Guido Jung

Guido Jung (February 2, 1876 – December 25, 1949) was a successful Jewish-born Italian banker and merchant from Sicily, who later converted to Catholicism.

Cavaliere Guido Jung
Consigliere of Fascism
In office July 1932 – January 1935
Duce of Fascism	Benito Mussolini
Italian Minister of Finance
In office July 1932 – January 1935
Monarch	Victor Emmanuel III
Prime Minister	Benito Mussolini
Preceded by	Antonio Mosconi
Succeeded by	Paolo Ignazio Maria Thaon di Revel
In office February 1944 – April 1944
Monarch	Victor Emmanuel III
Prime Minister	Pietro Badoglio
Preceded by	Domenico Bartolini
Succeeded by	Quinto Quintieri
Personal details
Born	February 2, 1876 Palermo, Palermo, Sicily
Died	December 25, 1949 (aged 73) Sicily[1]
Nationality	Italian
Political party	National Fascist Party[2]
Occupation	Merchant, politician
Civilian awards	Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia
Military service
Allegiance	Italy
Branch/service	Royal Italian Army
Years of service	1914–1917, 1935–1939, 1944–1945
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Military awards	Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare

He was a member of the Grand Council of Fascism and served as Italian Minister of Finance from 1932-35 under Benito Mussolini. Jung was an important player in international finance during the interwar period, leading Italian negotiations with the United States over tariff questions, heading Italo-German economic talks with Hermann Göring, and representing Italy at the London Economic Conference during which he was heralded in press reports for his diplomatic tact.

Jung was ultimately sidelined by Mussolini due to his Jewish heritage, despite reports from the Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism that described him as a disciplined and loyal fascist. After the surrender of Italy, Jung briefly served as finance minister a second time – in 1944 – under Pietro Badoglio but was dismissed after three months following allegations concerning the extent and depth of his roots in the National Fascist Party. Though a fanatical fascist, Jung drew a sharp distinction between fascism and Nazism, once comparing the Nazi Party to a baby and later reportedly calling Adolf Hitler a "blockhead".

An artillery officer in the Italian Army during both world wars, Jung commanded troops in both Europe and Africa. For various acts of bravery in combat, he was decorated with the Silver Medal of Military Valor on four separate occasions. He was created a knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy by Victor Emmanuel III.

Early life

Jung was born in Sicily to a wealthy, Orthodox Jewish merchant family who had emigrated from Germany.[3][4][5] As a young man, he undertook a business apprenticeship in London.[6]

Career

Private sector and military service

Jung took over the family business of fruit importing and ran it to continued commercial success.[3] He also served on the board of directors of the Bank of Palermo, in recognition of which he was, in 1906, invested into the Order of the Crown of Italy at the degree of Cavaliere.[3]

During World War I, Jung served in the Royal Italian Army's 25th Artillery Regiment, rising to the rank of captain and being decorated with the Bronze Medal of Military Valor which was, on application of Jung's commander, subsequently converted to the Silver Medal of Military Valor.[3][6]

Minister of Finance (1932 to 1935)

Jung, who in 1922 had served as financial attache at the Italian embassy in Washington, D.C., was elevated to the Grand Council of Fascism in the summer of 1932 by virtue of his appointment as Minister of Finance; the senior ministers of the government were also de facto members of the Grand Council.[7][3][1]

Prime Minister Benito Mussolini reasoned at the time that "a Jew should be at the head of finance".[1][8]

As a senior minister in the cabinet, Jung was also a member of the Grand Council of Fascism, pictured here in 1936.

During an official visit by Hermann Göring to Italy, Mussolini assigned Jung to meet with the German minister, prompting David Schwartz of the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle to write that "it must have been a lesson in tolerance".[9]

In May 1933, he represented Italy to the United States during tariff discussions and was feted with an official dinner at the White House by President of the United States Franklin Roosevelt.[10]

In a subsequent meeting with Mussolini, U.S. ambassador John W. Garrett reported that "he [Mussolini] was very gratified at the cordiality of Jung’s reception in America".[11]

As minister, Jung helped establish the Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale.[12] He was also the Italian delegate to the London Economic Conference and was credited in news reports with "keeping the conflicting elements of the parley from completely disrupting the conference".[13] During the same Conference, he signed an agreement, sponsored by Galeazzo Ciano and at the time kept secret to the world, with the minister of China, T.V. Soong, that concluded the long lasting negotiations for the settlement of the Boxer Indemnity and the outstanding amount of the Skoda loan with Italy.[14]

