5. While Italy fought the Jews therein were safe from deportation, for the most part
Italian Jews were not subject to deportation to the Nazi concentration camps, as were those of the nations of Europe which the Germans overran. Stateless Jews, of which there were many, were not protected by the Italians, though in many cases sympathetic officials turned a blind eye to their statelessness. In France, the Vichy government was supportive of the Nazis in rounding up French Jews, but their Italian ally was not. The situation remained static as North Africa, then Sicily, fell to the Allies. In 1943, the Allies landed in Italy and the situation rapidly deteriorated for the Italian government.
In late July the Grand Council of Fascism – Italy’s de facto ruling council – stripped Mussolini of most of his dictatorial powers and placed control of Italy’s military in the hands of the King. Mussolini was deposed by the King on July 26, and placed in custody. In September, with the Allies on the Italian mainland fighting both Germans and Italians, Italy agreed to an armistice. By then the German military presence in Italy had more than tripled. Italian partisan units fought German troops, and each other. Following Italy’s surrender, the national infrastructure in German-occupied areas came under German control.