Project Europe
The European project ‘History and Memory’, through the coordination of the Independent
Historical Institute of the Resistance of the Italian Soldiers Abroad, involves partners belonging to
different typologies (three Italian and one Greek public bodies, as well as three associations and one
trust).
The main activities and resources made available by the promoter and the partners are:
- organisation and cataloguing of the ichnographical and documentary patrimony and of the bibliographical patrimony of the Institute (military documents, correspondence between soldiers and their families during the war, correspondence between veterans, records of meetings held in the postwar period to commemorate the Cephalonia and Corfu massacres, interviews to veterans, books written by veterans and historians). The partners involved in this activity are: the Independent Historical Institute of the Resistance of the Italian Soldiers Abroad, the Association of the Acqui Division, Siena University, the Historical Institute of the Resistance and the Contemporary Age;
- Interviews to veterans: expansion of the existing archive. The partners involved in this activity are: the Independent Historical Institute of the Resistance of the Italian Soldiers Abroad, with the help of its volunteers;
- Historical scientific research. The partners involved in this activity are: the Independent Historical Institute of the Resistance of the Italian Soldiers Abroad, Siena University, the Historical Institute of the Resistance and the Contemporary Age;
- Digitization of the historical archive with the support of experts in the field of digital archive systems and the creation of a documentary DVD to be produced in 1,000 copies. The partners involved in this activity are: the Independent Historical Institute of the Resistance of the Italian Soldiers Abroad, Siena University, the Historical Institute of the Resistance and the Contemporary Age, the Corfu City Council;
- Building of a website with the support of computer technicians and web designers. The partners involved in this activity are: the Independent Historical Institute of the Resistance of the Italian Soldiers Abroad.
- Dissemination of the European project and of its contents. The partners involved in this activity are: all.
- Realization of the final event with the presentation of the project in the presence of students, partners and local administrators. The partners involved in this activity are: all.
The purpose of the Institute is to preserve, maintain and spread the memory of the sacrifice of
the Italian soldiers abroad. In order to do this, it carries out the search and the reorganization of
documents, photographs, testimonies, publications and mementoes relating to soldiers that took
part in the Italian Resistance abroad, to preserve them and to give them visibility so that people can
learn from the contributions offered by thousands of people who sacrificed their lives to the cause
of freedom. In this context, the main aim of the Institute is the preservation and the protection of
the Historical Archive of the National Association of the Surviving Veterans and of the Families of
the Fallen of the Acqui Division, which hosts the documents relating to the Cephalonia and Corfu
massacres in September 1943, events that, because of its tragic nature, have become the symbols of
the resistance of Italian troops to Nazism.
The Institute also sets itself the objective to create a net of contacts with similar bodies in Italy and
in Europe.
The Independent Institute of the Resistance of the Italian Soldiers Abroad is the body that promotes
the project ‘History and Memory’.