Fascism and Race Flashcards
(40 cards)
What is the tradition of Christian anti-Semitism?
Long-standing myth that Jews responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus
What were some longstanding myths associated with Judaism in Europe pre-19th c?
Child sacrifice and stereotypes that included usury (loaning money at unreasonably high rates of interest)
Why does Wiley Feinstein argue anti-Semitism was naturally stronger in Italy?
Thanks to it’s strong ties to Catholicism and Rome as it’s capital, which held strong religious roots
What happened in post-Napoleonic Europe?
What did liberal thinkers believe would happen?
Process of assimilation and emancipation in post-Napoleonic Europe led to fears of a parasitic Jewish culture embedded in the host culture of a European country
That assimilation would lead to the demise of the Jewish culture- to the extent that it would disappear
What idea circulated in German Romantic Nationalism in the 18th century?
The rhetoric of nation, race, blood and earth
What was Mussolini’s belief pre-1919?
He was shown to be anti-Semitic in various essays from his Socialist Revolutionary days:
- in one he writes that Jews are “taking their revenge on the Aryan race”
What did Mussolini believe in the 20s?
His attitude had somewhat changed - his mistress was Jewish for example
Robert S.C.Gordon suggests that he appeared to support Jews and Zionists
Hitler’s anti-Semitism was far more obvious
How did Fascist views alter when coming to power?
Did it change again in the 20s?
October 1922 - altered from a military, anti-establishment to a more conservative, authoritarian one
Changed again in 1925-6 as a fully fledged dictatorship was established - engagements with issues of race remained sporadic and indirect until the 30s
What were the Lateran Pacts?
The Lateran Pacts 1929: relegated all other religious than Catholicism as secondary in both schools and society
Did Mussolini support Zionism?
Robert S.C.Gordon: “Mussolini was pro-Zionist in his foreign policy”
-Saw similarities with radical nationalism and seeing as a challenge to British imperial influence BUT suspicious of alliances with Italy
Who is Emil Ludius and why is he significant?
In an interview with Emil in 1932, Mussolini suggested that anti-Semitism could be “provoked” if Jews were to cause trouble
Where did Italy unleash “Racial Politics”?
Unification, purification, and strengthening of the nation: minorities forcibly Italianised and discriminated against in the anti-Slav and anti-Germanic campaigns in the North-Eastern territories
What did Mussolini say in his Ascension Day Speech?
That he was prepared to better the “health of the race” -
How did Italian eugenics differ from Nazism?
Not so much positive and negative eugenics as practiced by the Nazis but regimented social control seeking to advance military and economic efficacy of the nation- led to the “defence of the race”
What does Robert S. C. Gordon say about the differences between Italy and Germany?
“Germany centrally structured around a racial or racist ideology - “Aryan anti-Semitism” - Mussolini and Italy only marginally and latterly interested in questions of race, and then only for contingent or tactical reasons to do with Italy’s political alignment with Nazi Germany
What does Alexander De Grond?
“Both regimes used race partly as an instrument in the realization of a totalitarian state.”
“Italian Fascist racial policies during the late 1930s… were a logical extension of the essential nature of the regime”
What were the 1938 Racial Laws in Italy?
- Manifesto of the Racist Scientists or Manifesto of Race (14 July)
- November 17: Provisions or the Defence of the Italian Race
- – prohibited Italian citizens of Aryan race marrying someone of another race
- – Jews to declare themselves in public registers
- – Jews banned from multiple activities including: Rendering military service, being owners of large urban buildings, to be a tutor or custodian of those who are not Jewish (minors or the handicapped)
What racist propaganda was there in Italy?
Newspaper: “The Defence of the Race” 1938-43
How did Italy promote “racial health”?
Promoting “racial health” through “positive” measures - improving housing, nutrition and welfare of the people
Why was the social primacy of the Catholic Church important?
Social primacy of the Catholic Church important as it was against violent intervention of people’s bodies - therefore an attention to the environment as a cause of degeneration rather than biology - social medicine focused on prevention and cure in public health
Who did pronatalist and positive measures apply to in Italy?
Positive measures and pronatalism only applied to members of their own race
How does M. Sarfattai describe the relationship betwen Fascism and Race?
Racism intrinsic to the very nature of fascism itself
What racial policies were applied in Ethiopia?
1937: prohibition of mixed unions between Italian males and native women in Ethiopia
1940: ban on official recognition of babies fathered with native women
What is the Law for the Prevention of Hereditary Diseases and when was it published?
Law for the Prevention of Hereditary Diseases published 14th July 1933: anyone suffering from a hereditary disease can be sterilized by a surgical operation either at their own recommendation or by recommendation/request of the state physician, nursing homes and penal institutions
