The daughter of the American poet, Ezra Pound, is demanding that the Italian extremist organization CasaPound stop using her father's name.

Mary de Rachewiltz was spurred to take legal action by the Christmas killing of two Senegalese traders in Florence. The perpetrator, Gianluca Casseri - who committed suicide following the killings - was known to have ties with CasaPound.


Ms Rachewiltz takes exception to what she describes as a "politically compromised organization" using the name of Pound. Hardly surprising CasaPound found the poet so inspirational. Her equally "compromised" father was a fascist supporter in WW2 - and a very vocal one.

Ezra Pound was a highly accomplished poet, but his reputation has been marred by his fascism and the virulent anti-Jewish views that can be found in his poetry, writings and polemics. What is odd about Pound is the stark contrast between the disciplined use-of-language in his poetry and the fascist shill who at times came off like the worst type of soap box demagogue.

The poet Charles Olson had an interesting take on Pound - "Pound and his kind want to ignore [the masses]. They try to lock them out. But they swarm at the windows in such numbers they block out the light and the air. And in their little place Pound and his kind suffocate, their fear turns to hate. And their hate breeds death. They want to kill. And, organized by Hitler and Mussolini, they do kill--millions."

Pound's broadcasts on Italian radio during WW2 included frequent attacks on Jews. During the same period he wrote for Italian newspapers - apparently he needed the coin. One piece had the title The Jews, Disease Incarnate. His pro-fascist writings also showed up in Action, a newspaper put out by British fascist leader Oswald Mosley. On its pages he stated his bizarre belief that the Third Reich was "the natural civilizer of Russia."

Associates were made aware of his loyalties. In a letter to the publisher James Laughlin, he wrote that Roosevelt represented Jewry in America and signed off with "Heil Hitler."

Even on the day of Germany's surrender, Pound had high words of praise for Hitler. On May 8, 1945, he told a reporter from the Philadelphia Record that Hitler was "a Jeanne d'Arc, a saint."

He was arrested by American troops and transferred to the US Disciplinary Training Center north of Pisa. There he was consigned to a six-by-six outdoor steel cage or "death cell" for three weeks. The experience contributed to a mental breakdown.


On his return to the US Pound was charged with treason. He was judged to be mentally ill and confined in St Elizabeth's hospital in Washington D.C. Following his release from the hospital in 1958, he returned to Italy where he died in 1972.

Given Ezra Pound's very public fascist allegiances and extensive connections with Italy, it's little surprise that a new breed of extremist in that country identifies with him. While it's entirely understandable that Mary de Rachewiltz has reacted to the Florence killings with concern about the appropriation of the Pound name, her late father supported an ideology that was responsible not for the death of two, but for the death of millions.

Beneath is an Ezra Pound radio recording from the 40's. The audio quality is poor but it provides an insight into his views of World War 2.