Public His o y Re iew
Vol. 27, 2020
© 2020 by he au ho (s). This
is an Open Access a icle
dis ibu ed unde he e ms
o he C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional
(CC BY 4.0) License (h ps://
c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/
by/4.0/), allowing hi d pa ies
o copy and edis ibu e he
ma e ial in any medium
o o ma and o emix,
ans o m, and build upon he
ma e ial o any pu pose, e en
comme cially, p o ided he
o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed
and s a es i s license.
Ci a ion: Fedele, G., Gaiaschi,
Z., Hughes, H., and Pesa o,
A. 2020. Public His o y and
Con es ed He i age: A chi al
Memo ies o he Bombing o
I aly.
Public His o y Re iew
,
27, 1-18.
ISSN 1833-4989 | Published by
UTS ePRESS | h ps://ep ess.
lib.u s.edu.au/jou nals/index.
php/ph j
Public His o y and Con es ed He i age:
A chi al Memo ies o he Bombing o I aly
G e a Fedele, Zeno Gaiaschi, Hea he Hughes and Alessand o Pesa o
In ecen yea s public his o ians ha e made conce ed a emp s o in e na ionalise hei
p ac ice.1 The edi o s o a ecen collec ion no e ha public his o y emains oo ed
in ‘ he local’, al hough i may acqui e egional o na ional signi icance.2 The goal o
in e na ionalisa ion is he e o e ‘abou applying uni e sal me hods locally’,3 e en hough
applica ions ha e de eloped di e en ly in di e en na ional se ings. Digi al public his o y has
assis ed he p ocess o in e na ionalisa ion.4 The g ea e he spa ial sp ead, howe e , he mo e
likely i becomes ha public his o ians mus con on con es ed unde s andings o he pas . In
ew locali ies, whe he in ac ual o i ual en i onmen s, is he e a single, accep ed e sion o
e en s and meanings.5
Li le a en ion has as ye been paid o public his o y p ojec s ha unc ion a he na ional
le el. This a icle add esses an example: he In e na ional Bombe Command Cen e (IBCC)
Digi al A chi e. I ope a es ac oss na ional bounda ies – in his case I aly and B i ain – and
a emp s o emb ace as ly di e en meanings associa ed wi h he bombing wa in Eu ope,
1939-1945. I begins wi h an accoun o he de elopmen o public his o y in hese wo
coun ies and o he ways in which he bombing wa has been emembe ed. I hen se s
ou he au ho s’ unde s anding o he cul u al and poli ical sensi i i ies ha ha e had o be
conside ed, and he e o s o pa icipan s o de elop and p ac ice an inclusi e app oach o
digi al public his o y. Finally, i e lec s on he limi a ions and achie emen s o he chosen
app oach.
Public His o y and Con es ed He i age in Two Coun ies
In B i ain, he public his o y mo emen g ew ou o popula adicalism om he la e 1960s
which s imula ed a ocus on ga he ing people’s his o y, o his o y om below, la gely h ough
o al es imony. A i s cen e was Raphael Samuel and an MA p og am in public his o y a
Ruskin College, Ox o d, co- ounded wi h Hilda Kean who was i s di ec o o almos wen y
yea s. Ruskin’s g adua es sp ead i s in luence a and wide.6 Ma k Donnelly no es ha i was
some decades be o e public his o y was ins i u ionalised in highe educa ion, wi h i s own
cou ses, con e ences and jou nals. The e we e wo main s imuli. The i s was he equi emen
o highe educa ion unding bodies ha esea che s demons a e he public impac o
esea ch as a condi ion o unding. The second was he p e ailing na ional e hos o he i age
as a public good, a icula ed by powe ul o ganisa ions such as he Na ional T us and he
DECLARATION OF CONFLICTING INTEREST The au ho (s) decla ed no po en ial con lic s o in e es wi h
espec o he esea ch, au ho ship, and/o publica ion o his a icle. FUNDING The au ho (s) ecei ed no
inancial suppo o he esea ch, au ho ship, and/o publica ion o his a icle.
1
Na ional Lo e y He i age Fund. The e has been conce n, howe e , ha academic accep ance
o hese eali ies isks a educ ion in public his o ians’ capaci y o con es con empo a y powe
ela ions.7
In his o e iew o public his o y in I aly, Se ge Noi e obse es ha , in common wi h
B i ain, public his o y has been named and gi en an iden i y ela i ely ecen ly. Fo example,
he I alian Associa ion o Public His o y was only o med in 2016. He poin s ou ha
ins i u ions such as a chi es, lib a ies and museums ha e also adop ed he e m public
his o y, sugges ing ha he base o shaping collec i e memo y and iden i y is b oade han
uni e si ies. In line wi h his obse a ion, Noi e a gues ha he ins i u ionalisa ion o public
his o y has been a esponse no only o c ises wi hin I alian uni e si ies, in pa icula he ole
o he humani ies, bu ex e nally as well. A s ake is ‘ he ole and u u e o his o y in I alian
socie y, in a coun y whose ci izens cons an ly ques ion hei na ional pa h and iden i y a
e e y le el’.8
One impo an ea u e o his ongoing ci izens’ deba e is he ne wo k o I alian his o ical
ins i u es ha unc ion independen ly o uni e si ies and ha e no equi alen in B i ain.9
Examples include he Is i u o pe la s o ia del Riso gimen o i aliano, Is i u o Luigi S u zo,
Fondazione G amsci and he Is i u o nazionale Fe uccio Pa i: Re e degli is i u i pe la S o ia
della Resis enza e dell’e à con empo anea. Re ealingly, he main eason behind he ounda ion o
Is i u i was he desi e o keep con ol o he sou ces o he his o y o he esis ance mo emen
in I aly, a a junc u e when s a e a chi es we e deemed inadequa e o alue, p omo e and
enhance hem.10
I he e a e a leas some o e laps in he de elopmen o public his o y in he wo
coun ies he same canno be said o he legacy o he Second Wo ld Wa . In B i ain – and
o some ex en in o he Allied na ions – a ic o na a i e has been so deeply embedded ha
schola s a ely make explici he ways in which i has shaped pos -wa cul u e and poli ics.
Commen a o Simon Jenkins has a gued ha he ic o na a i e has ac ed as social glue
h ough di icul phases o na ional li e, such as he loss o empi e and de-indus ialisa ion.
