C.P.(Gen)Doc.1.E.1.
Preamble
In the third paragraph, add after the words “under the pressure of military events”: the following: “and of responsible elements of Italian public opinion”.
[Page 684]Justification
The Brazilian Delegation is convinced that the pressure of military events was not solely responsible for the overthrow of the Fascist regime in Italy. There were in Italy a considerable number of antifascist elements, who suffered under the yoke of the regime and had long entertained hopes of liberation. Military events simply furnished them with an opportunity to act.
It is precisely because a considerable portion of the Italian people understood that their cause was bound up with that of the democratic powers, that Italy was able to contribute “with substantial military forces”—as recognised by the Potsdam Declaration—to the defeat of Germany.