Political views

In a 1933 interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Jung compared Nazism to Fascism by equating it to the difference between "an infant to a ten year-old boy".[5] The following year he is on record as referring to Adolf Hitler as a "blockhead" and a "blatherer".[15]

While he declared there was no anti-semitism in Italy, Jung also dismissed the very existence of anti-semitism, explaining to Emil Ludwig his belief that it was a "doctrine upheld by those sub-Alpine peoples who could not write at the time Rome saw Caesar, Vergil, and August".[5][15]

Later years

After being released from the cabinet Jung, then aged 59, volunteered for military service in Ethiopia ultimately commanding 6,000 men.[3][16] By this point, Jung had stopped adhering to Judaism. In 1935, he was received into the Roman Catholic faith.[4]

Nonetheless, in 1939, with the enactment of the Italian Racial Laws, he was dismissed from military service. His personal appeals to Mussolini to grant him an exception went unheeded, despite supporting reports from the OVRA that described him as a disciplined and loyal Fascist.[6]

In February 1944, following the Armistice of Cassibile, Jung was again given charge of the finance ministry.[2][17]

The appointment of Jung met with concern from the United States, with the U.S. Army's Psychological Warfare Branch charging that Jung had deep Fascist roots that significantly predated his earlier service as finance minister, possibly extending to the March on Rome.[18]

Jung's second stint as minister was short-lived and he was dismissed after just three months. At his request, he was restored to his military rank and assigned, first, to the 184th Artillery Regiment Nembo in the Italian Co-belligerent Army, and then to the Folgore Mechanized Division.[6] During his service in Africa, and his later service in Europe, he would receive a total of three additional Silver Military Medals of Valor.[6]

Personal life

At least two of Jung's brothers also served in the Royal Italian Army during World War I.[3] Guido Jung died in Sicily.[6]

References

1. "Guido Jung Dies in Sicily". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. newspapers.com. Associated Press. December 28, 1949. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
2. "Marshal Badoglio Appoints Two Jews to His Cabinet; Breaks Anti-Jewish Tradition". Jewish Telegraph Agency. November 18, 1943. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
3. Giuntini, Elisa. "Guido Jung, Imprenditore". isspe.it (in Sicilian). Sicilian Institute for the Study of Politics and Economics. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
4. Sarfatti, Michele (2006). The Jews in Mussolini's Italy: From Equality to Persecution. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0299217345.
5. "Jung, Italian Envoy, Arrives to Confer with Roosevelt". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. May 3, 1933. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
6. Raspagliesi, Roberta (2012). Guido Jung. Imprenditore ebreo e ministro fascista: Imprenditore ebreo e ministro fascista. FrancoAngeli. pp. 102, 236–44. ISBN 8856863669.
7. Register of the Department of State. U.S. Department of State. 1922. p. 249.
8. Waagenaar, Sam (1974). The Pope's Jews (PDF). Alcove Press. p. 172. ISBN 0856570265.
9. Schwartz, David (May 19, 1933). "By the Way". Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved March 9, 2018.(subscription required)
10. "Guido Jung of Italy at White House". Hartford Courant. newspapers.com. Associated Press. May 3, 1933. Retrieved March 9, 2018.(subscription required)
11. "The Ambassador in Italy (Garrett) to the Secretary of State". history.state.gov. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
12. Lilli, Manlio. "L'Iri tra Mussolini e Beneduce, il suo "scienziato dell'economia"". istitutodipolitica.it. Istituto di Politica. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
13. "Italy's Peacemaker Helps Save Parley". Akron Beacon Journal. newspapers.com. June 22, 1933. Retrieved March 9, 2018.(subscription required)
14. Coco, Orazio (June 16, 2020). "Sino-Italian relations told through the archive's papers of the Banca Italiana per la Cina (1919–1943)". Journal of Modern Italian Studies: 11–14. doi:10.1080/1354571x.2020.1741941.
15. Van Arkel, Dik (2009). The Drawing of the Mark of Cain: A Socio-historical Analysis of the Growth of Anti-Jewish Stereotypes. Amsterdam University Press. p. 333. ISBN 908964041X.
16. Zalampas, Michael (1989). Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich in American Magazines, 1923–1939. Popular Press. p. 112. ISBN 0879724625.
17. "Premier Badoglio Revamps Cabinet, Adds Ministers". Baltimore Sun. newspapers.com. Associated Press. February 18, 1944. Retrieved March 9, 2018.(subscription required)
18. Domenico, Roy (1991). Italian Fascists on Trial, 1943–1948. University of North Carolina Press. p. 16.