SANT’ANNA DI STAZZEMA. Speaking of roundups, a word nowadays overused and misused, what sowed horror and death on August 12, 1944, in Sant’Anna di Stazzema was inspired by an exacerbated murderous fury etched in history. 82 years ago the SS, aided by local fascists, killed 560 people, mostly women, elderly, and children. And today, on the anniversary, the Sant’Anna di Stazzema National Peace Park once again becomes the reference point for Italian memory of the founding events of the democratic Republic and the Constitutional Charter. On this occasion, the official speech was entrusted to the former prime minister and leader of the Five Star Movement Giuseppe Conte.
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President Conte, what is the significance of your visit to Sant’Anna di Stazzema and, above all, your decision to accept the invitation to deliver the official speech?
«It is an invitation I gladly accepted, also aware of the responsibility and commitment it entails. From this symbolic place of the violent madness of Nazifascism, politics has the responsibility to send clear messages: fascism cannot rise again and for this reason the values enshrined in our Constitution and on which our Republic was born must be defended, starting from the supreme value of the human person. This message becomes even more important in this historical moment when democracies are struggling, nationalisms and hate speech are resurfacing, discrimination and the temptation to consider war a normal tool of politics. And I add: those who profess to be patriots today should be here in Sant’Anna di Stazzema, because to honor the Fatherland we must first honor those who did not bow to the dictatorship and for this sacrificed their lives».
What will the speech focus on?
«Sant’Anna di Stazzema is a living memory that speaks to everyone, it is a testimony of the past and above all a warning for the future. Starting from the values of our republican and antifascist Constitution, I will recall that democratic institutions must not be taken for granted but must be constantly defended and protected, especially today».
For the first time the Meloni government sends an authoritative representative, in this case Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. A reparative gesture or just blatant electoral opportunism, given that elections will be held in 2027?
«I do not want to use this solemn occasion to make polemics. I just say that presence in Sant’Anna acquires authentic meaning when consistent behaviors follow. Antifascism means defending the Constitution every day, fighting discrimination and inequalities, protecting freedom of the press, respecting the system of checks and balances of our legal system and the guarantee institutions and not delegitimizing those who dissent».
Does the word “antifascism” still have meaning?
«It certainly does, I would say it is an indispensable word. And all forces that recognize themselves as democratic must find in the antifascist Constitution the reasons for their political action and realize that democratic project engraved in our Charter, through a common battle for a fairer society, against inequalities, for dignified work, for social and civil rights, for peace».
The proposal for a law against fascist propaganda started from Stazzema. But no concrete progress has been made: why is Parliament so reluctant?
«Because in Italy there are still reticence and ambiguities about fascism. But we cannot allow any concession, any uncertainty towards nostalgic actions or thoughts».
In an era of new conflicts at Europe’s doorstep, what universal warning does Sant’Anna send to the world today?
«It is a warning of great relevance: when war prevails, every glimmer of humanity is lost and only the blind fury of barbarism dominates. It is a message that today we have the obligation to remember while we witness ongoing conflicts, from the one in Ukraine, victim of Russia’s aggression in violation of international law, to the one in Gaza, where Netanyahu has massacred an innocent population, including over twenty thousand children. Politics must regain the courage to build diplomatic paths, negotiations, conditions for a just and lasting peace. Europe cannot resign itself to a new arms race as the only political horizon, but must be a protagonist of diplomacy and peace».
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