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Although Italy was ruled by a Fascist government since 1922, antisemitsim was not part of the platform of Mussolini's party. After 1933 Mussolini tried at first to strike a balance between his relations with the West and his support of Hitler, but eventually moved closer to Germany. Thus the Rome-Berlin Axis came into being, and in 1938 anti-Jewish laws were enacted by Italy to satisfy Hitler.
Italy joined the war in June 1940. Foreign Jews who had not left Italy until that time were arrested and detained in camps. However Italy never agreed to deport its Jews and the Jews residing in Italian controlled areas in France, Greece and Croatia. Consequently these areas became places of temporary refuge for Jews. In September 1943 when Italy signed a cease-fire agreement with the Allies, Mussolini was overthrown. The Germans occupied Italy and the former Italian occupied zones and immediately began deporting the Jews from those parts. Many Jews managed to go into hiding or flee to the south of Italy, where the Allied forces were advancing. 7,680 out of 44,500 Italian Jews perished during the Holocaust. The majority were saved with the help of Italians.
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