Board of Trustees, Boston University

The Ethiopian Intelligentsia and the Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935-1941

Author(s): Bahru Zewde
Source: The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2 (1993), pp. 271-
295
Published by: Boston University African Studies Center
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 The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2 (1993) 271

THE ETHIOPIAN INTELLIGENTSIA

AND THE ITALO-ETHIOPIANWAR, 1935-1941*

By BahruZewde

The Italo-Ethiopianwar of 1935-1941 could be said to have broughtabout the

denouementof the Ethiopianintellectualswho hadarguedandworkedfor reformin
the decades before the war. One could of course contend that Hayla-Sellase's
consolidation of power after 1930 had diminished their margin of operation
considerablyandthatthey were ultimatelydoomedto be absorbedin the emerging
powerstructure.But thatwouldhavebeenat anyratea far lesserevil thanthe near
total liquidationthey sufferedin the courseof the war. Even beforethe war,they
were a somewhatloose andamorphousgroupratherthanthe "party"thatWestern
observers were in the habit of making out of them. By the end of the war,
however,they hadvirtuallyceasedto exist. Most of themhadfallenvictim to the
notoriousGrazianiMassacre. A few, like HakimWarqenahEshateandBajerond
Takla-Hawaryat,prolongedtheirexile and became totally marginalizedon their
return. Some, like Dr. AlamawarqBayyanaandpoet-playwrightYoftaheNeguse,
found it difficult to adjustto the post-1941 orderand died soon after Liberation
underwhatsome people believe wererathermysteriouscircumstances.Ironically,
the collaborators(banda), with the exception of AfawarqGabra-Iyyasus,fared
muchbetter,being smoothlyabsorbedinto thepoliticalorderandsome even rising
to prominentpositions.
This paperexaminesthe fate of the intelligentsiain the course of the war.
Attention will be focused on three aspects of the issue: the warnings by the
intellectuals of the Italian danger and the place of these intellectuals in the
preparationsfor war, theirrole in the Resistanceor in the collaboration,and the
activities of the exiles. The paperfinally concludes with an assessment of the
picturethatemergedafterLiberation.1

1Thispaperwaspresented
ata Humanities in September
at BostonUniversity
Workshop
1991, as part of the Boston University researchproject on "AfricanExpressions of the Colonial
Experience." It was first preparedfor the XIth InternationalConference of Ethiopian Studies in
Addis Ababa, April 1-6 1991.

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272 BAHRU ZEWDE

Warnings and Preparations

It is of some interest that the earliest warning of Ethiopia's perilous position came
before the euphoria generated by the Ethiopian victory at Adwa had even subsided.
In the very same year in which that victory was scored, Blatta Gabra-Egziabher
Gila-Maryam was lamenting Ethiopia's humiliation and decline, which he traced
back to the traumatic events of the sixteenth century. More immediately, this
Eritrean irredentist who could not forgive Menilek's failure to liberate Eritrea from
the Italians recommended the securing of a sea port as a matter of primary
importance for Ethiopia's survival.2 About a decade and a half later, the doyen of
Ethiopian intellectuals, Naggadras Gabra-Heywat Baykadagn, warned that the
penalty for Ethiopia's failure to modernize would be devastation and enslavement:3
"If our Ethiopia accepts European mind [i.e. civilization], no one would dare attack
her; if not, she will disintegrate and be enslaved." In 1931, Gabra-Heywat's son,
Ashaber, then studying in Switzerland, again drew attention to the danger inherent
in Ethiopia's encirclement by colonial powers. He underlined the precarious nature
of Ethiopia's independence because of her failure to secure a sea port and argued
for "deux fenetres au moins, une sur la Mer Rouge, l'autre sur l'Ocean Indien,
deux fenetres libres de tout controle".4
Two graduates of European universities returned to Ethiopia on the eve of
the war and were assigned to posts where they could monitor Italian activities. The
first of them was Mikael Tasamma, who had written a doctoral thesis in political
science at the University of Rome but was denied permission to defend it because it
was deemed too anti-Italian. On his return, he was appointed head of the Italian
"desk" in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.5 The second was Tedla Haile, who
wrote an MA thesis entitled "Pourquoi et comment pratiquer la politique
d'assimilation en Ethiopie" to the Colonial University of Antwerp in Belgium in
1930.6 On the eve of the war, he was Ethiopian consul at Asmara. From that
vantage point, he sent despatches (which, like most Ethiopian despatches of the
time, were intercepted by the Italians) to Emperor Hayla-Sellase and Foreign

2IESMs.No. 2171, "ZeMashaf... WalduLaGilaMaryam Za Tsa'daKrestiyanHamasen"

("SueMemorie"),1889EC, 1, 47, 56; cf. TekesteNegash,"BlattaGebreEgziabherGilaMariam
andHis Works:A Sketchtowardsa PoliticalBiography of a Nationalist,"
in No Medicinefor the
Bite of a White Snake: Notes on Nationalism and Resistance in Eritrea, 1890-1940 (Uppsala,
1986), 1-21.
3"AteMenilek-na in BerhanYehun(Asmara,1912),354.
Ityopya,"
4AcheberGabre-Hiot,La veritdsur l'EthiopiereveldeaprPsle couronnementdu Roi des Rois
(Lausanne,1931),65-66.
5Angelo del Boca, Gli Italiani in Africa orientale 2. La conquista dell' impero (Roma-Bari,
1986),232n.
6Iamgreatlyindebtedto Dr.DerejeWeldeMedhinof theDepartment of Economicsof Addis
AbabaUniversityformakingavailableto me fromBelgiuma copyof thethesis.

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 THE ETHIOPIAN INTELLIGENTSIA AND THE WAR 273

Minister Heruy Walda-Sellase recommending close surveillance of the border with

Italian-ruled Eritrea, forwarding a plan to set fire to Italian garrisons in the area and
describing how the Eritreanpopulation was ready to rise against the Italians but was
discouraged by "the bad administration in Tegre, the non-surveillance of our
borders, and what Italian representatives are doing in our country".7 Warning
about the Italian danger from the southeast was given by the Ohio-educated
Bashahwerad Habta-Wald, director of the Dire Dawa municipality, in a letter to the
emperor in 1932.8
An institution established on the eve of the war, the Ethiopian Patriotic
Association, helped to galvanize patriotic sentiments against the impending Italian
aggression. It provided a forum above all for that sector of the new elite with a
traditional educational background, like Makonnen Habta-Wald, one of its
founders, and Yoftahe Neguse, Ethiopia's first modem playwright. In a speech to
the association delivered on 1 Pagume 1927/6 September 1935 and later published
in Atbya Kokab, one of the Amharic weeklies, and reproduced in the more famous
Berhanena Salam, Makonnen castigated the world for its mindless arms race,
detailed Italian arguments for expansion and argued that Italian aggressive designs
had gained a new momentum because of fears that Ethiopia's earnest efforts to
modernize would thwart Italy's long-standing desire to colonize the country.9
Another active member of the association, Yoftahe Neguse, employed the
allegorical technique so pervasive in Ethiopian literature to depict the dangerous
portents hovering over Ethiopia, symbolized by a beautiful lady exciting the
passions of a pack of lustful admirers, and to rouse the population against the
imminent aggression by reciting the heroics of the famed warriors of the nineteenth
century: Gobana, Alula, Daraso, and Makonnen.10 Yoftahe's celebrated play,
Afajashegn, was also started at this time, though he could only complete it while in
exile in the Sudan. The plot revolves aroundthe malaise of the heroine, Afajashegn

7Del Boca, Gli Italiani, 232; cf. Arnaldo Cipolla, L'Abissinia in armi (Florence, 1935),
238-39, for Tedla'sendeavoursto constructan impressivebuildingto house the Ethiopian
consulatein Asmara. Althoughoutsidethe scope of this paperin view of its retrospective
character,HeywatHedaru'sobservationon the role of Europeanconsulatesin undermining
Ethiopia'sindependenceis worthnotinghere:YachiQan Tarassach:Ka TemhertBet wada Qonsela
Sera(AddisAbaba,1967EC),13. Equallyperceptive is his explanation
of Ethiopia's
defeatas the
resultof the transitionalcharacterof Ethiopiansocietyin 1935 (p. 18); Heywatdrawson an
Ethiopianproverbto drivehis pointhome:"Awomanwho brokeup her old earthenware pan
beforebuyinga newoneendedupby starving herfamily."
801d Ministryof Pen Archives(hereafterMPA) 514, Bashahweradto Hayla-Sellase,
16.8.24/24.4.32.
9BerhanenaSalam (BS), 3.10.35.

