African Students From Eritrea Who Stood Against Italian Fascism

Two Eritrean students, Abraham Deboch and Mogos Asghedom, came to the University of Bologna in the 1930s to study — expected to become loyal servants of colonial Italy. Instead, they encountered anti-fascist ideas — and those ideas changed everything.

When they returned to East Africa, they refused to serve the colonial administration. On February 19th, 1937, in Addis Ababa, they carried out a daring attack on Italian Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani — a direct strike against fascist power.

The retaliation was horrific. Over the next three days, Italian forces and militias massacred civilians throughout Addis Ababa. Historians estimate that between 19,000 and 30,000 people were killed — nearly 20% of the city’s population at the time.

That same night, 62 young Ethiopian intellectuals at Alem Bekagn prison were executed. Later, believing that Deboch and Asghedom had been sheltered by the Debre Libanos Monastery, Italian troops massacred 297 monks and 23 attendants there.

This tragedy is remembered as Yekatit 12 (የካቲት 12) — a day of mourning and a symbol of resistance against colonial oppression.

Their courage changed history — and Bologna still remembers them.