Language:
English
Year of publication:
2006
Titel der Quelle:
Telos; a Quarterly Journal of Critical Thought
Angaben zur Quelle:
133 (2006) 95-119
Keywords:
Mussolini, Benito,
;
Jews History 1800-2000
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
;
Antisemitism History 1800-2000
Abstract:
Argues that racism and antisemitism were not inherent to Italian fascism, and Mussolini was not antisemitic. The fascist movement was strongly supported by Italy's assimilated Jews, and Jews initially constituted ca. 10% of the party. Notes that fascist Italy provided refuge for Jews fleeing from Nazi rule, that Mussolini allowed himself to ridicule Nazi antisemitism and racial theories, that during World War II many Italians helped Jews, and that 85% of Italian Jews survived. The turn toward racism and antisemitism in 1938 was dictated by foreign policy, mainly by relations with Germany. Italy's antisemitic policies of 1938-45 were meant to accommodate the Germans, and never became deeply rooted in public policy, administrative practice, or popular opinion. A critical response by Franklin Hugh Adler (pp. 120-130 in this issue) divides the 1938-45 time span into two periods: 1938-43, when the perpetrators of the antisemitic policies were Italian fascists and the population was indifferent to the plight of the Jews, and 1943-45, when the perpetrators were Germans and the population opposed anti-Jewish policies. States that internal developments in Italian fascism in the 1930s brought about the antisemitic turn of 1938. The conquest of Ethiopia raised the fascists' racial sensitivity and paved the way for racial antisemitism, and the anti-bourgeoisie campaign of the period and the identification of Jews with the bourgeoisie and liberalism resulted in attempts to exclude Jews from Italian society.
Note:
Adler, Franklin Hugh. On Mussolini and the Jews: a critical response to Cabona. 120-130.
URL:
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