Renzo De Felice

Renzo De Felice
Born 8 April 1929
Rieti, Kingdom of Italy
Died 25 May 1996 (aged 67)
Rome, Italy
Occupation Historian, writer
Nationality Italian
Alma mater Sapienza University of Rome
Genre History
Subject Benito Mussolini, Italian fascism and Jacobinism
Literary movement Historical revisionism
Notable works History of the Jews under Fascism (1961)
Biography of Mussolini (1965–1996)
Spouse Livia De Ruggiero

Renzo De Felice (8 April 1929 – 25 May 1996) was an Italian historian, who specialized in the Fascist era, writing - among others - a 6000-page biography of Mussolini (4 volumes, 1965–97). He argued that Mussolini was a revolutionary modernizer in domestic issues, but a pragmatist in foreign policy who continued the Realpolitik policies of liberal Italy, 1861-1922.[1]

Biography

He was born in Rieti and studied under Federico Chabod and Delio Cantimori at the Sapienza University of Rome. During his time as student, De Felice was a member of the Italian Communist Party. After the 1956 Soviet repression of the Hungarian Revolution, De Felice was among 101 Italian intellectuals who sharply criticized the Italian Communist Party for its backing of the Soviets. He broke with the Communists and joined the Italian Socialist Party. He taught history at the University of Rome. He was married to Livia De Ruggiero. He died in Rome.

Mussolini studies

De Felice is best known for a massive four volume, eight book biography of Benito Mussolini that was almost finished at the time of his death. De Felice was the founder and editor of the influential journal Storia Contemporanea. De Felice also wrote a well-regarded history of Jewish life under the Fascist government and articles on Italian Jacobinism.

De Felice's leading interest was in fascism. In his view, there were two types of fascism, "fascism as a movement" and "fascism as a regime". De Felice saw the fascism, especially in the "movement" stage, as a revolutionary middle-class ideology that had deep roots in the Enlightenment. Moreover, De Felice insisted that fascism was not caused by fear of a proletarian revolution on the part of the lower middle classes - as the leftist historiography maintained - but was rather an assertive movement originated by an emerging middle class in search for its proper role.

On the opposite, fascism as a regime was seen by De Felice as nothing more than Mussolini's policy - which tended to make of fascist ideology just the superstructure of Mussolini's dictatorship and personal power. De Felice felt that fascism should be seen as valid political ideology, not just something to be demonized and dismissed in simplistic terms. He argued that studies on Fascism should get out from the political debate and become a historiographical issue based on scientific assertions.

Furthermore, De Felice insisted that there was no connection or valid comparisons to be drawn between Italian Fascism and German National Socialism, which De Felice saw as being a completely different political ideology. Critics on the left attacked De Felice for being too sympathetic to Italian Fascism. Giuliano Procacci, Paolo Alatri, Nicola Tranfaglia and others even accused De Felice of writing an apologia of Fascism.

Selected Works

vol. 1, Mussolini il rivoluzionario, 1883–1920; vol. 2, Mussolini il fascista, pt. 1, La conquista del potere, 1921–1925, pt. 2, L’organizzazione dello Stato fascista, 1925–1929; vol. 3, Mussolini il duce, pt. 1, Gli anni del consenso, 1929–1936, pt. 2, Lo stato totalitario, 1936–1940; vol. 4, Mussolini l’alleato, 1940–1945, pt. 1, L’Italia in guerra, 1940–1943, bk. 1, Dalla guerra “breve” alla guerra lunga, bk. 2, Crisi e agonia del regime, pt. 2, La guerra civile, 1943–1945.

References

  1. ↑ James Burgwyn, "Renzo De Felice and Mussolini's Foreign Policy: Pragmatism vs. Ideology," Italian Quarterly (1999), Vol. 36 Issue 141/142, pp 93-103

Further reading