Fascism and anti semitism Flashcards
What the way that the Nazis and Italian fascism respectedly treated the Jews show about the two regimes?
How different they were
What were the levels of anti semitism early on in the regime?
There were very little levels of it either within Italy or the PNF
How much of the Italian population did the Jews make up?
Less than 1%
What had most of them managed to do in terms of their relationship to Italian life and culture?
Integrate themselves
Why can it be argued that pre-1938 Italian fascism was perhaps the opposite of anti semitic?
disproportionate number of Jews were part of the PNF. For 16 years the Jews enjoyed the same pros and cons under the regime as other Italians
What type of decrees did M introduce in 1938?
Anti semitic ones
What is the policy change usually seen to reflect?
M’s subservience to Hitler by this point
Why is it wrong to blame Italian anti semitism on Hitler?
Anti semitism can also be seen as a product of other trends, both international and domestic. It can also be seen as part of the general trend of radicalisation
Italian historian Bernardini in an article ‘The Origins and Development of Racial semitism in Fascist Italy’
His anti semitic policies were purely voluntary and flowed naturally from the confluence of Italy’s imperial policies, the ideological tenets of fascism and Italian national interests as put forward by M. The emergence of official anti semitism must be viewed not as a momentary mistake on the part of M, or as an attempt to honour the Nazis by copying the Nuremburg Laws. It was, rather, cut from the same cloth as the rest of fascism’s final costume and was an attempt to once and for all eradicate the remains of earlier values and customs, to transform the Italian people from top to bottom, and the present the world with a truly new fascist man
M in conversation with German writer Emil Ludwig in 1932
Of course, there are no pure races left. Not even the Jews have kept their blood unmingled. Successful crossings have often promoted the energy and beauty of a nation. Race is a feeling rather than a reality. Nothing ever will make me believe that biologically pure race can be said to exist today. Amusingly enough, not one of those who have claimed the nobility of the German race was himself a German. Anti semitism does not exist in Italy. National pride has no need for the madness of race. Jewish Italians have shown themselves good citizens, and they fought bravely in the war. Many of them occupy leading positions in the universities, in the army and the banks
M in Il Giornale d’Italia, September 1938
History teaches that while empires are conquered by force of arms, they are nevertheless maintained by prestige. And to have prestige it is necessary to maintain a clear racial consciousness which establishes not only the sharpest differences between races, but also levels of superiority
M commenting to friends in 1938
Race, it makes me laugh. But there are reasons of state which I must obey. In Italy, racialism and anti semitism are being made to appear as important politically as they are unimportant in real substance. The racial purity of this nation over which have passed so many invasions and which has attracted so many peoples, is clearly absurd
What did the L’Osservatore Romano (the daily newspaper of the Vatican) say in 1924 about the Jews?
‘The Jew is the most tenacious enemy of Christianity’
What did Pope Pius XI say against the anti semitic decrees in 1938?
‘Catholic means universal; it is not racist, nationalist or separatist, Why unfortunately, did Italy have to go and imitate Germany’
How many Jews were there in Italy?
About 50,000
How did Italy aid the Jews in the face of early Nazi persecution?
They allowed hundreds of Jewish immigrants to enter the country
How many Jews were PNF members by 1938?
10,000
How many Jews actually had to become government ministers for the regime?
2
What were their names?
Finzi and Jung
What was Finzi’s role?
Finzi was the interior undersecretary and a member of the Fascist Grand Council (1922-4
What was Jung’s role?
Jung was finance minister between 1932-5
How many Jewish mistresses did M have?
2
What did M criticise about Hitler early on?
His anti semitism
Which leading fascist was incredibly anti semitic?
Farinacci
Why was M not completely innocent in terms of anti semitism even in the early days?
Because he would still occasionally make anti semitic comments
What were these anti semitic comments based upon?
