ABSTRACT
The racism and anti-Semitism of the National Socialist regime have long been held to distinguish it from Italy’s fascist system. This chapter contends that this historical consensus is flawed. While the Holocaust does indeed represent a fundamental difference between the two regimes, both were strongly shaped by racist ideologies and actions. The chapter discusses the German fascination with Mussolini’s vision of the “new man” and illuminates the Nazi efforts to elaborate a biological understanding of anti-Semitism. At the same time, it shows how the Nazis sought to establish a fascist identity that was distinct from that of their Italian counterparts. It goes on to discuss the cooperative activities and ties that emerged between Germany and Italy in the areas of policing and occupation policy. In order to understand both regimes, it contends that due attention must be paid to the complex web of personal and ideological interrelationships that bound them together.
