Who's the victim and who's to be blamed: Contemporary social perceptions of Italian Fascism

In the historiographical literature, the debate on the interpretations of Italian Fascism is still alive. Fascism has combined violence and atrocities, with social control and consensus construction. Thus, a positive vision of this regime could have survived at time passing. Additionally, the Italian government, except for a few acknowledgements, has never apologized for the crimes committed during the fascist era. As a consequence, the Italian public opinion has never had the chance for an historical reflection. Thus, people may alter the historical record to make the ingroup actions justified and glorified, while de-emphasizing episodes that may potentially damage the ingroup image. A qualitative study aimed at identifying the social representation of contemporary Italians concerning which groups or individuals are considered victims, perpetrators and by-standers of the fascist crimes. Additionally, we asked participants to recall positive and negative aspects or events of the fascist period. Results showed that Mussolini and Hitler, with fascists and Nazis are considered the perpetrators of the historical period. Italians are viewed more as bystanders. Additionally, Fascism is also remembered, along with its crimes (e.g., racial laws, politic persecutions, etc.), also for some positive aspects (e.g., structural and social reforms).