Mo eo e , i is a na a i e ha is cons an ly ein o ced:
B i ain’s Rememb ance Day is no ake his o y. The agonies i ecalls we e eal
enough, and he e is no dange o hem being igno ed. Bu I sense we would no
celeb a e hem we e hey de ea s. We emain ixa ed on he Ge man wa s, wi h wa
his o ies, wa biog aphies, was mo ies and wa memo abilia … E e y nigh is Nazi
nigh somewhe e on B i ish ele ision.11
Memo ials o he a med o ces a e impo an signi ie s o ic o y in wa – and a mo e
p ominen in he u ban en i onmen han hose o ci ilians who los hei li es. The ‘glo ious
dead’, whose sac i ice was no in ain, ha e been commemo a ed in a ious monumen s since
he immedia e pos -wa yea s. As he li ing link wi h e e ans weakened pe cep ibly om
he 1990s, a s ong wa e o memo ialisa ion e-eme ged, o pay ibu e o wha had become
known as ‘ he g ea es gene a ion’.12 This included, in London alone, he Royal Tank Regimen
Memo ial (2000), he Commonweal h Memo ial Ga es (2002), Aus alian Wa Memo ial
(2003), Animals in Wa Memo ial (2004), Monumen o he Women o Wo ld Wa II (2005),
Ba le o B i ain Monumen (2005), he New Zealand Wa Memo ial (2006) and he Bombe
Command Memo ial (2012).
E en hough i is now se e al gene a ions since he wa , and e en hough some schola s
ha e poin ed o he my hs o which a ic o na a i e ga e ise, such as ‘ he Bli z spi i ’,13
he ic o na a i e con inues o shape B i ain’s ela ions wi h he es o Eu ope. A cen al
Fedele, Gaiaschi, Hughes and Pesa o
Public His o y Re iew
,
Vol. 27, 20202
a gumen o Fin an O’Toole’s ecen s udy o he B exi debacle is ha B i ain has ne e
eco e ed om winning he Second Wo ld Wa ,14 one consequence o which is ‘Con inen al
Eu ope’s longs anding mis us o B i ain’s loyal y.15
The Allies’ ae ial bombing campaigns, howe e – in pa icula he delibe a e a ge ing
o ci ilians – ha e no i ed com o ably in o he dominan ic o na a i e. While mos
B i ons suppo ed bombing a he ime, sen imen s changed in he yea s ollowing. As Noble
F ankland, one o he au ho s o he o icial his o y o B i ain’s bombing wa , ema ked, ‘mos
people we e e y pleased wi h Bombe Command du ing he wa and un il i was i ually
won; hen hey u ned ound and said i wasn’ a e y nice way o wage wa ’.16 Ve e ans o
RAF Bombe Command – in which o e i y na ionali ies we e ep esen ed – had long been
sensi i e abou he e y high loss a e – o e 56,000 o a o al o 125,000 ai c ew. F om he
mid 1980s, hey es ablished he Bombe Command Associa ion o campaign o ecogni ion
in he ace o wha hey conside ed o icial neglec o he dange ous and essen ial ole hey
had played in he de ea o Nazi Ge many. Thei e o s, which di ided opinion in B i ain and
a ac ed hos ili y om a euni ed Ge many, culmina ed in he un eiling o he la ge Bombe
Command memo ial in London in 2012.17
I aly was bombed by Allied ai o ces om immedia ely a e he decla a ion o wa un il
he las weeks o he con lic . Es ima es pu he ci ilian dea h oll in he egion o 60,000.
Figu es pale in compa ison wi h o he Second Wo ld Wa hea es. Bu none heless he
bombing wa has p o oundly a ec ed collec i e memo y.18 Unlike o he Eu opean coun ies,
I aly was bombed as oe un il he a mis ice in Sep embe 1943, hen as iend. In he wake o
he a mis ice, Allied bombing ope a ions in lic ed dea h and des uc ion on an unp eceden ed
scale, while a he same ime ca ying he p omise o libe a ion om Ge man occupying o ces
and he I alian Social Republic puppe s a e.19 The con lic las ed o almos wo mo e yea s
as he Allies slowly ad anced along he peninsula, suppo ed by esis ance o ces beyond he
lines.20
This si ua ion c ea ed a complex na a i e, as De Be na di explains:
Ano he I aly was o ged in he esis ance alongside he Allies, an I aly which in
a pa adox ha his o ical esea ch canno help e ealing, welcomed he winne s
en husias ically and saw hose who bombed i s own ci ies, killing housands o i s
own people, as ‘libe a o s’.21
The Allied o ces p esen ed bombing as necessa y o has en ic o y by a ge ing occupying
o ces, des oying he enemy’s indus ial capaci y, dis up ing communica ions and b eaking
mo ale. On he g ound, he no ion o being a he me cy o a b u al and impe sonal o ce
which could kill unp edic ably me ged wi h o he appa en ly i econcilable ideas: he desi e
o peace, he use o des uc i e echnology as an ins umen o change and deli e ance om
powe s, ei he occupa ion o ces o puppe s a e, which lacked legi imacy.
P opagandis s immedia ely exploi ed he con adic ions inhe en in he wo d libe a o i
(libe a o s) mocking he p oblema ic na u e o he concep on pos e s and lye s, in g a i i
on uined buildings and in b oadcas s.22 Some la e in e p e ed being bombed as a o m o
a onemen o ha ing en e ed he wa on he side o he Ge man agg esso and he e o e a
legi ima e p ice o pay o li ing in a democ acy. Ye he idea o being bombed has emained
p o oundly dissonan wi hin he ecei ed libe a ion na a i e. ‘Why did hey kill us?’ is he
angs - idden ques ion which egula ly eme ges om es imonies. The issue is eloquen ly
summa ised by Alessand o Po elli:
Public His o y and Con es ed He i age: A chi al Memo ies o he Bombing o I aly
Public His o y Re iew
,
Vol. 27, 20203
F om his con ac ion s ems a p oblema ic and in e nally di ided memo y: how is
i possible o hold oge he g a i ude o he libe a o s wi h he ac hey des oyed
you home and killed you ela i es? The e o e, some memo ies had o be supp essed
o being incompa ible wi h o he s mo e accep able and sanc ioned. Then he
ques ion ‘Who bombed’ equen ly clashes wi h unexpec ed aphasias, silences, and
con adic ions: many ecollec ‘ he wa ’ in abs ac e ms, as a a ali y. In mo e han
isola ed cases, a su p ising sho ci cui o memo y asc ibes he bombings o he
absolu e e il, he Nazis.23
In sho , how o accoun o he ic ims o he bombing wa has been highly p oblema ic.