10Mulugeta Seyum,"YaQagnGetaYoftaheNeguseya HeywatTarik"(BA thesis,Haile

SelassieI University,1964EC),45-46.

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274 BAHRU ZEWDE

(i.e. Ethiopia),who is visited by spirits(i.e. Fascists) as she was grippedin the

throes of a malady. The spirits suggest that she surrenderto their merciful
treatmentif she wants to be cured from her illness. Her well-wishers and her
protectors,includinghermogzit (custodian)Hayla-Leul(a barelydisguisedcover
for Hayla-Sellase),are at a loss for a cure to Afajashegn'smalady. Interestingly
enough,they areadamantlyagainstthe suggestionthatthe matterbe referredto the
public, arguingthat such a step would make the public aware of Afajashegn's
ailments. The play concludeswith a curse on all those who fail to rise up to the
seriouschallengesof the time:11

+hP klioi ftoni1 nH'fg

h^ka^7 f2fT nl^+ n af
f+7 ,P V hoi- trn A""
qP W& jwOD-- jAUV -u^hY "

He who continuesto leada life of mirthandfun

Whilea deadlyplagueis raging
He who is notvigilantin theface of death
May his soul perishwith his body!
Forthisis not a lightmatter
It is also of interest that another founding member of the Patriotic
Association, the authorWalda-GiyorgisWalda-Yohannes,composed a booklet
entitled Ya Wand Lej Kurat (roughly rendered,"The Pride of a Son of the
Fatherland"), of which up to 40,000 copies were reportedlydistributedto soldiers
going to the war front and which they kept in theirpockets like a prayerbook.
Ironically,Walda-Giyorgislaterdefectedto the Italianside, servingthemas one of
theirpropagandists.12
Recommendationsof a more strictlymilitarynaturecame fromBajerond
Takla-Hawaryat three years before the outbreak of the war. These
recommendations, containedin a comprehensivereportsubmittedto the council of
ministers, addressed fundamentalissues of militaryorganizationand were not
apparentlymerely concerned with the practicalpossibilityof war with Italy. The
thoroughness with which Takla-Hawaryat handledthe whole mattersuggeststhat,

l1YoftaheNeguse,"Afajashegn," at IES(AddisAbaba,1965),31;cf. another

typescript
storybya certain
allegorical Za-Ab,
Tsagga a pseudonym,
possibly whichappeared inBerhanena
Salamas earlyas 21 January thestoryof AtoDubala(i.e.Ethiopia)
1926,narrating andAto
Yalatu(Italy).DubalahadoncebeatenYalatuas thelattertriedto trespasson theformer's
landand
he wascelebrating
hisvictory(Adwa)everyyearwhileYalatuwasteachinghischildrenthehistory
of thatignominous
defeatandpreparingthemto takerevenge.
12Feqada Adara,"YaBlattaWalda-GiyorgisWalda-Yohannes ya HeywatTarik-naya Dersat
Serawochachaw" (BAthesis,AddisAbabaUniversity,1974EC),12.

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 THE ETHIOPIAN INTELLIGENTSIA AND THE WAR 275

althoughhe had rarelyhad the chanceto put it to practicaluse, he had apparently

not quiteforgottenthe militarytraininghe hadreceivedin Russiain the firstdecade
of the century. The prerequisitesfor militaryvictory,he argued,were superiority
in armsandmanpower(bothquantitatively andqualitatively),a coordinatedstrategy
of attack and defense, eternal preparednessfor war, a conscious policy of
minimizingcosts, in bothfinancialandhumanterms,andhighmorale. Needless to
say, the army had to be a regular and not a traditionalone. He therefore
recommendeda reorganization of the Ethiopianmilitaryset-up. He was particularly
scathingof the traditionalsystemof supplies:13

Aos-7l AI.')7 MnfnllMXCWt MlrXft nAAF QvU

vcn .jMr Mw. -hf Ol1
*h1V *&r jnAAT +ItHion
h'7 airwIo.A nfiS-rg.
Y is++ PnfXg. tmAq
't. +lA<iftn U,v
H.U .A. 8k&
,h1q q'n . cao: :
nA7XH.UV , AhtIJ7 +Hr+ n1llG0 Hn- JA

Is a militaryvictory at all conceivablein this epoch, if the army's

provisions consist merely of baso (barleyflour), derqosh (dried
enjara)androastedpeas transported by packanimalsor humansfor
a year or more, with a soldierwho gets his waterfrom an earthen
jug or a gourd and who wears abujedidcloth that is subjected
alternatelyto therainandthe sun?
Yet Takla-Hawaryat's new scheme did not seem to provide for logistics.
He proposedthe creationof a modemarmywith sevendivisions(infantry,cavalry,
artillery, navy, engineering corps, machine gun and tank corps, and aviation
engineers),the recruitmentof youngbloodandtheretirementof the old soldiersby
resettlingthem as farmers,andthe introductionof militaryservicelasting threeto
five years. But he cautionedagainsthasteand the forcibleimpositionof the new
structure.
This cautionarynote was amplifiedby Takla-Hawaryat's fellow minister
and one-time contributorto BerhanenaSalam,BitwaddadGetachawAbata, the
Ministerof Interior.Apparentlyreactingto the samebill on militaryorganization

13MPA 369, 12.1.25/22.9.32.

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276 BAHRU ZEWDE

and taxationthat was presentedto the Senate on 23 December 1931 and which
seems to have triggeredTakla-Hawaryat's elaborateresponse, Getachawexpressed
greathesitationon the issue. He was particularlyapprehensiveof the suggestion
that old soldiers should give way to young recruits. Ethiopia,he pleadedin the
end, had too little time to experimentwith new ideas of militaryorganization. If
only by default,therefore,he urgeda returnto old systemsandvalues:14

nflX7fJe AhnftWtJ aonA +sC h7X+Mn A7 lX t

hfl.IL r :-mwA" . a17ACA ?+.Vf *7'R X'*i&
A 77
A,,I,9
+.. A7'),r?1-, 9hA i')e
/S,l,f,a nlIn,BlAA m~x /-'"nj
rSS'>'P'. A &i0'J:F
Agq .,lo
A,t-HA I1S n-iorW. A h7 ?f ,A' 7 f* tlA7
taD +RPA AS7,* +4.'AA,7 AU7it. ACAL tPnC
iii nI77 xnt dT*-I-- Al.Dr nKr W1c:401t-'h
Lre ,-A&j ,iohm4 nftioI,- '11C "'Qf4. AJePu
"Af- ht.h-r &,+, IC 7C "tq147 r.-:

As read to us in His ImperialMajesty'snotice, we are caught

between our old traditionsand the new civilization. Since we still
have a long way to go to attainthatcivilization,whatis best for us is
to hurryback to our formertraditionsand keep our old warriors
happy by making shum-sher, bestowing decorations and arms,
giving banquetsregularly,cheeringthemup,lettingthemchanttheir
war-songs,andmakinga lot of noise.
Someone who saw no danger whatsoever coming from Italy was the
novelist and essayist AfawarqGabra-Iyyasus.In view of his later careeras the
ideologueof the Fascistorder,this is perhapsnot surprising.Not only did he give
glowing accountsof the boost thatMussolini'sregimegave to Italianagricultural
production,15he was even preparedto vouchfor thepacifismof FascistItaly,Nazi
Germany,and militaristJapan! He listed the militaryexpendituresof fifty-seven
states in 1932, showing that the United States, the Soviet Union, France, and
Britainrankedas the four highest, with Italy, Germanyand Japancoming after

14MPA369, n.d.
15BS, 16.5.29.

