Italian Politicians and the Historian Renzo De Felice (1929−1996): Between Historical Memory and the Political and Electoral Climate

This article focuses on the career of the Italian historian Renzo De Felice, aiming to understand how the Italian political class reacted to his theories and interpretations regarding the history of fascism.De Felice was the first historian to delve into fascist documents at a time when the anti-fascist historical memory relied primarily on historical-political testimonies.Historians, until his studies had refused to construct a history of fascism based on documents and contextualisation of the regime's actions, favouring instead a politicised anti-fascist historical memory.For this reason as well, when De Felice's theories and interpretations emerge, the Italian historian finds himself increasingly criticised and isolated by anti-fascist intellectuals, whom he himself will describe as the "sacristans of culture".While the value and impact of the criticisms De Felice received from the Italian intellectual class of his time have been extensively discussed in recent historiography, this article shifts the focus to the reactions of politicians, who generally remained cautious about taking a stance on De Felice.Through the analysis of three specific episodes in De Felice's career where he engaged directly with the political class in public debate, it is observed how politicians considered De Felice for reasons related to the political climate and specific political-electoral purposes.This research thus raises important theoretical questions regarding the role of historians and their freedom in a democratic regime, not only vis--vis their peers but also in relation to the political class engaged simultaneously in electoral consensus building.