The Evolution of Italian Historiography on Fascism and the Post-War Republic

The political rupture of 1945—the overthrow of fascism, the victory of antifascism, and the creation of the Italian Republic—profoundly shaped historical writing about the Fascist period (1922-1945). Initially, political and military history dominated, alongside personal memoirs, focusing on two central poles: the origins of fascism linked to the collapse of the Liberal state, and the Resistance movement of 1943-45. While foreign scholars utilized captured Nazi archives to study collaborationist regimes, Italian state archives remained formally closed for forty years. Although accessed earlier by pioneers like Renzo De Felice for his Mussolini biography and Paolo Spriano for his history of the Italian Communist Party, systematic archival exploration only expanded in the 1970s with the growth of university contemporary history courses.

A dominant political master narrative condemning fascism as an imposed dictatorship initially discouraged nuanced research, explaining the hostile reception to De Felice’s first volume in 1965. His provocative thesis of a popular consensus for the regime and his subordination of the Fascist Party to Mussolini (Mussolinism) were deeply controversial. As in France and West Germany, a generational shift was required to broaden research beyond institutional history. Since the 1970s, studies have proliferated on fascism’s societal impact, including propaganda, leisure policies (Dopolavoro), intellectual collaboration, and the sacralization of politics. This shift responded both to De Felice’s interpretations and to political concerns about historical ignorance among postwar youth.

In recent decades, historians have courageously tackled highly sensitive issues. These include the social reception and implementation of the 1938 racial laws, the lived experience of civilians during the brutal German retreat (1943-45), and the complexities of the Italian Civil War during the Resistance. The pioneering work of Claudio Pavone, who framed the period as a multi-faceted conflict, marked a decisive departure from simplified antifascist narratives. Notably, historians like Giovanni Miccoli applied their skills to contemporary moral questions, such as the silence of Pope Pius XII during the Holocaust. Unlike Germany, the totalitarianism paradigm has found limited analytical purchase in Italy, where research emphasizes the regime’s particularistic and negotiated nature.

Historical writing on the post-1946 Italian Republic long remained a political narrative that ignored profound social transformations from the economic miracle and internal migrations. Early debates centered on continuities between the liberal, fascist, and republican states. A clear periodization of the republican era only coalesced after the Cold War's end and the collapse of the First Republic’s party system in the early 1990s. This collapse, intertwined with Mani Pulite (Clean Hands) investigations, itself became a major subject for contemporary historians analyzing the crisis of the partitocrazia (partyocracy).

In recent years, history has become intensely politicized, with contested representations of fascism and the Italian Social Republic (1943-45) fueling divisive debates on national identity. This contrasts sharply with Germany’s settled consensus on the negative past of Nazism. This political appropriation has spurred professional historians to investigate two key areas: the practical use and abuse of sources in representing the recent past, and the conceptual challenges posed by personal or collective memory that contradicts standard historical interpretations. The field of public history has thus gained significant traction.

The anthropological turn in historiography further enriched the study of the Fascist era, examining how the regime sought to shape everyday life, family structures, and gender roles. Research into women’s history under fascism explores state indoctrination promoting motherhood and domesticity, while also uncovering spaces of non-conformity. Furthermore, local and regional studies, often employing microhistorical methods, have revealed the vast differences in how fascist policies were implemented and experienced across Italy’s diverse social and geographic landscape, challenging monolithic interpretations.

Today, the historiography of fascism and republican Italy is characterized by methodological pluralism. It integrates political, social, and cultural history, drawing on oral history, gender studies, and memory studies. This sophisticated approach allows historians to navigate the complex legacy of the 20th century, balancing the analysis of high politics, ideological structures, and the agency of ordinary citizens within a deeply contested historical landscape. The ongoing scholarly dialogue ensures Italy’s turbulent modern history remains a vital field of rigorous and socially engaged academic inquiry.