Unable to Hate? Some Comparative Remarks on the War Experiences of Spaniards and Italians on the Eastern Front, 1941-1944

The article addresses the similarities and differences between the Spanish and the Italian war experiences on the Eastern front (1941-1945) from a comparative perspective. Although both contingents, when seen from the German perspective, might have been considered to share similar characteristics, and they implemented relatively benevolent practices of occupation towards Soviet civilians, prisoners of war and Jews, there was also a huge imbalance regarding the figures of soldiers deployed on the East, as well as the numbers of prisoners of war. The Spaniards and the Italians fought on different sectors of the front, and were subject to quite diverse combat conditions, which set the condition for different degrees of brutalisation. Finally, the Italian withdrawal of 1942 left a tragic imprint on the memory of the Russian campaign of the survivors, while a comparable event did not exist in the Spanish case. Yet, the main similarity between the Spaniards and the Italians lies in the narratives and politics of memory regarding their participation at the Eastern front, which were developed by war veterans and the states of both countries during the post-war years. Regardless of the political differences between the Francoist regime and the Italian democracy, an enduring legend in the two countries emerged that presented the invading soldiers as "nice occupants", which were supposedly cleaner than the "clean Wehrmacht", while they attempted to detach themselves from the German war crimes in the East.