These were based on ideological racism, with M criticising Jews for their beliefs or actions (that they were anti nationalist) rather than ideological racism (attacking Jews as inherently inferior)
How did the 1935 invasion of Abyssinia and the proclomation of empire encourage anti semitism?
encouraged the development of racism to justify imperial control
What did the racist decrees of 1936 do?
Banned the mixing of races in Abyssinia
What foreign policy moment in 1936 contributed to Italian anti semitism?
The Berlin Axis
What did the Propaganda Ministry publish in July 1938?
‘manifesto of Italian racism’
List the things that the 1938 racist decrees did
Jews banned from mixed marriages
No Jews in state service
No Jews in state schools
Jews not to have Aryan servants
Foreign Jews expelled
Jews not allowed to own land over 5000 liras worth
Jews not allowed to own property worth over 20000 liras worth
Jews not allowed to own businesses employing more than 100 people
How did Germany influence the 1938 racist decrees?
M wanted to emulate Hitler and strengthen the Axis
What other foreign policy moment had helped foster racist attitudes?
The Abyssinian campaign
What added to the perception amongst some that Jews were at the heart of international anti fascism?
Several Jews prominent in the international movement for sanctions against Italy, like the Roselli brothers
Which political ideas were Jews associated with and why did this add to Italian anti semitism?
The fascist movement was opposed to bolshevism and internationalism, both of which were assoicated with the Jews
Where did internal pressure for anti semitism come from?
Anti semitic radicals from within the party, like Farinacci
Why were the anti semitic measures not good for the regime’s popularity amongst the Italian people?
Unpopular and resented by many
What were the anti semitic measures seen as in terms of the relationship between M and Hitler?
Seen as M kowtowing to Hitler
This and what other policy turned many influential Italians against the regime?
The reform of customs
What was the response to the anti semitic measures from the Popepublicly critical?
publicly critical
What was the response from the King?
Privately critical
What proportion of university teachers were sacked as a result of the decrees?
1/12
Why did the fact that anti semitism had been legislated not matter in many cases?
Because they laws were not properly enforced
Give an example of this
Italian forces in occupied Nice hindered Nazi attempts to deport Jews to extermination camps
Explain the negative impact that Nazi occupation of northern and central Italy had on the Jews?
German occupation in 1943 led to 9000 Jews being sent to extermination camps
What did the measures show in terms of the relationship between M and Germany?
Show how M was coming under German influence
What foreign policy measure do the measures show the harmful affects of
Show the harmful effects of the Abyssinian campaign
What do the measures demonstrate about the regime in the 1930s
Show the radicalisation of the regime in the late 1930s
What does the lack of proper enforcement of the measures tell us about the regime?
Show the limited impact of fascism
What did the measures contribute to a decline in?
Support for M and fascism
What did Himmler have to persuade M to do?
Persecute the Jews
What did Himmler accuse M of?
Accused M of ‘sentimental humanitarianism’
What did Goebels say about M’s attitude to the Jews?
Goebels said he was too soft on the Jews
What did Bosworth say about the anti semitic policies?
Bosworth ‘not willing executioners’. Opportunist policy that he wasn’t properly committed to rather than genuine intent. If he’s hollow about everything he must also be hollow about racism
What does Bernardini say?
Bernardini says it was purely voluntary and a natural extension of fascism
What makes Bernardini a reliable source?
He is an Italian historian
What contradict Bernardini’s ideas about Italian anti semitism?
Pre-1938 quotes from M
What contradicts this idea?
Because M claimed in his later writings that he was infact ‘racist before Hitler’
What contradicts this idea?
but this seems to be him just trying to prove that he wasn’t just copying Hitler
Make the case that Italian fascism was anti semitic
M said his lack of anti semitism as a mistake
Abyssinia encouraged the development of racism – perhaps this promoted it more than Hitler
1937 book written called ‘Who are the Hebrew people in Italy?’
Make the case that it wasn’t?
