Fascism in the Family
In this film, Italian-born journalist and Al Jazeera senior presenter, Barbara Serra, examines her own family’s links to Benito Mussolini’s regime to see if Fascism really is resurfacing in Italy today.
Video transcript
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foreign
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they oh him the captain and even though
they've been cheering for everyone
that's been speaking here obviously as
soon as matteo sardini
went on stage they just went wild
and now of course a bit of opera to get
the mood going but it really
is you can feel they adore him
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but not everyone adores matteo salvini
the far-right leader
dominating italian politics some believe
his actions and
slogans are reminiscent of the country's
most notorious export
fascism it was born here a hundred years
ago
could it be coming back
to understand what's happening today i
first need to explore this violent
chapter
from italy's past
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like the country of my birth i too have
fascism in my past
on the italian island of sardinia my
grandfather was a senior figure in the
fascist party
this was his home
so my grandfather was actually a pilot
in world war one
it's quite dashing
i don't really know much about my
grandfather because he died when i was
just a few months old and
the family never hid his fascist past
quite the opposite but
i still don't feel like i actually know
enough about what happened in those
years what living under fascism was like
and crucially what he did what his role
was
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there's a place nearby called carbonia
a mining town created in 1938
here in southern sardinia as a showcase
for fascism
carved out of barren fields the town was
built in a remarkable
18 months
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carbonia was the brainchild of benito
mussolini the man who ruled italy for 20
years
and coined the term fascism to describe
his brand of dictatorship
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my grandfather vitali piga was chosen by
his regime
to be carbonia's mayor
it's not just my family's past but it's
future that makes this story so poignant
for me
i'm bacino
my three-year-old son is half jewish and
would likely have been a victim of the
fascists
to whom my grandfather pledged his
allegiance
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it's quiet in this small corner of
sardinia where generations of my family
lived
but across the country and beyond
fascism seems to be stirring once more
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i want to understand why it first took
root in italy a century ago
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is a historian at the university of
calgary in sardinia
he sees in the story of my grandfather
how fascism
inspired a generation
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a
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um
mussolini's vision of modernity autonomy
and power for italy was embodied in his
new town he was so proud of his creation
of carbonia that he came
with much fanfare to inaugurate the city
in december of 1938
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there's a witness to this event from
more than 80 years ago
the writer paolo fadda was here in this
crowd
he was nine years old
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this new town was founded on coal its
very
name derived from carbone the italian
word for coal
so of course the mine was the center of
life here
but fascism demanded more from people
than just their labor
as the workers entered the mine they'd
be welcomed by
this sign and you can see it's actually
signed by mussolini and it says
i prefer my workers to work obediently
hard and possibly in silence
and it really encapsulates that fascist
ideal that you're a cog in a machine
you're not a thinking being
you're part of a bigger project i mean
interesting possibly in silence i'm not
sure they really had a choice because
actually when the regime
fell it was the miners that erased this
sign
in defiance
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the archives in calgary offer some
valuable clues about why my grandfather
was picked to be podesta
the fascist title for mayor okay
my grandfather knows exactly the
situation in carbonia
and because he had been you know within
the
fascist trade union he would understand
from the word go
what the challenges faced by the workers
and presumably the miners would be so
that's why
um they choose him the archives also
provide a picture of how fascism was
being enforced
throughout the country this includes the
notorious racial laws
that stripped italian jews of their jobs
and rights
and outlawed their books and films
and these are the documents relating to
the racial laws that were passed in 1938
to the podesta so to the mayors
coming from the central fascist party in
rome and it's just an outline
basically of what they are all the
articles
provisions for the defense of the
italian race is how they uh
they phrased it and here is the census
because a census was held across italy
and here in sardinia as well
of as it says here the israelites
resident in the province and there's
about
four in carbonia for example one of them
was actually the president
of the italian association of carbon
akai which means he was effectively
must have played a key role in putting
carbonate together and
and and then this you know edict comes
saying that effectively
all these people have to be relieved of
their jobs my grandfather
must have known commendatory segre here
she must have
i also wonder what he
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would have thought knowing that then his
great grandchild
might have fallen foul of the racial
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laws
jews were discriminated against
throughout italy
and fascism imposed strict controls on
the lives of
all citizens the miners in carbonia
were no exception
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francesca figus's father was a minor
here during the time that my grandfather
was mayor
but he was an anti-fascist
i'm not certain how welcoming francesca
will be
created
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all the work down here was dangerous and
grueling
but some of the seams in this maze of
tunnels had a more sinister purpose
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this was one of the hardest places to
work in
in the mine and often political
dissidents or gay people were often sent
here
as punishment and the director of the
mine a little earlier told me the story
of
