L'Italie fasciste et la persécution des juifs

Examines the nature and function of antisemitism in Mussolini's totalitarian regime. The original fascist program did not include the idea of the mass murder of Jews. However, violence was part of the heritage of the fascist party, which since the 1920s had worked to reshape society and create a "new man". Questions why it was that in 1938 the regime decided to persecute the Jews. Contends that, after 15 years in power, fascism had lost its identity and was in need of radicalization through the invention of a new enemy. Between 1937, when the Italian press began to focus on the "Jewish question", and 1938, when the racial laws were adopted, antisemitism switched from potentiality to reality. Italian state antisemitism then proceeded according to internal political necessities, and not because of external pressure, in response to economic and structural needs of the regime. Within a few months, fascist intellectuals and propagandists created a doctrine and encouraged debates over race in the press, which was inundated by antisemitic material. The near total absence of protests and the diligent execution of antisemitic measures could be seen as a victory for the fascists, who wanted to test their degree of social control. The Italians' willing execution of the antisemitic program did not, however, express their conversion to antisemitism, but rather their handing over of responsibility to a totalitarian regime. Includes bibliographical references (pages 569-577) and index. 599 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm