Mussolini and Italy
Three years after Primo Levi was born, Benito Mussolini's Fascist movement gained control of the Italian government. By 1922, Mussolini declared that only he could restore order (amidst the political unrest as a result of the end of WWI) and was given the authority. He slowly took apart all democratic institutions, and in 1925, he made himself dictator, which resulted in him using the title "Il Duce" (aka "the Leader"). Adolf Hitler noticed the work of Mussolini and by 1939, the two countries (Germany and Italy) had signed an alliance known called "Pact of Steel". Influenced by Hitler, Mussolini implemented antisemitic policies in Italy.
The Nazi Regime and the Holocaust
Even before the Nazi's laid their hands on Italy, there were a lot of antisemitic views (as implemented by Mussolini). However, when on September 8, 1943, when the Italian government fell to the Nazis, things were about to change. Not only did Adolf Hitler ban Jews and non-"Aryans" from organizations, forcing people to boycott businesses (among other things), he started deporting them to labor and concentration camps. Even though Hitler's persecution of Jews was definitely not the first of its the sort in Europe, as it succeeded Alexander III of Russia's pogrom movement, it definitely had a huge impact on the Jewish community in particular. In the end, the Holocaust resulted in the death of up to 20 million people (including homosexuals, gypsies, people with disabilities, and POWs), of which more than 6 million were Jews.
Created by Asmita Ghosh