the italian social republic was born in september 1943 after the armistice with the allies and the liberation of mussolini, as an attempt to rebuild an italian state that would continue the work of fascism. the government of the new republic is based in salo ', on the shores of lake garda, with a political center in verona, where the republican fascist party is rebuilt. from then until 1945 Italy lived nineteen dramatic months, characterized by deaths and destruction. in the vain attempt to regain the consent of the masses, the republic of salo 'became an instrument of repression in the hands of the Germans and collapsed, in April 1945, in the face of the advance of the allied armies. this documentary reconstructs the history of those 600 days with largely unpublished material.