Giovanni Preziosi

[3] Much of his thought was influenced by La Libre Parole, a newspaper founded by Edouard Drumont, Howell Arthur Gwynne's The Cause of World Unrest, and The Dearborn Independent of Henry Ford.

[5] Although a hardliner in terms of his fascism, Preziosi denounced Nazism as parochial, exclusionary, and responsible for pushing Europe towards communism.

[6] In his early years, he had demonstrated a strong Germanophobia, and published a book entitled Germania alla conquista dell'Italia in 1916.

[7] From 1933 onward, he changed tack, becoming a strong advocate of close co-operation with Nazi Germany and occasionally criticized Italian fascism for its lack of emphasis on perceived Jewish wrongdoings.

[3] His views reached a wider audience after the passing of the Italian Racial Laws, as he began to write articles for the national press and his own journal.

[11] During the RSI years, he pursued the extermination of the Jews, in the words of the historian of fascism Emilio Gentile, "with fanatical fury".

[14] In the late days of the war, following a narrow escape from the Italian partisans on 26 April 1945, Preziosi fled on foot with his wife Valeria to the city of Milan, where they found refuge in the homes of friends.