Indro Montanelli, Italian journalist and historian (d. 2001)
Indro Alessandro Raffaello Schizogene Montanelli Knight Grand Cross OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [ˈindro montaˈnɛlli]; 22 April 1909 – 22 July 2001) was an Italian journalist, historian and writer. He was one of the fifty World Press Freedom Heroes according to the International Press Institute.A volunteer for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and an admirer of Benito Mussolini's dictatorship, Montanelli had a change of heart in 1943, and joined the liberal resistance group Giustizia e Libertà but was discovered and arrested along with his wife by Nazi authorities in 1944. Sentenced to death, he was able to flee to Switzerland the day before his scheduled execution by firing squad thanks to a secret service double-agent.After the Second World War, Montanelli for many decades distinguished himself as a staunch conservative columnist, and in 1977 the terrorist group Brigate Rosse tried to assassinate him. He was also a popular novelist and historian, especially remembered for his monumental Storia d'Italia (History of Italy) in 22 volumes. He worked as editor of Silvio Berlusconi-owned newspaper il Giornale for many years but was opposed to Berlusconi's political ambitions, and quit as editor of il Giornale in 1994.In the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Montanelli came under scrutiny for his racist attitudes and actions. While working at the fascist magazine Civiltà Fascista, Montanelli wrote many articles expressing racist ideas, declaring the superiority of the white race, and supporting colonialist ideals. While stationed in Italian Ethiopia during the Ethiopian War, Montanelli had allegedly bought and sexually abused a 12-year old Eritrean girl, whom he later sold to a general. Protestors defaced a statue erected for him in Milan, and demanded it be removed.