Compounding his si ua ion was he s a us acco ded he libe a ion s uggle as a co ne s one o
he new epublic: he 1948 cons i u ion is widely unde s ood as being inspi ed by and ounded
on i s ideals.24 The no ion o a ‘cou ageous mobiliza ion o young and e y young ci izens who
ebelled agains o eign powe ’25 became a de ining momen o na ional iden i y, supplemen ed
by he my hology o he ‘good I alian’.26 These means allowed a clean sepa a ion o I alians
om Fascism and Nazism, o e ed a symbolic momen o na ional egene a ion and s essed
I aly’s ole in he Allied ic o y in Eu ope. I aly joined he No h A lan ic T ea y O ganiza ion
(NATO) in 1949 and bene i ed massi ely om $(US)1200 million o aid unde he Ma shall
Plan, o Eu opean Reco e y P og amme.27 Pos -wa eco e y was apid, ushe ing in he so-
called economic mi acle: s ong and sus ained economic g ow h, ele a ed s anda ds o li ing
and momen ous social change. A sense o esen ul ic imhood was la gely a odds wi h his
new si ua ion. The p e ailing sen imen was o o ge and mo e on.28
La ge-scale bombing memo ials a e he e o e conspicuously absen om a symbolic
landscape domina ed by p ominen esis ance igu es, deeds o he libe a ion s uggle and
ep isal ic ims. Two imposing excep ions a e he Go la memo ial in subu ban Milan and
he s a ue o Pope Pius XII in Rome. The Go la memo ial s ands on he si e o he o me
F ancesco C ispi Elemen a y School whe e 184 child en we e killed by Allied bombs on
20 Oc obe 1944. Al oge he , some 600 people we e killed in his a ack. E ec ed in 1952,
he memo ial was a local, p i a ely unded ini ia i e a he han an ins i u ional one. I s
monumen al scale ma ches he eno mi y o he e en and he las ing imp ession i made
on he neighbou hood. The you h ul ic ims a e e e ed o as ma i i (ma y s), ins ead
o he mo e usual i ime o cadu i ( ic ims, allen). In common wi h o he smalle -scale
insc ip ions, a wo ks and plaques he wo ding on he memo ial is de oid o agency. The
bombs simply ‘ ell’.29 The s a ue o Pope Pius XII com o ing he ic ims o he San Lo enzo
bombing celeb a es he empa hy and compassion a public igu e. This con as s wi h ecu ing
allega ions o public silence in he ace o genocide and he objec ions o he Va ican’s
ambiguous policy owa ds Hi le and Mussolini.30
Since he end o he cold wa he con en ious na u e o he bombing wa has esu aced.
This has been uelled in pa by a e-eme gence o igh -wing na ionalism and populism
and, as Gab iella G ibaudi sugges s, by he declining in luence o he poli ical pa ies
associa ed wi h he ideals o he esis ance.31 The esul is ha unse led memo ies mesh wi h
con empo a y di isions, ‘unable o ind ei he a con ex in which hey can be e ised o any
easons su icien ly sha ed by hose who expe ienced hem o make li ing oge he in mu ual
ecogni ion possible’.32
These, hen, a e he con ou s o he di icul and con es ed he i age ha he make s o he
IBCC Digi al A chi e ha e had o nego ia e. The e is li le in he public his o y li e a u e
indica ing possible app oaches. Na Li, who has been an impo an mo ing o ce behind he
Fedele, Gaiaschi, Hughes and Pesa o
Public His o y Re iew
,
Vol. 27, 20204
consolida ion o public his o y in China, acknowledges he challenges in c ossing cul u al and
na ional bo de s:
Fi s , language ba ie s and cul u al misunde s anding c ea e con usion – e en
b eakdowns – h oughou he collabo a i e p ocess. Second, di e en pedagogic
philosophies make some basic assump ions in ou ield no so basic … Thi d, i is
di icul o p o ide alid in ellec ual jus i ica ion o aining in public his o y i he
ield is a ached o a s ic ly ma ke -d i en economy and se ices a comme cial ision.
Fou h, di e en se s o legal and e hical conce ns some imes complica e, i no s i le,
genuine dialogue.33
Despi e such po en ial obs acles, Li also holds ha public his o y issues ‘a e o en a es ingly
simila ac oss cul u es’ and s esses he impo ance o ‘someone wi h a c oss-cul u al
backg ound o wo k as a ga ekeepe , acili a o o nego ia o ’.34
These obse a ions we e made o a public his o y educa ion p ojec in which s uden s
physically c ossed bo de s o lea n oge he . A guably such conside a ions become e en mo e
impo an in a digi al en i onmen which connec s use s ac oss mul iple bo de s whe e e
he e is an in e ne se ice. The ew gene al su eys o he ield o digi al public his o y a e
cu iously silen on such ma e s. Sha on Leon’s is he mos sensi i e abou wo king c oss-
cul u ally, sugges ing ha he planning o a public his o y p ojec ough o be ‘equal measu es
echnical and quali a i e’ and ha digi al public his o ians should honou he ‘complexi y and
con ingency o his o y’.35
The Es ablishmen o he IBCC Digi al A chi e
The IBCC p ojec is based in he ci y o Lincoln. I was ini ially es ablished o commemo a e
RAF Bombe Command c ew who had lown om he coun y o Lincolnshi e whe e many
bombe s a ions ha e been concen a ed du ing he wa . The Uni e si y o Lincoln became
in ol ed in 2012. His o ians wi h expe ise in he in e p e a ion o con es ed he i age helped
o de elop he p ojec in o an in e na ional, a he han a egional, one. I would con ain a
memo ial as well as a isi o cen e housing ex ensi e in e p e a ion o he bombing wa in
a way ha ook in o accoun i s legacy o di ided memo ies.36 The uni e si y ook p ima y
esponsibili y o a ‘ om sc a ch’ digi al a chi e and he con en o he exhibi ion.37 These and
o he he i age- ela ed aspec s o he p ojec we e suppo ed by a £3.1 million g an om he
Na ional Lo e y He i age Fund in 2015.
The concep o an ‘o ches a o oices’ in o med he p ojec om he s a . This inclusi e
app oach was conside ed o be he mos e ec i e means o app oaching con es ed he i age.
