Mutilati ed Invalidi di Guerra: una Storia Politica. Il Caso Modenese

After World War I, millions of men went back from the war front promised of land, work and social justice, but their expectations were unfulfilled by the governments of European countries. In this context, the political landscape was enriched of new ideas, and several new parties, movements and associations born across Europe. In Italy, ANMIG (Disabled Ex-Servicemen National Association) was founded in 1917 by disabled ex-­officers; supported by the state, its scope was to establish employment, recovery services and legalassistance to disabled ex­servicemen. In November 1918, counting on hundreds of thousands ofmembers, ANMIG spread the Manifesto to the Country (Manifesto al Paese) that contained political, social and economic program of renewal for the whole country, based on the keywords of work, education and peace: it represented the first definition of the combattentismo movement. Since then, political parties understood the potential of the veterans, and started to engage themselves in a quest for hegemony over them. Having become a mere instrument of propaganda under fascism, ANMIG regained its authonomy in democratic Italy, and since then it aims at supporting its members and in taking part in several activities sponsored by itself and by other associations of civil society. This book analyses the birth and life of the ANMIG section based in the city of Modena, focusing on i) ANMIG quest for hegemony in the field of combattentismo; ii) ANMIG as instrument of fascist propaganda; iii) ANMIG vision and activities in democratic Italy.