when he was taking some people around
showing some people around on a tour and
on this tour was an
old miner someone who actually worked
here back in those days and
a teenage boy asked him in an offensive
way
and and said what was it like working
with gay people
and the old miners snapped back at the
boy and said they were wretches
just like i was
this place of wretches became a byword
for hardship
carbona's reputation was immortalized in
a film
featuring two of the world's greatest
actors
in a special day marcelo mastroianni
tells sophia loren how his lover has
been punished for being gay in
fascist italy
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um
hard labor in carbonia will also be the
fate of mastroianni's character
the scenes between mastroianni and
lauren are interwoven with the real
events of this
special day
may 3rd 1938
this is the date adolf hitler was
welcomed in rome by mussolini
and thousands of adoring fascists
the uneasy alliance between these two
dictators
eventually resulted in italy joining
world war ii
in 1940
the war would make carbonia not only a
place of exile
but a camp for italy's prisoners of war
the geneva convention bans prisoners
from working in dangerous conditions
in carbonia they were forced to dig coal
my grandfather vitali piga was still
mayor
this chapter of sardinia's history has
been the focus for researcher
nicola perez
there are tangible signs not only in
documents and photographs
of my grandfather's role in carbonius
story
the one hundred thousand holes that he
ordered be dug
by prisoners were for planting trees
that have grown into these woods
on the edge of town
the picture that emerges of my
grandfather is of a
faithful follower and efficient
administrator of the fascist party here
in sardinia
back at the house though i find a clue
that his loyalty to the regime
led him beyond italy to the third reich
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while looking through the pictures i
found this
which is the copy of a letter from nazi
germany
addressed to my grandfather
berlin the date 16th of may 1938 so
that's just a few months before italy
passes racial laws
it's in german i don't understand it i
want it translated i want to know what
it means and i want to know its
significance but
it's definitely a punch in the stomach
to find a letter with swastika
and heil hitler in the signature among
old family photos
the buildings erected by the fascists
here in carbonia are still standing
the town has done a thorough job
preserving the old architecture
but has had less success securing new
jobs
the coal mine is closed the industrial
plant
deserted
it's a place as francesca told me that
is asleep
a town built for work where now there is
none
what i learned about my grandfather is
that he believed in the fascist ideals
yes building a new italy but doing so by
suppressing personal freedoms
and using violence against anyone who
didn't fit in with those ideals
he knew about dissidents and gay people
being sent to crobonious punishment
he implemented the racial laws by
banning
books and films by jewish authors and he
knew about the dismissal of jewish
workers
and if you're within a system that does
that
and you don't speak out you are
responsible
you are complicit
so
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is one of italy's strongest political
forces
its rise has been propelled by a
weakening economy
italians are scared about their future
but has reviving old hatreds from the
country's fascist past
also played a role
i'm still looking for details of my
family's fascist history
but i wonder what appeal could this
repressive ideology
really have for italians today
it's possible that i might uncover some
of the answers buried here
at mussolini's tomb
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trump
germany has banned the burial site for
hitler
but italy allows the crypt of mussolini
to be preserved
it's become a place of pilgrimage for
his followers
this note has been left here to mark the
anniversary of the 8th of september 1943
now that's the day
that italy announced the armistice with
the allies effectively the day that
italy
changed sides in the war with the allies
and now
against germany a day that on this note
they call
a vile betrayal and they say that
actually it's the people that stayed
with mussolini
uh that brought honor and loyalty to the
nation
to the point of giving their blood for
it and that's exactly how they sign it
they say
honor and glory to you our beloved duche
the comrades of italy in this note along
with these flowers left here about 10
days ago
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this man turned out to be a member of
neo-fascist party
forza nova he wanted to talk
but refused to show his face to the
camera
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mussolini
is
but in the absence of a modern-day
mussolini the man told me that many
members of his party were voting for
salvini's lega
while i've been here more mussolini fans
have come to pay their respects
and the few it seems have been busy
canvassing for their hero
outside the cemetery
so while we were filming at the crypt
someone left
this flyer on the windshield of the car
little note coming out saying duche you
are always in my heart
and then the address of the shop and
inside
they've got badges they've got pins key
chains flags and it's not just fascism
because look here
the flags swastikas i mean look at this
there is
anything you might want
this isn't the only shop selling fascist
and nazi memorabilia here in pradapio
there are two more it seems that
75 years after the end of world war ii
some italians are still drawn to
mussolini
and fascism
but there is a narrative closer to the
truth than the one preferred by devotees
of il duce
a best-selling 800-page historical novel
about mussolini
entitled m details the brutal reality of
life under fascism
it's the work of antonius kurati too
many people even in italy still believe
that faisal was evil at the end
with racial laws and with the
relationship with the nazi with hitler
the alliance
but in the beginning mussolini was
done a lot of good things and it was a
good statement
well it's not true it's not true so what
do you think is the
essence of fascism violence
was the essence of fashion since the
beginning
the formula okay of mussolini
was you're scared you know
you live by fear you eat fear
you you smell fear you sleep fear
i will free you from fear you know
i will change fear in hate
don't be afraid you used to tell okay
hate someone the main problem
is in the huge masses of
family men of good people of workers
who are ready to support a populist
leader
who speaks with words of benito
mussolini
but what if some of those people are
emboldened by the hateful words of a
