Since 1945, Italy has developed a master narrative of its participation in the Second World War centred on two main pillars: on the one hand, the glorification of the Italian people’s Resistance against the Nazi occupiers between 1943 and 1945, and on the other, the contrast between the humanitarian conduct of Italian soldiers during the Axis war (1940–1943) and the brutal behaviour of their former German comrades. This portrayal highlighted, for example, the aid provided by Italians to Jews and, more generally, to the civilian populations of the occupied territories. It was a diplomatic ploy used by Italy to shift the blame for war crimes entirely onto the Germans and secure favourable treatment from the victors at the peace negotiations. The self-exculpatory view of the ‘good Italian’ contrasted with the ‘bad German’ contained some elements of truth but served above all to conceal the responsibility that Italy too bore for numerous war crimes committed, particularly in the Balkans (Yugoslavia and Greece). The absence of an ‘Italian Nuremberg’ encouraged this self-exculpatory narrative. The same comparative framework was used to distinguish Italian fascism from German Nazism: on the one hand, a mild dictatorship; on the other, a criminal totalitarian regime.
University of Padua, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-4551-6364
Chapter Title
Lo stereotipo del «bravo italiano» e del «cattivo tedesco» come paradigma della memoria italiana del fascismo e della Seconda guerra mondiale
Authors
Filippo Focardi
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/978-88-99811-32-7.07
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Reinventare l’Italia
Book Subtitle
La cultura italiana tra Resistenza e Ricostruzione (1943-1948)
Editors
Alessandro Simoncini
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
144
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press, Perugia Stranieri University Press
DOI
10.36253/978-88-99811-32-7
ISBN Print
978-88-99811-30-3
eISBN (pdf)
978-88-99811-32-7
eISBN (epub)
978-88-99811-34-1
Series Title
Studi di storia e critica delle idee