Jews moved to Italy during the holocaust
By 1939, there were 57,000
10,000 in the PNF
Some in the Fascist Grand Council
Two Jewish mistresses
High ranking jobs in the bank and universities
Assimilation
M called Italian Jews good citizens and brave soldiers
Jews converting to Christianity. However, the fact that Jews felt the need to convert could suggest anti semitism
Give a quote from M where he talks about the incompatability between fascism and Judaism
‘Judaism is irreconcilable with fascism’ (1938)
How can the King be seen as especially complicit?
Because he had to sign of on all of the racist decrees
Why can the discrimination post 1938 be seen as being motivated by biological rather than cultural racism?
Because even Jewish families that did not practise were discriminated against
How does M’s fluid position of the genealogy of the Italian people show that he came under Nazi influence?
M had claimed that Italians were descended from the ancient Romans and Greeks. Now he claims that we are Aryans
Why can the 1938 decrees be seen as coming out of nowhere?
Because they took most Jews by surprise
Why did this mean that parents were unable to reassure children who were ‘expelled’ from their schools?
Because unlike those Jews in Germany who had seen anti semitic policies and attitudes ramp up over time, even parents did not know what was going on following the decrees
Who did the regimes consider to be aryans?
Italian gentiles
What did M refer to the USA as?
A country of ‘Jews and niggers’
Give two elements of the decrees that was lifted straight out of the Nuremburg Laws
- The idea that Jews could not have Aryan slaves
- Jews being forbidden from owning radios. While this may have made theoretical sense in Germany, as there there were transmitter radios that could be used to send messages to the enemy, in Italy the radios were just receiver radios, meaning that there was no way for Italian Jews to do this even if they wanted to
How did the decrees have a cultural impact as well as a political impact?
Neighbours and former friends began to dislike the Jews
Why did lots of Italians refuse to speak out despite opposing the anti semitism?
Because they wanted to protect themselves and their careers. This is especially the case if they were state employees
Why expelling Jews schools and stopping them from being teachers just the first step?
Because the regime wanted to eliminate Jews from all public life
Why can the laws be seen as counterproductive for the efficacy of government?
Italian government dismissed high profile officials and intellectuals they relied upon just to keep up with these laws
What does anecdotal evidence state that lots of officials were willing to do?
Bend the rules
Why is this idea consistent with what we already know about the regime’s legislation?
Because lots of the laws were just rubber laws that lacked substance and didn’t do anything in practise
What were gentile children not allowed to do?
Make contact with Jews
Why is the Italian notion of purging the Jews different from the German one post Nuremburg?
Because the fascist preferred for the Jews to simply emigrate and leave, whereas the Nazis wanted to exterminate the Jewish race entirely
Why did the way that officials enforced the laws differ from Germany according to anecdotal evidence?
Anecdotal evidence tell us that officials were sometimes open to bribery from wealthy Jewish families, this would simply not have happened in Germany
What does this show us about fascist anti semtism?
That the regime was not properly ideologically committed to anti semitism in the same way the Nazis were
Why was Italian fascism less harsh than Germany in terms of the confiscation of property?
Because at first the state bought Jewish property, albeit at a rate below market value. The outright confiscation of Jewish property with no confiscation in Italy only began after the Nazi takeover in 1943
How did the fall of M as dictator in 1943 make things worse for the Jews?
Because the Nazis took over in the north and properly enforced the laws. Anti semitism was ramped up with M as a puppet dictator, with Jews being executed in the street
Which Italian city successfully launched a counter insurgency against Nazi rule?
Naples
Why was this not necessarily helpful for the Jews?
Because the Nazis took the Jews with them as they retreated
Who were the partisans?
Anti fascists who began to take over
Why did the partisans also discriminate against the Jews?
Because the Jews had been a disproportionately large portion of the PNF and had supported fascism pre-1938
Why was ‘liberation’ in 1945 not the end of the story for the Jews?
