Collective memories of past violence and intergroup reconciliation. The case of ephemeral colonial objects

A relevant body of research explored how collective memories are used to fuel intergroup hate. Less research has been devoted instead to observe how, after conflict settlement, collective memories of past violence may enhance reconciliation processes. A specific facet of this understudied field of research refers to empirical data describing the changing reactions of European citizens when confronted with material intermediations originally created to glorify the colonial role of their nations, and still present in urban European environment. Among these cumbersome traces, a specific kind of intermediations refers to those inconsequential objects used in everyday routines (such as food consumption, commercial advertising, or fashion couture) for which the name of “colonial ephemera” has been proposed. To consider more in depth some aspects of this complex issue, the example of an empirical research will be discussed, focused on reactions of Italian participants of three different generations confronted with the evidence of links connecting a well-known chocolate candy – originally wrapped in a colonial packaging and still sold in many Italian coffee shops — with the still self-censored history of Italian colonial invasions. Among the last European colonial wars, the Italian invasion of North-African countries happened in the Thirties and created a fragile “Empire”. This occupation in fact lasted shortly, since it collapsed after a few years, together with the Fascist regime. However, being the African populations who received this military aggression week and socially isolated, the Italian societal discourse about this shameful part of the national past was based firstly on a denial and then on a self-censorship silencing intergenerational communication about the severe past colonial crimes enacted towards African victims. The empirical research presented suggests that, among the multiple cues triggering collective memories of European past colonial times, reactions to an apparently “banal” colonial ephemeral object may allow Italian participants of different generations to become more aware of the past violence enacted by their national group, in spite of the fact that societal master narratives silenced it for a long time.