Supported by Royal Holloway, University of London

By taking a comparative approach between two fascist paradigms, this workshop will examine the complicated relationship between fascists, Jews and antisemitism. The principal fascist movements in Italy and Britain were founded with antisemitism absent from their programmes, and although both eventually adopted it as official policy, their reasons for doing so were far from straightforward. Equally, Jewish responses to fascism varied greatly and developed over time, causing discord within the communities of both countries.

The workshop will be divided thematically into two sections, with each set of papers to be followed by a discussion, led by the relevant speakers but with all attendees encouraged to participate. Academics, students and other interested individuals are invited to join this interactive forum. As capacity is limited, to book a place please contact d.tilles@rhul.ac.uk. Buffet lunch provided.

Keynote Lecture

Dr Aristotle Kallis (Lancaster University) – The Ambivalent Gaze: Fascists and Jews in Interwar Europe

The Evolution of Fascist Antisemitism

Dr Matthew Feldman (University of Northampton) – Make It Crude: Ezra Pound’s Antisemitic Propaganda for the BUF and PNF

Janet Dack (University of Teesside) – Beyond the Pale? Antisemitism in the British Fascist Press, 1925-36

Salvatore Garau (Royal Holloway) – The Ideological Development of Antisemitism in Fascist Italy

Jewish Responses to Fascism

Dr Nigel Copsey (University of Teesside) – Early Jewish Responses to the British Union of Fascists

Dr Tommaso Dell’Era (Tuscia University, Viterbo) – TBC

Daniel Tilles (Royal Holloway) – Leading a Divided Community: The Board of Deputies of British Jews and Fascist Antisemitism, 1936-40

Dr Elena Mazzini (Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa) – Facing 1938: The Response of the Italian Jewish Community