Testimony of terrorism: Civic responsibility and memory work after a political massacre

Abstract

Despite the wide use of testimonies in collective memory of violent historical and political events, proper psychosocial studies addressing the process of becoming a testimony remain scarce. In the context of the massacre of Piazza della Loggia in Brescia, this study examines the biographical transition from victims to testimonies of people directly or indirectly involved in the event. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, 13 biographical stories were collected and analysed through qualitative methodology. Out of the four biographical transitions evinced by the results of this study and besides the scenario of a victim not becoming a testimony, the results highlight three different biographical transitions: the immediate transition from victim to testimony, transition as awareness, and transition as a process of knowledge. These three biographical transitions are summarized in three types of identity: ‘heroic testimony’, ‘civic testimony’ and ‘epistemic testimony’. The results are hence discussed in the light of the community practices of collective memory and psychosocial research on the testimonies.