Introduction

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter frames the political and military context of Mussolini’s removal from power and surveys the ways that this event has been narrated in scholarly, public, and cinematic accounts. In lieu of elite-driven political narratives, it emphasizes the experiences and subjectivities of ordinary people as they navigated a moment of profound upheaval and uncertainty and reckoned with the legacies of twenty years of dictatorship. The chapter also introduces the narrative structure of the book, which is framed as an “unfolding” history in which events appear open-ended and unresolved, as they were experienced by those living them, rather than explained retrospectively. The introduction also discusses the sources used to capture the voices of ordinary Italians, including letters, diaries, and police and judicial records.</jats:p>