Holocaust in Italy

The coming to power in 1922 of the fascist government led by Benito Mussolini did not lead to any significant violations or restrictions on the rights of Jews. Despite certain anti-Semitic statements, the government maintained good relations with international Jewish organizations and did not impede the activities of Jewish organizations in Italy ^[1] .

There was almost no anti-Semitism in Italy during this period, Italian Jews were heavily assimilated , a few Zionist organizations were mainly engaged in helping Eastern European Jews ^{[2] [5]} . Moreover, Jews were among prominent figures of the fascist party of Italy, for example, 230 Jews took part in a march on Rome ^{[5] [6]} . The Minister of Finance was a Jew, Guido Jung ^[7] , the foreign policy of Italy was led by a Jew Fulvio Suvich , and the biographer of Mussolini was half Jewish Margarita Tsarfati ^{[8] [9] [10]} .

Mussolini at first rejected the idea of ​​a dominant race as "utter nonsense, stupid and idiotic" ^[11] . In 1923, in a conversation with the chief rabbi of Rome, Angelo Sacherdoti ( Italian: Angelo Sacerdoti ), he stated that the Italian government did not intend to follow anti-Semitic policies - now and in the future. An official communique on this subject said that “the Italian fascist movement will never embark on the path of anti-Semitism. By their actions ... anti-Jewish organizations discredit the fascist idea itself ” ^[12] .

In 1932, Mussolini branded anti-Semitism as "German evil," summarizing that "... there is no Jewish question in Italy, since it cannot exist in a country with a reasonable system of government" ^{[11] [13] [14]} .

The rapprochement of Italy with Nazi Germany in connection with the joint support of Franco in the Spanish Civil War led to the beginning and subsequent escalation of an anti-Semitic campaign in the country ^{[2] [15]} . On November 6, 1937, Mussolini met with Hitler and signed the Anti-Comintern Pact .

In the same 1937, the book of the publicist Paolo Orano "Jews in Italy" was published, in which he accused the Jews of disloyalty ^[16] . Orano's book sparked a heated discussion. Abramo Levy published the book “We Jews”, in which he rejected claims against the Jews ^[17] , and Ettore Ovazza argued that Italian Jews are absolutely indifferent to Zionism and support fascism ^[18] . On the other hand, Orano was also criticized by the extreme right. So, Giovanni Preciosi reproached Orano in the magazine La vita italiana for his too soft attitude towards Jews and his insufficiently racist position ^[19] . Many newspapers joined the anti-Semitic campaign, including the government Il Popolo d'Italia ^[20] .

On July 14, 1938, the Racial Manifesto was published, under which many Italian scholars and teachers signed. The compilers of the manifesto declared concern for the purity of the Italian race and claimed that the Jews represented a danger to it. On October 6, 1938, the Great Fascist Council issued a series of decrees, referring to the Jewish race and half-blood Jews ^[6] .

In September – November 1938, racial anti-Semitism became the norm in law ^[21] . Laws similar to the German Nuremberg laws were passed. In particular, Jews were expelled from the army and other state organizations, the marriage of Jews with “Aryans” was prohibited, Jewish property was subject to confiscation ^[1] . Jews were forbidden to participate in conferences, to publish in newspapers and magazines (even under a pseudonym), to stage their plays in theaters ^[22] . 98 professors from Italian universities were fired ^[23] , and books by Jewish authors were removed from public libraries. Five generals and five admirals resigned. Colonel Segre shot himself in front of his soldiers ^[5] . Twelve of the fifty thousand Jews who lived in Italy were repressed ^[22] . On September 7, 1938, foreign Jews who came to Italy after 1919 were ordered to leave the country ^{[2] [24]} .

It was difficult for Italian Jews to bear this attitude. In 1938-1939, 3910 cases of Jewish baptism were recorded in Italy; more than five thousand chose to emigrate from the country ^[25] . At the same time, nothing threatened the life of Jews in Italy ^{[1] [2]} , and many Italians condemned the anti-Semitic campaign and supported the Jews ^[5] .

With the outbreak of World War II, Italy sided with Germany and occupied part of the Yugoslav and Greek territories, as well as Albania . Italy’s entry into the war on the German side since July 10, 1940, has not fundamentally changed anything with respect to the Jewish population, except for the appearance of Jewish refugees in Italy and Italian zones of occupation, since many Jews escaped from the threat of destruction from Ustash Croatia ^[26] . Some Jews from Yugoslavia fled to Albania, where they were also under the control of the Italian authorities along with Albanian Jews ^{[27] [28]} . In addition to refugees from occupied Yugoslavia, Jews from France and some other countries fled to Italy ^[1] .

