Speech #980094191

In 1940 and 1941. when Germany and Italy invaded and occupied France. Yugoslavia. and Greece. several thousand Jews living in those countries came under Italian rule. While in the zones under German occupation. as virtually everywhere else in Nazidominated Europe. the S.S. and their local collaborators rounded up the Jews and and deported them to Auschwitz and other death camps. in the zones under Italian occupation the Jews continued to live undisturbed. As news of the humane Italian attitude spread. tens of thousands attempted to flee the barbaric persecutions under way in the Nazi zones and to find refuge with the Italians. By 1943. the number of Jews living under Italian occupation in southern Europe had swollen to 60.000. they lived in complete freedom from prosecution and enjoyed the same rights as the rest of the civilian population. The Germans were confounded and exasperated by the attitude of their closest ally. and pressed the Italian Fascist Government to permit the deportation of all the Jews residing under Italian occupation. On more than one occasion. bowing to German pressure. Mussolini himself issued orders to his troops that they were to permit the deportations to take place. but his orders were never carried out. Revolted by the idea of sending innocent civilians to their certain deaths simply because of their race or religion. the Italian military and civilian authorities followed the directives of their conscience instead of those of their Supreme Commander. They did everything in their power to obstruct and delay the execution of orders which they considered to be immoral. In the part of France occupied by them. the Italians followed a policy of protective internment pursuant to which the Jewish refugees were