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 THE ETHIOPIANINTELLIGENTSIAAND THE WAR 277

that.16In anotherarticle,Afawarqportrayedthe Fascistregimein Italyas a model

worthyof emulationby others:17

"i^ ... ?4.s7N- aDf7'1 nf'Aqhl aII)i nP

!nA mf 6i c ntAie
Irv huAJi, oaAtiPi
7Atti 9I 7P A itZP+:: h H.iY* sP7r Ud
sIw .
LA.+I
P ml J^ X96AA-.s::

Because the Fascistregime madepeople workwith one mind, one

will, and one voice, it has made Italy today the source of good
politics. The entire world has now startedto become desirousof
drinkingfromthatsource.
Statementsof the above naturecould hardlyhave helped to dispel the suspicion
with which Afawarqincreasinglycame to be regardedin Ethiopia;his opponents
accusedhim of carryingtwo passports,one Ethiopianandthe otherItalian,for use
as the occasionrequired.18
Given Afawarq'scontroversialbackground,it is indeedamazing,as Angelo
Del Boca also emphasizes,19thatHayla-Sellasechose him to representEthiopiain
Rome at such a criticalhour;he was designatedEthiopia'sministerin the Italian
capital at about the same time that Hakim Warqenahwas sent to London and
Bajerond Takla-Hawaryat to Paris and Geneva, where the League of Nations had
its seat. The emperorapparentlycountedmoreon Afawarq'sabilityto understand
the Italiansthanon his capacityor desireto dissuadethemfromattackingEthiopia.
What precisely moved the emperorto designate these three prominent
intellectualsto whatwerefor thecountryat thatparticular
historicalconjuncturethe
four most importantvenues of diplomaticactivitycan only be guessed. Given his
exaggeratedfaithin diplomacy,he mighthavefelt thatthoseposts requiredspecial
intellectualendowmentsthatonly the designeespossessed. Moreover,two of them
were intimatelyassociatedwith the countriesof theirdesignation. Warqenahwas
virtuallyBritishby upbringing.Afawarqwas marriedto an Italianand had spent
the most productivephase of his careerin Italy. Takla-Hawaryathad a briefer

16BS,4.2.32. Whilethelistingis substantially

accurate (SeeKeesingsContemporary
whatAfawarq
Archives1931-34), concluded I amgrateful
fromthefiguresis questionable. to
DavidChappleformakingavailableto methepertinent
literature.
17BS,26.6.30.
18SeeAfawarq'sself-defencein BS, 11.7.29and20.7.33.
19DelBoca,GliItaliani,195-96.

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278 BAHRU ZEWDE

sojournin Franceand could speakFrench. Yet, behindthese cogent reasons for

their assignments,one could discerna more cynical one, namely that for Hayla-
Sellase, once he hadconsolidatedhis politicalpower,the intellectualshadoutlived
theirusefulnessand mighthave even becomea nuisance,especiallyin the case of
Takla-Hawaryat, who was capableof raisingtoo manyunpleasantquestionsfor the
emperor. At least one observer saw Heruy's hand in Warqenah'ssuccessive
shuntingawayfromthe center,firstas governorof Charcharandthenas ministerto
London.20 There is also evidence that Takla-Hawaryat resentedhis diplomatic
postingandtriedhardto persuadetheemperorto rescindthe appointment.21
In the end, Warqenahappearsto havebeenrelativelythe most successfulof
the threediplomats. This was partlyno doubtdue to the fact thathe had the good
luck to operatein an ambiencewithwhichhe was notaltogetherunfamiliarandwith
the advantageof the strongwave of solidarityfor Ethiopiaorganizedand led by
Sylvia Pankhurst.By contrast,Afawarq'sItalophiliaandgullibilitycaughteven the
Italianofficials by surprise. He ended up sendingto Addis Ababamessages of
reassurance,statingthatItaly had no aggressivedesigns on Ethiopiaand that the
arms then being despatchedto the colonies were for defensive purposes only!
While his own predilectionsfor Fascist rule had alreadybecome manifest, the
shortageof funds at his disposalcompoundedthe problemby forcinghim to send
his telegramsto Addis Ababavia the ItalianMinistryof Foreign Affairs!22 In
March1935, as MussoliniandMarshalDe Bono werelookingfor ways of enticing
Ras Seyum of Tegreover to theirside, Afawarqreportedlyvolunteeredto help by
suggestingan intermediaryto convey Italianovertures.23Lessona,under-secretary
of the ItalianMinistryof Colonies,hadthisto say of Afawarq:24
We have not boughthim. They say he is amenableto such offers.
He believes in ourpolicy of pacification.Above all, he believes in
our kind of civilization. He thinksthatonly Italy can redeemhis
country.
As for Takla-Hawaryat, he soon foundhimselfin a diplomaticwhirlpoolfor
whichhe had scarcelybeenprepared.TheWalwalIncidentandEthiopia'sdecision
to take the issue to the League of Nations suddenlycatapultedhim to the center
stage of internationaldiplomacy. Althoughassistedby the FrenchlawyerGaston
Jeze, he met obstructionfrom the Britishand Frenchgovernmentsat practically

fromDr.Ammanuel
200ralcommunication inScotland
educated
Gabra-Sellase, intheyears
1932to 1934.
21MPA toHaylaSellase,30.4.25/9.11.32.
335,Takla-Hawaryat
22DelBoca,GliItaliani,253-54.
23Ibid., 310.
24Ibid., 311.

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 THE ETHIOPIAN INTELLIGENTSIA AND THE WAR 279

every step. He was so overwhelmed by the hostility towards Ethiopia that he once
reportedly wept.25 But he did not leave the stage before making an impassioned
plea on behalf of his country and exposing the hypocritical stance the Powers
assumed in the name of neutrality:26
Is that real neutrality? Is it just? Will the Council [of the League]
remain unmoved in face of this situation, which is growing steadily
worse? Will it allow this unequal combat to continue between two
Members of the League of Nations, one of which, all powerful, is in
a position to employ, and declares that it is employing, all its
resources in preparing for aggression, while the other, weak and
pacific, and mindful of its international undertakings, is deprived of
the means of organizing the defence of its territory and its very
existence, both of which are threatened? Will the Council assume
responsibility, in the eyes of the world, for allowing preparations to
continue unchecked for the massacre of a people which constitutes a
menace to none?
A few words, finally, on a group of intellectuals who played a more
subordinate role at the outset but of whom some were to be closely associated with
the emperor during his exile and his final return. These included Blatta Kidana-
Maryam Abarra,director of the Ministry of Education and entrustedwith the task of
handling the swelling European press on the eve of the war;27 the Hungarian
journalist Ladislas Farago described him as a member of the emperor's "Brains
Trust".28 Another person close to the emperor was Tasfaye Tagagn, director-
general of the Foreign Ministry.29 Three Ethiopians of Eritrean origin who were
also very close to the emperor were: Dawit Ogbazgy, assigned to assist Kidana-
Maryam in handling the Europeanpress; Efrem Tawalda-Madhen,one-time English
teacher at the Tafari Makonnen school and later Ethiopian consul-general in Paris;
and Lorenzo Taezaz. Lorenzo had been sent by the emperor to Montpelier (in
France) to study law. On his return, he came to play a succession of key roles. He
was posted at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was with the Anglo-Ethiopian
Boundary Commission at the outbreak of the Walwal crisis in 1934; he
accompanied the emperor first to Maychaw and then into exile, and was, with

25Germachaw Takla-Hawaryat, in theintroduction

to the unpublished of his
autobiography
father,BajerondTakla-Hawaryat, copy availablein the Departmentof History,Addis Ababa
University,22.
26Quotedin GeorgeW. Baer,TheComingof theItalian-Ethiopian War(Cambridge, Mass.,
1967),273. See also ibid, 103-105,150.
27G.L.Steer,Caesarin Abyssinia(London,1936),34-35.
28LadislasFarago,Abyssiniaon theEve (London,1935),162.
29JohnSpencer,Ethiopiaat Bay(Algonac,1984),14.

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280 BAHRUZEWDE

Dawit and Tasfaye, at the emperor'sside in Geneva when he made his famous
speech in the summerof 1936. After servingas the emperor'scourierto Gojjam
andBagemderin 1938 and 1939, he marchedwith the emperorto Gojjamin 1940
andthenleft for Kenyato organizethe Ethiopianrefugeesthere.30
Resistance and Collaboration
Therole of the intelligentsia,or theYoungEthiopiansas theycame to be known,in
the actualconductof the war of 1935-36was minimal. The only personwho can
perhapsbe regardedas the exceptionwasDajjazmachNasibuZamanuel,generally
regardedas one of the movingspiritsof the "YoungEthiopianParty".31As mayor
of Addis Ababafrom 1922 to 1932, he was distinguishedfor giving the city the
first seriousmunicipaladministration of its history. He playeda pivotalrole in the
agitationthatculminatedin the coronationof TafariMakonnenas negus in 1928.
At the outbreakof hostilitiesbetweenEthiopiaandItaly,he was governorof Harar
provinceandhe assumedsupremecommandof the Ethiopiantroopson the Ogaden
front. He later went into exile with the emperor;he died while in exile. Tedla
Haile, who had been monitoringItalianactivitiesfrom his post at the Ethiopian
consulatein Asmara,crossed the MarabRiver on the outbreakof hostilities; he
died beforehe reachedAddisAbaba,of illnessaccordingto one informant,fighting
againstthe ItalianswithRas Seyum'sforceaccordingto another.32
Accordingto Angelo Del Boca, the liquidationof the "YoungEthiopians"
was high on Mussolini's agenda from the outset; an order for their summary
executionhad been sent to Field MarshalBadoglioas earlyas 3 May 1936, i.e. as
the Italian troops were preparingto enter Addis Ababa.33 On the part of the
intellectuals,too, implacableoppositionto Italianruleseemsto have startedat about
the same time. Duringthe riots thatrockedthe capitalin the intervalbetweenthe
emperor'sflight and the Italianentry,Kidana-Maryam was said to have been busy
the
organizing youth and women of the capital for a war of resistance.34Leaflets
the
rousing city's population to an uprisingagainst the Italiansin June-July1936,
probably to coincide with the ill-fatedfive-pronged Patriotoffensive on the capital,
might also have been authoredby some of the intellectualslike Kidana-Maryam.
The city-dwellers were enjoinedto kill all Fascists at a signal from those who

30DelBoca,GliItaliani,97, 189n,740; SalomeGabreEgziabher,"TheEthiopianPatriots

1936-1941,"Ethiopia Observer,XII, 2 (1969), 82.
31ArchiveoCentraledi Stato (ACS), Italy, GrazianiPapers(GP) 12/19/2; Del Boca, 97.

