ship, sinking it and its occupants. Edda was rescued by another ship. This occurred off the coast of Vlora, a city north of Saranda.

Ciano flees to Germany

Later, in 1943, Edda’s husband, Galeazzo Ciano, voted to remove Mussolini from power. Fearing for his life, he fled to Germany, where he felt sure he would be safe. However, Hitler considered him a traitor to Fascism and arrested him.

Edda attempted to rescue her husband by offering Hitler Ciano’s diaries. She blackmailed Hitler, saying the diaries were in the hands of someone who would expose them to the public if anything happened to Ciano. These diaries contained secrets that the Germans wanted.

Ciano had become disillusioned with the Axis powers and had worked secretly to remove Italy from this alliance. He tried and failed to align Italy with the Allied forces. He then participated in a plot to imprison Mussolini.

Hitler freed Mussolini from his prison, and the family attempted to flee to South America. When this failed, it was inevitable that Mussolini would be tried for treason, with little hope of winning.

Edda flees to Switzerland

This time, Edda offered the diaries to both her father and Hitler to spare her husband’s certain death. This didn’t work. Edda then escaped to Switzerland with the diaries. She crossed the Swiss border with the diaries wrapped in pajamas around her waist. The guards assumed she was pregnant and did not search her.

Edda was not welcomed as a refugee in Switzerland. She sequestered herself in a convent. She hoped to escape once again, this time to Great Britain, where she wanted to publish the diaries. This hope dwindled to nothing.

The American, Allen Dulles, covertly acting with the newly formed OSS (precursor to the CIA), knew about the diaries. He also learned where Edda was hiding. He arranged to free Edda from her hiding place and convince her to offer the diaries to the Allies. She managed to escape and photograph the diary pages.

These pages became the major evidence against Hitler at the Nuremberg Trials. This clandestine operation became one of the greatest rescue missions of the Italian involvement in World War II. This honor goes to Edda Mussolini, and the fact that a Mussolini turned state’s evidence on Italy is in itself an unbelievable coup. Following the fall of the fascist regime, the name “Porto Edda” was discarded, and the city returned to its original name, Sarandë.

Warren R. Johnson

On Medium: @WarrenRJohnson

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