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As this online exhibit, its actual counterpart (1998), and accompanying printed catalog can only suggest, the Fry Collection affords rich possibilities for research, and we owe much to William F. “Jack” Fry, professor emeritus of physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, for his care in assembling the collection and his generosity in giving it to the Department of Special Collections. The Fry Collection itself contains many hundreds of printed items, ranging from single broadsides to large volumes, along with hundreds of linear feet of archival material; many items date from the period 1922-1945. Finding aids incorporating the donor’s descriptions are available in the Department of Special Collections.
Professor Fry’s enthusiasm for the research potential of the collection was infectious, and we are happy for the opportunity to share with a larger audience his comments on the items selected for this exhibit. John Tedeschi, curator emeritus of special collections at Madison, gave graciously of his time and expertise in the processes of selection and annotation; he and Anne C. Tedeschi kindly lent additional material for exhibit. Stanley Payne, now professor emeritus of history at Madison, contributed a brief essay setting the collection, and Italian Fascism, in context. The result of their work illuminates numerous aspects of Italian Fascism and calls special attention to areas meriting further scholarly investigation.
A complicated project such as this relies as well on the knowledge and cooperation of many others. Special thanks are due to John Tortorice of the General Library System external relations office for organizing the collection, selecting images, and keeping exhibit and catalog plans on track, and to Georgen Gilliam, Kelley Osborne, Barb Richards, and Lisa Beth Robinson for their work in preparing finding aids and installing the exhibit in Special Collections. Don Johnson of the GLS editorial office patiently oversaw the whole “publication” process with its multiple components and technologies; Nancy Rinehart of UW Publications designed the printed catalog and poster; Steven Dast and Jennifer Iserman in what was then the GLS Digital Production Facility (now the UW Digital Library Services) achieved the faithful, crisp images of originals in the collection; Charles Dean then of Library Automation ran final production tests of the Web site. More recently, Dave Luke and Ariel Andrea of the Library Website Team converted the old-school online exhibit to a more contemporary look. We are grateful for all their hard work.
Note: In the descriptions that follow, “Partito Nazionale Fascista” is abbreviated as “P.N.F.”; “no date” as “n.d.” Dates of the Era Fascista have been converted as necessary. Some browsers may not display accents in Italian phrases.
What follows comes from the original version of the online exhibit and print exhibit catalog, as published in 1998.
–Robin E. Rider, Curator of Special Collections
Why would anyone in his right mind want to spend endless hours rummaging through piles of discarded papers and dusty old books in dingy, dark storage cubicles, when just outside stand some of the most beautiful Italian Renaissance buildings and breathtaking landscapes?
The answers to this question involve a long series of fortunate circumstances that resulted in many contacts with Italian scientists and with Italy itself. The opportunity to work with Professor Enrico Fermi and his colleagues early in my career was very influential in developing my admiration for their ability and their fresh approach to science.
The wonderful discovery of a new and different humanistic culture occurred when I attended a Fulbright indoctrination period in Perugia, Italy. This led to four decades of collaboration with colleagues in physics at the University of Padua.
The collecting of Fascist documents is a continuation of an earlier and ongoing interest in Italian culture at the height of its glory, the Renaissance period. My specific interest in the modern Fascist era came about because I could not reconcile the inconsistency between the humanistic and individualistic character of the Italian people of today with their apparent acceptance and participation in the Italian Fascist movement. I wanted to understand this enigma particularly from the standpoint of everyday life. A search for this understanding and the enjoyment of discovery were the major factors that supplied the motivation for manuscript hunting. I must confess that the pleasures of collecting must be thrown into the pot as well.
During a vacation on the Adriatic, an unexpected discovery of several newspapers from the Fascist period found in a small hole-in-the-wall newsstand stimulated my interest. This suggested that these seemingly unimportant documents could be found in junk shops, flea markets, and antique shops. From that moment onward the hunt was on. It took a long time to focus on a theme for collecting. Only a few items from this period were listed in rare book catalogues, and those were expensive. Generally they were documents associated with important officials in the Fascist government. On the other hand, it soon became apparent that indeed there was a lot of material available on daily life under Fascism if one only took the time to search in these unconventional places. So began some of my most happy and rewarding hours of discovery: the discovery of documents and of new friendships outside of science. As time passed by, it also became clear that much of this material was being destroyed, partially from neglect and partially from the desire to forget the events of that period. This also served to increase my ardor for collecting and preserving these documents. In spite of the losses over time, I suspect that there is still a vast amount of material waiting to be discovered; so the mania comes back again and again. With a bit of good luck, soon I will be on my way back to Italy to begin new searches and to make new friends.