32Respectively, Dr. AmmanuelGabra-Sellaseand W/o Elizabeth Warqenah,Tedla's wife at

the time.
33Del Boca, Gli Italiani, 730.
341bid.,699; cf. Steer, 34.

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 THE ETHIOPIAN INTELLIGENTSIA AND THE WAR 281

issued the proclamation; the Eritreanaskari, who had been forced to fight for the
Italians, were to be spared, however.35
The Italians faced the most serious intellectual opposition to their occupation
of the country from the Black Lion organization. The leadership, both political and
military, of that organization was clearly drawn from among the educated elite. Its
president was the British-educated veterinary surgeon, Dr. Alamawarq Bayyana.
Most of the fire and spirit of the group appears to have come from three other
young Ethiopians, also British-educated: Faqada-Sellase (alias George) Heruy, son
of the foreign minister, and the brothers Benyam and Yosef Warqenah, sons of the
Ethiopian minister to London. Military leadership was provided by the young
cadet-officers of Holata, like Kefle Nasibu, son of Dajjach Nasibu Zamanuel, and
Balay Hayla-Ab, another Ethiopian of Eritrean origin. These young officers had
been recruited largely from Tafari Makonnen School, most of them at the age of 15
to 20, to join the newly established Holata military school in 1934. In one of the
most meteoric accelerations in the history of military promotions, they had risen to
ranks of up to lieutenant-colonel in a matter of twelve months; the highest rank was
attained by four of them, including Kefle and Balay.36
The Black Lion were significant in the history of the Resistance probably
more for what they set out to achieve than for what they actually did so. In this
respect, their ten-point constitution could be described as a manifesto for a nation-
wide, politically motivated, and ethically conducted resistance. Among the most
striking features of that constitution were: the affirmation of the supremacy of the
political over the military command, the provisions for the humane treatment of
prisoners and the non-molestation of the peasantry, the prohibition of exile, and the
injunction of suicide rather than capture by the enemy.37 However, their military
operations, though heroic, had no durable impact on the occupation. Their most
dramatic feat of arms, the burning of an Italian plane at Bonaya (near Naqamte) in
June 1936, was ultimately of more negative than positive value. Not only did it
provoke Italian retaliation but it also resulted in the withdrawal of support for the
Black Lion by the local ruler, Dajjazmach Habta-Maryam, who, for fear of being
caught in the Italian backlash, asked them to leave his territory.38
The Black Lion then had to retreat further to the west, in search of both a
base and a leader who would give greater respectability to their youthful
endeavours. The latter they found in Ras Emeru, who, conveniently for the young

35ACS,GP 14/20/7.
36GeneralVirgin,TheAbyssiniaI Knew(London,1936),118-23; TaddasaMecha,Tequr
Anbasa ba Me'rabItyopya (Asmara,n.d.), 24-28.
37Taddasa,TequrAnbasa, 22-23.
38Ibid., 40ff; Ministry of Defence, Ya QadamawiHayla-Sellase Tor TemhertBet Tarik ka
1927 eska1949 (AddisAbaba,1950EC),80.

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282 BAHRU ZEWDE

fighters but not for the tired warrior, happened to be in Gore at the time. Totally
disheartened by the superiority of Italian armourthat he had witnessed at first hand
on the Shere front and probably convinced of the futility of further resistance,
Emeru was contemplating exile in the Sudan or Uganda when the Black Lion
descended on him and persuaded him to assume leadership. Reluctantly, he did so.
The whole force, the young warriors and Emeru's veterans, then struck out on a
bold campaign towards the capital. Faced with opposition from the Oromo
inhabitants en route, however, it was forced to deflect its course to the southwest,
first in the direction of Jimma and then, when it encountered hostility there too,
towards Bonga. Although, in the initial stages, the mobile and highly motivated
force was able to inflict some damage on the Italians, who were equally determined
to wipe out this potentially dangerous element in the Resistance, it came to be more
and more encumbered by the large number of non-combatants who, harassed by the
Oromo population, had joined its ranks. Apparentlyrealizing the untenability of his
position, Emeru surrendered in late December 1936. He was whisked off to the
capital and thence to Italy, where he spent the remaining years of the Occupation in
captivity. For the time being, members of the Black Lion organization who had
surrenderedat the same time were left in peace.39
But their day of reckoning was not too far away. On 19 February 1937,
less than two months after their surrender,took place the abortive attempt on the life
of the Italian viceroy, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, which was followed by the
nefarious Graziani Massacre. The chief executors of the plot against the viceroy,
Abraha Daboch and Mogas Asgadom, were both former students of Tafari
Makonnen school. But the Fascists did not require this particular piece of
information-and, at the beginning, they were not quite sure as to the authorship of
the attack-to direct their revenge towards the educated elite. There was already
Mussolini's standing order and the assassination attempt created the perfect setting
for its execution. All those intellectuals whom the Italians could lay their hands on
were rounded up and most of them were shot after perfunctory interrogations.
These included many of the leaders of the Black Lion, such as Faqada-Sellase,
Benyam, Yosef, Kefle, and Balay.40
Singled out as the mastermind of the whole plot was Bashahwerad Habta-
Wald, who had earlier accompanied the emperor into exile but had then returned
and settled in Addis Ababa. According to one informant, the very fact of his return

TequrAnbasa,61-107.
39Taddasa,
40SeeSeneduGabru,YaLebeMashaf(AddisAbaba,1942EC),forpicturesof mostof those
executed,takenwhiletheywereawaitingexecution.Cf.FO371/20921,Stonehewer-Bird
to Eden,
9.3.37;Bondto Eden,20.2.37. See Mulugeta,"YaQagnGetaYoftaheNgeguse,"appendix,for
letters of Heruy to Yoftahe, 30.10.29/7.7.37 and 22.4.30/31.12.37, on the death of his son,
Faqada-Sellase, and the internmentof other membersof his family, and of Warqenahto Yoftahe,
1.11.29/8.7.37,on theexecutionof his twosonsandthedeportation
of his wife anddaughters.

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 THE ETHIOPIAN INTELLIGENTSIA AND THE WAR 283

from exile was apparently one of the circumstances that made him a prime suspect
in the eyes of the Italians. Given his proximity to the exiled emperor,
Bashahwerad's return to Ethiopia could only signify that he must have been
entrusted with a special mission. Secondl the Italians had discovered that he had
double-crossed them by inserting a coded phrase (lagizew, "for the time being"),
in a leaflet urging the people of Marhabete to submit, which the Italians had
persuaded him to draft. Thirdly, the Italians had prior information, courtesy of the
emperor's private secretary, Qagnazmach Takla-Marqos,who later defected to their
side, that Bahshahwerad had been getting copies of Italian legation papers through
an Eritrean agent before the war. At any rate, Bashahwerad was interrogated with
particular severity, and he might well have died under torture.41
The Graziani Massacre markedthe almost total liquidation of the intellectual
component of the Resistance. Thereafter, only two persons who were rather
marginally connected to the intelligentsia could be said to have played any role in
the Resistance. These were Blatta TakkalaWalda-Hawaryatand Lej (later Dajjach)
Dames Walda-Ammanuel. Takkala belonged to what has come to be identified as
the Raguel school of the intelligentsia, which has produced such successful
politicians as Heruy Walda-Sellase and Makonnen Habta-Wald. He was one of the
regular contributors to Berhanena Salam in the 1920s. He had earlier served as
customs director in western Ethiopia (posts in customs administration then
generally being filled by the educated elite) and was director-general of the Addis
Ababa Municipality at the outbreak of the war. He was an ardent advocate of
guerrilla warfare from the moment hostilities with Italy began and was one of the
three dissenting voices (the two others being Heruy and Dajjach Yeggazu Bahabte)
when the crown council decided that the emperor should seek exile. Thereafter, he
became an implacable opponent of Hayla-Sellase, exploring alternative options for
Ethiopia ranging from using Yohannes Iyyasu, one of the sons of the emperor
deposed in 1916, as a front emperor to republican government.42
Dames Walda-Ammanuel played a crucial role in the quasi-diplomatic phase
of the Shawan Resistance led by Ras Abbaba Aragay. Dames had been to the
Adventist Mission school in Addis Ababa and was a graduateof Menilek II School.
He had then served in the alcohol monopoly and as chief financial officer in the
Ministry of Commerce. He was arrested twice by the Italians, the second time in
the round-up following the Graziani incident. Released a second time, probably

