The renowned Italian historian Alessandro Portelli deals with the interpretations of the Nazi massacre of the civilian population in Rome in March 1944 in his well-known book The Order Has Already Been Carried Out. In retaliation for an attack by the Roman resistance movement, the German occupiers ordered the execution of 335 Jews, insurgents and other prisoners, while on the same day several hostages were taken on the streets of the city. Portelli’s analysis of the various interpretations of the event is based on extensive material that he collected in archives, but above all on conversations with eyewitnesses, relatives of the victims and representatives of other post-war generations. He was interested in the question of how this event shaped the collective memory of Rome and Italy. Particular attention is given to the different, often contradictory versions of the event and how its interpretation changed over time. The book shows how right-wing groups tried to shift the blame for the massacre onto the partisans by claiming that they had surrendered and could have prevented revenge. At the same time, it analyzes the myth that the Romans had a "choice" between extraditing the perpetrators and taking revenge – in reality, the Germans began the executions before publicly announcing their ultimatum. The book is an important contribution to the understanding of collective memory, trauma and the way societies process tragic historical events.