18 April 1945: Turin general strike

On this day, 18 April 1945, workers in Turin, Italy, walked out on strike in protest at Nazi German occupation. Workers and resistance fighters distributed leaflets the previous night calling for a walkout. On the morning of April 18, factories, workshops, shops, markets, schools, transport and postal and telephone services were all shut down.Some workers, like at Fiat Mirafiori, occupied their plants, while thousands of others took to the streets. A huge march went through Piazza Sabotino, headed by women carrying Italian flags and placards, calling on the fascists to surrender, and singing the "Red Flag".One eyewitness, Giorgio Amendola, reported: "What impressed me was the confidence of the crowd, the firm and serene courage and an air of celebration and joy, everyone was happy and seemed to be saying: you see how strong we are. The fascists did not show up. In fact, the whole neighborhood was in our hands".Just over a week later, on April 27, partisans entered the city and by the following day the last remaining fascist troops had fled.Learn more about the Italian resistance in our podcast episodes 77-80: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e77-80-italian-resistance/Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History