410ralcommunicationfromAtoSebhatuGabra-Iyyasus, brother-in-law
of Bashahwerad;his
information
wascorroboratedby WayzaroElizabeth Bashahwerad's
Gabra-Iyyasus, wife.
42Muchof theaboveinformationis to be foundin AnthonyMockler,HaileSellasise'sWar:
TheItalian-EthiopianCampaign,1935-1941(New York,1984),passim. But see also Tasfaye
Abbaba,"TheLifeandCareerof Dajjazmach TakkalaWaldaHawaryat" (BAthesis,HaileSelassieI
University,1970); MulusawMeteku,YaArbagnoch TegelkaFascistGar:KaShawaeskaSudan
Taraf(AddisAbaba,1937EC),46;andHeywatHedaru, YachiQanTarassach,239-40.

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284 BAHRU ZEWDE

because his captorswere obliviousto his earlierrecord,Damesjoined the patriot

leader Lej Hayla-MaryamMammoand, on his death, Ras Abbaba.43 Abbaba
entrustedhim with the ratherdangerousmission of engaging the Italians in a
diplomaticcharade:negotiatingwith the Italiangovernorof Shawa,GeneralNasi,
in orderto give Abbabatimeto regrouphis batteredforce. Damesexecutedthe task
with considerable skill, but the Italianseventually read through the ploy and
detained him.44 He was indeed lucky to have come out alive from the whole
exercise.
Whetherthe GrazianiMassacrecontributedto an increasein the numberof
collaboratorsfrom among the intelligentsiais something that requires further
investigation. While it is truethatcollaborationantedatesthe Massacre,it might
very well be arguedthat some of the intellectualsmight have been induced to
collaborateby the ferocityof the Fascistrepressionfollowingthe Massacre. What
is not subjectto disputeis the fact that,as in the rest of Ethiopiansociety, there
were collaboratorsjust as therewere ardentpatriotsamongthe intelligentsia. The
defectorsto the Fascistcause includedsuchpersonswho had workedvery closely
with the emperoras his privatesecretaryQagnazmachTakla-Marqos Walda-Gabrel
(promoteddajjazmachand appointed"YaSalale Abagaz"by the Italians).45A
prominentgroupthatwent over to the Fascist side was whathas sometimesbeen
referredto as the Catholicparty,led by theirmentorBlattenGeta Walda-Maryam,
who had succeededTakla-Hawaryat as Ethiopianministerin Parisandchief of the
Ethiopiandelegationat the Leagueof Nationsin Geneva.46The groupincluded
BerhanaMarqos,Ethiopiancharged'affairesat Ankaraon the outbreakof the war
and alreadyjudged by Italianintelligenceto be not too averse to the idea of an
BlattaAyyalaGabre,one-timepresidentof the SpecialCourt;
Italianprotectorate;47
andBalachawJamanah,director-general of PostsandTelecommunications.48
Two intellectualswho put their considerableliteraryendowmentsto the
service of Fascism were Blatta Walda-GiyorgisWalda-Yohannesand Afawarq
Gabra-Iyyasus.As we have alreadyseen, on the eve of the war,Walda-Giyorgis
was one of those writing exhortative songs calling for the defense of the
motherland. During the first two years of the Occupation,he is said to have
remainedin hiding. He then gave himself up and startedto work for Fascist

43Mulatu
Gabru,Malektagnaw Arbagna(AddisAbaba,1965EC),113-121.
Ityopyawi
44Ya Qesar Mangest Malektagna,31/3-6/4.40.
19-25.5.40and26/5-1/6.40;Mulusaw,23, 49.
45YaQesarMangestMalektagna,
fromDr.Ammanuel
460ralcommunication Gabra-Sellase.
GP Notizario
47ACS, 12/19/9, Africa N. 7, 16.6.35.
Orientale,
48Dr.Ammanuel.

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 THE ETHIOPIANINTELLIGENTSIAAND THE WAR 285

propagandain the weekly YaQesarMangestMalektagna.49But therewas no one

who could rival AfawarqGabra-Iyyasusfor the dedicationwith which he served
the Fascistcauseandthevirulencewithwhichhe attackedtheResistance.
On the outbreakof the war in October 1935, Afawarqhad returnedto
Ethiopiafrom his diplomaticpost in Rome. His return,his admirersemphasized,
was incontrovertible evidenceof his love for his countryandit was contrastedwith
the defectionat aboutthe sametimeof DajjazmachHayla-SellaseGugsaof eastern
Tegray.50 In February 1936, apparentlyon instructions from the emperor,
Afawarq was engaged in futile negotiations with the Italians for a peaceful
resolutionof the conflict. The termsproposedby AfawarqincludedItaliancontrol
over partsof Tegrayand of the Ogaden,Borana,andArsi, andappointmentof six
Italianadvisersto the Ethiopiangovernmentto facilitatethe exploitationof the
country's economic resources. In return, the Italians were to recognize the
emperor'ssovereigntyover the rest of Ethiopia,to cede Asab as a free port,andto
pay Ethiopia1.5 milliardlire. The two countrieswere thento sign a conventionof
mutual assistance in the event of aggressionby a thirdparty.51 But Mussolini
foundthe termsunattractive, andthe negotiationsbecamealtogetherirrelevantafter
the decisiveItalianvictoryat Maychaw.
Once the ItaliansenteredAddisAbabaandestablishedtheirrule,it does not
seem to have takenAfawarqtoo long to decide to serve them. He turnedthe full
power of his literaryvenom to ridiculethe exiled emperorand to disparagethe
Resistance. He christened5 May 1936,the dayItaliantroopsenteredAddisAbaba,
the beginningof an Eraof Mercy(AmataMehrat)-comparableto the beginningof
the Christianera on 1 A.D. He abusedthe guerrillafightersas wild worms(ya dur
teloch)andhadonly contemptfor theirbidto upsettheFascistorder:52

fha.^l p^-^h htiV (UtCh T<F^ n^rP T^t+.

dl e. A ,.C -"tAe:: .... ? i'Jf ,A . p,rA hjnhf
Ha9PlA Ja o. A.jfA? ,itN'.7i .l ,,u tPCf
,,flK
a
y,t.C'"l' n ,e,..'
"P"!A o"~ fI'!L/V
:: f.,.C
pa-*^ "af1Psf-VofYy . As ?Ah*j on4 tvC
A<'bIA.. 'fL~ )U OS
A,t Cn1.A fair::

49Faqada, 9.
"YaBlattaWalda-Giyorgis,"
50BS, 31.10.35.
amletico:Afework
51DelBoca,GliItaliani,499-500;cf. GianCarloStella,"Unpersonaggio
Africa,(1986),598.
GhevreJesus(1868-1947),"
52YaQesaruMangestMalektagna, quotedin Zeqargachaw
13.1.29/23.9.36, Hayla-Giyorgis,
"YaNaggadras
Afawarq zaBehera
Gabra-Iyyasus ZageyaHeywat (BAthesis,HaileSelassie
Tarik"
I University,1964EC),24.

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286 BAHRU ZEWDE

WhenItaliantroopsenteredthe capital,only a few, a tiny few, went

into the bush. They know that, let alone they, even the king who
hadpridedhimselfas the ConqueringLionof the Tribeof Judahhas
been reducedfroma lion to a rabbitandfled for his life. Thesewild
wormshave becomesheftamerelyto plunderthe cattleof the poor,
law-abidingpeasantry;thereis no otherexplanationfor it.

