One of the enduring myths about World War Two is that only the Allies liberated occupied Europe. Many countries had anti-fascist Resistance movements, and Italy's was one of the biggest and most politically radical yet it remains relatively unknown outside of its own homeland.

Within Italy many plaques and streets commemorate the actions of the partisans - a movement from below that grew as Mussolini's dictatorship unravelled. Led by radical left forces, the Resistance trod a thin line between fighting their enemies at home and maintaining an uneasy working relationship with the Allies.

Essential for courses on World War Two and European history, Tom Behan uses unpublished archival material and interviews with surviving partisans to tell an inspiring story of liberation.

Tom Behan (1957 - 2010) was Senior Lecturer in Italian Studies at the University of Kent. His books include Defiance: The Story of One Man Who Stood Up to the Sicilian Mafia (2008), See Naples & Die: The Camorra & Organised Crime (2009) and The Italian Resistance: Fascists, Guerrillas and The Allies (Pluto Press, 2009).

Abbreviations
Acknowledgements
Chronology
Part I
Introduction: The meaning of the Resistance; How this book is structured.
1. Midnight in the Century
2. The Mafia and street kids - how fascism fell in the South
3. People, parties and partisans
4. Resistance in the mountains
5. Resistance in the cities
6. 'Aldo says 26 for one'
7. Postwar partisan activity
8. The long liberation
Part II
9. Female fighters
10. The Partisan Republics
11. Organising 'terrorism'
12. An uneasy alliance
Conclusion
Notes
Index