Transcript Italy - The Prevention of Genocide

The Prevention of Jewish Extermination
“A Glimmer of Humanity”
 Italy was not historically anti-Semitic in the 1800’s and
1900’s (relatively speaking)
 1870 – Italy is unified
 1870 – Jewish ghettos are outlawed
- Jews are now free to assimilate freely
- Dress the same
- A lot of intermarriage between Jews and Italians
 Italians viewed their Jews as “Italians”
Italy 1933
Mussolini as a Soldier in 1917
Young Benito Mussolini
A Little Bit Older
Mussolini Comes to Power
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1930’s – Great Depression hits Italy hard
Italians wanted “strong leader” to fix the economy
Mussolini – “I will restore the great Italian empire”
Jews participated in Mussolini’s fascist government
- Mayor of Rome was Jewish
- Two of Mussolini’s mistresses were Jewish
 Mussolini told Hitler to “stop attacks on Jews in his
speeches”
 By 1935 there were 5000 Jews in the Italian Fascist
Party
Mussolini and Hitler
Jewish Migration
 1936 - 1937 – Mussolini talked about resettling the Jews
in a country of their own.
 Many Jews came to Italy because it was a safe haven
French Jews Crossing the Alps to
Escape to Italy
Anti-Semitism in Italy
 Some anti-Semitism persisted in Italy
 “The Elders of Zion” is printed in the Italian
Vernacular
 Mussolini appeases anti-Semites by allowing more
anti-Semitic texts to be published
 Mussolini passes anti-Semitic laws to assert how
“tough” he was
 Many Italians turn on Mussolini because of this
Anti-Semitic Laws
 Laws defined who a Jew was
 If you baptize a child, he/she is not Jewish
 Children baptized were legally considered Aryan
 Many people did not follow the laws (outright
defiance)
 The wealthy could change papers through bribery
A Jewish Work Camp in Italy
Italian work camps
were different that
German. They had:
- Synagogues
- Humane Conditions
(much different than
in other places)
Italy Invades France
 Italy Invades Vichy France
 Jews were used as labor
- total war
- many groups used as labor around the world
 There were many exemptions
 Many people didn’t show up (no consequences)
 Life in work camps
- no brutality
- humane conditions
- synagogues and social services
Mussolini on a Tank
German / Italian Relations
 Mussolini refused to send Italian Jews t0 German
Camps
- Germany gets mad
 Italy sent letters to all Italian Jews living in Germany
telling them to “come home”
 A haven was provided for German Jews in Italy
Italian Territories in France
 Italian occupied territories in France followed Italian Laws
- refused to make Jews wear the star of David
- allowed migrations to Italy
- denied German requests to send Jews to Germany
 All of the German high officials are becoming livid
- Eichmann – “Italy is an obstacle to the final solution”
 Mussolini sends a “racial commisar” to France to work with
the Germans
- Lospinoso arrives 6 months late and is known for aiding
the Jews and helping emigrate the Jews from there
Italian / German Relations
 Italy naturalized everyone that they could
 Eichmann – “Italy lacks in implementing policy”
 Italy occupied Albania and Greece – Italian Policies
 1943 – Italy is invaded by Germany
- Mussolini Dies
- Germany occupied half of Italy
- Jews in Italy are now being sent to German Camps
Mussolini Hanged
Deportations from Italy
Italian Blatantly Defies Policy
 Despite possible death – TONS of Italians aided their
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Jewish neighbors
When Germans invaded, Italian officials told them
“sorry, we lost all of our records”
Some Italians did aid the Germans, but not the
majority
Many Jews hid in Convents and Monasteries
NO ITALIAN POLICE WORKED WITH THE
GREMANS
Eichmann – “We can’t trust them”
The Outcome
 Germans implemented policy of stamping a “J” on
Jewish passports in Italy
 When Jews went to courthouses to get stamped,
common responses were:
- “I ran out of ink”
- “Went to lunch, come back next month”
 Germany only got about 15% of Italy’s Jews
The Catholic Church
 Pope Pious XII – Kept quiet through all of this
 The biggest fear for the Church was communism and
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not the Germans – why do you suppose?
The Church did however help Jewish organizations
The Pope told priests to do what they could to help
others
The Pope did not speak out about the Genocide until
1942
Hitler didn’t invaded the Papal States
- why do you suppose?