In anotherissue,53Afawarqwrote an articleentitled "Theplight of my

formermasterAte Hayla-Sellaseis highlypatheticandamazing,"in whichhe wrote
derisivelyhow the exiled emperorhadswallowedall his prideandwas being taken
aroundby his advisersto collect relief moneyin his name. Afawarq'spartisanship
for the Fascist cause was so excessive that it provokedanothercontemporary
intellectual,"Professor"
TamratAmmanuel,to writeretrospectively:54

A
MhC7 AS'H m4+ AYSfhlA7 7IAIAl 7ft haw+f:
alJtcD JBiV3vnsl2 "(1F Arinrt b >
Sft^i*
AoDSA' hAJ9v fAAU1n- nfl7thhAa 4A h7luw
TO"rt KXrc nh +4-0 hCnPf thn ?r7ema7fl
yAUr PAnl^oo f
4)cow7 Anl4-.::

As if serving, uncalled for, the enemy that had occupied one's

countrywere not enough,[Afawarq],to underlinehis loyalty to the
enemy, dishonouredhis pen by heapingabuseon those fightingfor
theircountry,fromtheemperordownto the ordinarypatriot.
Afawarq'sfulsome espousal of the Fascist cause did not save him from
being caughtin the Fascistbacklashfollowing the attempton the life of Graziani.
He was deportedto Italyalongwith othernotablesincludingthe arch-collaborator
Ras Haylu of Gojjam. Repatriatedwith the first batch in 1938, Afawarq was
elevated to what was perhapsthe highest post occupied by an Ethiopianin the
Fascisthierarchy,Afa Qesar,on 9 May 1939.55

53Thatof 6.12.29/12.8.37,quotedin Zeqargachaw,

ibid.,25-27.
54Ibid., 27.
55Stella, "Un personaggio amletico," 600. Afa Qesar, "Mouthof Caesar," is the Fascist
of thetraditional
adaptation of theNegus,"thehighestjudgeof
Amharictitle,AfaNegus,"Mouth
intheemperor's
thelandwhoofficiated name.

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 THE ETHIOPIAN ANDTHEWAR
INTELLIGENTSIA 287

The Exiles
Resistanceor collaborationweretwo of threeoptionsleft to Ethiopianintellectuals,
as indeed to all prominentEthiopians,duringthe ItalianOccupation. The third
option was exile, and many did take that option. Most sought refuge in the
neighboringcolonies of FrenchandBritishSomaliland,Kenya,andthe Sudan. A
few went further-to Jerusalem,Europe,or the UnitedStates. While most of them
lived in obscurityand waitedhopefullyfor the day of theirreturn,some played a
moreactive role in buildingup solidarityfor Ethiopiaor actingas liaison between
the exiled emperorand the Resistancegroups. This paperfocuses on three such
active exiles: Yoftahe Neguse in the Sudan,HakimWarqenahin England,and
MalakuBayyanin the UnitedStates.
YoftaheNeguse
Yoftahemanagedto escape to the Sudanunderratherdramaticcircumstances.He
evadedthe Italianswhen theycame lookingfor him in July 1936, went into hiding
for a few days, and then left the capitalfor westernEthiopiadisguisedas a priest.
On his way, he brieflyjoined with Dajjach Balcha'sforce and fought againstthe
Italiansin the southwesternoutskirtsof the capital. He thenmadehis way first to
Illubaborand next to Wallaga. Disguised as a bahtawi (hermit)with prophetic
powers, he played on the gullibility of Yohannes Jote, the governor of
southwesternWallaga,by assuringhimthatthe daywhenthe thronewouldfall into
his handswas near. Afterthuslullinghis suspicions,he stealthilyproceededto the
frontierandcrossedinto the Sudanin May 1937, some ten monthsafterhe hadleft
Addis Ababa.56
From the outset, both the emperor and his secretary,Walda-Giyorgis
Walda-Yohannes(thefuturetsahafete'ezaz)took greatinterestin the poet in exile.
The emperorsenthim20 guineasto helpalleviatetheinitialdifficultiesof settlement
while Walda-Giyorgisintervenedsuccessfullyto save Yoftahe from deportation
from Khartoumto Gedaref. Once settled,Yoftahedivided his time between his
literaryactivityandcorrespondence withtheemperorandhis entourageandliaising
with the patriots in the country. He continued to work on his masterpiece,
Afajashegn, and finished two other works,Dabra Tseyon andAmata Mehrat.
From his correspondencewith the emperorand Walda-Giyorgis,appendedto
Mulugeta'sextremelyvaluablesenioressay, it emergesthatbothhad greatrespect
for his literarytalentandardentpatriotismandbothwentto some lengthto convey
theirspecial sentimentstowardshim. In one of his letters,dated19 Magabit1929/
28 March1937, the emperorwrote:57

"YaQagnGetaYoftahe
56Mulugeta, Neguse,"
appendix.
57Ibid.

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288 BAHRU ZEWDE

?hPACT7 eA. c
?t h1,C V ,wT+VUlA^'Ah
hAfr"CV' h,.A.VihP& nf'+1P Af?i&Au A,op&IU
?P*t+C4)AI i& hA4) IVt7X+ r?W1 AIi6wnw7
APr'IA 1- . .A. e JtrsA
, nflR?A.- h,1'rT
A4MO JA7I7 WIC:

We had great admirationfor your works, producedwithout the

benefit of observingthe techniquesof Europeanplay writing,and
We had hopedthatthey wouldserveUs as a guidelinefor whatWe
plannedto do for Ourpeople.
Anotherletter, writtenon 3 Ter 1931/11 January1939, suggests that the
taskof keepingup the spiritsof the dejected exiles wouldhave beenmucheasierif
the playwrighthadbeenclose by the emperor'sside:58

A,.' 'XIV> ftXP+

X -' AS IA. n..+-"uc+

fbI ninef A^n*, A4<UV A '"'J'9S n+Z+-"t

fnlPLICVP r"PTVV'Ic hA"ik~7 A^IsAWIIC:-

As Our ideas and your ideas are not far apart,it would have been
possible to revive the spiritsof the exiles by making them drink
from the fountain of knowledge, through allegorical or direct
instruction,if you hadbeenclose by.
Two other persons who correspondedwith Yoftahe from Europe were
MakonnenHabta-WaldandWalda-GiyorgisWalda-Yohannes;the formerwas in
exile in France. Apparentlyrespondingto a desireYoftahehadearlierexpressedto
move to Europe,Makonnenwrotebackto askYoftaheto sendhim a descriptionof
his qualificationsand a photograph-minus his turban!59Walda-Giyorgiswas
clearlythe one with whomYoftaheappearsto havecorrespondedmost often. The
emperor and his secretary had apparentlytaken Yoftahe so much into their
confidence that Walda-Giyorgis even wrote to him informing him about
Mussolini's offer of money to the emperorin returnfor his renunciationof his
claim to the throne,adding60

58Ibid.
59Ibid.
60Ibid.

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 THE ETHIOPIAN INTELLIGENTSIA AND THE WAR 289

JeU779' 9c:tU."7 tflin C AIAT'AU Jy/ AnX

AMA f.sirP 0'7 1.Afl'7

%739j&1nh7 J&i7 n7flf

I am compelledto divulge to you this secretthatI had kept for so

long so that you would know the whole truth and would not
dissipateyourenergyponderingthese thingswhen you could use it
moreprofitably.
In anotherletter,Walda-Giyorgisexpressedhis boundlessadmirationfor
Yoftahe'sliterarytalentand urgedhim to writedown whatcould be his magnum
opus:61

.p9'ia7- V187i'm- y4"nH'lh a-~

fi-L-f-f',9
AJ& .tefla '.7 .A. .jm .+V,hM- nM+CmeQa*lW
?,I'qlu nf9'u7 '.tfnhm. AoI7}u AHCU tPi.m+r
hoTt^-S:, f,t ?n()m9.mA1. AlHPX XJNt*1 A
*:Ftt ?679^hu Aai-^AtfU nG-?+C Ah Sk
TC'i1 U7 -flfHPK ?^O +9^ LrM7 I AOUAffi:

I proposethatyou set yourselfthe task of writinga book that will

benefityourpeopleandmakeyournameimmortal,a bookof greater
value thanthe Bible, a book depictingin yourusual gracefulstyle
what you have seen, heardand observed,and what Ethiopiahas
been made to endure. I know you are capableof it and I suggest
you writeit in the formof a play.
Yoftahealso servedas liaisonbetweenthe emperorin exile andthe patriots
fighting the Fascist occupation,particularlythose in Gojjamand Bagemder. He
transmittedcorrespondenceand crossed over into Ethiopia on a number of
occasions.62 But his activity,both literaryandpolitical,was hinderedby the bad
stateof his health63and his uneasyfinancialsituation.The prolificcontributorto
Berhanena Salam, Blatta Deressa Amante,who had also sought asylum in the

611bid.
621bid., 58, 62.
63This is alluded to in Hayla-Sellase to Yoftahe, in Mulugeta, "Ya Qagn Geta Yoftahe
Neguse,"appendix.