I mean emb acing he expe iences o all hose who we e caugh up in he bombing: he
million o so pe sonnel o Bombe Command – including he 125,000 ai c ew – and o he
mili a y pe sonnel and ci ilians on bo h sides o he con lic . Uncoun able millions whose
expe iences ha e been old o no old wi hin such a amewo k.38 These oices would no
all sing in ha mony. This was, a e all, a o al wa ha sucked e e y co ne o he wo ld in o
i , and in ol ed in ense and ex eme di e ences o ideology, mass loss o li e and la ge-scale
des uc ion o p ope y. Ye he in en ion o he A chi e has always been o unde s and an
a ay o sha ed expe iences o se ice, su e ing, loss and su i al.
Reconcilia ion, along wi h ememb ance and ecogni ion, has also been an impo an
heme, implying an acknowledgemen ha no e e y hing done in he name o ic o y was
necessa ily jus i ied o de ensible in e ms o he p e ailing condi ions a he ime. This mo e
Public His o y and Con es ed He i age: A chi al Memo ies o he Bombing o I aly
Public His o y Re iew
,
Vol. 27, 20205
open app oach e lec s he e hos o which pa icipan s ha e been commi ed and has se ed
also o complica e he ic o / anquished dicho omy o he UK ic o na a i e, pa icula ly in
iew o he much-changed eali ies o iden i y and belonging ac oss Eu ope oday.39 In hese
a ious ways we ha e asse ed ou sel es as a so o conduc o o he o ches a.
The Digi al A chi e is a collec ion o p ima y ma e ial consis ing o wo kinds o ma e ial.
The i s is bo n-digi al eyewi ness es imony. The policy has been o eco d li e his o ies
a he han episodic wa memo ies. No only does his con ex ualise wa memo ies and ac as
a eminde ha hese memo ies ha e been e ac ed h ough se en y-odd yea s o li e since
he wa . I also se es o humanise subjec s ins ead o po aying hem as ‘he oes’, ‘ illains’ o
‘ ic ims’. The second ype o ma e ial is digi ised e sions o memo abilia ela ing o bombing
expe iences including le e s, dia ies, logbooks, pho og aphs and pe sonal possessions. The e
a e no pape o physical equi alen s in he A chi e’s possession. The ad an age o digi al is ha
we a e able o digi ise and sha e i ems while he o iginals emain in he owne s’ possession.40
The esul has been an eclec ic collec ion. The A chi e eam has depended o a g ea ex en on
indi iduals coming o wa d wi h i ems and in o ma ion in esponse o eques s published ia
mul iple channels.
An impo an elemen o he IBCC Digi al A chi e oice is he way in which ocabula y
is selec ed o e ie al pu poses, desc ip i e language used and empo al and geog aphic
in o ma ion cap u ed. Me ada a a e no mally unde s ood as go e ned by s anda ds and
guidelines ha a e p ocedu al o echnical in na u e. Wha si s a he in e sec ion o
echnical no ms and he b oade social and cul u al landscape has ecei ed li le a en ion.41
A key elemen o ou s a egy was o compile a con olled ocabula y p esc ibing he use o
au ho ised, wa an ed e ms ha would e lec ou e hos as well as maximise use access. We
disco e ed he e was no exis ing con olled ocabula y ha would sui ou pu poses so one was
c ea ed.
The i s pa , he ‘so ’ ocabula y, is mainly cul u al in na u e and spells ou how ou
commi men o inclusi i y has been ansla ed in o gene al p inciples. I ecommends e ms
o b oad concep s such as people, ideologies, alues, belie s and o he ecu ing cul u al
elemen s. And i s ipula es a oidance o cul u al clichés o do wi h he cou se o he wa
– ‘ hey s a ed i ’ – d ama ic, o e used s a emen s which a e also ac ually inco ec – ‘B i ain
s ood alone’ – and slang e ms such as ‘Hun’, ‘Tommy’ and ‘Jap’. In he same ein ac onyms
and abb e ia ions a e spel ou as a as possible o aid unde s anding o mili a y pa lance. The
second pa , o ‘ha d’ ocabula y, is chie ly echnical and consis s o a lis o desc ip o s and
hei dep eca ed a ian s o ai c a , pieces o equipmen , places and speci ic mili a y e ms
and concep s.
We ha e delibe a ely chosen o use he ag ‘bombing’ wi hou u he quali ie s so as
o include bo h he ac o d opping bombs and he si ua ion o being a he ecei ing end.
Ci ilians no mally unde s and i as a passi e expe ience whe eas mili a y pe sonnel ame i
as an ac i e pa o se ice li e. B inging oge he expe iences o bombing and being bombed
has many bene i s: i demons a es he A chi e e hos mo e han a gene ic s a emen o in en
would; sugges s he exis ence o con lic ing na a i es a he han a single, unp oblema ic
discou se; and e eals he bombing wa as an expe ience o sha ed su e ing a he han a ‘us
hem’ ma e . The pu pose is o gene a e a c i ical mass o i ems likely o o m spon aneous
agg ega ions a ound nodes o da es, places and concep s.
The same app oach has been used o o he e ms encapsula ing wa ime expe iences
such as ‘ ea ’, ‘e acua ion’ and ‘p isone o wa ’. Again, we use ‘ esis ance’ o a wide ange o
Fedele, Gaiaschi, Hughes and Pesa o
Public His o y Re iew
,
Vol. 27, 20206
posi ions, p ac ices and expe iences wi hin he o e a ching umb ella o asymme ical wa a e:
non-coope a ion, p opaganda, hiding, suppo ing and spi i ing away allied pe sonnel and
ecap u ing s ongholds. This app oach inc eases he chances o gene a ing new, unexpec ed
meanings, simply by jux aposing i ems ha we e no in ended o be seen oge he . An
ad anced sea ch in e ace allows use s o il e expe iences acco ding o place, o ce, con ex
and o combine ags.
Unlike he Uni ed S a es A my Ai Fo ce ha lew ope a ions by day, mos Bombe
Command ope a ions we e conduc ed a nigh , hus s addling wo consecu i e calenda days.
These a e usually cap u ed in he o ma ‘14/15 May 1944’. F om he ci ilian pe spec i e, he
same e en is likely o be logged (and emembe ed) as ei he 14 May 1944 o 15 May 1944,
acco ding o he exac ime ai c a eached he a ge . Acco dingly, da es a e epea ed and
en e ed as wo dis inc i ems o me ada a: 1944-05-14 and 1944-05-15. This inc eases he
chances o di e en pe spec i es on he same e en being b ough oge he o isualisa ion
and display.
