Housing Distribution of the Jews on the Eve of Fascist Persecution in Milan

The modern-day Jewish community of Milan came to be in the second half of the 19th century. Its development ran parallel to that of the city itself, which in the decades after the unification was the scene of a massive population increase. The consequent urban upheaval was characterized by the need to adapt to the new eco- nomic development and by the changing distribution of social classes within the new system. The young Jewish community grew alongside the Milanese population, thanks mainly to the considerable migratory flow, ultimately reaching its maximum expansion in the 1930s; it involved a minority belonging to the middle and upper- middle classes. The lack of a historical ghetto did not allow for the identification of an official Jewish quarter. However, based on the data processing from the 22 August 1938 fascist census, it has been possible to reconstruct how the housing distribution of the Milanese Jews largely mirrored that of their fellow citizens of the same socio- economic classes. With the exception of the predominantly working-class northern part of the city, Milanese Jews resided mainly in areas northwest and northeast of the centre, between the Navigli and Bastioni with a less significant presence in the south. Within this framework, the distribution has always been homogeneous, and no spe- cific residential nucleus has been created linked to resident age, occupation and na- tionality of origin.

Keywords: Milan, Jews, Jewish Community, Racial Census, Jewish Residence, 1938.

Emanuele Edallo, La distribuzione residenziale degli ebrei a Milano alla vigilia della persecuzione fascista in "STORIA URBANA " 172/2022, pp 87-106, DOI: 10.3280/SU2022-172005