Accounting and the banality of evil

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the significant role of accounting in the expropriation of Jewish real estate after the enforcement of race laws under Benito Mussolini’s Fascist regime in Italy. Design/methodology/approach Hannah Arendt’s understanding of government bureaucracy in the twentieth century totalitarian regimes informs the research which draws upon a wide range of primary sources. Findings Implementation of the program of expropriation was the responsibility of a government body, EGELI, which was created specifically for this purpose. The language of accounting provided the means to disguise the nature and brutality of the process and allow bureaucrats to be removed from the consequences of their actions. Accounting reports from EGELI to the Ministry of Finance confirmed each year that those who worked in EGELI were devoted to its mission as an agency of the Fascist State. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study recognize the need for further research on the role played by servicemen, bureaucrats and accounting as a technology of government in the deportation of Italian Jews to Germany. The study also provides impetus to examine how other countries managed the properties confiscated or expropriated from the Jews in the earlier stages of the Final Solution. Originality/value The study is the first to identify the significant role played by accounting and accountants in the persecution of Italian Jews under the Fascism.

The 1908 earthquake of Messina: An accounting perspective on the city's reconstruction between faith and Fascism

“…In recent decades, accounting literature has debated the relationship between accounting and ideology, although the multifaceted role of accounting in totalitarian regimes has so far received scant attention compared with other research trajectories, notwithstanding the historical relevance of some political eras and the broad archival heritage supporting potential research on the subject (Cinquini et al, 2016;Twyford, 2021). The main research trajectories have focused on how ideology facilitates or inhibits the use of specific accounting concepts (Ezzamel et al, 2007); the role of accounting and other calculation practices in the context in which they operatefor example, Andrew and Cortese (2013) in the era of neoliberalism, Goddard (2002) in the public sector; and accounting and political regimesnamely, Nazism in Germany (Detzen and Hoffman, 2020;Funnell, 1998aFunnell, , 1998bFunnell, , 2013Funnell, , 2015Lippman and Wilson, 2007;Twyford, 2021;Walker 2000), Fascism in Italy (Antonelli et al, 2018;Bigoni, 2021;Bigoni et al, 2021;Cinquini, 2007;Cinquini et al, 2016;Sargiacomo et al, 2016), and Communism in China (Ezzamel et al, 2007;Xu et al, 2014).…”

“…Their study documented the complex interplay among knowledge, techniques, institutions and ideology in setting accounting rules under the Italian Fascist regime. Antonelli et al (2018) investigated accounting's significant role in the expropriation of Jewish real estate properties starting from 1938, when Italy set up the race laws under Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime. Thus, accounting used by the Fascist regime was crucial to managing the seizure of Jewish property, its subsequent sale and distribution of the funds received.…”

“…Thus, accounting used by the Fascist regime was crucial to managing the seizure of Jewish property, its subsequent sale and distribution of the funds received. The 'shield' of bureaucratic procedures and accounting practices also 'provided the means for bureaucrats to separate, and thereby absolve themselves, from their immoral actions' (Antonelli et al, 2018(Antonelli et al, : 2182.…”

“…Previous research has framed the significant role of accounting and accountability under Fascism (Antonelli et al, 2018;Bigoni, 2021;Bigoni et al, 2021;Cinquini, 2007;Cinquini et al, 2016;Sargiacomo et al, 2016) or other totalitarian regimes (Funnell, 1998a(Funnell, , 1998b(Funnell, , 2013(Funnell, , 2015Twyford, 2021;Walker, 2000;Xu et al, 2014;2018).…”

Indigenous peoples and accounting: A systematic literature review

“…With regards to accounting, researchers have highlighted its positioning within processes of colonialism and imperialism, suggesting that accounting discourses and technologies have been used to influence and control indigenous peoples (see Davie, 2005a; Fleischman and Tyson, 2004; Neu, 2000a). Accounting allowed a form of selective visibility which identified the value and identity of the property but not the lives behind the numbers, thereby dehumanising them and in turn allowing bureaucrats to be removed from the consequences of their actions (Antonelli et al, 2018).…”