Geog aphic in o ma ion is no malised and en e ed acco ding o he Lib a y o Cong ess
Subjec Headings (LCSH) which con ains con olled en ies o inhabi ed places and salien
geog aphical ea u es. While some choices e eal a Uni ed S a es pe spec i e, he oppo uni y
o g ouping i ems abou he same place unde he same spa ial heading is a co ne s one o
ou inclusi e s a egy. This is especially ele an o places ha ha e a well-es ablished English
o m and a local one – such as B unswick/B aunschweig, Li o no/Legho n and Dunke que/
Dunki k. I is also use ul o places ha we e enamed ollowing decolonisa ion –Salisbu y/
Ha a e – ha e been a ec ed by shi ing bo de s – Gdańsk/Danzig – o a e egula ly misspelled
in a chi al sou ces – Düsseldo /Dusseldo . LCSH headings a e accessed h ough he FAST
in e ace de eloped by Online Compu e Lib a y Cen e .
In line wi h ou commi men o inclusi i y, geog aphic in o ma ion is hospi able o a ian s.
Au ho i y con ol i ems ha e a heading co esponding o he no malised o m used ac oss
he A chi e wi h lis ed a ian s likely o ound. Thus, e en i someone uses an uncon en ional
que y he sys em akes hem o an equi alence page and om he e o all he associa ed
esou ces. Fo ins ance, Die Baai – A ikaans – and iBhayi – in Xhosa – e u n no di ec hi s
in he A chi e, bu poin o an au ho i y con ol page which in u n is associa ed o Sou h
A ica – Po Elizabe h. This is he no malised o m o desc ibe all i ems abou ha place.
This solu ion acknowledges he sensi i i ies su ounding some geog aphic names – pe haps
poli ically laden o sa u a ed wi h emo ional conno a ions – while a he same ime assis ing
use s o a oid spending an ino dina e amoun o ime sea ching o he igh e m o o miss
loca ing i ems.
O al es imony and some ex ual documen s a e ansc ibed. E en i he inhe en limi s o
ull ex sea ch a e well known,42 his app oach has he ad an age o es ic ing a ca alogue ’s
subjec i i y and pe cep ion o wha is wo h cap u ing in me ada a. Since i is di icul o
p edic u u e use s’ needs, his also has he ad an age o o e coming he isk ha ca alogue s
may miss o downplay some hing which may be i al o hose who will engage wi h A chi e
i ems om e y di e en pe spec i es in yea s o come.
Bo h ou collec ions policy and ou design o mechanisms o ca ego ising and e ie ing
in o ma ion ha e, hen, been ca e ully planned o suppo ou ‘o ches a o oices’. Equally
impo an in suppo ing his app oach has been ou me hod o wo king. As leading public
his o ian Hilda Kean sugges s, he ways in which he e idence and documen a ion a e
c ea ed is i al o unde s anding he possibili ies o in e p e ing ha e idence.43 In sho ,
Public His o y and Con es ed He i age: A chi al Memo ies o he Bombing o I aly
Public His o y Re iew
,
Vol. 27, 20207
we ha e a emp ed an inclusi e app oach o collec ing and p ocessing, as well as o con en :
a combina ion o c owdsou cing and p o essional o e sigh , o p ecisely he ype indica ed as
desi able by Noi e and Cau in.44
As Owens has no ed, ‘ he mos success ul c owdsou cing p ojec s in lib a ies, a chi es, and
museums ha e no in ol ed massi e c owds and hey ha e e y li le o do wi h ou sou cing
labou ’.45 This w y obse a ion is ue o ou p ojec . We ha e wo ked wi h a ound 200
olun ee s, who sca cely cons i u e a c owd. In ac , al hough he e m c owdsou cing now
co e s a ange o p ac ices, commons-based pee p oduc ion would be a mo e accu a e
desc ip ion o ou A chi e pa icipan s.46 They ha e ecei ed indi idualised aining o he
asks hey ha e elec ed o ul il, such as in e iewing eyewi nesses, scanning o pho og aphing
documen s, c opping and wa e ma king images, ansc ibing ex and in e iews and
p oducing me ada a. Va ying le els o expe ise ha e been accommoda ed.
All olun ee asks ha e been closely in eg a ed in o A chi e wo k lows. The small A chi e
eam makes g ea e o s o include olun ee s in all p ocesses. Each comple ed ask is
e iewed, ei he by a membe o s a o an expe ienced olun ee wi h subjec expe ise, be o e
i ems a e published. Mo eo e , we ha e been a pains o a oid accusa ions o ou sou cing,
which ca ies conno a ions o exploi a ion o labou and, u he , can unde mine he posi ion
o employed s a .47 The as majo i y o olun ee s a e e i ed and on a gua an eed income and
looking o ewa ding ways o occupy ime. In addi ion, we ha e accommoda ed olun ee s
in sea ch o a placemen o a chi e ask o mee he equi emen s o a cou se o s udy o who
ha e been classi ied as unable o wo k owing o a disabili y.
I alian Memo ies in he IBCC Digi al A chi e
The esul o he B i ish e e endum in June 2016 o wi hd aw om he Eu opean Union
had he po en ial o unde mine he en i e p ojec . The p omo ion o c oss-cul u al ole ance
has mo e gene ally aced challenges om ising populis , exclusiona y na ionalism in many
se ings, om he Uni ed S a es o India. This phenomenon is a leas in pa symp oma ic o a
ailu e o libe al democ acy and he eme gence o a poli ics o ‘un easonableness’.48
One o he au ho s – Pesa o, who joined he p ojec in ea ly 2015 – had begun o explo e
ways in which he concep s o con es ed he i age and an o ches a o oices migh be
mobilised in I aly. He made con ac s wi h in e es ed pa ies. In o he wo ds, he ac ed p ecisely
in he ole o cul u al b oke , as desc ibed by Li. In he A chi e’s dealings wi h pa ne s
elsewhe e in Eu ope, i has been made clea ha he ideological unde pinning o B exi was –
and emains – con a y o ou e hos.
Two key pa ne s in I aly ha e been Labo a o io Lapsus and Memo o. Lapsus is a
non-p o i o ganisa ion whose aims a e o esea ch and p omo e public unde s anding o
con empo a y his o y. Commi ed o explo ing he ela ionship be ween his o ical e idence
and commonly held belie , Lapsus membe s ha e aken on a numbe o challenging opics.
