Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Was there a fascist revolution? The function of penal law in fascist Italy and in Nazi Germany

2010; Routledge; Volume: 15; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13545711003768592

1469-9583

Lutz Klinkhammer,

Communism, Protests, Social Movements

Abstract Abstract Did the fascist seizure of power cause a revolutionary change in the administration of justice in Italy? Did the fascist dictatorship transform the judicial institutions it inherited from liberal Italy? During the early phase of seizure of power (1923–1926), the fascist regime deployed existing instruments to influence judges and prosecutors by means of Ministerial instructions, threats of disciplinary measures or denial of career advancement. The first major innovation came with the creation of a Special Tribunal for Crimes Against the State in 1926, to punish anti-fascist activities and opinions. Although there is still a great deal of research to be done on the working of the ordinary courts, there is considerable evidence that both the courts and the magistrates were subject to an effective process of 'fascistization' and recent studies illustrate how the ordinary administration of justice provided an effective support mechanism for the more overt apparatus of repression carried out by the police, the fascist militia and, in the case of the occupied or annexed territories, the army. Although there were many striking similarities with Nazi policies, especially when it came to the working of the Special Courts, the fascist dictatorship was always less radical than its German equivalent and the differences became increasingly evident after 1939. Keywords: FascismItalyjusticerepressionNazismSecond World War Notes 1 On the problem of continuity from liberal state to the fascist state and back to the liberal state, see Luminati (2007 Luminati, Michele. 2007. Priester der Themis. Richterliches Selbstverständnis in Italien nach 1945, Frankfurt: Vittorio Klostermann. [Google Scholar]) and Sbriccoli (1997 Sbriccoli, Mario. 1997. "Caratteri originari e tratti permanenti del sistema penale italiano". In Storia d'Italia. Annali 12: La criminalità, Edited by: Violante, Luciano. Torino: Einaudi. [Google Scholar]: 528ff). 2 For the liberal period, see Marovelli (1967 Marovelli, P. 1967. L'indipendenza e l'autonomia della magistratura italiana dal 1848 al 1923, Milano: Giuffré. [Google Scholar]). 3 It was also difficult to change established regulations: even Minister of Justice Rocco failed when he tried to introduce new mechanisms in order to accelerate promotions of judges (Meniconi 2008 Meniconi, Antonella. 2008. "'Magistrati e ordinamento giudiziario negli anni della dittatura'". In Lo Stato negli anni Trenta. Istituzioni e regimi fascisti in Europa, Edited by: Melis, Guido. 183–200. Bologna: Il Mulino. [Google Scholar]: 190). 4 Between 1919 and 1922 some 3000–4000 politically motivated cases of death were recorded (2000–3000 socialists and 637 militant fascists). See Gentile (1989: 493–4). 5 Neppi Modona argues that this law was more important for purging judges than the Regio Decreto n. 1028, 3 May 1923, which empowered Oviglio to remove judges (Neppi Modona 1973 Neppi Modona, Guido. 1973. "'La magistratura e il fascismo'". In Fascismo e società italiana, Edited by: Quazza, Guido. Torino: Einaudi. [Google Scholar]: 135–6). 6 In 1940 party membership also became a pre-requisite for promotions or increases in salary. 7 Grandi's belated intervention did not have striking results (Meniconi 2008 Meniconi, Antonella. 2008. "'Magistrati e ordinamento giudiziario negli anni della dittatura'". In Lo Stato negli anni Trenta. Istituzioni e regimi fascisti in Europa, Edited by: Melis, Guido. 183–200. Bologna: Il Mulino. [Google Scholar]: 191–2, 198–200). 8 The same mechanism is observed by Osti Guerrazzi (2004 Osti Guerrazzi, Amedeo. 2004. Poliziotti. I direttori dei campi di concentramento italiani 1940–1943, Roma: Cooper. [Google Scholar]) on behalf of the police administration. 9 The sentences handed down by the Special Tribunal were published by the Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito. 10 On the Special Tribunal, see also Gaetano Salvemini 'Il Tribunale speciale – I processi di Roma' (Edizioni di Giustizia e Libertà), reprinted by Galzerano (1992 Galzerano, Giuseppe. 1992. Il Tribunale speciale fascista, Casalvelino: Galzerano. [Google Scholar]: 21–87). 11 On the situation in the liberal era, see Levra (1975 Levra, Umberto. 1975. Il colpo di stato della borghesia. La crisi politica di fine secolo in Italia 1896/1900, Mailand: Feltrinelli. [Google Scholar]), Cordova (1983), Jocteau (1988 Jocteau, Carlo Gian. 1988. L'armonia perturbata, Roma–Bari: Laterza. [Google Scholar]), Aquarone (1965 Aquarone, Alberto. 1965. L'organizzazione dello Stato totalitario, Torino: Einaudi. [Google Scholar]: 95 ff.) and Neppi Modona and Pelissero (1997: 757–847). 12 For the law system, see Somma (2005 Somma, Alessandro. 2005. I giuristi e l'Asse culturale Roma–Berlino. Economia e politica nel diritto fascista e nazionalsocialista, Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann. (Studien zur europäischen Rechtsgeschichte, 195 – Das Europa der Diktatur Bd. 8) [Google Scholar]) and Englert (2003 Englert, W.M. Tassilo. 2003. Deutsche und italienische Zivilrechtsgesetzgebung 1933–1945: Parallelen in der Rechtsetzung und gegenseitige Beeinflussung unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Familien- und Erbrechts, Frankfurt am Main: Lang. [Google Scholar]). 13 There is a strong link between the construction of the Italian memories of war and the political self-representation of the Italian Republic (see Focardi 1996 Focardi, Filippo. 1996. '"Bravo italiano" e "cattivo tedesco": riflessioni sulla genesi di due immagini incrociate'. Storia e Memoria, 5: 55–83. [Google Scholar]). 14 For Italian occupation policies, see Mantelli (2000 Mantelli, Brunello. 2000. "'Die Italiener auf dem Balkan 1941–1943'". In Europäische Sozialgeschichte. Festschrift für Wolfgang Schieder zum 65. Geburtstag, Edited by: Dipper, C., Klinkhammer, L. and Nützenadel, A. 57–74. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. [Google Scholar]), Focardi and Klinkhammer (2008 Focardi, Filippo and Klinkhammer, Lutz. 2008. "'Italia potenza occupante: una nuova frontiera storiografica'". In Politiche di occupazione dell'Italia fascista. Annale Irsifar, Milano: F. Angeli. [Google Scholar]). 15 For death penalties in other European armies, see Rochat (1999 Rochat, Giorgio. 1999. 'Consenso e rifiuto nei soldati della Grande Guerra 1915–1918. Studi e ricerche di storia contemporanea, 28: 5–18. [Google Scholar]: 15). For Germany, see Kolb (1983 Kolb, Eberhard. 1983. "'Die Maschinerie des Terrors. Zum Funktionieren des Unterdrückungs- und Verfolgsapparates im NS-System'". In Nationalsozialistische Diktatur 1933–1945. Eine Bilanz, Edited by: Bracher, K. D., Funke, M. and Jacobsen, H.-A. 270–84. Bonn/Düsseldorf: Bonner Schriften zur Politik u. Zeitgeschichte, Droste Verlag. [Google Scholar]: 281).