Polityka Benito Mussoliniego wobec Żydów w latach 1922–1943

Abstract

The way in which Italian fascism initially developed did not announce the eruption of racism and anti-Semitism in 1938. Until the alliance with Germany, the Jewish matter was never a subject of public debate and Italy was basically free from racism. From the very beginning the movement of Mussolini was actively supported by Italian Jews. After the Mussolini’s take over of the control in the country there were no significant obstacles for Jews to access the highest positions in the society and government. The 1938 racial legislation deprived Jews of basic rights and separated them from the rest of the society. The sudden and unexpected change in Mussolini’s politics against Jews became a subject of debate about the origins and the nature of racism within fascism. The article discusses the rationales behind such a drastic change in the dictator’s politics against Jews. The main reason of the evolution was the growing dependency of Italy on Germany in the late thirties. Nevertheless, the decision of the racial laws implementation in Italy was an independent decision of Mussolini, who was not forced to it by A. Hitler. Mussolini, assumed that the alliance with such a strong country like Germany would allow him to realize his plans of expansion. Considering the economical and the political weakness of Italy, the plans could not be realized without external support.