Figure 1.--.
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Figure 1.--. |
Mussolini was not strongly committed to anti-semitism. Mussolini only imposed the first anti-Jewish regulations in 1938, after prompting from Hitler. Italy had a relatively small Jewish popularion of only about 45,000 people. The Italian people and Catholic clergy, however, managed to hide most of their Jews fron the NAZIs and Fascists. Italian Jews were thus spared the full force of the Holocaust and many managed to survive. The worst time came after Mussolinin was deposed and Italy surrenderedc to the Allies. The Germans quickly disarmed the Italian Army and occupied the country. They used the opportunity to begin rounding up and transporting Jews to the death camps. The Germans only managed to deport and kill about 15 percent of Italy's Jews, the lowest ratio in among occupied countries. This is especially surprising given the fact that Italy was an Axis partner. The lack of commitment on the aprt of Mussolini to genocide and the realtively short paeriod of German occupation are factors in the survival of Italian Jews. Considerable controvery surrounds the role of Pope Pious XII. Despite considerable anti-semitism among Catholic clerics, the clergy played a major role in saving Italian Jews. Ilalian priests, nuns, and monks hid Jews in monasteries, convents, schools, and churches. Jewish families were sheltered and fed at great risk to the individuals involved. One historain describes "massive support" on the part of the clergy often without orders from their superiors for the rescue effort.
Judiasm has a long history in Italy, a history which predates Christinity. Italy was the first European country where Jews appeared, more than 20 years before the birth of Christ. More Jews were brought as prisioners after te suppression of the Jewish Revolt. Jews were driven from Palestine and were spread throughout the Roman Empire in the Disaspora. After the fall of Rome, Europe splintered into many different political units. Jewish communitites florished in Western Chrisendom, but gradually anti-Semtism developed, especially when the papacy set the crusades in motion. The Papacy reeling under the rising force of the Protestant Reformation was increasingly less willing to accept any form of tolleration. Pope Paul IV issued a Papal Bull requiring that Jews in the Papal States (Rome and central Italy) be confined to ghettos (1555). Restrictions on Italian Jews continued in Italy, especially in the Papal States. The situiation for Jews did not change until the French Revolution and the appearance of Frebch armies undwr MNapoleon in Italy. Napoleon op[ened the ghettoes. Napolean granted Jews civil and commercial rights. An exception was the Jews in the Papal State and Tuscany. After Napoleons defeat, however, the civil and commericial rights were once more stripped away and the ghettoes reestablished. Garabaldi and the House of Savoy began the unification of Italy (1848). Under the new Italian Kingdom granted full commercial and civil rights to the Jews. Unification was completed (1861) and Italy was ruled by a constitutional democracy with parlimentary system. It was no longer necessary for Jews to disguise their religion. Freed from the ghetto, unification began a process of assimilation. Roman Jews, freed of papal restrictions, built the Great synagogue overlooking the Tiber (1904).
Mussolini was not strongly committed to anti-semitism.
Mussolini and the Fascists seized power in Italy. The Fascists were not initially ravidly anti-Simetic. Mussollini in fact had Jewish supporters. This Gradually changed. The Fascists enacted the Falco Laws which abrogated article 8 of the Italian constitution guaranteeing religious freedom. Mussolini coming under increasing NAZI influence issued the Manifesto of Italian Racism and declared the Italians to be part of a "pure race" (1938). The Jews were excluded from the pure Italian race. The Fascists proceeded to expell Jews from all public services, including government posts, the army and public schools. Italian Jews began leaving Italy, but as with Jews fleeing the NAZIS, it was hard to find countries to accept them.
The 20th Century has seen the rise of two basic types of boys uniformed youth groups. The Scouts have been the most important. Totalitarian political movements in the 1920s, however, sought to cretate their own scout-like groups that they could use to indoctrinate virtually all young Italians in the principles of Fascism. When fascist and communist parties seized power, they often forced competing youth groups like the Scouts to close.
Mussolini only imposed the first anti-Jewish regulations in 1938, after prompting from Hitler.
Italy had a relatively small Jewish popularion of only about 45,000 people. The Italian people and Catholic clergy, however, managed to hide most of their Jews fron the NAZIs and Fascists. Italian Jews were thus spared the full force of the Holocaust and many managed to survive.