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290 BAHRU ZEWDE

Sudan, was financially in a luckier position as he -owned a number of bars in

Khartoum; he is said to have sold one of them to the distressed Yoftahe,64 though
where the latter got the money to pay for it is mysterious.
Hakim Warqenah
England was of course the center of the exiles, by virtue both of the emperor's
presence and the concentration of high-calibre individuals there. These included the
foreign minister Heruy, who remained the emperor's closest companion until his
death in September 1938. He was reportedly engaged in teaching Amharic and
Ge'ez at the London School of Oriental Studies (the future SOAS).65 Politically,
however, he maintained a subdued existence. By contrast, Hakim Warqenah was
in the thick of the fray, battling it out with the pro-Italian British authorities and
rousing the British public to expressions of solidarity with Ethiopia. In this he was
greatly assisted by Sylvia Pankhurst and her weekly, New Times and Ethiopia
News, to which Warqenah contributed regularly; hardly a week passed without an
article by him. He castigated the League of Nations for its failure to save Ethiopia
from invasion, likening the internationalorganization to an insurance company that
had failed to honor its obligations.66 He tried in vain to avert the decision of the
16th session of the League to lift the sanctions imposed on Italy, arguing "Ethiopia
is not dead; she will not allow herself to be buried."67 He launched an ambitious
appeal to raise 2 million pounds sterling for the relief, as was reported, of the
"Wounded, Homeless and Blinded".68 He also exposed the officially neutral stand
of powers like Britain and wrote that people in Europe were capable of being
moved to compassion for an injured animal but showed little concern at the death of
innocent human beings, "especially if the unfortunatevictims happen to be far away
and to belong to another race or colour".69
His major argument with the British authorities revolved around the issue
of the "Gore Government," the institution that had been set up in western Ethiopia
following the emperor's flight, more than anything else a sort of public relations
exercise aimed at denying legitimacy to the Italian Occupation. Strangely enough in
view of his own disenchantment with the British authorities, Warqenah asked them
to extend financial assistance to the government. The British were of course in no

"YaQagnGetaYoftaheNeguse,"55.
64Mulugeta,
65Lamma Walda-Maryam, "YaBlatenGetaHeruyWalda-Sellase
HeywatTarik,1871-1931"
(BA thesis,HaileSelassieI University,1963EC),68.
66New Times and Ethiopia News (NTEN), 23.5.36.
67NTEN, 20.6.36.
68NTEN, 25.7.36. The sum of 2,573 pounds sterling and 140 Swedish kroner was
reportedlycollected by 15 August:NTEN, 15.8.36.
69NTEN, 17.10.36.

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 THE ETHIOPIAN INTELLIGENTSIA AND THE WAR 291

mood to offer such assistanceand even imposeda ban on the importof armsand
restrictionson the issuanceof visas to Ethiopiansproceedingto westernEthiopia
via the Sudan.70On the otherhand,Warqenahfelt thatBritishForeignSecretary
AnthonyEden was deliberatelygiving prominenceto the WesternGalla Confed-
eration,a collectionof Wallaganotableswho hadofficiallysoughtBritishmandate
to avert Italian rule. In the end, the British ignored the Oromo appeal. But
Warqenahfoundthe foreignsecretary'sstancein the matterinjuriousto Ethiopia's
overallinterests,andwrote:71
I should be much obliged if you would be so good as to let me
know the reasonfor yourtakingthe troublerepeatedly& unaskedto
make the statementswhich, to say the least, is doubtful and is
certainlydetrimentalto the alreadyill-usedEthiopia. Fora giantto
go out of his way to kick a woundedpigmy,does not appearto me
to be the kind of treatmentwhich you or the BritishPeople would
like to indulgein.
Unlike Yoftahe's,Warqenah'srelationswith the emperorwere far from
smooth. Fromthe start,Warqenahappearsto haveconductedhis presscampaigns
largely on his own initiativeratherthanfollowing detailedinstructionsfrom the
emperor.But it was not so muchhis independenceas disagreementsover finances
thatfinallydarkenedtheirrelationshipandultimatelyled to its rupture.72The death
of his two sons, Benyam and Yosef, in the course of the GrazianiMassacrein
February1937 mustalso haveweighedheavilyon the old man'sheart As his own
financial position became precarious,Warqenahwas forced to sell the legation
building,which he had originallyboughton his own account,and seek settlement
in India,where life would be less expensive. Afterrepeatedpleas to the British
authorities,he was finally allowedto settlein Indiawith some otherrefugeesunder
his care. Generosity and concern for others,even when his own situationwas
anythingbutenviable,remainedthedistinctivemarkof the amiableold man.
Malaku Bayyan
Dr. MalakuBayyan was a relationof the emperorand had grown up underhis
patronagewhile still TafariMakonnen.Malakuhada BA fromMuskingumCollege
in Ohio, an MA in chemistryfrom Ohio State University,and a medical degree
fromHoward. He hadbrokenoff an engagementto an Ethiopiangirlto get married
to an Afro-Americanone. This marriagelink as well as the Howard and later

70FO371/20206,Edento FO, 29.6.36;F0371/20207,FO minutes,10.7.36.

71FO371/20209,Martin(Warqenah)
to Eden,2.11.36.
720ral communicationfromAto EmmanuelAbraham,then secretaryat the Ethiopian
-egationin London,andDr. AmmanuelGabra-Sellase.ForBritishpressureon the emperorto
restrainhis outspokenministerfromcontinuingto makestatements"ofan abusivenature",see
FO 371/20920,FO minutes,18.1.37.

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292 BAHRU ZEWDE

Harlem ambience in which Malaku lived largely account for his ability to build a
strong feeling of solidarity with Ethiopia among the Afro-American community.
But he was not the only Ethiopian who tried to encourage Afro-American
identification with Ethiopia. As early as 1919, Kantiba Gabru, during his visit to
the United States as a member of an official Ethiopian delegation, had proposed to
the Harlem religious leader, Arnold Ford, a scheme for Afro-American settlement in
Ethiopia. Hakim Warqenah, too, had suggested to Malaku in 1927 that he work
along those lines. One apparent result of these encouraging signals was the
migration of a number of Afro-Americans to Ethiopia in the early 1930s.73
The outbreak of the war found Malaku in Ethiopia. He accompanied the
emperor to Maychaw and later into exile. From England, he moved on to his
natural political habitat in Harlem and began to build a strong movement of
solidarity with Ethiopia. He set up first an organization known as the United Aid
for Ethiopia and then, when this was taken over by the American Communist
Party, the Ethiopian World Federation on 25 August 1937. The main task of the
Federation was to provide succor to Ethiopian refugees. By 1940, it could claim
twenty-two branches, including some in Latin America and the West Indies.
Malaku also published a newspaper, the Voice of Ethiopia. Coming as it did after
the deportation from the United States of the Pan-Africanistleader, Marcus Garvey,
Malaku's movement had the character of filling the vacuum created by that
deportation. Indeed, in his speeches, Malaku combined identification with Ethiopia
and black rhetoric, addressing his audience as "Fellow Ethiopians" and urging them
to "think Black, act Black, and be Black".74 But, although the Italian ambassador
in Washington claimed that Malaku had raised the sum of US$100,000 in spring
1935,75 his fund-raising campaign does not seem to have been very successful.
According to Scott, rich Afro-Americans were not interested in the solidarity
movement; and the poor ones, who were the most interested, were too much
distressed themselves by the Depression to be able to render any assistance.76
Malaku suffered a nervous breakdown in August 1939, presumably because of
overwork. He died on 4 May 1940 of what was declared to be lobar pneumonia.77

73WilliamR. Scott,"Goingto thePromisedLand:Afro-AmericanImmigrantsin Ethiopia,

1930-1935,"paperpresentedat the 14thAnnualMeetingof the AfricanStudiesAssociation,
Denver,Nov. 3-6, 1971, 10-25; WilliamR. Scott,"Malaku
E. Bayen:EthiopianEmissaryto
BlackAmerica,1936-1941,"EthiopiaObserver,XV, 2 (1972),133. Cf. FO 371/19176,Barton
to Hoare,21.11.35.
74Scott, "MalakuBayen,"136-37. Issues of Voice of Ethiopiaand some of Malaku's
correspondencearefoundat theSchomburg
CenterforResearchin BlackCulture,
NewYork.
75DelBoca,GliItaliani,369n.
76Scott,"Malaku
Bayen,"136.
771bid.,137.

