ROME - The Italian National Partisan Association (ANPI) is still as well-supported as ever despite the changing face of its membership, statistics published by Il Messaggero newspaper showed on Italy’s Liberation Day.

 As April 25 drew near, ANPI prepared to uphold the work its forefathers did in the Second World war years, fighting against Mussolini and Nazi Germany, by rising up against the nascent fascism many perceive to be taking root in modern society.

 The partisan movement swelled in the final years of the war, and on the day liberation was declared, 25 April 1945, it had an estimated circa 130,000 members.

 Recent statistics have now brought to light that, coincidentally, today’s membership is virtually identical in size to that of ANPI in 1945.  

 However, while the size of the group is now analogous, the face of ANPI has changed substantially in the intervening years.

 After all, members of ANPI in 1945 in their thirties at the time would have to be alive and more than 110 years of age to still appertain to the group today.

 ANPI is now seen as a partisan group without partisans, albeit fighting for a partisan cause.

 Many have, in fact, suggested the group is now primarily a political party, a far stretch from the defiant army that sought to tear down Fascism.

 Membership today is made up primarily of youths in their 20s and middle-aged adults who sign up to ensure Fascism stays at bay.

 As the group prepares to celebrate Liberation Day, its fight is not so much against oppressive right-wing forces or as a means to keep the partisan legacy alive, but rather to make sure fascism as a term and movement grows ever more diluted and detached from modern life, Messaggero noted.

 jp-ea