Milan, home front 1941-1943. Jews, anti-fascists, clergy and military men in the reports of the UOC

This essay examines the papers pertaining to one of the three departments, namely the P sector, of the Ufficio Organizzazione Capillare (UOC) of Milan, a provincial branch of the homonymous central agency created by the PNF Directorate and operating as a means of political control over the population from 1941 to 1943. The UOC task was to gather capillary information on the citizens’ behaviour and the public spirit through a variety of organizations rooted in the territory and hand it over to the Prefects so that they might order the necessary investigations and/or urge the concerned authorities to take the proper measures. The documents show how, by its reports, the P sector of the UOC intended to harass at any cost the life and work of the Jews, and how, on the other hand, the investigations ordered by the Prefects would regularly ascertain the Jews reported had infringed no racial law whatever nor had they even disobeyed the posterior anti-Semitic regulations. Uncorroborated would result also the reports against the clergy, the citizens accused of "subversive activities" and a number of military men. Finally, it is noteworthy that both the Royal Carabineers and the prefects, once duly carried out the prescribed investigations, would very often minimize, in their reports, the facts brought to their attention.

Keywords: Ufficio Organizzazione Capillare, Milan 1941-1943, anti-Semitic laws, subversive activities, population control, public spirit

Lucia Realini, Milano, fronte interno 1941-1943 Ebrei, antifascisti, clero e militari nelle segnalazioni dell’Uoc in "ITALIA CONTEMPORANEA" 258/2010, pp 108-125, DOI: 10.3280/IC2010-258007