Italians and Non-italians

All forms of foreignness, all the products of foreign cultures were considered enemies of the Italian nation. Fascism impoverished the idea of nationhood, depriving it of its historical connotations of freedom, humanity, and equality between countries and citizens. An anti-fascist could not be considered Italian, and the classification also took on multiple meanings. It referred not only to political opponents but also anyone outside of the society redesigned by the regime: colonial subjects, linguistic and religious minorities, homosexuals could not be part of the national community. The chapter analyzes the repression suffered by Italian language minorities, particularly the German and Slovenian ethnic groups, and their forced Italianization, and the progressive identification of a domestic enemy: Judaism, until the promulgation of the anti-Jewish laws of 1938, in the drafting of which participated, politicians, intellectuals, and scientists. The central part of the chapter focuses on Italian colonialism, the extensive repression of indigenous peoples under Italian colonial rule, and the apartheid policies implemented in Africa: a series of orders, injunctions, and decrees ensured the separation of Italians and natives in all private and public spaces across all Italian East African colonies. Fascism attacked also homosexuality through satire, defamation, and confinement of individuals in small island under police control. This persecution was part of the regime’s broader set of racial and sexophobic policies, although the overall practice of hiding homosexuality in order to deny its existence prevailed in Italy.