The ‘Examination of Conscience’ of the Nation: The Lost Debate About the ‘Collective Guilt’ in Italy, 1943–5

Abstract This article tries to assess the still controversial question concerning the legacy of fascism in Italy, focusing on the early postwar discussion about the dictatorship. It shows the emergence of the theme of Italians' ‘collective guilt’, generally neglected by Italian historiography. It is a matter of fact that the final result of the struggle between conflicting narratives was to draw a veil of oblivion over the past. I suggest that, for a better understanding of the awkward relationships between Italian society and its fascist past, it is necessary to put aside a moralistic approach toward the contemporaries' attitude to forgetting and try to evaluate it, rather, as the dramatic consequence of the totalitarian experience.