Some 10,000 persons have adopted names of an “Aryan” type since the government decreed in May of last year that non-Jews with Jewish names could further “Aryanize” themselves by assuming their mother’s maiden name or, if that also was Jewish sounding, the name of anyone they pleased.
Trouble cropped up, however, when many persons took advantage of the ruling to adopt the names of noble and other prominent Italian families, such as the Barberinis and Torlonias. Members of these prominent families complained and the Government revised the law, forbidding the use of famous names by the persons affected by the law.
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.
