Blackened bronze medal commemorating the "Jewish Communities Act" in Italy, 1930.

ITALIAN BRONZE MEDAL DESIGNED BY ARRIGO MINERBI

1930

Design: Arrigo Minerbi, minted by Stefano Johnson. Obverse: Italian legend: "Vittorio Emanuelle III Re / Benito Mussolini Capo / Del Governo / Le Comunita Ebraiche / D`Italia a Ricordo Della Legge 30 X 1930 IX". Alongside the legend are a crown and the symbol of the Fascist party: A Fascio (a bundle of rods tied around an axe). Reverse: Menorah behind the Ten Comandments, with the legend "Senza La Legge Cielo E Terra Crollerebbero` [“Without the law heaven and earth would crumble.”] Beneath is a Star of David and the signature of the Jewish artist. Diam: 72 mm.

Italy’s "Jewish Communities Act," developed under the Mussolini government, standardized the legal status of the Jewish communities; regulated their activities, and stated that all those considered Jews by Jewish law automatically belonged to the community - (ironically, making it easier in later years to institute anti-Semitic laws). “The medal symbolized, quite literally, two sides of the coin. It gave a message of peaceful coexistence between Jewish belonging and Italian patriotism. However when Mussolini suddenly launched a racial campaign in 1938, it came as a complete shock to Italian Jewry.” See S. Klein, Italy`s Jews from Emancipation to Fascism (2018) p. 84.