Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
70 | OCTOBER 27 • 2022
An Infamous Anniversary
T
here is an important anniversary this
week; however, it is not an occasion
for celebration. It is an anniversary
of a dark day in European history. One hun-
dred years ago, on Oct. 28, 1922, Italy’s King
Victor Emmanuel III handed power to Benito
Mussolini and asked him to form a govern-
ment. The king and his colleagues foolishly
thought they could control Mussolini.
Mussolini, with the help of
his fanatical henchmen, the
“Black Shirts,
” soon established
a totalitarian state. This was
the beginning of modern
political Fascism in the world.
Mussolini became an inspira-
tion to Fascist idealogues such
as Francisco Franco and his
Falangists in Spain, and the worst of them all,
Adolf Hitler and his Nazis in Germany. In
fact, in the Dec. 29, 1922, issue of the Detroit
Jewish Chronicle, Hitler was cited as the
“Bavarian Mussolini.
”
Recently, we’ve witnessed the rise of
extreme right-wing nationalism in Europe
and America. De facto dictatorships rule
in Hungary, Belarus, Russia and elsewhere.
Last month, far-right parties gained signifi-
cant power in democratic Italy and Sweden.
The United States also has its extremists.
One only needs to consider the infamous
“Unite the Right” rally held five years ago
in Charlottesville, Virginia, by neo-fascists,
neo-Nazis and other like-minded individuals.
Historically, Fascism has led to the worst
forms of antisemitism. The Nazis promul-
gated the Holocaust. The participants in the
“Unite the Right” rally spewed hatred of Jews.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident
in today’s America.
Much of the credit for the Fascist charge in
the 20th century belongs to Mussolini. The
William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish
Detroit History holds nearly 1,000 pages
that mention him. Although very interesting
reading, the reports and articles are sobering,
to say the least.
Beginning in 1922, Mussolini became
a topic of news items and editorials in the
Chronicle. For example, see the blunt editori-
al, “Fascismo and Democracy” in the July 18,
1924, issue: “We are opposed as much
to a dictatorship of Mussolini
and Fascismo as we are to
Lenin, Trotsky, et al in Russia.
”
Mussolini is discussed in many
additional editorials and arti-
cles in the 1920s.
In the 1930s, reports of
Mussolini competed with those
about Nazis, but he had not yet
completely acquiesced to Hitler.
In some instances, he is even
portrayed as a defender of Jews.
Once World War II began,
Mussolini is mentioned on
hundreds of pages of both the
Chronicle and the JN as an Axis
leader. This was especially so
after he embraced Hitler’s desire
to round up Italian Jews for the
concentration camps (Dec. 10,
1943, JN). In the aftermath of the
war, until today, Mussolini remains
a serious topic for historians, polit-
ical scientists, and other writers and
documentarians.
I decided to write this column after read-
ing about the Brothers of Italy, a right wing
descendent of a Fascist party formed after
World War II. Last month, it emerged from
elections as the largest political party in Italy.
Its leader, Giorgia Meloni, has stated that
“the Italian right has handed fascism over
to history for decades now, unambiguously
condemning the suppression of democracy
and the ignominious anti-Jewish laws.
”
Let’s hope this is the case. Too often,
however, we’ve heard similar utterances from
Mussolini and other Fascists, statements that
turned out to be forlorn hopes.
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation
archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.
org.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair