South Tyrol Option Agreement
The South Tyrol Option Agreement (
The upcoming decision led to tumultuous upheavals in the local society. A decisive role was played by the Völkischer Kampfring, a local Nazi group, with its successful propagandistic appeals to the German "nationality" and "ethnicity" of South Tyroleans, and its terror acts against dissenters. Another key aspect was the spreading of fake rumors about an allegedly planned deportation of the "remainers" by the Italian government. Roughly 70% opted to move to Germany.
Background
The region of South Tyrol had been a place of contending claims and conflict between German nationalism and Italian nationalism. One of the leading founders of Italian nationalism, Giuseppe Mazzini, along with Ettore Tolomei, counterfactually claimed that the German-speaking South Tyrolian population were in fact mostly a Germanicized population of Roman origin who needed to be "liberated and returned to their rightful culture".[1]
The southern part of
Between 1928 and 1939 various
The geopolitical situation changed radically following the incorporation of Austria into the German Reich in 1938. Mussolini, who could safely ignore grievances regarding his treatment of a German-speaking minority as long as his country's German-speaking neighbour was a weak Austria, now had a powerful regime with the explicit aim of incorporating all ethnic Germans into one Reich on his border. Mussolini did not wish to annoy Hitler, but at the same time not afford to be seen by his own people as anything less than an equal partner in relations with Germany. For his part, Hitler also placed sufficient value maintaining friendly relations with Mussolini to avoid pursuing irredentist claims against Italy. From the Nazi point of view, sacrificing South Tyrol was a relatively small price to pay in exchange for securing Italian support in pursuit of German claims elsewhere, starting with the Sudetenland before incorporating formerly German territories in Poland and ultimately vast territories in the east.
Option for Germany
In June 1939, the Nazi regime in Germany and the fascist regime in Italy signed the Option Agreement.[3]
On 21 October 1939,
Around 70% of the population opted for emigration; they were called Optanten and banded together in the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Optanten für Deutschland (Association of Optants for Germany). Those who chose to stay, called Dableiber, mainly banded together around local
The Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Optanten für Deutschland (ADO) (German for "Association of optants for Germany") was an association for German-speakers who had chosen to emigrate to Germany rather than stay in South Tyrol. The association was founded on 30 January 1940. Peter Hofer took leadership of the Association.[2]
German occupation
In September 1943, the
Though, the relocation of people and the complete Italianization of the area were never fully accomplished.
Aftermath
Only a third of the people who had actually emigrated returned to the area in 1945. Despite Austrian efforts, South Tyrol remained part of Italy after World War II, and many chose to take up Italian citizenship after the Gruber–De Gasperi Agreement of September 1946. It was named after the foreign minister of Austria (Karl Gruber) and the prime minister of Italy (Alcide De Gasperi) and agreed on Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol to remain part of Italy ensuring its autonomy. Those who returned had to register both themselves and their children, and they had to prove, by means of a birth certificate, that they had the right to Italian citizenship.
After 1945, no ADO leaders were tried for the crimes (Peter Hofer was killed during an Allied bombing raid). Only recently have historians started to examine this period in the history of South Tyrol.
According to the 2001 census, more than two-thirds (69.4%) of the population of the province still speak German, 26.3% Italian and 4.3% Ladin as their mother language.[6]
See also
- German as a minority language
- Italia irredenta
References
- ^ Jens Woelk, Francesco Palermo, Joseph Marko (2008). Tolerance Through Law: Self Governance and Group Rights In South Tyrol. Leiden, Netherlands: Koninlijke Brill NV, p. 5.
- ^ ISBN 978-88-95523-35-4.
- ISSN 0018-246X.
- ^ Steininger, Rolf (2003). Südtirol – Vom Ersten Weltkrieg bis zur Gegenwart. Innsbruck: Studienverlag, pp. 50-51.
- ISBN 978-3-0343-2240-9
- ^ Oscar Benvenuto (ed.): "South Tyrol in Figures 2008", Provincial Statistics Institute of the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol, Bozen/Bolzano 2007, p. 19, Table 11
Sources
- C. F. Latour (1965). "Germany, Italy and South Tyrol, 1938–45", The Historical Journal, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 95–111.
- Klaus Eisterer, Rolf Steininger (ed.). "Die Option. Südtirol zwischen Faschismus und Nationalsozialismus", Innsbrucker Forschungen zur Zeitgeschichte, Vol. 5 (1989), Haymon Verlag, Innsbruck.
- Stefan Lechner (2012). "Die Erste Option: die Vergabe der italienischen Staatsbürgerschaft an die Südtiroler in Folge der Annexion 1920." In Hannes Obermair, Stephanie Risse, Carlo Romeo (eds.). Regionale Zivilgesellschaft in Bewegung. Festschrift für Hans Heiss (= Cittadini innanzi tutto). Folio Verlag, Vienna-Bozen 2012. ISBN 978-3-85256-618-4, pp. 219–36.
- ISBN 3-492-12133-0
- Hannes Obermair (2021). "Großdeutschland ruft!" Südtiroler NS-Optionspropaganda und völkische Sozialisation – "La Grande Germania chiamaǃ" La propaganda nazionalsocialista sulle Opzioni in Alto Adige e la socializzazione 'völkisch' (in German and Italian). ISBN 978-88-95523-36-1.
- Hannes Obermair (2021). The South Tyrolean Option—a Brief Overview. In Anja Manfredi, The South Tyrolean Housing Estate, or the Memory of the Houses, the Plants, and the Birds. Vienna, Schlebrügge Editor, 2021, ISBN 978-3-903172-74-6, pp. 123–7.
- Rolf Steininger (1997). "23. Juni 1939 – Gehen oder bleiben? Die Option in Südtirol", Österreich im 20. Jahrhundert, Vol. 2, Böhlau, Vienna, pp. 217–57.
External links
- The South Tyrol Option Agreement as an example of Forced Migration in the 20th Century
- (in German) 23. Juni 1939: Die Vereinbarung über die Umsiedlung, Meeting of Himmler and the Italian ambassador in Berlin
- (in German) Chronik zur Geschichte Südtirols 1905–1998 Chronology, leaflets since August 1939
- (in German) Bevölkerungsentwicklung in Südtirol Population 1940–2000 (PDF)
- (in German) Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker: Option – Anlaß zur Brüderlichkeit, Solidarität mit den Opfern heutiger ethnischer Säuberungen. 60th anniversary in 1999