Figure 1.--Italian Americans were not anxious for America to get involved in another war, especially because Mussolini and Facist Italy were a NAZI and Japanese ally. After Pearl Harbor and the German-Italian declartion of war, Itlalian Americans stronly supported the war effort. Here a procession through an Italian-American neoghborhood was collecting money for the troops during the summer of 1942. Italian American youth would represent the largest contingent of American military personnel of any immigrant group.

Another large American immigrant group were Italian-Americans. Italy in the mid-1930s became NAZI Germany's primary European Axis ally because of the developing relationship between Mussolini and Hitler. Italian Americans were more recent arrivals than the Germans and tended to vote Democratic meaning a substantial level of support for President Roosevelt. Italians tended to come to America with primarily economic motives. They were not estranged from their home country. Many wanted to earn money and then go back to Italy. Thus the connections with the home country were stronger than most other immigrant group. And unlike German Americans who largely disapproved of Adolf Hitler, they tended to view Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in largely favorable terms. Mussolini's rise to power gained Italy an increasing prominence within the world community during the 1920s. Many Italian Americans became affected with a feeling of patriotism for their homeland. In fact, some prominent New Dealers admired Mussolini and the idea of a Corporate State. The high regard for Mussolini, however, was not universal. Some Italian-Americans recognized the dangers of Mussolini and Fascism. They spoke out against Mussolini and wrote editorials in the Italian-immigrant publications. The critics were often labor activists, radicals, anarchists and Italian exiles. The more mainstream pro-Italian compatriots rejected them as unpatriotic, disloyal, and anti-Catholic. NAZI suppression of the Catholic Church was not yet well understood. Like the German-Americans, Italian- Americans tended to oppose American intervention in the European war to aid Britain. This was in part because of the desire to stay out of the War, but also pro-Italian feeling was a factor. Italians were less active among the isolationists, however, in part because the more-established Germans were so active and there was a strain of anti-immigrant feeling among the isolationists. The desire to distance America from Europe to an extent morphed into latent anti-immigrant feeling. The Jews were the most obvious target here, but non-Protestant immigrants like the Italians were also suspect. There were thus few prominent Italians among the major isolationist spokesmen. And Catholic isolationists were more likely to be Irish than Italian. After years of discrimination and anti-Italian prejudice, Italian Americans were beginning to enter the American mainstream. More and more Italian-Americans were now in the second generation and increasingly identifying with America rather than Italy. Italian groups criticized President Roosevelt when he sharply rebuked Mussolini for joining the German invasion of France and entering the War (June 1940). Part of the reason was Roosevelt's wording, "The hand that held the dagger has plunged it into the back of its neighbor." It conjured up visions of the Mafia and criminality. With the German and Italian declaration of war and the entry of America into the War (December 1941), however, the Italian-American community strongly embraced their new country and the war effort. Some Italian-Americans were interned, but like the German-Americans, a very small proportion. Italian American youth would represent the largest contingent of military personnel of any immigrant group.

Created: 3:41 PM 10/1/2013
Last updated: 10:38 PM 10/5/2014