ABSTRACT
This chapter broadens the analysis to the transition as a whole. This is also the context to assess its impact on collective memory. The comparison with Spain – which, in spite of the apparent similarities, presents many differences – and South Africa will be essential. We will ask ourselves what corresponded to the very limited use of the criminal law instrument in terms of pacification, the formation of a democratic state, the protection of victims, the construction of historical memory. This chapter also analyses the concept of collective memory and how the Italian case differs from the other European Countries, both during the Cold War and in the most recent years.
The example of the memory of the Holocaust in Italy will be introduced in order to highlight the Italian amnesias and to reflect on the possible risks of an uncritical implantation on the Italian memorial path of EU memory politics.
