World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseSan Marino, an Italian microstate, was ruled by the Sammarinese Fascist Party since the 1920s, but nevertheless managed to remain neutral during the war. Three incidents of war did take place within her borders in 1944, however. The first took place on 26 Jun 1944, on which date British Royal Air Force bombed rail facilities in San Marino (killing 63) after mistakenly believing that the Germans were using Sammarinese rail to transport weapons. The second took place on 31 Jul 1944, when German officers demanded entry. Finally, in Sep 1944, German troops entered the country, leading to an Allied invasion on 17 Sep 1944; Allied occupation would last until Nov 1944. Despite these three events, the country was still viewed as a safe haven for thousands of Italian civilians; in fact, the country hosted over 100,000 Italian refugees during the war, at a time when the country's already-small population of 14,500 (in 1939) had gone down to as few as 12,000 in the mid-1940s. After the war, San Marino became the world's first democratically elected communist government, which held office between 1945 and 1957.

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