A-Infos (en) Italy, FDCA, Cantier #27: The words that convey racism between old drifts and new omens - Paola Perullo (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

I think it is useful to remember how certain ideas, arising from the 
long work of Nazi-fascist propaganda on the issue of race, were conveyed 
in schools in an impressive way. The Italian racial laws of 1938, aimed 
against the "non-Aryans" who lived in the national territory, especially 
but not only the Jewish minority, and the inhabitants of the African 
colonies, were the result of biological and anthropological theories 
rooted in the scientific culture of the first half of twentieth century, 
conveyed by school and university manuals. On the basis of the Nuremberg 
racial laws of September 1935 and starting from the ministerial decree 
of 26 November 1935, came the explicit and binding indication to refer 
to "blood" to define belonging to a race. Therefore, no longer "Aryan 
race", but rather people "of German blood". And here the decisive 
transition to a purely mental or psychological concept of race takes 
place: race is no longer defined through visible physical 
characteristics, but it is blood, the true distinctive element of race, 
which authentically "manifests" itself in the souls of people. belonging 
to the race and determines it completely.
This is the essence of the last of the racial theories, the globalized 
conception of race. Instead of traits such as the original language, the 
shape of the skull, the color of the hair and eyes, the true distinctive 
elements of the Nordic race, they were now ultimately "moral" 
properties, such as being judicious, ready for action , creative, 
predisposed to the exercise of command, all qualities to be promptly put 
at the service of the National Socialist project of dominating the 
world. From a school textbook of the time we read this definition: 
"Every man has his own style, racially determined and your style is also 
the mirrored image of your racial soul.
Whether your language is imaginative or conceptual, imaginative or 
materially inclined, vital or dry, relaxed or militarily succinct, 
depends on your racial disposition." Therefore, the distinctive element 
of the race becomes blood, which manifests itself in people's souls. 
Hitler himself defines this concept in a passage from Mein Kampf from 
1935: "The ethnic identity of the people, or rather the race, is 
therefore not based in the language, but in the blood."
The Nazi state had first and foremost the objective of creating a German 
Volk, spiritually united, strong and racially pure. This meant raising 
children who were devoted to the regime, tough, and physically superior, 
all qualities that required much more than simple conformity. Children 
had to have a sense of national belonging. The Nazi regime had been 
dealing with the issue since taking power in 1933.
New textbooks were published and purges of teachers began, who were 
required to join the National Socialist Teachers' League.
Almost a third of the teachers joined the party. Children were taught to 
dedicate themselves totally to the national community. Racial science 
was an important component of the program.
Jews, Slavs and non-Europeans were considered inferior races.
The children were also warned against "problematic" people, who 
undermined the unity of the Volk.
It should be noted that those children who rebelled and showed 
oppositional behavior were also considered "problematic". Strength and 
obedience were necessary prerequisites for a sense of national 
belonging, at the heart of the Volk's Nazi ideals. An anthology of 
readings for elementary schools from 1937 contained Hitler's warning to 
youth: "...and you must train yourself in obedience. You must learn to 
be strong, to take difficulties for granted, without ever giving up." 
Teenage boys could feel important by wearing a uniform, marching in the 
streets, and organizing socially useful activities, such as Winter 
Relief collections.
The girls instead were to become healthy wives and mothers, prolific in 
churning out Aryan children for the Volk. The regime taught girls to 
take care of the home and children, as well as engaging them in 
collective exercises aimed at strengthening their bodies in preparation 
for pregnancy. Young people who rebelled were arrested for 
insubordination and sent to detention centers and the first 
concentration camps, where in many cases they were sterilized. If the 
regime's psychiatrists believed that the problems of these young people 
were endogenous, that is, biological or mental defects, they could be 
locked up in various institutions forever, or from 1939 onwards killed 
in euthanasia programs.
A fate that was decided based on the diagnosis of Nazi psychiatrists. If 
exogenous causes due to bad education were diagnosed, they were 
rehabilitated in special centers. If the diagnosis was genetic, a birth 
defect, they were not saved. All this should serve to revisit the 
ideological processes which, in a fairly recent era, have seen in the 
space of a few years, the spread of ideas expressed with an extremely 
inhuman language in schools and in the fields of study relating to 
pedagogy, linguistics , anthropology and psychiatry. They are slow 
processes in which we begin to modify the language by introducing terms 
and meanings that echo racist, militarist and patriarchal theories.
Even certain positions taken by Salvini on the percentage of foreign 
students in classes can be very dangerous. Or organicist positions, very 
present in our era, to define mental disorders as genetic diseases.
Not to mention the ideologies that are conveyed in the growing 
relationship between school and militarization.
Every time there is an apology for a leader, the conditions of racism 
are created.

 Bibliographical references:
"Culture of race and literary culture in twentieth-century Italy edited 
by Sonia Gentili and Simona Foà"
" Edith Sheffer's Asperger's Children".

ilcantiere@autistici.org
https://alternativalibertaria.fdca.it
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