Italian civilian victims of war: assistance, legislation and war pensions from Fascism to Republic

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.

RIASSUNTO

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.

KEYWORDS:

• civilian victims of war
• war pensions
• welfare
• assistance
• Second World War
• continuity

PAROLE CHIAVE:

• vittime civili di guerra
• pensioni di guerra
• welfare
• assistenza
• Seconda guerra mondiale
• continuità

Archival sources

ACS, Archivio Centrale dello stato, Rome.

ANVCG, Archivio dell’associazione nazionale vittime civili di guerra, Siena

Notes

^1. ANVCG, II, 67683, Ricourse by G. Massima to the Corte dei Conti, 15 March 1950.

^2. ANVCG, II, 47664, AMVCG Verona to the National Presidency, 30 June 1949.

^3. Royal Decree Law N.1491, 12 July 1923, Technical-juridical reform of the law applying to war pensions.

^4. Law N. 1196, 18 August 1940, Modifications and additions to the operative norms in respect of war pensions for civilian victims of misfortune.

^5. Law N. 1385, 11 December 1941, Modifications and additions to the operative norms in respect of war pensions for civilian victims of misfortune.

^6. Corte dei conti, Section II, Decision of 24 February 1943, Il foro italiano part III, 1944–46, 12–13.

^7. Archivio Centrale di Stato (ACS), PCM, 1941–43, f.30.2.12957 sottofasc.2, Baratono, Undersecretary of State to the Ministry of the Interior, 14 August 1943.

^8. ANCVG, II, 4254, Rolandi Ricci to the head of the province of Padua, 3 March 1944.

^9. ANCVG, II, 100, Rolandi Ricci to Ministry of Finances, second solicitation, 23 April 1945.

^10. ANCVG, II, 71, Genoa section to ANFCMICBN Brescia, 12 October 1944 and 28 December 1944.

^11. ANVCG, III, 44, Maria Teresa F. widow of Antonio D, A, deceased, 11 June 1950.

^12. ANVCG, III, 252, Giuseppe G. Assistenza 252/Ass to Treasury Ministry, War Pensions section, 29 May 1946.

^13. ANVCG, III, 289, Assistance Service 289 to Provincial Section Rome, 26 April 1945.

^14. Atti Parlamentari, Chamber, Session of 17 September 1948, 209.

^15. ACS, Ministry of the Interior Gabinetto 1944–46, b.179, f.17405, Direzione Generale della Pubblica Sicurezza to Ministry Central Office, #4005/7405, 29 October 1945.

^16. ANVCG, II, 5561, Pietro Guardabassi, President of the Mantua section, to National Headquarters, 9 April 1949.

^17. Minutes of the Council of Ministers, 13 July 1943–May 1948, VII, 1, Dlcps, 23 August 1946, n.248, 175; Decree of the Provisional Head of State, 19 January 1947, n.472.

^18. Chamber of Deputies, Atti della Commissione parlamentare di inchiesta sulla miseria in Italia e sui mezzi per combatterla (Rome, 1953), 13: 266–268.

^19. ANVCG, II, 54534, Ettore Villa to the Catanzaro Provincial Section, 9 June 1950.

^20. ANVCG, II, 39936, L. Pietro to the President of the ANVCG, 14 December 1948.

^21. ANVCG, I, 3401, M. Jacono C. to National ANVCG, 14 July 1945.

^22. ANVCG, II, 51405, Presidency ANVCG to Arezzo Provincial Section, 6 December 1949.

^23. ANVCG, II, 21150, Giulia C. to Presidency ANVCG, n.d. (c. August 1946).

^24. ANVCG, II, 21148, Maria D.A. to Presidency ANVCG, n.d. (c. August 1946)

^25. Annuario Statistico Italiano 1944–1948 (Rome, 1949), 391.

^26. Atti Parlamentari, Chamber, Session of 8 June 1948, 197.

^27. ANVCG, II, 22875, Azeglio M., President of the Grosseto Provincial Section to P. Leo, 21 October 1950.