Foreign Jews and about two hundred Italian were interned in 43 camps. However, the conditions in the Italian camps did not threaten the life and health of the prisoners and did not compare with the Nazi concentration camps and, especially, the death camps ^[25] .

During the war, the Italian authorities and individual officials took a number of measures to prevent the deportation of Jews in the territories occupied by Italy and in Italian colonies to Nazi death camps. By these actions they saved about 40,000 Jews outside Italy ^[2] . Italian zones of occupation existed before Italy left the war in September 1943. As an exception, mention is made of the extradition by the Italian Carabinieri to the Germans in Pristina of 51 Jewish refugees who were subsequently killed in the Saimiste camp ^[28] .

Occupation Zone in Yugoslavia

In the spring of 1942, the Germans began the deportation of European Jews to death camps in accordance with the program for the final settlement of the Jewish question . In this regard, Charge d'Affaires of the German Embassy in Rome, Prince Otto Bismarck , asked the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on August 18, 1942 to help the Italian government to help implement the agreement between the German and Croatian authorities on the deportation of Croatian Jews in the Italian zone occupation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted a request to Mussolini, and he gave his consent, writing on the memorandum on this subject “I do not mind” ( Italian: nulla osta ). The Germans did not advertise plans for mass destruction ^[29] .

A number of Italian officials and the military, led by Count Foreign Minister Luca Pietromarca and Second Army Commander General Mario Roatta ^{[30] [31]} , who realized that the extradition of the Jews meant their massacre, made a secret decision to sabotage Mussolini’s order. Under increasing German pressure, on October 28, 1942, the Italian High Command ordered the Second Army to imprison all Jews in a concentration camp and divide them into Croatians and those who claim Italian citizenship. This was to be the first step towards the extradition of Croatian Jews to the Germans. However, on November 1, Carabinieri commander General Giuseppe Pieke presented Mussolini a report on the mass extermination of Jews and Serbs in Croatia and the Germans' plans to destroy all Jews. On November 5, 1942, the Italian Foreign Minister, Count Ciano, received from the Vatican Ambassador a request from the Holy See not to extradite Croatian Jews. On November 17, 1942, after meeting with General Roatta Mussolini overturned the extradition decision. All Jewish refugees were interned in a common camp and remained under the protection of the Italian army ^[29] .

Occupation Zone in Greece

The position of Jews in the Italian zone of occupation of Greece was also much better than in the German and Bulgarian zones. Jews in Athens and the Peloponnese were not persecuted, racial laws were not respected ^[32] . Not a single Jew was deported from the Italian zone of occupation in Greece. Italians also removed 350 Jews who had Italian citizenship from the German occupation zone in Thessaloniki , thus saving them from death in Nazi concentration camps ^[33]

Occupation of Albania

Albania was occupied by Italy in April 1939. Thus, Italy restored the protectorate over Albania that existed during the First World War ^[34] . After Italy occupied part of Yugoslavia in 1941, the areas populated by Albanians, in particular, Kosovo, were annexed to the protectorate.

In addition to local Jews, there were a number of refugees from Germany and Austria in Albania. Some of them tried to reach Palestine through Albania. Some of the refugees and about 200 local Jews were interned in the Kawaii transit camp, but they were not issued to the Germans, and some Albanian officials helped the Jews by issuing false identity cards ^{[35] [36]} .

In Kosovo, many Jews were sent to prison, some were extradited to the Germans and subsequently killed ^[28] .

Occupation Zone in France

Germany’s allied Vichy regime , led by Marshal Pétain in the unoccupied Wehrmacht of the so-called “free” zone, deported thousands of Jews to German death camps, primarily foreigners. Many Jews fled to the Italian occupation zone in the area of Nice and Grenoble ^[37] . In November 1942, France was completely occupied by German and Italian troops. The Italian army controlled the southeast of France and stopped the deportation of Jews in its area. The Italian authorities even canceled the decision made by the French that Jews should wear a "yellow star . " All the Germans' demands came up against the opposition of the Italian military and diplomats ^[33] .