The Tripartite Pact was signed September 27, 1940. The agreement allied Germany and Italy (which were at war with Britain) and Japan (which was at war with China). Germany and Italy has since 1939-40 been at war with Britain. Japan since 1937 had been at war with China. The alliance did not require the partners to join these wars, but it did require them to come to each other's aid if attacked. The alliance became known as the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis alliance, or commonly the Axis. The three Axis partners German hegemony over most of urope; Italian hegemony in the Mediterranean, and Japanese hegemony in East Asia. After the Axis agreement was signed, several German allies joined the Axis, notably Vichy France and Fascist Spain refused to do so. Japan had no Asian allies, except or the puppet state of Manchukuo.
Once it was clear that the NAZIs had smashed the French Army, Mussolini joined the war his Axis partner and declared war on France and Britain. Mussolini was dazzeled by the military success of the NAZIs and joined Hitler in 1940 with an invasion of France, only after France had been essentially destroyed by the Wehrmacht. The Italian people turned on Mussolini as the illconceived War turned against the Italians and their German allies. The Italian Fascit were certainly not the friends of Jews, but the
Holocaust in Italy was forced on Italy only after the NAZIs occupied Italy in late 1943 and Mussolini became a pawn of the NAZIs in late 1943 of the NAZIs.
Mussollini orders hisFascists to ransack the Jewish sections of Italian cities. Gradually many Jews were arrested and interned. The one thing Mussollini refused to authorize was deportations to the NAZI death camps in Poland. Even though the NAZIs increasingly demanded that the Italiand begin to deport their Jews.
SS Commander Heinrich Himmler visited Rome and met with Mussolini (October 11)--just before the Axis position in North Africa was undermined by El Alemaine and Torch. Himmler as head of German police, wanted Mussolini to aggree to join the German and Italian police forces. He also briefed Mussolini on the Holocaust, in part because he wanted Mussolini to agree to deport the Polish, Czech, and Yugoslav Jews in Italy to Germany. He also apparently raised the question of Jews in Italian-occupied Croatia. [Zuccotti, p. 117.] Prescisely what was said at the meeting is unknown. The most detailed account are Himmler's notes. Himmler invented an elaborate story about the Jews. He inssted that Jews were involved with sabotage, spying, and the resistance. Not only men were involved,but also women and children. As a result, Himmler explained that they were being "removed" from the Reich, the General Government of Poland, and other occupied territories. Himmler asserts that Mussolini agreed that this was the only possible solution. Himmler described confining Jews into concentration camps and used for road construction on the Eastern Front. He said that mortalities were high, because Jews were not used to mannual labor. He also told Mussolini that elderly Jews were csred for in old age homes as well as the special ghetto at Theresienstadt. He even claimed that other Jews were being pushed through the fighting lines to the East and the Soviets were shooting them. [Himmler] Himmler did not comment on Mussolini's response. This suggests that he did not get Mussolini's support for his suggestions. Otherwise he would have crowed about his diplomatic success. It is unclear how much Mussolini knew about the Holocaust. He must have known that the Germans were killing Jews. Italian military units were fighting on the Eastern Front and involved with occupation duties in both Greece and Yugoslavia. Some reports must have reached Mussolini. He may not have known the full extent of the killing or he may not have cared a reat deal. One historian suggests that Mussolini did not challenge Himmler because he had no desire to create an unpleasant scene. [Michaelis, p. 334.] One report suggests that Mussolini after discussing the matter with his own police chief, declined to go along with Himmler's suggestions. [Briones]
Himmler attempted to use the Foreign Ministry to deport Italian Jews and other foreign Jews from the Italian-occupied zone of France (January 1943). [Michaelis, p. 335.]
