Italian Racial Laws (Colonies)

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The three Italian Racial Laws for the Colonies, enacted by the Italian Fascists in 1937, 1939 and 1940, established an institutionalized system of racial segregation . They thus established a cultural, socio-economic and political predominance of the white conquerors and condemned the black majority to a shadowy existence without rights.

Colonial Racial Policy until 1937

Italy acquired Italian Eritrea in 1889, Italian Somaliland in 1905 and Italian Libya in 1912 . The principle of racial segregation was already in its infancy in the early phase of Italian colonialism. Over the years, separate residential areas, schools, hospitals and cinemas have emerged. The Italian governments hardly considered it necessary to regulate the relationship between the few Italians and the natives in the colonies. There was only a small number of unwelcome mixed marriages between Italians and locals. Sexual contacts between Italians and Africans and the madamismo phenomenon (an Eritrean form of dissolvable civil partnership that was interpreted / used by Europeans as cohabitation) were widespread and since only a few European women lived in the colonies, no promising possibility was seen to forbid, even if it would not promote the reputation of the culturally superior Italians. Everyday life and society in Italian East Africa was characterized by a racial hierarchy from the start.

In 1936, after the expansion of Italian East Africa in the Abyssinian War , Mussolini's colonial disinterest changed. A press campaign was launched in May about the racial issue in the colonies. There were first spontaneous individual instructions by Mussolini, with which the latter reacted to "grievances" because he saw the Italians' reputation at risk.

The racial laws

With the racial laws of 1937, 1939 and the mixed race law of 1940, a new level of racially discriminatory politics followed. Formally, the orders were no longer made by the colonial governors, Mussolini or the colonial minister, but instead penal laws were drawn up, discussed and approved by the Senate.

Law of 1937

With the law (No. 880) of April 19, 1937 entitled "Punishments for conjugal relations between citizens and subjects", Italians were threatened with conjugal relationships with a native of Italian East Africa with up to five years in prison, being the largest Would pose a threat to the reputation and physical integrity of Italians. Volatile sexual relationships and marriage were not affected. The marriages, of which experience shows that there were only a few, were excluded not least because religious marriages were automatically recognized under civil law according to the Lateran Treaty and the legislature wanted to avoid a conflict with the Roman Catholic Church . Undoubtedly, the preservation of "racial reputation" was one of the strongest motivations for the law, while the racial aspect was valued differently by contemporaries and historians alike.

Law of 1939

The law (No. 1004) of June 29, 1939 with the title "Punitive measures for the protection of racial respect against the natives of Italian East Africa" ​​made the will for further segregation visible. It applied to the entire Italian territory, including the home country and Libya. The prohibitions no longer only applied to Italians, but also to all members of the Aryan race, in order to remind all whites of the elementary duties of their racial affiliation. In addition to the marital-like circumstances, visiting places reserved for locals and working for locals were criminalized as damaging their reputation. The locals should now also be punished for violations.

Mixed Breed Act of 1940

The law (No. 822) of May 13, 1940 regulated the legal status of half-breeds. According to a transitional arrangement, these could no longer be recognized by the Italian parent and thus could not be granted citizenship. They were given the status of subjects ( suddito ), were not allowed to bear the name of their European father, and since the mother was solely responsible for their upbringing, they were mostly denied a higher education and training path.

literature

  • Aram Mattioli : Fascist Italy - an unknown apartheid regime. In: Micha Brumlik , Susanne Meinl , Werner Renz (eds.): Legal injustice. Racist law in the 20th century (= yearbook on the history and effects of the Holocaust. 2005). Campus, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2005, ISBN 3-593-37873-6 , pp. 155-178.
  • Gabriele Schneider: Mussolini in Africa. The fascist racial policy in the Italian colonies 1936–1941 (= Italy in modern times. 8). SH-Verlag, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-89498-093-1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Aram Mattioli: Fascist Italy - an unknown apartheid regime. P. 161.
  2. ^ Gabriele Schneider: Mussolini in Africa. The Fascist Racial Policy in the Italian Colonies 1936–1941. P. 264.
  3. ^ Aram Mattioli: Fascist Italy - an unknown apartheid regime. P. 161.
  4. ^ Gabriele Schneider: Mussolini in Africa. The Fascist Racial Policy in the Italian Colonies 1936–1941. P. 160 ff.
  5. ^ Gabriele Schneider: Mussolini in Africa. The Fascist Racial Policy in the Italian Colonies 1936–1941. P. 166.
  6. ^ Gabriele Schneider: Mussolini in Africa. The Fascist Racial Policy in the Italian Colonies 1936–1941. P. 175 f.
  7. ^ Gabriele Schneider: Mussolini in Africa. The Fascist Racial Policy in the Italian Colonies 1936–1941. P. 185 f.