Because what they and their families had just been through makes it near impossible that they could simply return to normal life
Explain Dennis Mack Smith’s idea of passive responsibility
DMS talks about passive responsibility. Italians happy to economically benefit from taking over former Jews’ jobs and businesses. Even though Bottai privately opposed the laws, he chose to maintain his position as Education Minister and enforce the laws in schools. Catholics more concerned with protecting CA than opposing anti semitism. The only real excuse they had was in the north (post 1943) when it was taken over by the Nazis
Why did the fact that M privately found anti semitism ridiculous not matter in practise?
Because he felt obliged to do it anyway because of Hitler
Compare the Jewish population in Italy to the Jewish population in Germany in the 1930s
50,000 in Italy, 500,000 in Germany
Compare racial indoctrination in the two nations
It went far deeper in Germany
Compare M and Hitler’s commitment to anti semitism
M’s anti semitism was mixed in with lots of other political considerations, but for Hitler it was an obsession
When did deportations to concentration camps begin in Italy?
1943, when a large part of Italy came under Nazi control
Why things still bad for Italian Jews post 1938 despite these differences in the severity of anti semitism?
many Jews suffered economic hardship and increasing social isolation
Explain the negative impact the anti semitic policies had on the popularity of the regime
The race policies and alliance with Hitler did not lead to a surge in patriotism and enthusiasm for radical fascims; they proved wildly unpopular, helping undermine the consensus that had previously existed in favour of M’s regime
Give an example of how even M made exceptions to the decrees
Margherita Sarfatti emigrated to escape the race laws, with M helping her flee to Argentina in 1939.
Give an example of an important figure who emigrated due to these anti semitic decrees
Enrico Ferni, a brilliant leading physicist who would later become part of the Manhattan Project. Despite not being Jewish himself, he emigrated to show solidarity with his Jewish colleagues
What did M later come to view his anti semitic policies as?
A mistake
Why could he not admit this publicly?
Italy became more closely allied with Germany after the 1939 Pact of Steel, and also both economically and militarily dependent upon Germany. There was no way out, and the consequences were disastrous for the regime
Why was a big propaganda campaign required to encourage Jews to be anti semitic?
A big propaganda campaign was necessary as few Italian considered there to be a ‘Jewish Question’ in their country. The fascist press had to work hard to implant anti semitic prejudices in the minds of people who mainly saw Judaism as a separate religion, rather than seeing Jews as a separate race
How many Italian Jews opted to convert to Christianity as a response to the policies?
4,000
How many emigrated in response?
5,000
What was the official title of the race law?
‘Provisions for the Defence of the Italian Race’
What type of marriages did it ban?
Banned marriages between ‘Italian citizens of the Aryan race’ and people belonging to other races
How did the race laws define what a Jewish person was?
Defined a Jew as a person born of two Jewish parents or people born to parents where only one of them was a Jew, even if they did not practise the Jewish faith
What did the names of all Jews have to be placed upon according to the laws?
The public register
List the things that the race laws prohibited the Jews from doing
Join the armed services
Act as a guardian or custodian of a minor or disabled person who was not a Jew
Own firms that employ more than 100
Work within or have contracts with the defence industry
Be owners of land valued at more than 5,000 lira
Be owners of buildings that have a tax value of more than 20,000
Employ Italians as servants
How did the race laws go down with the majority of the population?
Unpopular
What did this mean for how the laws were applied?
They were not applied rigorously
What about the race laws offended many Italians?
M’s racism and the appearance that it seemed to be him toadying Hitler offended many Italians
What was the consequence of this negative reaction to the race laws for the regime?
It caused some to turn against fascism and was one of the contributors to M’s eventual downfall
How did some Italians act against the race laws?
Italians took steps to provide Jews with secure places of refuge and hindered their transportation to death camps in Poland
Who was Heinrich Himmler?
the head of the SS who supervised the concentration camps
Why did Himmler go to Italy in 1942?
Went to Rome to encourage M to deport the Italian Jews to the death camps in Poland. He said they would be humanely treated
How did Himmler and M come to a compromise in 1942?
M agreed Italian Jews would be interned but not deported
What was Himmler’s reaction to this decision by M?