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 THE ETHIOPIAN INTELLIGENTSIA AND THE WAR 293

As a postscript to this section, we might note here the cases of two

Ethiopianswho saw resistanceto Italianrulefroman even broader,internationalist,
perspectivethanMalakudid. The first,whose nameunfortunatelyremainsyet to
be identified,expressedhis views in an articlein an anti-Fascistweekly published
by a certainProf. CarloRosselli. He emphasizedthe commonbondsthattied the
EthiopianResistanceand the Loyalistcause in Spainand depicteda post-Fascist
scenarioof Italo-Ethiopianfriendship:"Ethiopiahas, to-day,not only a profound
sympathy with the Spanish cause, which is easy to understand,and with the
Italiansnow fightingin Spain;she mustalso, fromthis very day, preparefor active
collaborationwith the Italyof to-morrow."78 The otherEthiopian,by the name of
Gabra-Heywat,had been a studentat LausanneUniversityin Switzerland.On the
outbreakof the Italo-Ethiopianwar,he returnedto Ethiopiaand fought underRas
Emeru. FollowingEthiopia'smilitarydefeat,he joined the SpanishLoyalistforces
againstFascismwith the conviction"thatto fightin Spainis tantamountto fighting
for the independenceof Ethiopia".79
Conclusions
What are the conclusions we can drawfrom the above survey of the role of the
intelligentsiain the Italo-Ethiopianwarof 1935-41? The first, it seems to me, is
that the intelligentsia showed greater perception of the threats to Ethiopian
independencethan the non-educatedelite. Knowledge of the outside world,
particularlyof Europe,had broughtin its wake a soberingawarenessof Ethiopia's
backwardnessand the short lease of life that its independence had unless it
modernizedand put its house in order. These warningsrangedfrom the general
injunctionsof Gabra-Egziabher Gila-Maryam, andGabra-Heywat Baykadagnto the
morepracticalrecommendationsof TedlaHaile andTakla-Hawaryat.Among the
intellectualsonly AfawarqGabra-Iyyasus refusedto see the dangerbut this is not
in
altogether surprising light of his later career as ideologue of the Fascist
occupation.
The second point one can make is the ratherobvious one that modem
educationdid not automaticallymeanresistanceto Italianrule. As was the case
with the rest of Ethiopiansociety, there were collaboratorsjust as there were
patriots,althoughthereappearsto be no doubtthatthe patriotsout-numberedthe
banda.,the Ethiopiantermfor collaborators.It wouldbe reasonableto expect that
frustrationat Ethiopia'sbackwardnesswould have led some members of the
intelligentsiato espouse the colonial path of development. Some of the lines in
Gabra-Heywat'swritings, comparing independentEthiopia unfavorably with
British-ruledSudan and Italian-ruledEritrea,are almost suggestive of such an
option. But therewere in realityfew intellectualswho were preparedto entertain

78NTEN,16.1.37.
79NTEN, 6.2.37.

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294 BAHRU ZEWDE

the idea that Ethiopia should forfeit its independencefor the sake of progress.
Indeed,most of themreadilyidentifiedwiththeHayla-Sellaseregimeandexhibited
pronouncednationalisticsentimentswhichWesternobserverswerereadyto label as
xenophobic. Afawarq does laud the Fascist order for introducingthe kind of
changeshe had advocatedall along. But, in view of his totallack of principleand
his crassopportunism,it is difficultto give muchcreditto his arguments.
Thirdly,one can suggesttentativelythatresistanceto Italianrule appearsto
have been most intense among those with an Anglo-Saxon and Protestant
educationalbackgroundthanamongthose of Latinand Catholicformation. The
compositionof the Black Lion leadershipon the one handandthe collaborationof
the Catholicintelligentsialed by BlattenGetaWalda-Maryam on the otherclearly
bearsthis out. On an individuallevel, the contrastingroles of the Anglo-Ethiopian
Hakim Warqenahand the Italo-EthiopianAfawarqdramatizesthe opposition.
Related to this is the prominentrole played by the Eritreaneducatedelite in the
course of the war. Most of these tended to have a Swedish evangelical
background,a situationthatwas latercarriedover to the Unionist movementas
well.
Finally,andmost importantfor post-1941Ethiopia,the warresultedin the
liquidationor marginalization of the intelligentsia.The mostdramaticaspectof this
is of course the whole-saleand vengefulmassacreof the intelligentsiaduringthe
Graziani Massacre. But in other, less dramatic ways as well, the exciting
intellectualclimateof the pre-warperiodwas followed by the drabatmosphereof
the post-1941 era. The old giantsdisappearedfromthe scene, and there were no
new ones to replacethem. Warqenahextendedhis stayin IndiaafterLiberationand
his eventualreturncausedscarcelya ripple. Takla-Hawaryat prolongedhis exile in
Madagascarand, afterhis returnin 1955/56, retiredto the obscurityof a gentleman-
farmer'slife in Hima, Hararge.80Afawarqspentyears in miserablecaptivity in
Jimmauntilhe died, blind,in 1947.81Dr. AlamawarqBayyana,who miraculously
survived the GrazianiMassacre,had a brief spell as liaison officer between the
BritishadministrationandtheEthiopiangovernmentafter1941. He soon came into
conflict with the brothersWalda-Giyorgisand MakonnenWalda-Yohannes,the
latterof whom was apparentlyabusinghis post as custodianof enemy property.
Alamawarq'sviolentdeathsoon afterthe Liberationis thusseen as havingbeen not
purelyaccidental.82

30-34.
80Germachaw,"BajerondTakla-Hawaryat,"
81Stella,"Unpersonaggio
amletico,"
601;Zeqargachaw,"YaNaggadras,"
32, gives thedate
forAfawarq's 1939EC-that is, 25 September
deathas 15Maskaram 1946.
820ral communicationfrom Ato Sebhatu,who was workingas head of the Criminal
Investigation underAlamawarq.
Department

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 THEETHIOPIAN ANDTHEWAR
INTELLIGENTSIA 295

Even Yoftahe, who had been very close to both the emperorand Walda-
Giyorgisduringtheirexile, was not entirelyhappywith the situationthatbeganto
unfold itself after 1941. His literaryallusionsto the good times the banda were
having in post-LiberationEthiopia-"No one was readyto give a handwhen the
gesho (a plantused for preparingthe traditionalbeerandmead)was being ground,
buteveryonecame out of hidingwhenit was time to drink"-must havedispleased
the manywho stood to gain fromthe new arrangement.In 1942, he was offereda
job in the Ministryof Educationas a zema expert,which he declined, and then
madevice-presidentof the Senate. Althoughhe continuedto write,he led a solitary
life and grew progressively schizophrenic. With the usual penchant for the
conspiratorial,some have suspectedpoisoning behind his suddendeath in July
1947, a suspiciongiven a semblanceof verisimilitudeby the fact thathe had died
aftertakinginjectionfor a recurrentmalaria.But it looks morelikely thatit was his
prolongedillness thatfinallyclaimedhis life.83
Yoftahe'stragic fate does not alter the overall picture,however, that the
emperorwas morecomfortablewith thosemembersof the intelligentsiawho hada
fundamentallytraditionaleducationalformationwith a slightmodemveneer,more
or less like himself, thanwith those who hada moresustainedexposureto foreign
educationandlife. Thus,no intellectualwas as close to the emperoras Heruy. But
his death in exile eliminatedhim from the post-1941 scene. His place as the
emperor'sconfidant seems to have been taken over by Walda-GiyorgisWalda-
Yohannes and Makonnen Habta-Wald, both basically in Heruy's mould.
Surroundedby people who had no independentintellectualor political base, the
emperorwent aheadto forge post-1941Ethiopiaon his own terms. Initially,the
prevalent atmosphere of consensus might have contributedto the successes
achievedin the realmsof economic growthandpoliticalintegration. Ultimately,
however, the absenceof an even mildlycriticalspiritbredimperialcomplacency
verging on arrogance,which helpedlead Ethiopiato the tribulationsof the 1960s
and 1970s.

"YaQagnGetaYoftahe
83Mulugeta, 70-82.
Neguse,"

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