^28. ANVCG, II, 4996, Pension application by Luciano S. for the death of his son Rocco S., 29 July 1946.

^29. ANVCG, III, Orsogna Prefecture, Act of Notarisation, 17 November 1945.

^30. ANVCG, II, 5585, National ANVCG to Christian Democratic Provincial Committee, #5585, 19 December 1949.

^31. ANVCG, I, 3362, Recourse #264568/18, Procurator General’s Conclusions, 21 January 1958.

^32. ANVCG, II, 21112, Giuseppe M. to ANVCG, 28 September 1948.

^33. ANVCG, II, 7740, Declaration by Ugo M., ANVCG Padua, 6 September 1949.

^34. Atti Parlamentari, Chamber, Session of 3 June 1948, 94; Session of 4 June 1948, 142; Session of 9 June 1948, 232–233.

^35. ANVCG, II, 25751, Anna A. to the General Directorate of War Pensions, Treasury Ministry, 11 June 1949.

^36. Alfredo Bucciante, head of the military medical commission for war pensions, criticized exactly that: Bucciante, ‘Infortunati civili di guerra’ part I, Giornale di Medicina militare, July–August 1945; Alfredo Bucciante, ‘Infortunati civili di guerra da ordigni esplosivi’, Giornale di Medicina militare, March–April 1947.

^37. ANVCG, II, 30341, Procurator’s Conclusions on Recourse n. 221264 of Amerigo A. on behalf of his daughter Giuliana, 11 February 1950.

^38. ANVCG, II, 30527, Recourse by Egidio D. to the Corte dei conti, 30 September 1948.

^39. ANVCG, II, 51611, Recourse of Giuseppina G. to the Corte dei conti. n.d.

^40. ANVCG, II, 51609, Recourse of Aldo B. to the special war pensions section, Corte dei conti, 4 January 1950.

^41. Alfredo Bucciante, ‘Infortunati civili di guerra da ordigni esplosivi’, Giornale di Medicina militare, March-April 1947, 144–155.

^42. ANVCG, II, 51686, Conclusions of the procurator on recourse n. 232892 of Cesare C., 14 May 1952.

^43. ANVCG, II, 54558, Attilio C. to the Corte dei conti, 26 October 1949.

^44. Corte dei conti, section II, decision of 7 July 1947, Il foro italiano, 1947, part III, 244–245.

^45. Atti Parlamentari, Senate, Session of 13 June 1950, 17201.

^46. Law n. 1784, 26 October 1952, Norms to save Italian children from explosions by instruments of war.

^47. Corte dei conti, Section II, decision of 5 June 1948, Il foro italiano, 1948, part III, 227.

^48. Corte dei conti, Section II, decision of 12 July 1948, Il foro italiano, part III, 66–67.

^49. ANVCG, II, 23292, Recourse of Maria S. in L., Siena 1 June 1948.

^50. ANVCG, I, 663, Recourse of Vittorio V. on behalf of Bartolomeo V. to the Corte dei conti, 25 October 1948.

^51. Law N. 648, 10 August 1950, The Reordering of the dispositions regarding war pensions.

^52. See Annex A to Law N. 648/1950.

^53. ANVCG, III, 212, Ettore Villa to Bergamo Provincial Section, 26 August 1950.

^54. ANVCG, II, 38395, Request 246655, Conclusions of the Representative Procurator to the Public Ministry, 17 February 1954.

^55. ANVCG, I, 144, Conclusions of the Representative Procurator General to the Corte dei conti, Recourse. 209071, 9 January 1952.

^56. Atti Parlamentari, Senate, Discussions, 16 June 1950, 17383–17385.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fabio De Ninno

Fabio De Ninno is Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the University of Siena. Among his works Civili nella Guerra totale. Una storia complessa. 1940–1945 (2019); Piero Pieri. Il pensiero e lo storico militare (2019) and Fascisti sul mare. La Marina e gli ammiragli di Mussolini (2017). E-Mail: [email protected]