Mrs. M. Ugolini: Source Analysis

This source is an interview with Mrs M in 1999 by W. Ugolini. This source was part of a collection of interviews for ‘Memory, war and the Italians in Edinburgh: the role of communal myth.’ Mrs M, an Italian living in Edinburgh describes the anti-Italian sentiment and riots when Mussolini, dictator of Italy declared war on Britain and France on 10th of June 1940. This source was written 59 years after the events took place as a result the details could possibly be blurred with the passing of time. As it is a primary source it is biased and selective in nature. Mrs M. states, “I went to the front of the shop and stood there and the next minute all these people surrounded the shop. Italy had declared war.” By 1940, a large proportion of the Italian population consisted of second-generation immigrants by the time Italy declared war. However it is thought that a lot of Italian Immigrants did not have a sense of belonging in their new countries. Joe Pieri an Italian-Scot touches on this when he writes, “Despite my almost purely Scottish lifestyle, I just did not feel British. Almost daily I was reminded of the fact that I was an Italian..” It can be argued that this led to Italian immigrants becoming involved in Fascist groups in the period leading up to World War Two. These fascist groups were popular in the period leading up to WWII as …show more content…
Many Italians considered themselves integrated into local society and they could not comprehend the idea of their friends and neighbours ransacking their businesses. This shows that the Anti-Italian riots of 1940 were not entirely influenced by sectarianism as her friends are thought to be Roman Catholic as