The Nazi theory of racial purity was rejected as “entirely baseless today by Prof. Niccole Castellino, prominent political leader and president of the Union of Italian Newspaper Publishers, in a special lecture at Florence.
A number of Italian statesmen and foreign diplomatic representatives heard Prof. Castellino discuss the question of whether Italy intended to follow Germany in accepting Nazi racial theories. In rejecting the race principle he declared:
“The idea of nationality is much wider, embracing all those who feel bound up with the traditions, aims and spiritual values of the nation, independent of ‘race purity’.”
Anti-Semitism will never be introduced in Italy since there exists no “Jewish problem,” he asserted. He attacked the teachings of Joseph Gobineau, Houston Stuart Chamberlain and other racial theoreticians.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