Himmler accused him of weakness and ‘sentimental humanitarianism’
From ‘Mussolini’ (2002) by Australian historian RJB Bosworth:
‘After the anti semitic legislation of 1938 and some follow up in 1939, the pace of official persecution in Italy slowed. Moreover, on race as with many other issues, the official line adopted in legal Italy was not always followed in real Italy; whatever the case may have been among Germans. The Italians showed few signs of beings the willing executioners of the Jews. To absolve M for any responsibility for the Holocaust as some fascist nostalgics have done is absurd. To understand him as a philosophically convinced anti semite or any form of racist is equally inplausable. As Farinacci had the gumption to reveal, fascist racism was more opportunist and short term than fanatical. It was as hollow as were many other aspects of M’s administration’
Where had M shown his racist tendencies before he even turned upon the Jews?
in his colonial policies, particularly around 1935 at the time of the Abyssinian invasion
M claimed that Italians were ‘Aryans of the Mediterranean type’’ and stresses Italy’s cultural and racial superiority over African tribalism. He recognised a need, perhaps even a duty, to impose Italian culture upon these native civilisations of Libya and Abyssinia
When did M show his first signs of anti semitism?
M showed his first signs of anti semitism in 1936 when he showed signs of a willingness to discriminate against the Jews
What foreign policy moment caused him to ramp up his anti semitism?
His alliance with Hitler
How did the relationship with Hitler influence M’s decision to pass the race laws?
M may have been influenced by a desire to match or even exceed the anti semitic policies in Nazi Germany and was aware that a common policy against the Jews would cement the alliance between the two countries
What did Hitler succeed in convincing M of about the Jews?
Hitler succeeded convincing him that international Jewry were in league with the Bolsheviks to achieve world domination
How did M receive pressure from inside the party for anti semitism?
Farinacci provided internal pressure due to being a staunch advocate for both anti semitism and an alliance with Germany. He and those who were like minded claimed that too many Jews had ‘wormed their way into strategic positions in Italian life’
How did Hitler describe the USA?
In his diaries. M’s son in law, Count Ciano, recalled how in 1937, M was critical of the USA, referring to it as ‘a country of niggers and Jews’
What impact did M predict Judaism would have had on Europe by the end of the century?
He also claimed the by the end of the century ‘the acid of Jewish corrosion’ would destory many European countries
How did the actions of foreign Jews influence M?
The actions of foreign Jews also influenced M. Many influential foreign Jews pushed for sanctions against Italy following their invasion of Abyssinia. The Jewish brothers, Carlo and Nello Roselli, Italian socialists forced into exile, had been successfully recruiting people to fight for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War
What did the regime publish in 1938?
the manifesto of racial scientists
Where did the manifesto of racial scientists first appear?
in the magazine ‘Giornale d’Italia’
Who was the manifesto claimed to be the work of?
claimed to be the work of a group of scholars from Italy’s most prestigous universities.
Who was the main contributor in reality?
M
How was the manifesto set out?
It was made up of a series of 10 points, set out like commandments,
Where might these points have been directly extracted from?
Hitler’s Mein Kampf
What was the publication of the manifesto quickly followed by?
The publication of the manifesto was soon followed by an anti semitic press campaign with blatantly racial articles appearing in ‘La Vita Italiana’ and ‘La Difesa Della Razza’
What did fascist intellectual Giuseppe Bottai say in support of anti semitism
The fascist intellectual, Giuseppe Bottai, openly expressed the view that ‘racism should be displayed to resist Jews
What did Pope Pius XI praise M for not doing in the early 1930s?
Following Hitler’s anti semitic example
Describe Pius XI’s response to the race laws
did not hesitate to criticise M’s racial policies. He was one of the first to attack M’s change of heart when he said ‘it is not possible for a Christian to take part in anti semitism’
Who was Pius XI succeeded by when he died in 1939?
