Fascism on Trial: The Case of Rodolfo Graziani

The lecture will utilise the postwar trial of fascist Italy’s most popular military figure, Rodolfo Graziani, to analyse what was celebrated and suppressed in Italy after the fall of Italian fascism and colonialism. Between 1922 - 1943, the general was hailed as national hero for his leading role in fascist Italy’s colonial wars in Libya and Ethiopia. During World War II, Graziani’s position as Head of Mussolini’s Army in the Nazi-backed Salò Republic jeopardised his reputation as he was responsible for massacres of Italian civilians. In 1948, Graziani was tried for Nazi collaboration at a blockbuster trial, his colonial conduct left unquestioned. Contrary to the Nuremberg Trials in post-Nazi Germany, few Italians were tried for war crimes after 1945. As the most illustrious trial to take place in this important period of political change, the trial was deemed by national papers ‘the trial of the century’ and international papers ‘fascism on trial’. This historical inquiry will analyse the events and outcome of Rodolfo Graziani’s trial as an emblematic case-study to explore defascistisation and decolonialisation initiatives and their limitations in postfascist postcolonial Italy.

Victoria Witkowski is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Italian Studies Department conducting research on the history of Italian fascism, colonialism and its public memories. Prior to the University of Toronto, she was an early career Rome Fellow at the British School, Rome and Research Fellow at Florida International University, following her Ph.D at the European University Institute, Florence. Her work has received grants from New York University, the American Historical Association and the Association for the Study of Modern Italy. Victoria has recently worked as a course convenor at Syracuse University, Florence and she is an active participant in public history projects which critically raise awareness about Fascist colonialism. She is currently working on her first monograph.

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This lecture will be livestreamed on the Department's YouTube channel.

All times stated in Eastern time.