Anti-Fascism, Anticolonialism and Anti-Self

Abstract

This essay illuminates the transformation of Giovanni Pirelli from convinced fascist to partisan and anticolonial activist. It explores the significance and fruits of Pirelli's friendship with Frantz Fanon, specifically the Centro Documentazione Frantz Fanon that Pirelli founded in Milan in 1962. Raised as the heir to an industrial dynasty, Pirelli's letters and diaries as a fascist officer on the Eastern European front reveal his growing doubts about both fascism and his personal privilege. After the war, he refused his inheritance of the company helm and dedicated himself to writing, editing and organizing on behalf of leftist causes. This commitment – rooted in a fascination with the testimony of the oppressed – soon extended beyond Italy's borders to countries fighting for liberation from colonialism. In 1959 Pirelli made his first contact with the Algerian liberation movement and began work on a volume of letters from Algerian partisans. He also became interested in the work of Fanon, whom he sought out in Tunis in late 1960. Their meeting, though characterized at first by distrust and scepticism, especially on Fanon's part, quickly developed into a deep, if brief, friendship. With Fanon's guidance, Pirelli dedicated himself to disseminating Fanon's works in Italy, as well as two books of testimony from the Algerian war: Lettere della rivoluzione algerina and Racconti di bambini di Algeria. After Fanon's death, Pirelli founded the Centro Documentazione Frantz Fanon, a centre dedicated to spreading awareness in Italy and Europe of colonial struggles. Using documents from Giovanni Pirelli's archive and accounts from Centro members, I explore the formation, impact and dissolution of this centre, viewing it as an important product of Pirelli and Fanon's friendship and Pirelli's commitment to both anti-fascism and anticolonialism.