seminars

Maria Luisa Berneri and the English anarchism

by Valeria Giacomoni

With this title was held last November in Reggio Emilia, a study day sull'anarchica Italian, promoted from the archive-Family Berneri Aurelio Chessa. An excellent opportunity to remind this interesting figure of the anarchist militant and intellectual.

November 19 was held in Reggio Emilia, a study day on Maria Luisa Berneri. The act, organized from the archive Berneri-Chessa, has seen these various scholars have shed light on different aspects of life and work of the eldest daughter of Camillo Berneri and its connections with the English anarchism. The variety of topics of interest responds to the width of Maria Luisa: his best known work is certainly Journey through Utopia, which publishes in England in 1948 on behalf of George Woodcock, a journey through the history of Utopias, starting from the Republic of Plato to the present day, explores and contextualizes the various ideal cities, making a division between authoritarian and anti-authoritarian utopias. The theme of utopia can say summarizing her interests in history, politics, philosophy, and literature and the publication of the book places it in the post-war British anarchist circle. Following in the footsteps of his biography, the conference has shown its political awareness and his work as editor of Press Freedom in the group 30-40 years.

An exceptional experience

Maria Luisa was born in Arezzo in 1918, but soon the family Berneri had to leave Italy to join his father Camillo, who had illegally crossed the border to escape fascist persecution in 1926. By the age of eight years and then grew up and studied in Paris: to grow in the French capital during the period between the wars, the father often imprisoned and expelled, leading the young Marie Louise (we often find Frenchified his name) an interest in political science and social psychology, attending courses at the Sorbonne. In 1937 the murder of his father in the Spanish Civil War is a blow to the family oriented and definitely Giovanna Caleffi and two daughters to politics, to bring forward the ideas from his father. Thanks to Marie Louise of correspondence and diaries of the mother, it was possible to reconstruct and to emphasize the importance of border crossings, the first in Italy and France in '26 and again in '37 to attend the funeral of his father in Barcelona. It also underscores the generational difference between the mother and daughters, born between the two wars, a period when you accelerate the pace of historical events. In fact, if Giovanna Caleffi feel the need to bring ideas forward, correspondence and international contacts of her husband after his death, his daughters since 1935, were closer to politics.
And we have evidence of this interest in the correspondence of Marie Louise with Vernon Richards, what will be the companion of his life. Even Vernon (a name adopted in England from Vero Recchioni) was the son of a famous Italian anarchist Recchioni Emidio, who moved to London before the First World War. In letters to Vernon we have evidence of the strong interest of Marie Louise for pedagogy, convinced of the need to direct efforts towards children and young people. "First the people must be educated," she says in one of these letters and expresses a desire to open a school, consider the fight as the competition, insisting that when you see "that our school is better, we will" . The interest in the pedagogy of Berneri in this case is a desperate attempt against the propaganda rampant at that time, an attempt to offer the opportunity to grow in freedom
In 1937, after his father's death, Maria Louisa joins her lover in London and settled permanently in England. It can be noted how the multiple transfers in foreign countries for Marie Louise constitute an enrichment over that required emigration. The ease with which she speaks and writes in several languages ​​will allow you to read the classics of anarchism in their original language and to engage in translation, the various movements tend to help to broaden their perspectives, to develop different points of view and outline the situation European Union from different perspectives. Maria Louisa collect his father's inheritance and will continue intensely anti-fascist activity in England.

antimilitarist campaign

It seems that in England, Spain and the World found a favorable environment for the publication because of indignation for the general policy of non-intervention given the obvious Italian and German military interference in the Spanish conflict.
The evolution of the name of the magazine is very important to understand the gradual process of awareness of international events: Spain and the World will become Revolt! in the period between the Spanish War and the beginning of World War II and later change the name again in a much more resigned War Commentary.
The viewpoint of the editors of Freedom Press is a challenge to the British state, as the band takes a unique and consistent anarchist against the state in relation to the war, to social order and international democracy. Denounce that war is a "symptom" of the state in all its implications, as Colin Ward says "War is an expression of the state in its most perfect form: it is his finest hour." Commentators anarchist Freedom Press strongly discussed the position of the British government claiming to be engaged in a war for democracy and international order. Carried out a campaign highlighting the inconsistency of antiwar aspire to peace with the sound of bombs (a theme that seems to refer to current events ...) and even the sudden need of the British government to intervene in defense of democracy against fascism knowing well the non-intervention policy implemented during the Spanish conflict in the thirties.
The Berneri is of particular concern to the bombing of mass and how it justifies military intervention in the media in Britain. The bombing of the Royal Air Force until the armistice on Italy from October '42 and '43 aim to destroy the industrial areas and affect the morale of the Italians. The British press says these interventions, accompanied by propaganda, are intended to rebel against Italians Mussolini. On War Commentary underlines how the British government invited Italians to strike but then repressed British strikes. And it reveals how the British media's promoted the cowardice and the temperament of the Italians, not suitable for combat, to justify the need to intervene.
The use of massive bombing, put into practice for the first time in the Spanish conflict, involving the whole population and leads to levels of destruction and death ever known before. (Interestingly, the idea of ​​the air war is Italian: Giulio Douhet in 1921 published "The domain of the air" in which he theorized the superiority of those who control from the bombing). The violence used in large scale in World War II, with totalitarianism, bombing and concentration camps, disrupts the roots of Western civilization and Western thought that mine was based so far on man and the meaning of his existence. The combination of technical-violence reaches its zenith with the nuclear explosion, the consequences of which bring into question the belief that progress free man from slavery.
Marie Louise in a collection of articles titled "Neither East nor West" continues his father's position "Neither Rome nor Moscow"; clearly takes sides against totalitarianism, but also takes a stand against democracy, stating "Why limit your choice to two illnesses?". Consider that the Allies fought fascism with its own means or with the terror and destruction, to maintain control of the population and halt the democratization of politics. He stressed that the bombing has affected mainly the districts of workers and have achieved the goal of disrupting the social fabric and avoid the creation of further revolutionary movements.
In this case the bombs, of which are often accused the anarchists, were used at will by democratic governments, continuing to point out the anarchists as bearers of chaos and disorder.

excellent reflections

The conference was very interesting thanks to the excellent historical and philosophical reflections Mariuccia Salvati, in addition to open and close the act, she made the point of linking various interventions, giving them a sense of cohesion. Charles de Maria has reconstructed the biography of Maria Luisa through the papers and has accompanied his presentation with the screening of exciting photographs (see photo). The intervention of Claudia Baldoli bombing and the press, which reveals the strategy of the British government seemed very interesting and significant that the cartoons has shown. Illuminating the contribution (written) by Carissa Honeywell's use of emergency powers to curb the democratization of politics and the analysis of the conclusion of the Press Freedom Status = war.
And Antonio Senta is the final reflection that allows you to expand the horizon to the violence of World War II that disrupts Western civilization.
The organization of the conference was made possible thanks to the enthusiasm of exhaustive Flame Chessa.
Maria Luisa Berneri died suddenly in 1949 at only 31 years due to emerging complications following childbirth. Leave unfinished projects: the unpublished writings of Sacco and Vanzetti, a translation of Bakunin, the publication of writings and notes of his father, and a study of the revolutionary tendencies of the Marquis de Sade.

Valeria Giacomoni