I just recently learned this, so wondering if anyone else knows: In what part of Europe, following WWII, was there a serious movement advocating that it become one of the States in the United States?

--Marv

I think I remember reading that people in Sicily were rather keen on joining the U.S.A. post-World War II.

We watched that show, too!

In the 1959 British film "The Mouse that Roared", with Peter Sellers, the Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides to solve its economic problems by declaring war on the United States with the aim of getting rich on foreign aid after its inevitable defeat (well, it worked for Germany). They send an invasion force to New York, armed with longbows, which arrives during a nuclear drill that has cleared the streets, there's nobody around to surrender to, and to their horror it appears that they may have won.

That was a great movie, and I always enjoyed Peter Sellers.

Sure never knew about Sicily wanting to be part of the US though.

Wow, you folks are fabulous. It took only a couple minutes for somebody to pop right up with the correct answer.

I saw it on a TV show (history channel?) about the "Mafia" and their influence in the USA and Sicily. Shortly after WWII, the communist party in Italy seemed to make strong inroads in Italian politics. A general election was held in 1946, in which it was thought the communists might win.

That prospect caused a lot of concern, especially in Sicily, and especially on the part of the Mafia. There were public demonstrations in which it was advocated that, if the communists won, that Sicily ceed from Italy and become a new State, as a part of the US.

The communists lost, so it didn't happen. But interesting nonetheless.

--Marv

Well, this story is a little bit more complexed. In 1943, the allies are about to invade Sicily from Tunisia. The war in Europe is about to end, it is just a question of time, the Victory is already secured, it is now just a "formality". At the White House the Govnmt staff is already working on the "next" war, that is the cold war. The allies armies and the Soviet armies are in big competition in the crush of Nazi/fascist forces. The americans are worried to free most of Europe BEFORE the Soviet armies, cause were the russians arrive, that becomes part of the Soviet Empire.

In the prediction of the future cold war, the US wanted to secure the mediterrenean area under their controll, as the british had done in the 19th century. The US were to come out of WWII as the first world power, the UK were just "history" as far as being a world power and was not any more capable to controll the Mediterrenean through its colonies of Malta, Gibilterra and Egypt. The US saw the opportunity to do so through Sicily.

In 1943, the most important mafia bosses are in prison with life's sentences. It is the case for instance for Lucky Luciano. The CIA will secretely make some deals with them. In exchange of freedom, the mafia bosses will create a separatist party in order to make Sicily a mediterrenean Puerto Rico. Lucky Luciano sees its life's sentence in jail transformed into a forced exile away from the US. He comes back to Italy, and with his mafia's fellows start to organize the future 51th State of America, that is Sicily. The US have admitted after the war to have received the help of Mafia in the battle for Sicily. In reality, the US army would have freed Sicily even without that unecessary help. However, in each sicilian city or village freed by the allies, the US officers would set a mafia man as mayor.

The plans for an american Sicily were abandoned at the end of 1945, when it became clear that the voters in continental Italy would have brought comunism into power, bringing the Soviet influence right in the middle of the mediterrenean. The only way to avoid that, was to make sure sicilians would vote massively against comunist party, since the sicilians votes were under the controll of mafia that is exactly what happened. And for that reason, not only sicily got to stay italian, but Mafia received for 50 years the big support of the CIA, the Vatican, and the Democrazia Cristiana (the biggest italian party, center right oriented). In fact, for 50 years the only reason why Italy never became comunist (during the seventies, the italian communist party was the biggest in west europe with 45% of voters) was thanks to the votes coming from Sicily...

Nowadays, mafia doesn't have any more any sort of support from the US, and neither from the Vatican, but it is still powerfull in Sicily. However, the end of cold war has weakened its position. I am personally happy that Italy never became comunist, and I do accept that in real life and in REAL politic, fairplay is not always a good answer, however Sicily paid a great price, because Mafia ruined the economy and the self confidence of sicilians people. Since in everything there is always a begining and an end, I hope that, the world context who supported the Mafia being no longer there, mafia is now approching its natural end...

See Eleanor Clark's 1952 book of essays, ROME AND A VILLA.

The piece titled "Salvatore Giuliano: The Education of a Bandit" gets into this topic as a sideline. Giuliano, a notorious criminal of the postwar years, was involved in the Sicilian "statehood" movement. It says as much about the romatic - and reverent - image many Europeans had of America in those years as anything.

ROME AND A VILLA is a great read - still in print after 55 years. Clark was the wife of novelist/poet Robert Penn Warren, and she writes about Rome with incredible knowledge and sensitivity. I would not recommend it as a first or even 5th book about Rome - but for anyone already baptised, it's a great "confirmation."

How interesting, American footprint across the Atlantic! Then again, the McDonalds and Starbucks are already there.

Just kidding.