Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi provoked outcry for defending WWII-era leader and Nazi ally Benito Mussolini for having “done some good” on the sidelines of a Milan event to coincide with International Holocaust Memorial Day Sunday.
Speaking to reporters at the commemoration to the 6 million slain Jews of the Shoah, the controversial ex-leader conceded that the fascist leader’s anti-Jewish laws had been his “worst fault”, yet continued to maintain that he colluded with Nazi Germany under the reasoning that as Germany became an increasingly powerful force on the global stage it would be wiser to ally itself with the Nazis as opposed to the British-French alliance.
In an interview with Italian journalist Ruggero Gabbai at the end of the opening ceremony of the Milan memorial event, Berlusconi said surely Mussolini’s government “preferred to be allied with Hitler’s Germany than with contrapporvisi. And within this alliance there was opposition to the extermination of the Jews”.
In marked contrast to Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel’s acceptance Saturday of Germany’s “perennial” responsibility for the Holocaust, Berlusconi added that “we (Italians) do not have the same responsibility as the Germans. There are completely different levels of liability. On our side there was a not fully conscious collusion”.
The President of the Jewish Community of Milan Walter Meghnagi slammed the notoriously pro-Israel Berlusconi for having made statements proven “not only superficial and false from a historical point of view, but also morally reprehensible”.
“The promulgation of the racial laws by the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini was enacted not to please the Nazi allies, but as a consequence and ideological product of the police’s efforts to suppress freedom in our country, (which saw them) persecute thousands of anti-fascists,” he added.
Meghnagi reactions came in the direct aftermath of Berlusconi’s comments, which were in turn made in the presence of members of the Jewish community as well as high office at the high-profile memorial event, including his successor Mario Monti.
Former Vice President of the Milan community and aspiring candidate for the local elections for the Lombardy region Daniele Nahum described Berlusconi’s comments as “very serious because a former prime minister and leader of one of the major Italian political parties can not have a partial judgement on fascism and he cannot help to undermine his absolute ideological defeat”.
“In giving a partial historical judgement, Berlusconi forgets what happened in Italy, which was not just an ‘unconscious collusion’, but held specific responsibility for the Holocaust, because Mussolini complied with Hitler’s request to deport hundreds of thousands of Jews from Italy”, he added.
Slamming Sunday’s incident for showing “offence and a serious lack of respect”, he further questioned the legitimacy of his presence at the event in the company of friends of the Jewish community.
President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) Renzo Gattegna condemned Berlusconi’s “superficial and inappropriate rhetoric”, adding that the implication that “Italy decided to persecute and exterminate its Jews to please a powerful ally (is) devoid of moral sense and historical foundation”.
“Italian persecution and anti-Jewish laws are known to have originated long before the war and were implemented with full autonomy under the responsibility of the fascist regime...and were consistent with the overall project of oppression and destruction of the freedom and dignity of every human,” he continued.
Berlusconi’s comments also evoked criticism from across the political spectrum, as Democrat candidate in the approaching elections Emanuele Fiano wrote on his facebook page that his words “once again tried to condone the absolute evil that was fascism and Mussolini, a disgrace unworthy of this country. The racial laws quoted by Berlusconi would not have been introduced if it weren’t for the terrible fascist dictatorship that suppressed freedom in our country and oppressed thousand of anti-fascists. Using such unworthy electoral propaganda on this day to favour the right-wing is an insult to the memory (of Holocaust victims)”.