The course is designed for students who are interested in the events, beginning with the period immediately following the First World War, that led to the rise of Fascism, the Second World War and the Liberation. Insight may also be gained into the Italy of today, through texts and audiovisual material of the period.
Day 1 Presentation of course material and verification of students’ knowledge of the subject. Day 2 Presentation of timelines. Analysis of the situation in Italy immediately following the First World War. Day 3 Conditions that led to the birth of the Fascist Movement. Founding of the Fighting Leagues. March on Rome. Mussolini as head of Government. Day 4 Dictatorship. The fascistization of Italy. Anti-fascism. Day 5 The years of consent. Colonial politics. The Empire. Day 6 The Pact of Steel. The racial laws. The rearmament. Day 7 The intervention in the war. The war campaigns. From the “parallel war” to the “German war.” Day 8 The fall of Fascism. The armistice. The Republic of Salò. Day 9 Occupied Italy. The Resistance. The German and fascist defeat. Day 10 The execution of Mussolini. The Liberation. Brief introduction to postwar Italy, 1946 to 1948.
Bibliography
Renzo De Felice, Opera omnia sul fascismo, Ed. Enaudi
R. Vivarelli, Storia delle Origini del fascismo, vol. 2, Ed. Il Mulino
Angelo Del Boca, Gli Italiani in Africa Orientale, vol. l, II III IV, Ed. Laterza
F. Deakin, La brutale amicizia / La Repubblica di Salò, Ed. Einaudi
E. Aga Rossi, Una Nazione allo sbando, Ed. Il Mulino
A. Mayer, La Soluzione Finale, Ed. Mondatori
C. Pavone, Una guerra civile. Saggio storico sulla moralità della Resistenza, Ed. Bollati
R. Battaglia, Storia della Resistenza italiana, Ed. Einaudi
