Liliana Segre, Or the Courageous Struggle Against “Indifference” and for Social Recognition Silvana Greco, Prof
Liliana Segre, or the courageous struggle against “indifference” and for social recognition Silvana Greco, Prof. Dr. Freie Universität Berlin, Germany Abstract From a historical and sociological perspective, based on the social theory of recognition of Axel Honneth, this article analyzes the life course of the Italian Jewish Holocaust survivor Liliana Segre, born in 1930 in Milan, and her struggle for social recognition after her liberation from the concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Ravensbrück, Jugendlager and Malchow. The article will underline on one side, the “spiral of misrecognition” that Liliana Segre, as all Italian Jews, has been victim of after the approval of the Fascist racial laws of 1938 and the negative consequences for her identity, such as social shame, loss of self-confidence, self-respect and self-esteem. On the other side, the article focus on the “upward spiral of recognition”, that Liliana Segre was able to realize after her return from the concentration camp. Through marriage, maternity, paid work in the labor market and civil engagement as Shoah witness, she was able to regain social self-esteem and dignity for herself and, for the Jewish people. Keywords: Italian Holocaust survivor; Antisemitism; Nazi persecution; Fascism; social recognition; misrecognition. Introduction After the promulgation of the Racial laws in 1938 by the Fascist regime, the life of Italian Jews changed dramatically. From that moment on Italian Jews, who were very well integrated in society, became second-class citizens and were excluded from all social, economic and political spheres. They were expelled from political organizations, lost their jobs, were excluded from public schools, from Universities, from public transport, and from all social and leisure activities, such as bars, cinemas, theatres etc.
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