52BRIDGEMANto battle. The First World War triggered a rationalisation of
medical procedures and practices, such as the reduction of evac-
uation times and the organisation of casualty clearing stations.
In truth, efforts to improve the physiological reconstruction of
the human body and the re-employment of the war disabled
were prompted by the economic and military need to preserve as
much manpower as possible.
The conflict had interrupted prewar channels of scientific
communication, sidelining Germany and restricting its tradi-
tional academic dominance. An inter-allied cooperation net-
work was established in part to supersede German knowledge
and expertise in orthopaedics, prosthetics and the “recycling of
the disabled” for efficient military and industrial use. After the
war, though, the situation changed once again.
The punitive terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which essen-
tially apportioned all blame for the conflict on Germany,
exposed the vengeful mood of the Allied leadership. Yet the
Treaty also advanced the case for internationalism, including as
it did the Covenant of the League of Nations and the creation of
the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Germany did not
become a member of the League of Nations till 1926, but the
ILO decided in its first annual meeting in October–November
1919 to admit Germany and Austria as member states.Cooperating after conflict
Disabled veterans, too, looked for new ways of cooperating –
and their international approach encompassed former enemynations. When Dante Dall’Ara, first president of Italy’s National
Association for the War Disabled (ANMIG), addressed the del-
egates in the plenary at the conference in Rome on 13 October
1919, he criticised the decisions taken in Versailles. He also de-
cried the fact that veterans from former enemy countries had
been excluded from participating in the conference.
Dall’Ara observed that the ideals for which the war had been
fought were inspired by human and social solidarity. His words
were echoed by Henri Le Clercq, president of the Belgium’s
National Federation for Disabled Veterans (FNI), who also
demanded that the war disabled be allowed to contribute to the
work of the CIP in collaboration with doctors and officeholders.
He suggested, too, that the CIP should be explicitly associated
with the League of Nations so that its recommendations would
be taken more seriously by governments.
The CIP continued its work for a few more years. The last
inter-allied conference on this topic was held in Ljubljana,
Zagreb and Belgrade in Yugoslavia (officially the Kingdom
of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) in 1922. By that time, though,
disagreements had arisen among CIP members about the rela-
tionship of the committee with the League of Nations and about
its enlargement to include defeated countries. Its effectiveness
was declining, and it ceased to operate in 1924.
Meanwhile, building on the network of contacts developed
during the inter-allied conferences, veterans formed a trans-
national organisation, the Inter-allied Veterans’ Federation
(FIDAC) in 1920. It was intended exclusively for groups fromVeterans mark victory
Jean Galtier-Boissière’s painting
depicts wounded ex-soldiers leading
the Victory Day parade along Paris’s
Champs-Élysées on 14 July 1919Disabled WW1 veteransИЗП
ОДГОТОВИЛАГРDisabled veterans, too, looked for new ways of cooperating – РDisabled veterans, too, looked for new ways of cooperating –
and their international approach encompassed former enemyР
and their international approach encompassed former enemyDisabled veterans, too, looked for new ways of cooperating – Disabled veterans, too, looked for new ways of cooperating – Disabled veterans, too, looked for new ways of cooperating – Disabled veterans, too, looked for new ways of cooperating – Disabled veterans, too, looked for new ways of cooperating – Disabled veterans, too, looked for new ways of cooperating – УУПП
Disabled veterans, too, looked for new ways of cooperating – Disabled veterans, too, looked for new ways of cooperating – АА"What'sNews"and their international approach encompassed former enemy
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