Pius XII
Describe Pius XII’s tamer response to anti semitism
far less outspoken and did not publicl condemn the way the Jews were being treated in Italy or elsewhere in Europe
How was internal pressure against anti semitism applied from within the party?
Another critic was Balbo, who resented German influence on Italian affairs
Describe the impact of this internal pressure
did not stop the regime from ramping up its pressure on the Jews
How many German Jews are estimated to have sought refuge in Italy up until 1936?
3000
What was the content of the race laws similar to?
The 1935 Nuremburg Laws
Whose anti semitic views did M say his own preceded?
Hitler
What document backs up the idea that Hitler was actually a strong anti semite?
M claimed that his hatred for the Jews preceded Hitler’s. This idea and the idea that M was infact a strong anti semite is backed up by the recently published diaries of Claretta Petacci, M’s mistress between 1932-8
What have historians said about these diaries?
That they appear to be convincing
Why must the diaries be taken with a grain of salt?
They were from M’s lover rather than M himself,
What do the diaries quote M as boasting in Aug 1938?
‘I have been a racist since 1921. I don’t know how they can think I’m imitating Hitler’
Give a quote from the diaries which explain how M wanted to indoctrinate racism within the Italian people
‘We must give the Italians a sense of race’
What proportion of Jews in Northern Italy were taken to death camps after the Germans took control in 1943?
When German troops occupied northern and central Italy in 1943, thousands of Jews were deported. According to some researches, there were 32,000 Jews in 1943 Italy, of whome 8000 (25%) were deported to concentration camps
What do the diaries quote him as saying about the Jews in Oct 1938?
These disgusting Jews, I must destory them all’
What kind of terms would he use for the Jews according to the diaries?
‘Enemies’ and ‘reptiles’
Describe the relationship between Pius XI and M over the issue of anti semitism
M also denounced Pope Pius XI, who saw anti semitism as damaging the RCC in the later years of his 1922-39 papacy. He commissioned an encyclical which denounced racism and the violent nationalism of Nazi Germany, but died before it could be published and relesed. M said that ‘there never was a Pope as harmful to religion’ as Pius XI
What does Piero Melograni say about the diaries?
Piero Melograni, a historian who had written several books on fascism and WWII, said the excerpts were ‘convincing in terms of the character that emerges and therefore the authenticity of the diaries’. He said that the diaries appear to strengthen the notion of a strongly anti semitic M, as demonstrated by the 1938 laws and several speeches
How did M see history through the lens of race?
M believed that history had always been about the struggle between superior and inferior races and cultures
Describe the racism displayed by Italy in Africa
M often deliberately encouraged the racism and brutality in Abyssinia and Libya. Italian forces used poison gas on the Abyssinians in 1935 and 1936. After the conquest of Abyssinia was complete, M instituted a strict system of racial segregation
Give a quote from M where he makes a link between colonial conquest and racist attitudes
In a Sep 1938 speech he declared that: ‘The racial problem has not broken out suddenly. It is related to our conquest of our empire, for history tells us that empires are won by arms but held by prestige – and prestige demands a clear cut racial consciousness. The Jewish problem is merely one aspect pf this phenemenon’
What type of attitude towards the Jews did many leading fascists have?
Blatantly anti semitic attitudes
Describe the book ‘who are the hebrew people in Italy?’
A book by Pietro Orano in 1937 called ‘who are the Hebrew people in Italy?’ was a vicious attack on Jews, claiming they were alien to Italian culture
Give some examples of leading fascist who were blatantly anti semitic
Men like Giovanni Preziosi and Roberto Farinacci were ardent racists who admired Germany’s policies against the Jews and wanted Italy to go the same way
Why were their attitudes not reflective of the whole PNF?
This was certianly not true of the whole PNF, as 1/3 of Jewish men were party members, or of M himself, whose long time mistress, Margherita Sarfatti, was Jewish
Over what time period were most of the race laws issued?
Most of the race laws were issued between Aug-Nov 1938
What could the Jews no longer be a part of following the race laws?
the PNF or any cultural organisations
