Mussolini and the Jewish Question in the Diaries of Claretta Petacci

The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the attitude of the leader of Italian fascism, Benito Mussolini, to representatives of Jewish nationality. The diaries of Mussolini's mistress Claretta Petacci, which she kept from 1932 to 1937, are mainly used as a source. The work also explores the drastic change in B. Mussolini's attitude towards Jews, which occurred after an alliance was concluded with the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, in 1937. There is a connection between these events, since until 1937 Petacci's diaries said nothing about the Jewish question. The article also examines the attitude of Italian society towards the racial laws of 1938 against Jews, which was not at all unambiguous. As an analytical method, the interpretive approach of the American anthropologist Clifford Geertz will be used, who believed that the analysis of culture is not an experimental matter, but a hermeneutic one, engaged in the search for meanings, symbols and ideas. The scientific novelty of this study lies in a specific consideration of the Jewish question of Mussolini and his study based on the memoirs of his mistress Claretta Petacci. There are not many studies devoted specifically to this issue and specifically to this historical source. The main conclusions of the above study are that it was the alliance concluded in 1937 with Adolf Hitler that radically influenced Benito Mussolini's decision to introduce racial laws in Italy, since the Duce was not much concerned about the Jewish question until 1937. The author of the work also drew conclusions regarding the negative attitude towards anti-Semitic laws by the majority of Italian society: Italians did not accept them due to the lack of anti-Semitism and hostility towards Jews in Italy.

The Jewish question, Italians, jews, fascism, racial laws, memories, Italy, Mussolini, anti-Semitism, The Duce