12 June 1940: Elia Gesses loses his Italian citizenship and becomes stateless

In 1938 one of the measures enacted by the Racial Laws in Italy, consisted in the invalidation and loss of the Italian citizenship for all the foreign Jews who had obtained it after January 1^st, 1919. Consequently, they became stateless and lost some fundamental rights like the right to vote, education and national health assistance.

Elia Gesses was a Jew from Belarus who had migrated to Italy in the early 1920s and had obtained the Italian citizenship, following the fascist party rise to power. His registration to the fascist party (1932) and recognition as a “Cavaliere Del Lavoro” (honorary title) by the Italian Government in 1936, were no use to him. On 12^thJune 1940 he was officially declared stateless

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