La Resistenza tra memoria e storiografia

Abstract

In the period between the 60th and the 70th anniversary of the Italian Liberation, the studies on Resistance appear to have lost importance in the historiographic debate but even more so in the public memory of the war, which the media represent more and more in a victimist and juridicist way, centred on the Shoah and anti-totalitarianism. The Italian case is also characterized by the emergence of a misguided notion of «shared memory» which, in the uncertain age of the Second Republic, might put aside the legacy of the Resistance or even trigger revisionist reactions. Despite this unfavourable context, a new generation of historians, especially as part of the Insmli network, have carried out a significant number of studies, less influenced by ideology and paying more attention to the sources and the international debate. Among the most debated issues are violence, the Imis (Internati militari italiani), civil resistance, the massacres, the Allies and the history of memory - but the main focus is on the various forms of resistance to war, within a wider time frame and with a greater attention to the different spaces. It is crucial that this new wave of studies leads to a new synthesis, after Claudio Pavone’s example; and that the noteworthy development of the history of personal experiences does not result in impressionism, but also takes into account the relational and political dimension of Resistance.