Between 1940 and 1945 Italy experienced all the trials of total war. Subsequently, Italian historiography has focused on reconstructing the causes of civilian losses during the conflict. Much less attention has been paid to official recognition of, and assistance to, the members of the civil population who survived the conflict. This article will show how the inadequate legislative preparations made by the Fascist regime for total war had an adverse impact on requests for assistance from survivors. It will also reveal how the continuity between Fascism and the early Republican years as regards welfare and legislation continued to hamper victims’ access to support and assistance. Finally, it explores how personal judicial battles conducted by individual victims shifted the paradigm of legislation and opened the way for a broader recognition of victims’ rights by the state.

Tra il 1940 e il 1945 gli italiani sperimentarono appieno la logica della guerra totale. Di conseguenza, la storiografia ha mostrato grande interesse nell’analizzare le cause delle perdite di civili durante il conflitto. Meno attenzione però è stata prestata al problema dell’assistenza e del riconoscimento dei civili vittime di guerra che sopravvissero al conflitto. Attraverso le esperienze inviduali delle vittime, l’articolo analizza come l’inadeguata preparazione legislativa e amministrativa del fascismo alla guerra influì negativamente sulle richieste di aiuto da parte delle vittime di guerra. Tale problematica si prolungò nel dopoguerra, a causa delle difficoltà di riforma dell’assistenza ai civili, riflettenti la lenta trasformazione del welfare italiano e la continuità legislativa e amministrativa tra fascismo e repubblica. Infine, l’articolo analizza come attraverso le battaglie legali condotte dalle vittime si allargò la natura dei loro diritti, preparando il terreno per la riforma delle pensioni di guerra avvenuta nel 1950.

De Ninno, F. (2021). Italian civilian victims of war: assistance, legislation and war pensions from fascism to republic. JOURNAL OF MODERN ITALIAN STUDIES, 26(3), 291-313 [10.1080/1354571X.2020.1866288].

Italian civilian victims of war: assistance, legislation and war pensions from fascism to republic

De Ninno, Fabio
2021-01-01

Abstract

Between 1940 and 1945 Italy experienced all the trials of total war. Subsequently, Italian historiography has focused on reconstructing the causes of civilian losses during the conflict. Much less attention has been paid to official recognition of, and assistance to, the members of the civil population who survived the conflict. This article will show how the inadequate legislative preparations made by the Fascist regime for total war had an adverse impact on requests for assistance from survivors. It will also reveal how the continuity between Fascism and the early Republican years as regards welfare and legislation continued to hamper victims’ access to support and assistance. Finally, it explores how personal judicial battles conducted by individual victims shifted the paradigm of legislation and opened the way for a broader recognition of victims’ rights by the state.
2021
De Ninno, F. (2021). Italian civilian victims of war: assistance, legislation and war pensions from fascism to republic. JOURNAL OF MODERN ITALIAN STUDIES, 26(3), 291-313 [10.1080/1354571X.2020.1866288].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11365/1143268