This exhibit would not have materialized without encouragement, enthusiasm, and help from friends and colleagues. Sig. D. Nogaroto of Padua, a manuscript hunter “par excellence,” shared with me his enthusiasm for the chase, his broad knowledge of Italian culture, and many hours of communion over cups of espresso. His contribution has been a major one. I wish to thank John Tedeschi for sharing with me many hours talking about Italian life and culture. It was his encouragement that initiated this exhibit. His firsthand knowledge of life under Italian Fascism and his erudition made his contribution especially valuable. His aid in the selection and in the description of the documents was especially appreciated. It has been a great pleasure to work with John Tortorice in the development of this exhibit. It would not exist were it not for his devotion and hard work in its preparation. My special thanks go to Stanley Payne for his lucid yet succinct introduction. I am also greatly indebted to Robin Rider and her staff for their generous support and encouragement.
–William F. ‘Jack’ Fry
Fascism was unique among the radical forces produced by the early twentieth century, developing out of World War I without any clear predecessor in the nineteenth century. It first emerged in Italy in 1919, catapulting its leader, Benito Mussolini, into the premiership three years later and then to the creation of a new political dictatorship beginning in 1925. The term fascism, however, would later be applied to an entire cluster or genus of new revolutionary nationalist movements in Europe between the world wars, of which the most important was German National Socialism, or Nazism, for short, so that the Italian origins of the first fascism would often be overlooked, attention focusing primarily on Germany. The initial, or “paradigmatic” fascism nonetheless had specifically Italian roots and characteristics.
The term comes from the Italian fascio, derived from the ancient Latin fasces, which referred to the bundle of lictors, or axe-headed rods, that symbolized the sovereignty and authority of the Roman Republic. From approximately the 1870s, the term fascio was used in Italy in the names of radical new social and political organizations, normally of the left. Thus the revolutionary nationalists who sought to create a new left nationalist league in 1919, in the aftermath of World War I, formed a Fascio di Combattimento, transformed two years later into the new Fascist Party, and so a radical new “ism” was born.
Italian Fascism began on the left, seeking to combine strong nationalism with modern developmentalism and an aggressive new style of activism that prized violence, idealism, and anti-materialism. While reenforcing Italian colonialism, Fascism originally embraced national liberation and rejected extreme imperialism and racism. Mussolini did not create the movement but skillfully guided himself to power as its Duce (Dux, or leader), at the same time moving the party to the right and engaging in practical compromise with Italy’s established institutions. Though Fascists invented the term “totalitarian” for their new system, Mussolini was unable to complete a Fascist revolution and instead presided over a somewhat limited, semi-pluralist political dictatorship.
Though Fascists were at first wary of and even hostile to Hitlerism, the Nazi leader sought Mussolini as his chief ally. The Duce allowed himself to be convinced by the end of 1937, introducing Nazi-style racist and anti-semitic legislation in Italy despite the membership of many Jews in the Fascist Party. Participation in World War II as Germany’s ally produced the downfall of Mussolini in 1943, but in German-occupied northern Italy the Duce was installed as leader of a new puppet Fascist-based Italian Social Republic, which waged a savage civil war against Italian anti-Fascists in 1944-1945. Though approximately thirteen thousand Fascists were executed by partisans at the end of the war, the official purge of Fascists conducted by the new democratic system in Italy was limited and half-hearted. Thus the great majority of Fascists survived, and for nearly forty years neo-Fascism would be stronger in Italy than anywhere else in Europe.
Italian Fascism has been studied much less than German Nazism, but interest in the topic is increasing among American scholars, and thus the Fry Collection is being made available at a very opportune moment. It contains a wide variety of both primary and secondary materials dealing with many aspects of Fascism. These extensively document the character and range of Fascist propaganda and the special cult of the Duce that it fostered. Other materials illustrate Fascist social and educational policies, efforts to channel women’s activities and foster family life, and Fascist direction of youth activities. Fascist racial policies are represented, while many items deal with Italian colonialism, the rise and downfall of Fascism, and the anti-Fascist opposition.
The opening of this rich new collection will be welcomed by scholars throughout the country who are interested in the history of Fascism and of contemporary Italian history more generally. One of the most extensive gatherings of materials of its kind in North America, it adds appreciably to our knowledge of Fascism and greatly enhances the library’s holdings in modern European history.
–Stanley G. Payne