di razza ariana

[darkerhorse]

In a 1942 death record in Sicily, would "di razza ariana" be a common way to identify a person of the white race or does it refer to something more specific (Aryan)?

Note the death occurred during WWII.

[MarcuccioV]

In a 1942 death record in Sicily, would "di razza ariana" be a common way to identify a person of the white race or does it refer to something more specific (Aryan)?

Note the death occurred during WWII.

This was common at the time on acts to signify the person as 'white', or "regular Italian". There was a 'razza' blank on the death act forms for many years but in my grandparent's town it wasn't used until around the '40's. Could have been a state edict due to other ethnicities or ethnic mixes entering Italy...

[MarcuccioV]

Here's an example (from 1944):

[TerraLavoro]

Mussolini passed the odious "racial laws" in 1938.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_racial_laws
While in effect (1938-1943), the stato civile offices were required to identify individuals by their "race". This was clearly one of the ways in which jews were targeted and discriminated against during the fascist era.

[MarcuccioV]

Mussolini passed the odious "racial laws" in 1938.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_racial_laws
While in effect (1938-1943), the stato civile offices were required to identify individuals by their "race". This was clearly one of the ways in which jews were targeted and discriminated against during the fascist era.

Thank you for that clarification, Terra. I had a feeling it was a state-mandated order, as it suddenly was filled in whereas it had previously been left blank...