The worst time for Italy's Jews came after Mussolinin was deposed and Italy surrendered to the Allies. The fall of Sicily came as a great shock to the Italians. The Facists believed that Italian troops would fight more vigorously defendeding Sicily (Italian territory) than they had in the North African campaign. They did not. The War had clearly been a dissaster for Italy. Entering the War had been Mussolini's decessions. Fascist officials hope to place the blame for the War on Mussolini. The Fascist Grand Council arrested Mussolini (July 1943). Marshal Badoglio headed a care taker government. He publically affirmed Italy's commitment to the Axis and the War. Secretly he began secret negotiations with the Allies. Hitler was not fooled and ordered German troops to move into Italy. Finally the Allies announced the Italian surrender and launched an invasion (September 1943). The Americans landed at Salerno near Naples and the British further souTH.
The Germans used the period between the arrest of Mussolini (July 1943) and the Allied invasion (September 1943 to move powerful forces into Italy. Hitler put Field Marshal Alber Kesselring
in charge of German forces. Kesselring correctly reasoned that the Allies would land in the south because central and northern Italy would be outside the frange of Allied airpower. Kesselring proved to be an extremely competent commander and the German forces under him were well equipped and trained units. They fought tenaciously. The Allies decided to shift powerful forces to Britain to support the more important D-Day landings. Thus the Allies entered the Italian campaign with less force than they had deployed in North Africa. They also transferred some of their most capable commanders. The compbination of these factors and the Italian geography meant that the push north would take more time and prove more costly than anticipated.
The Germans quickly disarmed the Italian Army and occupied the country. They encountered very little resistance. Marshal Badoglio himself was terrified that the Germans would arrest him. Almost immediately after seizing control of Italy, the NAZIs began rounding-up Italian Jews.
They used the opportunity to begin rounding up and transporting Jews to the death camps. German soldiers surrounded Rome's ghetto at 5:00 AM ub the morning while people were still sleeping (October 16, 1943). They had names and addresses obtained from the Synagogue. They arrested 2,091 Jews who were then trasported to the NAZI death camps in Poland. THere are 16 who are known to have survived. Overall the NAZIs, however, were not as successful in the Jewish roundups as they had hoped. The Germans only managed to deport and kill about 15 percent of Italy's Jews, the lowest ratio in among occupied countries. This is especially surprising given the fact that Italy was an Axis partner. Jews hid as best they could. Some sought shelter in the Alps. Others were hidden in on farms and in convents and monasteries. Others like Franco Cesana joined the partisans.
The lack of commitment on the part of Mussolini to genocide and the realtively short paeriod of German occupation are factors in the survival of Italian Jews. Considerable controvery surrounds the role of Pope Pious XII. Despite considerable anti-semitism among Catholic clerics, the clergy played a major role in saving Italian Jews.
Time was an important factor. The NAZI roundups only began in October 1943 and the Allied reached Rome by June 1944. By this time the Soviet advances in the Eatern Front was forcing the NAZIs to close down and attemp to destroy evidence of the death camps, although Auschwiyz continued to operate for a few more months. It took almost another year before NAZI forces in norther Italy to surrender. This is far differentthan what the Jews in Poland and the rest of Western Europe where they had to hide from te NAZIs for 4-5 years which proved to be virtually impossible.
Ilalian priests, nuns, and monks hid Jews in monasteries, convents, schools, and churches. Jewish families were sheltered and fed at great risk to the individuals involved. One historain describes "massive support" on the part of the clergy often without orders from their superiors for the rescue effort.
HBC knows of two film depictions of the Holocaust in Italy. One is a very sad and realistic depiction, "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" (Italy/Germany, 1971). This sensitive depiction is in sharp contrast to the unrealistic, perhaps even insensitive depiction in "Life is Beautiful" (Italy, 1998).
Briones Luco, Ramon. Chilean ambassador to Italy. Briones had a secret source and reported back to the Chilean Foreign Ministry on the meeting. Copy in National Archives, RG 226, Entry 92, Box 198, Folder 7, document # 14350.
Himmler, Heinrich. Niederschrift ueber meinen Empfang beim Duce, 11 Oct. 1942, copy in National Archives RG 242, Microfilm T-175/R 69/ F 2585529.
Michaelis, Meir. Mussolini and the Jews: German Italian Relations and the Jewish Question in Italy 1922-1945 (Oxford, 1978).
Zuccotti, Susan. Under His Very Windows: The Vatican and the Holocaust in Italy (New Haven, 2000).
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