Researches and Teaching Experiences on the Fascist “Racial Laws” in High Schools: A Case Study of the Lyceum “E. Q. Visconti” of Rome

Abstract

The devastating effect of the Italian racist legislation of 1938 on middle and high schools is the object of this study, with a focus on the particular case of the Lyceum “E. Q. Visconti” of Rome. The research has been carried out within the educational project L’Archivio del Visconti e la Storia (“The Visconti Archive and History”), with the active participation of the school students. The purpose of the project was to provide students with historical method tools and to raise their awareness, as well as a civic and ethical reflection, on the Shoah topics. The survey, developed mainly through the examination of unpublished documents contained in the Lyceum’s archive, led to the identification of 58 Jewish students and a teacher, Maria Piazza, expelled from the school because of the “racial laws” in 1938. Many oral and written testimonies on the traumatic experiences of the students have also been collected. The Lyceum has recently dedicated to the expelled students and teacher a commemorative plaque, to keep alive the memory of all the victims of the fascist anti-Jewish persecution.