In 1929, after nearly 20 years of
facing resistance in Libya, Benito Mussolini, the Fascist ruler of Italy,
appointed General Graziani as colonial governor to put down the military resistance
of Libyan nationalists led by Omar Mukhtar. Graziani was ruthless, and
fortunately he was arrested when Mussolini was toppled. His foremost atrocity
was putting over a million Libyan civilians in a camp in a desert, with the
intent to starve them in retaliation for the guerilla fighters objecting to the
Italian occupation. The film, The
Lion of the Desert (1980), faithfully depicts the historical events
that took place in Libya from 1920 to 1931. The sheer arbitrariness other than
from brute force in the occupation and the impotence of the League of Nations
are salient themes in the film.
The full essay is at "The Lion in the Desert."