These include Chi è S a o? La s a egia della ensione e le s agi impuni e – an exhibi ion
on I alian neo- ascis e o ism be ween 1969 and 1974; 900 C iminale. Ma ia, Camo a,
‘Nd anghe a – a mul imedia exhibi ion based on he his o y o o ganized c ime in I aly; and
S o ia e memo ia delle depo azioni nazi ascis e – an online cou se aimed a decons uc ing
common s e eo ypes o I alian in ol emen in poli ical and acial depo a ion du ing he
Second Wo ld Wa , including in e iews wi h ic ims.49
In 2016, Lapsus membe s, including Fedele and Gaiaschi, ag eed o unde ake he aining
o IBCC o al his o y in e iews. O e he nex wo yea s, hey collec ed wen y-nine pe sonal
Fedele, Gaiaschi, Hughes and Pesa o
Public His o y Re iew
,
Vol. 27, 20208
s o ies o ci ilians who we e a he ecei ing end o Allied bombing du ing he Second Wo ld
Wa . O hese, nin een we e women and en we e men. Twen y- wo we e in Milan wi h
he es collec ed in Bologna, Va ese, Como and Monza. Wi h he excep ion o e acuees,
in e iews we e eco ded in he same place whe e he in o man li ed du ing he wa . Lapsus
has also been in ol ed in ansc ibing hese o al his o ies.
Memo o – Espe an o o ‘I emembe ’ – is an in e na ional non-p o i p ojec de o ed o
he p ese a ion and sha ing o li e s o ies o people bo n be o e 1950. The p ojec s a ed in
Tu in in Augus 2007 and has since sp ead o o he coun ies in Eu ope and u he a ield.
Since Sep embe 2009, he p ojec has been managed in I aly by Banca della Memo ia Onlus,
a cul u al o ganiza ion wi h cha i able s a us. Memo o is unde pinned by a public his o y
e hos. Pa icipan s ac as ‘memo y hun e s’, eco ding and sha ing con en on a dedica ed
publishing pla o m – www.memo o.o g. Ra he han ull-leng h, unab idged o al his o y
in e iews, Memo o’s s anda d p ac ice is o upload sho , ecu snippe s, each being abou a
speci ic memo y o e en : being bombed, e acua ion, li e in ai aid shel e s and he like.
Memo o I aly has gene ously sha ed six y-eigh i ems abou ci ilian li e unde he
bombs wi h he A chi e, while a u he eigh een we e p o ided by Memo o Ge many.
These es imonies ha e signi ican ly imp o ed he co e age o unde ep esen ed a eas in
I aly, especially sou h and mid-I aly. The hi y-one Memo o in e iews wi h Ge man
subjec s cons i u e mo e han hal o he s o ies abou ha coun y cu en ly in he A chi e.
Licencing p e iously eco ded ma e ials has hus allowed he A chi e o o e come o he wise
unsu moun able language and cul u al ba ie s.
The e a e subs an ial di e ences be ween he na ional componen s o he A chi e.
In e iews eco ded in English-speaking coun ies a e ou inely accompanied by pho og aphs
and memo abilia. These a e no mally deeply in e wo en. This is la gely o be explained by
he high numbe o e e an in e iews. They ha e no mally aken g ea ca e o hei e idence
o wa ime se ice. Ci ilian memo abilia di e e y g ea ly om hei mili a y coun e pa s.
Thus only one I alian in e iew came in wi h associa ed physical i ems, al hough in an indi ec
way. The in o man dona ed a se o oy soldie s o a local collec o who in u n pe mi ed he
A chi e o publish digi al copies. The link was e-es ablished h ough desc ip i e me ada a
enabling a i ual ecomposi ing.50 O he in o man s o e ed pho og aphs. Bu hese could no
be accep ed as hey we e al eady unde copy igh in published sou ces.
Some ema kable i ems ha e ne e heless been added hanks o he willingness o I alian
dono s. These include a selec ion o he wo ks o Al onsino ‘Angiolino’ Filipu i (1924-1999).
This sel - augh pain e depic ed some o he mos d ama ic and con o e sial aspec s o he
Second Wo ld Wa as seen om he pe spec i e o San Gio gio di Noga o, a small own in he
F iuli egion.51 Ra ioning ca ds, p opaganda ma e ials and oys a e ep esen ed in he Mau izio
Radacich collec ion. The highligh is a boa d game in ended o each child en an i-ai c a
p ecau ions.52 I and one o Angiolino’s empe as a e also ea u ed in he IBCC exhibi ion.53
Documen s ha e also been licenced by membe s o he Is i u i della Resis enza ne wo k which
has also helped wi h ansla ion and ansc ip ion.
In B i ain and o he English-speaking coun ies, eco ding o al his o y in e iews has
la gely been a ma e o ma ching e e ans wi h ained in e iewe s. This p ocess has been
managed by a membe o he A chi e s a o op imise esou ce alloca ion. No hing simila
was possible in I aly. To begin wi h, being a he ecei ing end o he bombing a ec ed a whole
gene a ion o I alians. No such hing as a lis o su i o s was e e easible. Fu he mo e,
he pool o in e iewe s was no only small bu also limi ed o places whe e an exis ing
Public His o y and Con es ed He i age: A chi al Memo ies o he Bombing o I aly
Public His o y Re iew
,
Vol. 27, 20209
17. Damien Williams, ‘Once Mo e, Wi h Feeling: Commemo a ing Royal Ai Fo ce Bombe Command in
La e Mode n B i ain’, in Kei Ree es e al (eds), Ba le ield E en s: Landscape, Commemo a ion and He i age,
London, Rou ledge, 2015, pp121-143.
18. And ew Knapp, Claudia Baldoli and Richa d O e y, Bombing, S a es and Peoples in Wes e n Eu ope,
1940-1945, London, Con inuum, 2011.
19. Claudia Baldoli and Ma co Finca di, ‘I alian Socie y unde Anglo-Ame ican Bombs: P opaganda,
Expe ience, and Legend, 1940–1945’, in The His o ical Jou nal, ol 52, no 4, 2009, pp1017-1038. h ps://doi.
o g/10.1017/s0018246x09990380
20. The libe a ion s uggle is a iously unde s ood as a na ional libe a ion wa , in which Ge man o ces
and hei allies we e he oes; a ci il wa , wi h ascis o ces opposed o pa isans; and a class wa in which
igh ing he egime was ea ed as a wo king-class s uggle agains i s opp esso s. Claudio Pa one, Una
Gue a Ci ile. Saggio S o ico sulla Mo ali à della Resis enza, To ino, Bolla i Bo inghie i, 2001.
