1940–1943

Abstract

World War II was presented to the Italians as a heroic moment, and opposition to Italy’s entry into war was muted, not least because the country had been under a dictatorship for the previous twenty years.¹ Yet, after an initial sense of “victory,” as France surrendered two weeks after Italy’s entry into war, defeat came rapidly, first in Greece and Albania, then in Africa, then in Russia, and then in Italy itself, in Sicily. This was no ordinary defeat, as its consequences led to the collapse of fascism (on July 25) and then the break-up of the entire Italian state, with the disintegration of the army after September 8, 1943.

No historical event is like war, which forces each and every individual to come to terms with “big” history.

—Gabriella Gribaudi, Guerra totale