The fight against Fascism and Nazism during the Second World War gave rise to a strong "desire for Europe": a desire for a united, peaceful, democratic Europe. In many countries, there was a flowering of movements, actions, newspapers and constitutional projects in which the vision of the "United States of Europe" was an essential element, enriching the Resistance with a new, profound and lasting political and historical dimension. By interpreting the changes that the Second World War generated, the Europeanists and federalist forerunners of the times mentioned in this volume were able to identify, ahead of their time, the basis for the construction of the new united Europe and, with it, a new peaceful and democratic international order.

Robert Belot, Full Professor of Contemporary History (Jean Monnet University, Saint-Etienne, France), holds the Jean Monnet Chair European Heritage Policies. He coordinates the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's Degree DYCLAM +. His latest publication is Résistance et conscience européenne. Henri Frenay, de Gaulle et les communistes, 1940-1947 (2021). Daniela Preda is Full Professor of Contemporary History in the Department of Political Science at the University of Genoa and Jean Monnet Chair ad personam in History and Politics of European Integration. She is Director of the inter-university research Center on the History of Federalism and European Integration. Her publications include Alcide De Gasperi European Founding Father (Peter Lang 2017).