The racial census of 22 August 1938: the first political persecutory act of anti-Semitic fascist policy in Italy. An overview and the Milan case study

Abstract

ABSTRACT The racial census carried out by the fascist regime on 22 August 1938, represented the first act of discrimination towards the minority Jewish population in Italy. By means of an analysis of newly discovered archive sources regarding the city of Milan, this paper aims to reconstruct the endeavour, retracing the steps and going over the consequences. Furthermore, it aims to reconstruct the characteristics pertaining to the Jewish community in Milan. The census was an abrupt turning point both in the lives of individuals and in the history of the Kingdom of Italy. As the first collection of data based on the criteria of belonging to the so-called Jewish race, the census of 1938 was the preliminary and introductory act for what would be the largest persecutory action officially taken by the Fascist regime towards the Italian Jewish population. This was enacted through the royal decree law no. 1728 on 17 November 1938. The data collected for the census, were used by the fascist regime in order to have a general overview of the Italian Jewish population, as well as to put in place all persecutory operations leading to arrests and deportations to Nazi extermination camps.