Italian Occupation of Addis Ababa: 1936-1941

Though it never became a truly 'Colonial' city, with the European dominated markets, infrastructure and administration characteristic of other African capitals, Addis Ababa was occupied by Mussolini's Fascist Italy from 1936 until 1941; a colonial effort which left an indelible imprint on the city.

In the first decades of the 20th century, Addis Ababa grew slowly but steadily and became by the mid-1930's the nation's largest city, with a population of 300,000 (Tarver 186). It was also Ethiopia's most important commercial center, as nearly all export/import trade with the interior reached the highlands via the Addis Ababa-Djibouti rail way.

This concentration of population and the economic and political advantages of its location made Addis Ababa an overwhelmingly primate city (Asmara, Eritrea was the second largest city in 1938 with 98,000 people) (Tarver 186). Ethiopia's capital was thus a natural target for capture and colonization by Mussolini and his Italian army in their fascist romp through East Africa in May of 1936. The Italians saught not only revenge for their humiliation at Adwa in 1896, but a slice of the 'African Pie' that had been divied up by other European nations. The dictator dreamed of an Italian East African Empire stretching from Somalia in the south to Eritrea in the north with Addis Ababa postitioned centrally as a colonial administration center (see map of the Horn of Africa).

The Ethiopian military was no match for the conquering Italians and on May 2, 1936, Emperor Haile Selassie I, the Rastafarian successor to Menelik's throne, fled Addis Ababa, anticipating the Italian invasion of the capital (Pankhurst). With the Emperor and top government officials absent, panic and anarchy struck the city. As the invasion loomed, Addis Ababa was wracked by looting and rioting for three days, in what historians suggest was a concerted effort by Ethiopian residents to 'deny' its riches from the Italians. When the Italian Occupying forces finally marched into Addis Ababa on May 5, 1936, many of the foreign legations and merchants welcomed them with open arms, seeking refuge from the looting and rioting (Pankhurst).

Mussolini's first objective as commander of occupied Addis Ababa was to de-Ethiopianize the city, so it could be rebuilt as a colonial capital. He ordered the removal of all symbols of Ethiopia's historic independence, including famous statues of Menelik II and the Lion of Judah (Pankhurst). He also demanded the looting of the great Obelisk of Aksum and had many historic paintings, crowns, and other ornaments of the nobility removed and shipped to Rome (Pankhurst-pt. 2).

The ultimate goal of the fascist leadership of the occupation was to restructure Addis Ababa and colonize it with a surplus from the overpopulated homeland. The only remnants of this scheme are 'suburban' settlements on the outskirts of Addis Ababa at Bishofu and Halata, both of which lacked the infrastructure and amenities to attract many Italians or other foreigners (Pankhurst).

Though the envisioned settlement of the East African Empire by the general population of Italy never materialized, over 130,000 Italians, mostly temporary laborers, lived and worked in Ethiopia during the occupation (Pankhurst). This labor pool, along with an equal proportion of Ethiopian workers, constructed dozens of European style offices, shops, flats and houses. Massive efforts were also made to construct roads in the city and throughout the empire between 1936 and 1937 by 60,000 Italians (Pankhurst). After 1937, the crews, consisting by then of only 10,000 Italians and 50,000 Ethiopians, set to work on connecting Addis Ababa to Italian port cities at Mogadishu, Somalia and Massawa, Eritrea (Pankhurst).

The majority of construction projects and Italian investment were centered in a few areas of Addis Ababa deemed 'Italian' as part of an apartheid-like plan to geographically segregate the races within the city. Casa INCIS (Instituto Nazionale per Case degli Impiegati delli Stato) named for the managing corporation of the city under the fascist government, was to be an Italian-only sector of the city, housing state officials. Another Italian sector was the Casa Popolare or 'worker's flats' (Pankhurst). This city plan was drafted and partially implemented in accordance with a strict social policy of segregation that included laws disallowing intermarriage and even informal contact between Ethiopians and Italians (Pankhurst). Even public facilities such such as buses and vans were segregated throughout the city.

The Italians didn�t locate any large industrial operations in Addis Ababa, but they did manage to disrupt the local economy (Pankhurst). Italian Economists feared that cheaply produced goods, imported from Addis Ababa, would undermine the homeland economy, so no factories were built. But the xenophobic fascists altered trade by pushing well-patronized Indian and French businesses out of the city. They also banned Ethiopians from the central market area and established a 'new market, Addis Merkato, west of the Arada. (Pankhurst-pt.2).

The Italian occupation left a lasting legacy of improved housing and amenities in the 'Italian' neighborhoods, which after the city's liberation on April 6, 1941 became wealthy residential and commercial zones for the Ethiopian elite. A new dam, constructed by crews of Italians and Ethiopians at Gafarsa, provided power and water for a grid of blocks near the Arada (Pankhurst).

To this day, Ethiopians can thank the Italians for many of Addis Ababa�s modern facilities and infrastructure, including a large part of the paved road network, which was constructed during the occupation. Six years after Mussolini marched into the city, most Italians had fled the country and the benefactors of the Occupation were the native Ethiopian citizens of Addis Ababa.

Read about Post-World War II Urbanization in Addis Ababa

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