In 1922 the Kingdom of Italy became a dictatorship under the »Duce« (leader) Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) and his fascist party. Until the mid-1930s there was barely any evidence of public anti-semitism in Italy; discriminatory measures were not introduced until 1938. At the time, around 46,000 Jews were living in Italy. During this period, the Italian state also included the Istrian peninsula and a number of islands that are now part of Greece, such as Rhodes, which had a Jewish community rich in tradition. The Italian government was a close ally of the German Reich but was not involved in the mass deportations of Jews to German extermination camps until autumn 1943. It was only following the occupation of the north of the country by the German Wehrmacht (the south had already been liberated by American and British troops) that the German SS and police began to implement plans to systematically deport the Italian Jews. The Jews were initially held in detention camps and then transported halfway across Europe to Auschwitz, where many were killed in the gas chambers on arrival. Between 7,000 and 8,500 Jews from Italy (excluding Italian-occupied territory) were murdered or died as a result of brutality. Tens of thousands of Italian Jews and Jewish refugees were able to survive by emigrating or going into hiding with the help of non-Jews. The Allied liberation of southern Italy spared over 2,000 Jews from deportation by the German regime.
The period 1943 to 1945 saw violent conflicts between the German occupation forces and Italian partisans from the communist-dominated resistance movement »Resistenza«. German troops responded with horrific reprisal measures and massacres, for example in Marzabotto and in the Ardeatine Caves near Rome. More than 400,000 Italians – soldiers, civilians and partisans – died during the Second World War.
Once the war was over, the partisan campaign became a key feature of Italian national identity and the Italian culture of memory cultivated the myth that the country had liberated itself from fascism. There was barely any confrontation with the widespread Italian support for Mussolini. The best-known sites of memory such as the former concentration camp at Risiera di San Sabba near Trieste or the memorials at Marzabotto and the Ardeatine Caves are dedicated to the resistance, as are many museums. However, there are few memorial sites at former detention camps for Jews and where these do exist they tend to commemorate the liberators rather than the victims. One example is Villa Emma in Nonatola, where Jewish children were able to survive in hiding. One feature linking many of these sites is their focus on human rights education for the present and future. In recent years, the memory of the deported and murdered Jews has become more prominent. In 2013, the Memoriale de la Shoah di Milano opened in Milan’s central railway station, and in 2023, the decision has been made to create a central holocaust memorial in Rome.
The period 1943 to 1945 saw violent conflicts between the German occupation forces and Italian partisans from the communist-dominated resistance movement »Resistenza«. German troops responded with horrific reprisal measures and massacres, for example in Marzabotto and in the Ardeatine Caves near Rome. More than 400,000 Italians – soldiers, civilians and partisans – died during the Second World War.
Once the war was over, the partisan campaign became a key feature of Italian national identity and the Italian culture of memory cultivated the myth that the country had liberated itself from fascism. There was barely any confrontation with the widespread Italian support for Mussolini. The best-known sites of memory such as the former concentration camp at Risiera di San Sabba near Trieste or the memorials at Marzabotto and the Ardeatine Caves are dedicated to the resistance, as are many museums. However, there are few memorial sites at former detention camps for Jews and where these do exist they tend to commemorate the liberators rather than the victims. One example is Villa Emma in Nonatola, where Jewish children were able to survive in hiding. One feature linking many of these sites is their focus on human rights education for the present and future. In recent years, the memory of the deported and murdered Jews has become more prominent. In 2013, the Memoriale de la Shoah di Milano opened in Milan’s central railway station, and in 2023, the decision has been made to create a central holocaust memorial in Rome.