Noemi Di Segni, the president of the
Italian union of Jewish communities, pointed out on Tuesday that
Nazi Germany was not alone in implementing the Shoah and that
Italy's Fascist regime played a role too, ahead of Holocaust
Memorial Day on Friday.
"Holocaust Memorial Day is not a moment to give a compassionate
caress to the Jews," Di Segni told a conference organized by the
Trieste prefect's department.
"It's the day for everyone, citizens and central and local
institutions, to take responsibility...
"The racial laws were announced here in Trieste (by Benito
Mussolini) 85 years ago with a speech that was crazy for the
beginning to the end.
"But the packed square (before him) cheered and clapped...
"It's important to realize that the Shoah is not just Germany,
Auschwitz, Nazis.
"It's also Italy in every street and square - Italians and,
above all, the Fascist regime.
"It is also necessary to realize that Fascism and the Italian
Social Republic after 1943 were not just bad for the Jews, they
were bad for the whole of Italy".
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