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