Literatura in cenzura - Društvo za primerjalno književnost - ZRC SAZU

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Literature and Censorship: Who is Afraid of the Truth of Literature?In a utopian totalitarian state, censorship should not exist because allcitizens are fully committed to the realization of the nation’s goals. Realityis naturally very different; even so, Fascist propaganda tried to live the lieas much as possible. This meant that, whenever possible, acts of censorshiphad to be prevented or discreetly dealt with. Mussolini himself wascareful in making sure that doors would be left ajar, thus allowing spacefor negotiation, self-interested acts of toleration, and plenty of ad hocsolutions, sometimes illegal ones. Moreover, when considering censorshipone has to take into account the degree of consensual collaborationthrough which publishers and authors acquired credit with the regimewhich could then be invested in requests for adjustments and exceptions.In some cases, Fascism also had to come to terms with another censorshipauthority operating on the Italian peninsula: the Vatican. Althoughthere were no formal links concerning book censorship, this paper showshow challenges to Catholic morality were sometimes taken up by theChurch.202Literature and Fascist Censorship in the Early Yearsof the RegimeOnce he had seized power in October 1922, and particularly after theintroduction of the draconian legislation of 1926–27 (the leggi fascistissime),Mussolini’s preoccupation with ensuring control of the Italian mediameant that censorship was greatly focused on the press. Most of the legislationand illegal attacks against printing works sought control of theoutput of opposition newspapers and periodicals. If the publishing industrywas involved, it was mainly because the legislation often includedperiodical and non-periodical publications (stampa periodica e non periodica)under the same heading. The key to the expansion of Fascist censorshipwas the Press Office of the Head of Government (Ufficio Stampa del Capodel Governo). Under previous governments and a more concise denominationas Ufficio stampa, its role had been that of a relatively passive monitorof national periodicals. Through the appointment of one of his mostruthless lieutenants, Cesare Rossi, Mussolini’s Press Office was given themore disturbing aim of shaping public opinion through a range of legaland illegal means. It thus became an increasingly more powerful playerdirectly under Mussolini’s leadership. 2 In matters of censorship, its operationswere in direct competition with the Ministry of the Interior, which,traditionally and legally, had the responsibility of overseeing all publicationsthrough its network of prefectures. The following quotation from a
Guido Bonsaver:Mussolini's Fascism, Literary Censorship, and the Vaticanconfidential letter by Mussolini to all prefects, dated 30 September 1927,clarifies the priority the Press Office was supposed to take: “Do not takeany initiative with regard to bans or seizures of publications prior to mypersonal authorization, which will reach you exclusively through the PressOffice of the Head of Government.” 3 What was happening in the earlyyears of the regime was a process of centralization for which Mussoliniwas the active catalyst.A first example of the complexity of book censorship, and of itscareful management by Mussolini, regards the publication of a novel byGuido da Verona in January 1930. By then, Da Verona was an establishedauthor of risqué novels constantly testing the limits of the censors’ toleration.He was also an outspoken Fascist, although his decision to jointhe party in December 1925 – when Italy’s dictatorship had become afait accompli – suggests a good amount of opportunism. In his most recentbook, Da Verona had tried his hand at a sardonic parody of Italy’smost famous 19th-century novel, Alessandro Manzoni’s I promessi sposi[The Betrothed]. This was one step too far because his satirical treatmentof one of the literary icons of Italian and Catholic identity met withoutraged reactions from various circles. The official censorship authority(the Milanese prefecture because the book had been published by Unitasof Milan) had not raised any objections to its publication. It was Fascistand Catholic organizations that took action, and they did it with differentstrategies. As soon as copies of the novel were displayed in the windowsof Milan’s bookshops, groups of young Fascists started to bargeinto the shops demanding that all the books be removed from the shopwindows and shelves. In one case, the shop manager called the police,who promptly arrived and arrested two of the more hot-headed Fascists.Da Verona and his book were also savagely attacked by the Fascist press,and when Da Verona presented himself to the Fascist headquarters inMilan to try and explain his position, he was first refused a meeting andlater, on his way back to the hotel, he was surrounded and beaten up bya group of Fascists.At the other end of the spectrum, Catholic circles reacted in a morediscreet manner but were no less effective. Da Verona’s entire oeuvre hadbeen put on the Vatican’s List of Prohibited Books only a few months before,in April 1929. 4 The publication of a new provocative novel could notsilently be allowed to pass, particularly at a time when, with the LateranPacts, Mussolini seemed to have come to a peaceful agreement with theHoly See. First the Milanese Diocese protested with a letter to the Milanprefect, on 9 January 1930. It was more important, however, to reachMussolini’s own ear and, as we now know thanks to the recently opened203
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Literatura in cenzuraKdo se boji re
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Marijan Dović:Literatura in cenzur
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Marijan Dović:Literatura in cenzur
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Totalitarna in post-totalitarnacenz
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Marijan Dović:Totalitarna in post-
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Literatura in cenzura: kdo se boji
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Stephan Packard:Model tekstualnega
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II.Kontroverze totalitarne cenzure
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Cenzura in dramske strategijev jugo
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Aleksandra Jovićević: Cenzura in
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III.Post-totalitarna cenzura
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Slačenje literarne zgodovine:cenzu
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Obsojena pisatelja
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Literature and Censorship: Who is A
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Untimely Rewriting: Memoryand Self-
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Words in FreedomSimona ŠkrabecBarc
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Convicted Writers
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A Dream Napkin White as Snowon the
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Louise L. Lambrichs is a French nov
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Literatura in cenzura - Društvo za primerjalno književnost - ZRC SAZU

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