Abstract: The notion of Italiani brava gente (“Italians, good people”) encapsulates the idea that Italians were inherently benevolent, a view largely shaped by comparisons between Italian and German soldiers during the Second World War. Many historians have challenged this interpretation by pointing to Italian war crimes. Within this broader debate, the Italian response to Ustaša violence against Serbs remains subject to conflicting interpretations. This article contributes to the debate by reassessing the Italian role in the underexplored context of Mostar and its surroundings in 1941, examining cases of Italian rescue of Serbs and Jews, the exhumation of victims, and the reopening of previously closed Serbian churches.

Keywords: Italiani brava gente, Independent State of Croatia (NDH), Ustaša movement, Herzegovina, Mostar, Trebinje, Nevesinje, Bileća.

Summary: The notion of Italiani brava gente (“Italians, good people”) encapsulates the idea that Italians were inherently benevolent, a view largely shaped by comparisons between Italian and German soldiers during the Second World War. Many historians have challenged this interpretation by pointing to Italian war crimes, both in other theatres of war and in the Balkans. Within this broader debate, conflicting interpretations persist regarding the Italian response to Ustaša violence against Serbs. This article contributes to these scholarly discussions by reassessing the Italian role in a specific and hitherto insufficiently explored context, namely Mostar and its surroundings in 1941. Violence in the area began immediately following the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia. Among various methods of execution, the practice of throwing previously tortured victims into pits was particularly widespread. Italian authorities halted the wave of massacres by assuming control over the so–called Second Zone, which encompassed present–day Herzegovina and Mostar. Italian–Croatian conflicts were recorded, particularly regarding Italian protection of the Serb and Jewish population. In addition to restricting Ustaša violence, Italian authorities carried out exhumations of victims in numerous Herzegovinian localities, publicly exposing and condemning Ustaša crimes. Despite protests from Croatian authorities, they also ensured the reopening of previously closed Serbian Orthodox churches and encouraged displaced Serb inhabitants to return to their homes under Italian protection. Although the Italian reoccupation of the Second Zone and Herzegovina was shaped by broader strategic and political considerations, as well as certain humanitarian factors, this intervention saved numerous Sеrbian and Jewish lives in Mostar and the surrounding area, thereby helping to justify the memory of Italians as brava gente – a “good people.”