On February 25, 1943, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop arrived in Rome. At a meeting with Mussolini, he accused the Italian military of sabotaging the deportation of Jews from France. After another disregard for German demands in the Italian zone, Ribbentrop instructed Ambassador in Rome Hans Mackensen to obtain Mussolini’s consent to extradite Jews. On March 17, Mackensen reported to Berlin that a decision had been made - the French police had entrusted the deportation of Jews ^[33] .

The rescue of the Jews was the result of the active actions of the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Giuseppe Bastianini . He persuaded Mussolini to entrust him with negotiations with the Germans. On March 20, 1943, Bastianini met with Mackensen and informed him that the Italian army was interning French Jews in a concentration camp. In fact, the camp was a large settlement with acceptable living conditions. The guards treated the prisoners correctly; social services and even a synagogue operated in the camp ^[33] .

Jews in Italian colonies in Africa

The persecution also affected Jews in the Italian colonies in Africa, although there was no direct and mass genocide, as in Europe, in these territories ^{[38] [39] [40]} .

The Italian invasion of Ethiopia and the formation of Italian East Africa did not at first create problems for the Ethiopian Jewish community. However, since 1938, racial laws were introduced in the colony, and a policy of active discrimination against Jews began. In 1941, British troops drove the Italian army out of this territory ^[40] .

In Libya, Italian authorities began to introduce anti-Jewish measures since 1937 - in parallel with the persecution in Italy itself. On April 3, 1941, the Muslim population staged a Jewish pogrom in Benghazi ^[41] . In 1941, Allied forces entered Libya, but the Italo-German troops returned in February 1942. After that, Jewish property was looted, and 2,600 Jews were sent to hard labor in the desert. Then all the Jews of Tripoli from 18 to 45 years old were added to them. 562 people died from exhaustion and typhoid ^{[42] [43]} .

In Tunisia, under the French protectorate, 95 thousand Italian citizens lived, of which 5 to 6 thousand were Jews. During the war, the Italian army defended against the Germans and Vichy regime not only Italian, but also all other Jews, who in Tunisia in 1940, there were about 90 thousand. About 5,000 Jews in the capital and several hundred from other places went through forced labor and camps. Italian camp guards treated Jews better than German guards who beat and killed prisoners. During the Italian-German occupation in Tunisia, about 100 Jews died ^{[38] [44]} .

On July 10, 1943, Allied forces landed on the island of Sicily , and on September 3 - in mainland Italy in the region of Reggio Calabria . The Italian government capitulated on September 8th . On September 9, the Allies also landed in Salerno and Taranto . However, hostilities continued as German troops occupied the northern and central parts of the country, including Rome . The Germans managed to delay the Allied offensive by building a series of defensive fortifications south of Rome. Subsequently, they offered fierce resistance to the enemy until May 1945 .

After the occupation of part of the Italian territory by the Wehrmacht and the creation of the puppet Italian social republic on September 23, 1943, the Germans began the mass extermination of Jews both in Italy itself and in the former Italian occupation zones in France, Yugoslavia, Greece and Albania.

German SS units led by Deputy Adolf Eichmann Theodor Danneker began the deportation of Italian Jews and refugees to death camps ^{[1] [25]} . The camps of Fossoli and Bolzano were used as transit ones .

The first anti-Jewish actions took place on September 16 in Merano and September 22 in the area of Lake Maggiore ^[25] . One of the largest shares of this kind took place on October 16, 1943 in Rome. Then about 1300 Jews were arrested by special SS units in the Italian capital. They were sent to Auschwitz , where almost all died ^[45] . Similar arrests and deportations took place in October - November 1943 in Trieste , Genoa , Florence , Milan , Venice and Ferrara ^[25] .

On November 14, 1943, the authorities of the Italian Social Republic identified the Jews as "enemies of the nation." On November 30, Interior Minister Buffarini-Gvidi decided to arrest all Jews and send them to concentration camps with confiscation of property ^[46] . Many Jews fled to Switzerland or hid with Italian friends ^[47] .

Historians usually note that Italians did not deal with deportations and opposed them ^{[2] [48]} . However, according to Liliana Pichiotto in the book Il Libro Della Memoria (The Book of Remembrance), most of the deported Jews were arrested by Italian policemen in accordance with German instructions ^[49] .

Various sources diverge in the loss of Italian Jewry. From 8 to 12 thousand are deported to death camps, most of whom died.