21. Albe o De Be na di, ‘The Wo ld Wa s and he His o y o I aly: Public Sha ed and Dispu ed Memo ies’,
in Elena Lambe i and Vi a Fo una i (eds), Memo ies and Rep esen a ions o Wa : The Case o Wo ld Wa I
and Wo ld Wa II, Ams e dam, Rodopi, 2009, p76.
22. Gio anni Sciola, ‘L’Immagine dei Nemici. L’Ame ica e gli Ame icani nella P opaganda I aliana della
Seconda Gue a Mondiale’, I alie e E a s-Unis – In e é ences Cul u elles, ol 5, 2001, pp115–134. Tellingly,
‘Libe a o ’ is also he name o he Consolida ed B-24, a mass-p oduced USAAF bombe .
23. Alessand o Po elli and Ron J. G ele, S o ie O ali. Raccon o, Immaginazione, Dialogo, Roma, Donzelli,
2017, pp200-201. O iginal in I alian.
24. Pie o Calamand ei, ‘Disco so sulla Cos i uzione’, Socie à Umani a ia, Milano, 16 Janua y 1955.
The speech has been widely ep oduced: a ansc ip ion is a ailable om h p://www.napoliassise.i /
cos i uzione/disco sosullacos i uzione.pd (accessed 3 Ma ch 2020).
25. Gio gio Napoli ano, ‘Add ess’, Rome, 25 Ap il 2014. Socie à Umani a ia, Rome, 25 Ap il 2014,
a ailable om h ps://www.ilmessagge o.i / oma/c onaca/ es a_libe azione_ oma_ i o iano_napoli ano_
enzi-385467.h ml (accessed 3 Ma ch 2020).
26. Filippo Foca di, Il ca i o edesco e il b a o i aliano. La imozione delle colpe della Seconda gue a
mondiale, Ba i, La e za, 2013.
27. Ma in Schain, The Ma shall Plan Fi y Yea s A e , New Yo k, Palg a e, 2001, p137.
28. O al his o ians ha e equen ly no ed how he ‘Allies as libe a o s’ equen ly cancel ou he ‘Allies as
kille s’, o en in he same s o y; bombings a e explained away as e o s o misiden i ica ions o legi ima e
mili a y a ge s. Gab iella G ibaudi, ‘Le Memo ie Plu ali e il Raccon o Pubblico della Gue a. Il Ruolo delle
Fon i O ali nella Ri lessione S o iog a ica sul Secondo Con li o Mondiale’, in I alia Con empo anea, 2014,
pp217-249.
29. John Foo , I aly’s Di ided Memo y, New Yo k, Palg a e Macmilllan, 2009, pp108-109. h ps://doi.
o g/10.1057/9780230101838
30. F ank Coppa, ‘Pope Pius XII: F om he Diplomacy o Impa iali y o he Silence o he Holocaus ’, in
Jou nal o Chu ch and S a e, ol 55, no 2, 2013, pp286-306. h ps://doi.o g/10.1093/jcs/cs 120
31. Gab iella G ibaudi, ‘Gue a, Ca as o i e Memo ie dal Te i o io’, In Ma iuccia Sal a i and Lo edana
Sciolla (eds), L’I alia e le Sue Regioni, ol 3, Rome, T eccani, pp251–273.
32. De Be na di, op ci , p88.
33. Na Li, ‘Going Public, Going Global: Teaching Public His o y Th ough In e na ional Collabo a ions’ in
Public His o y Re iew, ol 22, 2015, p2. h ps://doi.o g/10.5130/ph j. 22i0.4754
34. ibid, p6.
35. Sha on Leon, ‘Complexi y and Collabo a ion: Doing Public His o y in Digi al En i onmen s’, in James
B. Ga dne and Pula Hamil on (eds) The Ox o d Handbook o Public His o y, Ox o d Uni e si y P ess Online,
2017, pp4 and 6, h ps://10.1093/ox o dhb/9780199766024.013.2, (accessed 18 Oc obe 2019).
36. One au ho was pa o his consul a ion and emains in ol ed as head o he IBCC Digi al A chi e. He
expe ience o pa icipa ing in he Sou h A ican T u h and Reconcilia ion Commission as a esea che was
use ul in unde s anding he na u e o econcilia ion in his p ojec . Also in ol ed in he ea ly planning phase
om he Uni e si y’s side was D Dan Ellin who con inues his in ol emen in he A chi e as i s subjec
specialis .
37. The IBCC si e, including he isi o cen e, opened in Janua y 2018. This a icle o necessi y excludes
he exhibi ion con en o which he A chi e eam was esponsible.
38. Dan Ellin and Hea he Hughes, ‘IBCC In e p e a ion Plan’, 19 June 2015, IBCC Digi al A chi e
documen IBCC-TS-01, a ailable on eques .
Fedele, Gaiaschi, Hughes and Pesa o
Public His o y Re iew
,
Vol. 27, 202016
39. Fo deba es abou social cohesion in he UK, see Ch is Weedon, ‘Iden i y, Di e ence and Social
Cohesion in Con empo a y B i ain’, in Jou nal o In e cul u al S udies, ol 32, no 3, 2011, pp209-227. h ps://
doi.o g/10.1080/07256868.2011.565733
40. This a angemen has had implica ions o copy igh as well as main enance and backup.
41. Fo an excep ion, see Joanne E ans and Jacqueline Z. Wilson, ‘Inclusi e A chi es and Reco dkeeping:
Towa ds a C i ical Mani es o’, in In e na ional Jou nal o He i age S udies, ol 24, no 8, 2018, pp857-
860. Ma inez-A ila and Budd ha e ecen ly in oduced he no ion o an ‘e hical’ wa an o con olled
ocabula ies which implies cul u al sensi i i y. See Daniel Ma inez-A ila and John Budd, ‘Epis emic
Wa an o Ca ego iza ional Ac i i ies and he De elopmen o Con olled Vocabula ies’, in Jou nal o
Documen a ion, ol 73, no 4, 2017, pp700-715.
