The fall of fascism in Italy was painfully slow. On 25 July 1943, the Fascist Grand Council withdrew the military supreme command from Benito Mussolini, thus initiating the overthrow and subsequent arrest of Il Duce. After Mussolini's liberation, he proclaimed the Repubblica Sociale Italiana (RSI) and, with Germany's support, he kept fascism alive in Northern and Central Italy. A civil war ravaged the country for almost two years, killing over 55,000 Italians. In the violent transition from a dictatorship to a democracy, Italy faced a dilemma: how should it deal with former fascists and collaborators? Since it is commonly accepted that Italy failed to bring major war criminals to justice, it is surprising that historians have mostly neglected to make an in-depth analysis of the mechanisms of Italy's courts charged with the prosecution of former fascists and collaborators.
In his book Dopo Mussolini, published by Viella in 2019, the Italian historian Andrea Martini deals with Italy's trials against Italian fascists and collaborators between 1944 and 1953. He focuses on the actual judicial proceedings, including summary executions, symbolic rites (e.g., tonsures), criminal trials and amnesties. Using ideas derived from transitional justice studies and a wide selection of case studies, Martini argues that only a close examination of the genesis and mechanisms of these judicial procedures within their national and international contexts can offer a nuanced understanding of Italy's struggle to come to terms with its past (p. 13).
Based on extensive archival research in Italy (the author visited 23 archives), Martini investigates in a chronological structure, the development, changes and adjustments of the judicial procedures against fascists and collaborators during the transition period between dictatorship and democracy. Beginning with the decree-law n. 134 (26 May 1944), which first established the criminal offence of ‘collaborator’, and ending with the last presidential decree that offered amnesty (19 December 1953), he offers a stimulating insight into Italy's transition from a retributive period to a restorative period and finally to a realist phase of justice when dealing with former fascists and collaborators.
In Northern Italy, initial purges against fascists and collaborators were conducted by anti-fascists and partisan groups. Such purges often occurred without the consent of the Italian government, thus underscoring its weak position. Seeking swift justice for crimes committed against them, these groups declined to hand over the defendants to the ordinary Courts of Assizes, which were tasked with distributing justice in the southern part of the country. They mistrusted the magistrates presiding over the ordinary courts, as many of these magistrates had served under the Fascist regime. In an attempt to regain nationwide control over the judicial proceedings, the Allies pressured the Italian government to create special tribunals as demanded by the anti-fascist groups. These courts, which included lay judges from partisan groups, were first established in Northern Italy and subsequently extended to the southern regions.
Martini not only compares the regional varieties of the judicial practices, highlighting similarities and differences in a convincing fashion, but also analyses the reciprocal learning processes between Italy and France. The Allies pressured the Bonomi government into using the trials against Nazi collaborators in France as a blueprint for Italy's special courts in order to accelerate the conclusion of the court cases. However, Martini stresses that the situation in Italy was much more complex. While France only brought some collaborators to justice, Italy had to deal with two types of defendants: those who collaborated with the Nazi regime during the RSI, and those who had helped to establish and consolidate the Fascist regime since 1922. The vagueness of the category ‘collaborator’ and the fact that thousands of Italian citizens were involved in the Fascist regime, caused many Italians to fear unjust and disproportionate retributions. Martini convincingly argues that this feeling was one of many reasons (e.g., Cold War) that would ultimately lead to a moderated public demand for justice.
By closely examining the judicial proceedings, Martini is able to offer a nuanced picture of Italy's complex journey of coming to terms with its own past during a critical transition period. While he rejects the claim that Italy never tried in all sincerity to bring Italian perpetrators to justice, he does offer new insights into why and how the partial purges ultimately favoured the resurgence of fascism in postwar Italy. He stresses the importance of the brevity and contradictory nature of the trials, as well as regional differences resulting directly from the civil war. While most trials were conducted in Northern Italy, there was never a trial that garnered nationwide awareness; there was no ‘Italian Nuremberg’. As a consequence, the brutality of fascist crimes and atrocities, as well as the culpability of those who supported the regime was only known to a few.
Overall, Martini's well-written study illustrates the importance and value of a thorough investigation of the multi-faceted judicial proceedings, including public protests, courtroom tensions, laws and interventions by various courts, Italian politicians and the Allies. Nevertheless, Martini's work does contain some minor flaws; a more detailed index with information on Martini's protagonists would have made it easier to keep track of the events and their significance. Moreover, Martini predominantly uses Italian historiography or studies that were translated into Italian. A more balanced selection of Italian, German, French and Anglo-American (e.g., Michele Battini, Robert Ventresca) literature would have further enriched his study. This leads directly to the main issue, which is more of a suggestion for further research than a criticism. While Martini briefly addresses the French case, he does not engage thoroughly with similar events in other European countries nor does he address Italy's blocking of extradition requests by countries such as Yugoslavia. An integration of Martini's findings into a wider European context would provide further insights into the European transition period and highlight Italy's peculiarities.
These last remarks do not detract from the fact that Martini's book is a very convincing and long overdue study of Italy's trials against former fascists and collaborators between 1944 and 1953. His work is complemented by a useful bibliography that lists the various national, regional and local archives that Martini consulted for his study. His book is an excellent resource for scholars exploring Italy's complex and painful transition from a dictatorship to a democracy.