According to the Yad Vashem Institute, from September 1943 to January 1944, 3,110 Jews were sent to Auschwitz . During 1944, another 4,056 Jews were deported to death camps. 4,500 Jews were deported from territories under the formal control of Italians. Another 173 Jews were killed in Italy itself ^[2] . Of all 44,500 Jews living in Italy during the period of German occupation, 12,000 were deported to Auschwitz until the end of the war ^[50] .

According to Liliana Pichiotto, 6,746 people were deported from Italy itself and another 1820 from the Dodecanese archipelago (including 1673 from the island of Rhodes ^[51] ). In addition, 303 Jews were killed on Italian soil. There are also between 900 and 1,100 other victims whose Jewish affiliation is not exactly established ^[45] . Of the deported 6746 Italian Jews, 830 survived ^[52] .

According to the Encyclopedia of Judaica, the total loss of Italian Jewry over the years of persecution is about 40%. Including:

• Deportations (7,749 deaths out of 8,360 deportees, about 16% of the Jewish population of 1938)
• Transition to another religion (5705 cases in the period 1938-1943, about 12%)
• Emigration (about 6,000 people, about 13%).

An indirect consequence was also a sharp decrease in the number of marriages and fertility in the Jewish community ^[47] .

In total, about 15% of Italian Jews died during the war years ^[2] . After the liberation of the whole country, about 29 thousand Italian Jews and about 26 thousand refugees from Central and Eastern Europe remained in Italy ^[1] .

According to various sources, from 2 to 5 thousand Jews participated in the Italian resistance movement . The Jewish community of Italy has created its own underground organization - DELASEM (Acronym for Italian. Delegazione per l'Assistenza degli Emigranti Ebrei - Delegation to Assist Jewish Emigrants ) led by Lelio Valobra , which operated throughout the occupied territory of Italy. It included not only Jews, but also some Roman Catholic bishops, clergy, laity, police and even Wehrmacht soldiers. After the Mussolini government recognized the Jews as “a hostile nation” under pressure from Nazi Germany, DELASEM supported local Jews by providing them with food, shelter and material assistance.

Of the 270 fighters awarded the Hero of Resistance medal, seven were Jews. Some Jews commanded large partisan units. The name of the Tuscan partisan commander Alessandro Sinigaglia named the street in Rome ^{[54] [55] [56]} .

The participation of Italians, including officials, military and police of the fascist regime, in saving Jews was unique to the allies of Germany, especially in terms of protecting and saving not only Italian citizens, but also Jews in the occupied territory ^[5] . Italian soldiers and officers in Yugoslavia helped the Jews take refuge in the occupied territory, as well as transporting them to Italy, individually and in whole groups ^[57] .

Many Italians were recognized in connection with their participation in the salvation of Jews as the righteous of the world . Among them, the consul in Thessaloniki Guelfo Zamboni ^[58] and many others. About 5 thousand Hungarian Jews saved by posing as the Spanish consul in Budapest , Giorgio Perlaska ^[59] . As of January 1, 2016, according to the Yad Vashem Memorial, in Italy there are 671 righteous people of the world ^[60] .

The Nazis punitively punished those who helped the Jews. So, for sheltering Jews, SS men shot and killed 60 monks on September 4, 1944 in the Tuscan monastery Certosa di Farneta near the city of Lucca ^[61] .

The role of the Catholic Church

Opinions on the role of the Catholic Church and of Pope Pius XII personally in the Holocaust are controversial ^{[62] [63] [64] [65] [66] [67]} .

Many believe that the Pope did not do what he could and should have done - to openly oppose the policy of the genocide of the Jews ^{[68] [69]} . The Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem has a photograph of Pius XII, the caption of which reads ^[70] :

Папа, избранный в 1939 году, отложил в сторону послание против антисемитизма и расизма, подготовленное его предшественником. Даже когда доклады об уничтожении евреев дошли до Ватикана, он не протестовал против этого письменно или устно. В 1942 году он не присоединился к осуждению союзников в связи с убийством евреев. Пий XII не вмешался, когда евреи были депортированы из Рима в Освенцим

Ватикан настаивает на том, что Папа Пий XII прилагал все усилия, чтобы спасти как можно больше евреев во время войны, однако использовал для этого средства дипломатии, так как более открытое вмешательство лидера католиков могло только ухудшить ситуацию. Существуют документы об участии Папы в спасении евреев ^{[71] [72]} . В 2012 году Яд ва-Шем смягчил обвинительные формулировки в отношении Пия XII ^[73] . Новые факты по этой теме могут быть обнародованы после открытия архивов Ватикана ^[74] .

