An unexpected journey: Giorgio Valerio, racial classifications and the emergence of repressed family origins

Abstract

This article evolved from an unexpected line of enquiry that emerged while I was writing a book on the Italian petrochemical industry, and which developed into a complex investigation of genealogy and history. It focuses on the experiences of the Valerio family, whose story provides a unique insight into issues of identity, memory and racial persecution during Fascism and the Nazi occupation of Italy. Drawing on both conventional archival sources and non-traditional genealogical tools, the study explores the reasons why Giorgio Valerio fled to Switzerland with his family in 1943, while he was the managing director of Società Edison. The article examines the normative differences between Italian and German racial classifications, the family’s perception of risk and the impact of racial laws on their identity. What emerges is not only new biographical information, but also a broader reflection on the role of hidden or suppressed origins, the historiographical value of genealogy and the importance of avoiding retrospective bias in historical interpretation.