EXCLUSIVE: Kanye West has sparked fury by making plans for secret gig in Italy – with war veterans slamming his praise for Adolf Hitler

Kanye West has sparked outrage by making secret concert plans in Italy – with war veterans criticizing his praise of Adolf Hitler.

West – who has now changed his name to Ye – has been in Italy on an extended holiday with his Australian wife Bianca Censori since August.

Although nothing has been officially confirmed, a giant set is being built at an outdoor venue in Italy, the RCF Arena near Reggio Emilia.

Sources say talks are underway for a concert as early as this weekend or possibly next weekend with around 80,000 people expected to attend.

However, local veterans groups representing former partisans who fought against the Nazis and Hitler, as well as Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, have boycotted the concert.

They have highlighted West’s support for Hitler and his outspoken views on the Nazis and said his ‘political ideas are unacceptable’.

In a shocking interview last year with Alex Jones on his InfoWars show, West said: “Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.

“I love the Jews, but I also love the Nazis. There are many things I like about Hitler, many things, I like Hitler… I’m a Nazi.’

Albertina Soliani, vice president of the (ANPI) National Association of Italian Partisans, attacked: “It’s time to say enough to these people who believe they can say what they want.”

“Someone can be a fantastic singer, but then they’re also judged by what they say, and West has made some inhumane statements and with what’s going on in the world today, we can’t accept this concert.

“We are focused every day on carrying certain values, which are freedom and democracy, and then with that we have to start all over again.

“In my opinion he should stay at home, Reggio Emilia has always valued people who have fought for certain principles and we are on the side of the oppressed and not those who preach hatred.”

Ermete Fiaccadori, regional president of ANPI for Reggio Emilia, attacked West and said: ‘First let me just say that I hope this concert does not continue, this artist has a huge following of young people, but his message is disturbing.

“I am speechless that he cannot understand what he is saying, conveying a huge misunderstanding of what Adolf Hitler was in the course of history.

“I’m all for artistic freedom, but what Kanye West says and does leaves me shocked.

“We as an organization totally condemn this concert and we are very concerned about what message it conveys.

“And before anyone says it, this is not censorship, because we are all for freedom, but we are talking about a concert that is completely out of order.

“Reggio has a long history of fighting against Adolf Hitler’s ideas and many lost their lives as a result.”

Kanye, 46, has been in Italy with Bianca, 28, since August and is said to be working on a new album in a recording studio in Milan.

Media in Reggio Emilia have shown cranes and trucks arriving at the RCF Arena – which hosted a major Harry Styles concert in the summer – and an army of construction workers on site.

Trucks and cranes can be seen operating, and a scene appears to be going up with stewards and security, keeping viewers away and refusing to reveal any details.

Local authorities contacted by MailOnline in Reggio Emilia, including the police and the council, had no comment to make.

In March 1944, in Cervarolo, just 40 miles from Reggio Emilia, the Nazis killed 24 people, including the village priest, in retaliation for partisan activity.

In a hit editorial on its website ReggioOnline blasted the concert idea, saying: “Do we really want this?” and pointed out how the star has been involved in controversy since he was in Italy.

He added: “West is able to sell thousands of tickets in just a few minutes, move a huge amount of money, create an event that will reach millions of people overnight via broadcast.

“He is also a man who claimed he almost killed his daughter and is being investigated, also in Italy, for a series of questionable behaviour.

“Is it right that Kayne West sings in Reggio Emilia in the name of his art and his ability to attract a large audience?

“This is a city that takes its students to see the extermination camps on memorial trips so that those atrocities will never happen again.

“This is a city in which the values ​​of the person, human dignity and respect for others are not questioned and also remembered.

“This is the city where children are not sent to the ovens to burn, but are raised through an education system that the world copies from us.

“In the name of money, many excuses can be put on the table: from the expression “if he didn’t sing in Reggio, he would sing somewhere else” to the more subtle one: “all artists sing dubious phrases”.

“If West performs in Reggio Emilia, he will surely fall into the logic of a market that does not look at what is sung, but what is produced.

“However, do not forget that words, in addition to making money, when they are dangerous and violent, damage the brains of many people. But this is obviously of little or no interest’.

Last year West released an album called Donda, named after his mother, and he is said to be in Italy working on the follow-up.

Music forums suggested that the concert if not given the go ahead would be a ‘listening event’ where instead of performing in front of a live audience it would be streamed online.

Donda – which was West’s 10th album – was named after his mother Donda C west, who died in 2007 aged just 58.

West last performed live in Italy in August, when he appeared in front of 60,000 fans at a Travs Scott concert in Rome – and it was his first appearance since making a spate of anti-Semitic comments.

Dressed in black and barefoot, West sang Donda’s “Praise God” as well as his 2007 anthem “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.”

That concert made headlines after 60 people needed hospital treatment when pepper spray was set off, while locals feared an earthquake after dance fans set off strong 1.3-magnitude tremors.