Did Hitler blame Mussolini for his own failure ?
When discussing the Nazi decree that the German people must carry a passport with either Aryan or Jewish racial affiliation marked on it , in 1934 , Mussolini wondered how they would designate membership in the " Germanic race " :When German - Jewish journalist Emil Ludwig asked about his views on race , Mussolini exclaimed:In a speech given in Bari , he reiterated his attitude toward German racism:Mussolini 's rejection of both racialism and the importance of race in 1934 during the height of his antagonism towards Hitler contradicted his own earlier statements about race , such as in 1928 , when he emphasized the importance of race:Though Italian Fascism varied its official positions on race from the 1920s to 1934 , ideologically Italian fascism did not originally discriminate against the Italian Jewish community : Mussolini recognised that a small contingent had lived there " since the days of the Kings of Rome " and should " remain undisturbed " .