Severino di Giovanni: Anarchist Bombs and Anti-fascism

     The time period between World War I and World War II saw the rise of anarchism and fascism, two of the modern era’s most dangerous political movements. Italy was one of Europe’s hotbeds for radical extremism and as migrants went abroad in search of work and to escape poverty, they brought these ideologies with them. Argentina became one place where the two philosophies clashed with the anarchist Severino di Giovanni on the advanced guard, instigating the violence.

     Born in Abruzzi to an impoverished family, Severino di Giovanni later claimed that the constant hunger pangs and fear of starvation would be the primary motivation for his interest in anarchist revolutionary politics. Anarchists of that time believed all people were naturally equal and blamed the mechanisms of government, economics, and private property for the social disequilibrium that resulted in some people having so much food they could never possibly ear it all while others were condemned to a life of scarcity, malnutrition, and the soul-destroying search for adequate means of survival. Therefore, a world without government would be a world of equality and peace. After growing up so poor, Giovanni emigrated to Buenos Aires, got involved in trade unionism, and embraced the convulsively liberating theory of anarchist violence.

     Fascism was also on the rise in Argentina and many Italian fascists had also emigrated to that Latin American country. Upon his arrival, di Giovanni immediately began attending meetings with anarchist groups who planned to fight against the fascists who believed in enslaving the masses of industrial workers for their own capitalistic gain. In 1925, the fascists of Argentina held a public celebration in honor of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III’s accession to the throne. Many prominent politicians and public figures from both Argentina and Italy were present along with a cadre of Black Shirt thugs, present to maintain order in the crowd. When the orchestra began playing the Italian national anthem, Severino di Giovanni and his companions began throwing anti-fascist leaflets in the air and shouting “Assassins! Thieves!” The Black Shirts beat them up and sent them on their way.

     That same year, the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti took place in America. The two factory-working anarchists were accused of detonating a bomb that killed several people. The prosecution’s case rested on the fact that the two men had been caught with Italian language anarchist newspapers. The lawyer also argued that their Italian ancestry proved their guilt since, in the eyes of many Americans at that time when anti-immigration sentiment was at fever pitch, Italians were fundamentally incapable of civilized behavior. The judge was also well-known for having extreme anti-immigrant views. The defense claimed that the newspapers were planted by the police but the judge refused to allow that claim to be admitted as evidence and abruptly ended the trial. The jury found Sacco and Vanzetti guilty and sentenced them to death. A mistrial was declared but the judge refused to reopen the case, citing his dislike of Italian people as the cause. Eventually, Sacco and Vanzetti were executed. The case has since been seen as an example of American racism, xenophobia, and an unhealthy fear of immigrants. In the trade union and anarchist movement, it was seen as a rallying cry for revolution.

     Severino di Giovanni had started his own newspaper called Culmine. It was a left wing political paper dedicated to labor issues; he quickly took up the cause of Sacco and Vanzetti and furiously published a storm of articles denouncing the injustice of the trial. Many of those articles made their way to newspapers in America. Di Giovanni was deeply impressed with the Galleanist idea of “propaganda of the deed”, a term signifying the use of public political actions to serve as an example for inspiring further political action. Severino di Giovanni had decided to take action.

     The campaign started with a bombing of the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires; the front of the building was demolished. The Argentinian police sought help from the fascists in the Italian embassy who captured di Giovanni, imprisoned him for five days, then released hum after torturing him the entire time. Di Giovanni and two of his friends then blew up a statue of George Washington and, later in the same day, set off a bomb at the office of the Ford Motor Company. The next day they blew up the house belonging to the Buenos Aires chief of police; he just barely escaped being killed because, without any knowledge of the impending attack, he had left his home and walked down the street to buy a pack of cigarettes. No doubt, ling cancer must have later accomplished the task that the bomb had failed to do.

     Di Giovanni’s bombings continued into 1927 and 1928. The next targets were an American owned tobacco warehouse and branches of two American banks, Then di Giovanni and his two friends, the Scarfo brothers, killed a whole bunch of fascists when they bombed the Italian embassy; it was the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentinian history.

     Severino di Giovanni’s propaganda of the deed turned out to have a polarizing effect. Some anarchists and unionists began accusing him of making their movements look reckless and evil. Others fell in love with his campaign of terror. Fighting broke out between the two sides until the publisher of an anarchist newspaper got assassinated. Some blamed di Giovanni for the murder but evidence seemed to point to other members of the anarchist community. Di Giovanni decided to end his bombings in order to make peace between the fighting workers.

     In 1930, a military coup overthrew the government of Argentina. Severino di Giovanni married and settled down but eventually left his wife for a fifteen year old Italian immigrant named Fina, the sister of his two best friends, the Scarfo brothers. The couple went into hiding and di Giovanni found employment at a printing press. The police found out where he was working and raided the shop. The attempted arrest resulted in a gunfight; one officer died and the other got injured. Di Giovanni escaped. On a later date when di Giovanni was with Fina, the Scarfo brothers, and several other friends, the police again showed up and a firefight broke out. Di Giovanni was captured and Fina was arrested then set free because of her age.

     Severino di Giovanni was executed by firing squad in 1931. He shouted “long live anarchy”, in Italian of course, before eight bullets pierced his body. His wife was shot a few hours later. The fascists eventually lost World War II. Both anarchism and fascism fizzled out and faded away as capitalism and communism took over. Those two sleeping dogs were not left to lie. Both anarchism and fascism began to re-emege as political ideologies starting in the 1960s. Without any chance of ever becoming a functioning political system, both still have an enormous potential to inspire destructive and murderous violence.

Vollman, William T., Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom, and Urgent Means. Ecco, 2003.