Anthropology and Transimperial Appeasement at the 1938 Volta Congress on Africa in Rome

Abstract

This article sheds new light on the Volta Congress on Africa, held in Rome in 1938. Drawing on previously unexplored archival materials from German and British archives, it examines the nature of the fascist transimperial schemes that attracted colonial experts from across Europe. As many of these participants presented themselves as proponents of a progressive social anthropology, the article investigates the compatibility between fascist and seemingly progressive anthropological approaches, with special attention to their shared conception of anthropology as a science of colonial administration. By exposing the political character of this transimperial anthropology under fascist auspices, the article demonstrates its entanglement with racism, antisemitism, and segregationist visions of Eurafrica.