Pietro Koch
Encyclopedia
Pietro Koch was an Italian
soldier and leader of the Banda Koch, a group notorious for its anti-partisan activity in the Republic of Salò.
The son of a German Navy
officer, Koch was born in Benevento
. Koch served as a lieutenant in the Grenadiers where he was unpopular with his fellow soldiers and was dismissed from the army in 1939 for insulting a superior officer. Recalled on the eve of the war, he saw continuous service until the amristice of September 1943, after which he moved to Florence
.
Settling in the Social Republic
in the north of Italy, Koch joined the 'Special Service of Republican Police' led by Tullio Tamburini
. It was in January 1944 that he established Banda Koch as a special task force charged with hunting down partisans and rounding up deportees for the Germans. Koch came under the protection of Herbert Kappler
, SD
chief in Koch's base of Rome
, and as such had a free hand to employ whatever tactics he saw fit with Banda Koch, which soon became a by-word for cruelty and violence. Koch was given his own prisons and torture chambers and continued his activity in Florence and then Milan
following the fall of Rome to the Allies
.
Feared even by Benito Mussolini
for his violent extremism, Il Duce eventually had his close ally Renzo Montagna arrest Koch for his excesses in October 1944. He soon fell into Allied hands and was convicted of six charges at the High Court. He was executed at Rome's Forte Bravetta aged 26.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
soldier and leader of the Banda Koch, a group notorious for its anti-partisan activity in the Republic of Salò.
The son of a German Navy
German Navy
The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...
officer, Koch was born in Benevento
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
. Koch served as a lieutenant in the Grenadiers where he was unpopular with his fellow soldiers and was dismissed from the army in 1939 for insulting a superior officer. Recalled on the eve of the war, he saw continuous service until the amristice of September 1943, after which he moved to Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
.
Settling in the Social Republic
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
in the north of Italy, Koch joined the 'Special Service of Republican Police' led by Tullio Tamburini
Tullio Tamburini
Tullio Tamburini was an Italian soldier, adventurer and fascist official.Born in Prato, Tamburini had been a schoolteacher in Florence but was sacked from his job. He then made his way as a petty criminal before serving in the Italian Army during the First World War without distinction...
. It was in January 1944 that he established Banda Koch as a special task force charged with hunting down partisans and rounding up deportees for the Germans. Koch came under the protection of Herbert Kappler
Herbert Kappler
Herbert Kappler , was the head of German police and security services in Rome during World War II...
, SD
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
chief in Koch's base of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and as such had a free hand to employ whatever tactics he saw fit with Banda Koch, which soon became a by-word for cruelty and violence. Koch was given his own prisons and torture chambers and continued his activity in Florence and then Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
following the fall of Rome to the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
.
Feared even by Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
for his violent extremism, Il Duce eventually had his close ally Renzo Montagna arrest Koch for his excesses in October 1944. He soon fell into Allied hands and was convicted of six charges at the High Court. He was executed at Rome's Forte Bravetta aged 26.