Многие служители католической церкви принимали прямое участие в спасении евреев. 74 еврейских ребёнка спас Дон Арриго Беккари, священник семинарии в деревне Нонантола ^[75] . Епископ Ассизи Джузеппе Пласидо Николини и отец Алдо Бруначчи организовали укрытие для примерно 200 евреев в 26 женских и мужских монастырях ^[76] . При этом существует ряд свидетельств того, что после войны высшие чины католической церкви укрывали нацистских военных преступников и помогали их бегству в другие страны ^{[68] [77]} .

Фашисты отрицательно относились к гомосексуализму . Статья, предусматривающая уголовную ответственность за гомосексуальные связи, была предложена ещё в 1927 году. Однако в 1930 году комиссия под руководством судьи Аппиани сделала вывод, что «к счастью и гордости Италии этот отвратительный порок здесь не так распространён, чтобы оправдать вмешательство законодателей», а для решения вопросов, связанных с изнасилованиями и развратом , достаточно имеющихся полицейских полномочий ^[78] . Впоследствии, в 1938 году несколько тысяч гомосексуалистов изгнали с работы, выселили в малые города, часть депортировали на остров Липари .

В период нацистской оккупации с 1943 по 1945 годы тысячи гомосексуалистов были заключены в концентрационные лагеря вместе с евреями, политическими противниками режима и свидетелями Иеговы . По планам, эти группы, в отличие от предназначенных к уничтожению евреев, подлежали «перевоспитанию». Однако в связи с чрезвычайно тяжёлыми условиями и отношением охраны многие из них погибли в течение короткого времени. По данным профессора Рюдигера Лаутмана , в лагерях умерло две трети заключённых гомосексуалистов ^{[3] [79]} .

День памяти жертв Холокоста отмечается в Италии, как и во многих странах, 27 января — в день освобождения Освенцима. Дата была официально утверждена парламентом в июле 2000 года ^[80] . В этот день в стране обычно проходят массовые публичные мероприятия, связанные с этими событиями ^{[81] [82]} . В 2004 году в этот день на Олимпийском стадионе в Риме состоялся благотворительный футбольный матч, средства от которого направлены на строительство Музея Холокоста в столице Италии ^[83] .

В Италии установлено множество памятников жертвам Холокоста. Памятники депортированным в лагеря смерти евреям есть в Риме, Милане, Сиене , Мерано , Комо , Борго-Сан-Дальмаццо и многих других городах. В 1990 году в Болонье в парке виллы Цеззарини был установлен мемориальный камень в память о гомосексуалах , ставших жертвами фашизма. Аналогичная мемориальная мраморная доска была установлена в 2005 году в лагере Рисьера-ди-Сан-Сабба в Триесте . ^[3] . В Риме установлена мемориальная доска в память о преследовании цыган ^[84] .

Историю Холокоста в Италии исследуют учёные, в частности, «Институт истории Сопротивления и современности провинций Бьелла и Верчелли» ( итал. Istituto per la storia della Resistenza e della societа contemporanea nelle province di Biella e Vercelli ) ^[85] . В 1995 году под миланским вокзалом был обнаружен тайный ход, с помощью которого евреев депортировали из Милана в Освенцим ^[49] . С 1999 года Италия является членом Международной организации по сотрудничеству в увековечивании и изучении Холокоста (ITF) ^[86] . В июне 2011 года Министерство образования Италии заключило соглашение со своими израильскими коллегами о стажировках учителей в мемориале « Яд ва-Шем » в Израиле с последующим преподаванием истории Холокоста в старших классах в Италии ^[87] .

Однако есть также люди, отрицающие реальность Холокоста ^{[88] [89]} . Таких взглядов, по результатам опросов 2003 и 2005 года, придерживалось 11—12 % итальянцев ^{[90] [91]} . Парламент Италии 26 января 2007 года отклонил законопроект об уголовном преследовании отрицания Холокоста , предложенный министром юстиции Клементе Мастелла ^{[92] [93] [94]} .

Хулиганы часто оскверняют сооружения и памятники погибшим ^{[95] [96] [97]} .

Холокост в Италии получил отражение в кино и литературе. Наиболее известным писателем, рассмотревшим эту тему, является Примо Леви — итальянский еврей, выживший в Освенциме ^[98] . Его автобиографические книги были переведены на многие европейские языки. Эта тема затронута также в трагикомедии «Жизнь прекрасна» .

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