42. Da id C. Blai and M. E. Ma on, ‘An E alua ion o Re ie al E ec i eness o a Full-Tex Documen -
Re ie al Sys em’, in Communica ions o he ACM, ol 28, no 3, 1985, pp289-229; Robe Mosko i ch e al,
‘A Compa a i e E alua ion o Full-Tex , Concep -Based and Con ex -Sensi i e Sea ch’, in Jou nal o he
Ame ican Medical In o ma ics Associa ion, ol 14, no 2, 2007, pp164-174.
43. Hilda Kean, ‘Public His o y as a Social Fo m o Knowledge’, in James B. Ga dne and Paula Hamil on
(eds), The Ox o d Handbook o Public His o y, Ox o d Uni e si y P ess Online, 2017, pp1-23, h ps://10.1093/
ox o dhb/9780199766024.013.22 (accessed 18 Oc obe 2019).
44. Se ge Noi e and Thomas Cau in, op ci , especially p8.
45. T e o Owens, ‘Digi al Cul u al He i age and he C owd’, in Cu a o : The Museum Jou nal, ol 56, no 1,
2013, p21. h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/cu a.12012
46. Vic o ia Van Hyning, ‘Ha nessing C owdsou cing o Schola ly and GLAM Pu poses’, in Li e a u e
Compass, 2019; 16:e12507, pp1-11, h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/lic3.12507 (accessed 4 Oc obe 2019).
47. Fo a c i ique, see L. Ha ald F edheim, ‘Endange men -D i en He i age Volun ee ing: Democ a isa ion
o “Changeless Change”’, in In e na ional Jou nal o He i age S udies, ol 24, no 6, 2018, pp619-633.
48. Gab iele Badano and Alasia Nu i, ‘Unde P essu e: Poli ical Libe alism, he Rise o Un easonableness
and he Complexi y o Con ainmen ’, in The Jou nal o Poli ical Philosophy, ol 26, no 2, 2018, pp145-168.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/jopp.12134
49. Fu he in o ma ion abou he p ojec s is a ailable on he websi e: h p://www.labo a o iolapsus.i /.
50. ‘Toy Soldie s’ a h ps://ibccdigi ala chi e.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collec ions/documen /273.
51. ‘Filipu i, Angiolino’ a h ps://ibccdigi ala chi e.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collec ions/show/27.
52. ‘Radacich, Mau izio’ a h ps://ibccdigi ala chi e.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collec ions/show/38.
53. ‘B i ish p isone s o wa escaping om he To iscosa camp a e helped by ci ilians’ a h ps://
ibccdigi ala chi e.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collec ions/documen /133.
54. Capezzu o ecen ly p o ided a e lec ion on success and ailu e in h ee I alian digi al public his o y
p ojec s. Among his ecommenda ions o a oiding ailu e a e o allow pa icipan s o be ‘designe s’
a he han me e ‘implemen e s’. S e ano Capezzu o, ‘Digi al Public His o y e Design della Pa ecipazione.
Ri lessioni e P opos e a Pa i e dalla Socie à S o ica Spezzina’, in Umanis ica Digi ale, no 3, 2018, pp69-84,
h p://doi.o g/10.6092/issn.2532-8816/8189 (accessed 30 Oc obe 2019).
55. Because o he ci cums ances, names and o he de ails ha e been changed o p o ec anonymi y o
in o man s.
56. In e na ional Council on A chi es, Code o E hics. Adop ed by he Gene al Assembly in i s XIII h session
in Beijing (China) on 6 Sep embe 1996, a ailable a h ps://www.ica.o g/si es/de aul / iles/ICA_1996-09-
06_code%20o %20e hics_EN.pd .
57. Amy C. Edmondson, ‘S a egies o Lea ning om Failu e’ in Ha a d Business Re iew, ol 89, no 4,
2011, pp48-55, a ailable om h ps://hb .o g/2011/04/s a egies- o -lea ning- om- ailu e (accessed 3
Ma ch 2020).
58. The home page is a h ps://ibccdigi ala chi e.lincoln.ac.uk.
59. This igu e has been il e ed o exclude use s in e nal o he Uni e si y o Lincoln.
60. Monica Emmanuelli and Alessand o Pesa o, ‘La Gue a di Bomba damen o in F iuli nelle Fon i
dell’In e na ional Bombe Command Cen e Digi al A chi e. Temi di Rice ca e P oblemi Ape i’, in S o ia
Con empo anea in F iuli, no 48, 2018, pp223–232.
61. A chi e pa ons end o use In e ne -like, name-d i en sea ch s a egies while he s anda d
desc ip ion is based on p o enance which hey can s uggle o g asp. Wendy Du and Ca he ine Johnson,
‘Whe e Is he Lis Wi h All he Names? In o ma ion-Seeking Beha io o Genealogis s’, in The Ame ican
A chi is , ol 66, no 1, 2003, pp79-95.
Public His o y and Con es ed He i age: A chi al Memo ies o he Bombing o I aly
Public His o y Re iew
,
Vol. 27, 202017
62. See o example An oine e Bu on (ed), A chi e S o ies: Fac s, Fic ions and he W i ing o His o y,
Du ham, N.C., Duke Uni e si y P ess, 2005.
63. This may hampe a emp s o use A chi e i ems o non-schola ly pu poses, o example o
pinpoin ing unexploded bombs be o e he s a o enginee ing p ojec s. Alessand o Pesa o, ‘Fon i Inedi e
da un A chi io Digi ale B i annico. 1939-1945, i bomba damen i in F iuli Venezia Giulia’, in Rassegna Tecnica
del F iuli Venezia Giulia, ol 70, no 372, 2019, pp20-23.
64. Fo a s udy o he Bombe Command memoi , see F ances Hough on, ‘The “Missing Chap e ”: Bombe
Command Ai c ew Memoi s in he 1990s and 2000s’, in Lucy Noakes and Julie e Pa inson (eds), B i ish
Cul u al Memo y and he Second Wo ld Wa , London, Bloomsbu y, 2014, pp155-174.
65. The wo ld is now in he g ip o he COVID-19 pandemic which has al eady o e whelmed he egion
o I aly whe e ou mos impo an pa ne s a e based. Such a p o ound e en has widely been likened o
a wa ime condi ion. As such, i is likely o a ec he public his o ians’ pe spec i es and con ibu ions o
collec i e knowledge a e e y le el including ‘ he na ional’.
Fedele, Gaiaschi, Hughes and Pesa o
Public His o y Re iew
,
Vol. 27, 202018
