Les réactions de la société italienne face à la politique antijuive du fascisme entre la fin des années 1930 et 1943

Abstract

This paper describes the reaction of non-Jews to the anti-Jewish persecution perpetrated by the Italian Fascists during the German occupation after the adoption of the 1938 laws. The paper provides a precise interpretation of Fascism and its anti-Jewish policy in order to outline the political and social changes that took place in the country before and after King Victor Emmanuel III and the Allies signed the September 3, 1943, armistice. The paper goes on to discuss the Italian people’s transition from indifference regarding the Jews’ fate to an increasing willingness to help them, despite the challenges of the Nazi occupation. The central argument is that we must interpret the history of the Jews and their relationship with the non-Jews in the broader context of Italian history. It is only on this basis that we can compare the Italian experience with the experience of other European countries such as Denmark, whose history is often compared to that of Italy.