Milan: World War II Walking Tour (Resistance, Shoah...)

Explore Milan’s World War II history on a walking tour. Visit sites that were significant during the war, learn about the Italian Resistance, and hear about the Holocaust in Italy.
Begin your walking tour in Milan and learn about the city’s history during World War II. Discover how Milan became a major theater of political violence, repression, and resistance during the Second World War.

From the 1920s onward, the city served as a laboratory for Mussolini's fascism: industrialized, modern, and strategically important, it embodied both the regime's showcase and its control. Major infrastructure projects, such as the Central Station inaugurated in 1931, were designed to impress and assert the power of the fascist state. But very quickly, Milan also became a hotbed of intellectual, working-class, and political opposition.

After the fall of Mussolini on July 25, 1943, and the armistice of September 8, northern Italy was occupied by the German army and administered by the Italian Social Republic, a fascist puppet regime. Milan then entered its darkest period: Allied bombings, mass arrests, torture, deportations, and public executions. The city became a nerve center of the Holocaust in Italy, particularly with the convoys departing from the secret platform at the train station for Auschwitz and the concentration camps.

At the same time, Milan was also one of the hearts of the Italian Resistance. Underground networks, workers' strikes, the illegal press, industrial sabotage, and the central role of women and students: the fight against Nazifascism was multifaceted. This route follows this history through specific places, sometimes monumental, sometimes discreet, which recount the different phases of the war: fascism, persecution, deportation, the Resistance, and finally, liberation.

Depending the day, you will follow a different itinerary:
-On Monday, the tour includes the Shoah Memorial
-On Friday, the tour includes the Casa della Memoria
-On the remaining days, the tour includes both sites

Walking in Milan today is to walk through a city deeply marked by this memory.

To guarantee availability book as soon as possible. Early booking is worth consideration especially if you planning the trip during high season like public holidays or weekends.

This excursion you can cancel with no cost up to 24 hours before the start of the trip. If you cancel it after 24 hours or not show up on the excursion you will still be charged the full price of the activity. Being late on pick-up or departure will be considered as not showing up.