populist leader
to do more than merely follow women's
rights activist amina al-zir
has first-hand experience of what can
happen
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in italy acts of intimidation have
evolved
into acts of terror in the town of
machurata in 2018
luca traini opened fire on african
migrants
six were injured none fatally but a year
later a gunman inspired by trainee
killed 51 people in two mosques in new
zealand
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an unsuccessful candidate for matteo
salvini's lega party
trainee was found guilty of multiple
counts of attempted murder
aggravated by racial hatred
more than 20 000 party faithful have
made the pilgrimage to the annual
lega rally the crowd is energized
anticipating the appearance of their
leader
matteo salvini
but the feel-good energy turns to hate
as my fellow journalist gad lerner
a critic of salvini's anti-immigrant
rhetoric
makes his way through the crowd
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we spent weeks trying to get a formal
interview with salvini
we never got a reply
especially
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the migrants who pick the nation's crops
are often reviled by the far right
these workers in italy southwest are
exploited by both
farmers and politicians
but they have a champion in ivan sagne
immigrant
problems
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there are signs of fascism everywhere in
italy
in rome the memory of mussolini lives on
in the buildings and monuments on which
he inscribed his name
and the streets where he carved his
slogans
mussolini's formula as antonio scurati
described it
to exploit fear and turn it into hatred
is being echoed by populist politicians
to ignite their followers
these are the brothers of italy the
country's second largest far-right party
giorgio maloney is the leader today
she's issuing a clarion call for europe
to get behind
the brothers extreme nationalist agenda
this is the main day of this gathering
and we've heard from politicians from
across europe the czech republic the
netherlands
spain or from the far right parties in
those various countries
and all of them pretty much pushing the
same very strong
anti-immigration message mentioning that
it's actually up to them
to save the european identity
i suspect when melanie says our identity
she doesn't include the farm workers i
met in puglia
and where is the country's fascist
history to be found in her notion of
what defines us i sense that dark
passages from the past
are being reimagined to create new
enemies
new scapegoats
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milan's imposing central station is one
of the busiest in europe
more than 300 000 people each day
depart from 24 train tracks to the
cities of italy
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but there is one track hidden beneath
the side of this huge building
that was used to transport people to
their death
on platform 21 between 1943
and 1945 italian jews were herded into
train carriages meant for animals
to be sent to the extermination camps
the platform is now a memorial to this
chapter
of the holocaust
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more than 8 000 italian jews were sent
to the extermination camps
776 children were sent to auschwitz
only 25 of them survived
one of those few surviving children is
now
89 years old she is liliana segre
she's been made a senator for life in
italy's parliament
strategy
in an attempt to fight the rising tide
of hatred in italy
senator segre proposed a government
commission to combat racism
and anti-semitism the motion passed
but lalega and brothers of italy
abstained
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since then senator segre has received
numerous death threats
and now lives under police protection
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this exceptional woman has known danger
since she was a child
at 13 liliana segre and her father were
fleeing to switzerland
when they were arrested and sent to
auschwitz
her father was murdered there
as i'm sat with senator segre i'm
haunted by a terrible thought that my
grandfather
may have had something to do with her
father's fate
and that of thousands of others
i've enlisted the help of rebecca
nounheimer in germany
to translate the nazi letter sent to my
grandfather
and to discover why it was written you
must have been part of um
like sort of a italian delegation
visiting germany
the germans seem to have been been
really interested in cambodia it's like
a
an important coal harbor they definitely
knew and recognized that your
grandfather would have been an important
figure in sodium the thank you letter
from his hosts
strikes a friendly tone obviously
wanting to build on the link
between the nazis and the carbonia
finding out my grandfather actually
traveled to germany in 1938 as part of a
trade delegation
is upsetting okay
so it was about coal
and it was about the germans being
interested in
carbonia as a source of coal
so trade and obviously it's
it's a massive relief because it could
have been
so much worse but still
it makes me sick this letter from the
moment i found it has just
always just made me sick
and i think the way i feel goes to the
heart
of the relationship that many
perhaps most italians tend to have with
their history
i think there's definitely a sort of
separation between
italian fascism and then what fascism
became
when it allied itself to nazi germany
and i think a lot of people
just separate the two and the conclusion
almost seems to be where you know
italian fascism wasn't
as bad but then i look at this letter
and it's got my grandfather's name
and the swastika and heil hitler and and
you just you can't
separate the two because what starts as
a trade deal
ends in genocide
and it makes me sick
the story of that genocide is literally
written on the streets in rome
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jews were sent to extermination camps
starting in 1943
when central and northern italy was
under german occupation
these brass memorial plaques known as
stumbling stones
are laid outside the homes of jews
seized and murdered by the nazis
with the help of italian fascists
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i found out what my grandfather did
during the fascist era
but increasingly i've been thinking
about what i would have done
and what i'm doing now
history teaches us that things happen
gradually
it's all about recognizing that tipping
point
when we need to take action
decades from now we will be judged by
our grandchildren
they will judge us on both what we did
and what we didn't do
in the face of intolerance fear and
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indifference
you