[…]

On December 1, the Press published a Circular of the Provincial Presidents, who now unite the posts as (administrative) Prefect and (political) Fascist leader in the Province, by the following Police Ordinance:

1) All Jews, including those occupying a special position of any nationality residing in Italy, must be put in concentration camps.

All their property, movable property, and immovable property will be seized immediately until they can be confiscated for the benefit of the Social Italian Republic, which will use them to the best for the casualties of the hostile airstrikes.

All those who are offspring of a mixed Marriage, are recognized under applicable Italian Racial Law as of

With regard to the Press’s comments on these new Regulations, one is permitted to state the following; REGIME FASCISTA on the 2 December seeks to justify the new Precautions against the Jews, by stating first, that Italian Jews under Badoglio's government were active in an anti-fascist movement, and participated in the destruction of fascist property, etc. and that before the war - as is evident from various texts quoted - sought to instigate. There is thus no doubt about their responsibility. The logical answer is that we should exterminate the Jews. But, as always, the Italian people appear extremely noble and have confined themselves to robbing them of their possessions. The bombing of our cities is wanted and praised by the Jewish International. What is more reasonable than their possessions being used, to relieve the consequences of the Hebrew crime to some degree?

[…]

Livorno magazine TELEGRAFO on the 8/12 publishes a Note, dated Rome, 7/12, of the following: Only twelve hours after the republican-fascist government had decreed that the Jews should be eliminated from the life of the Italian state, the capital has begun the process of purification.

However, the Roman magazines did not contain any such message, just as the legation have not heard anything to confirm this.

Otto Wadsted