- Italianization
Italianization is a term used to describe a process of
cultural assimilation in which ethnically non- or partially-Italian people or territory become Italian. The process can be voluntary or forced. It also refers to the sphere oflinguistics where foreign words are absorbed into Italian.Fascist Italianisation
Fascist Italianization was the violent and systematic process of assimilation by which, between 1924 and 1945,
Benito Mussolini 'sFascist government forced foreign populations living in Italy to assume the Italian language and culture, and worked to erase any traces of the existence of other nations on the territory of Mussolini's Italy.This program of Italianization aimed to suppress the native non-Italian populations living in Italy, including the French minority in the
Piedmont -Aosta Valley and the Albanians in Southern Italy, as well as areas annexed afterWorld War I , whereItalians were a minority. The program was later extended to areas annexed duringWorld War II . The affected populations wereSlovenes andCroats in theJulian March ,Lastovo andZadar ; between 1941 and 1943 theGorski Kotar and coastalDalmatia ; German-speakers in South Tyrol, parts ofFriuli and theJulian March , Francoprovençal-speaking peoples in theAosta Valley , as well asGreeks , Turks andJews on theDodecanese islands.Istria
After World War I, under the 1920 Treaty of Rapallo between the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and the Kingdom of Italy, Italy obtained almost all of Istria withTrieste . Under the 1924 Treaty of Rome Italy tookRijeka as well, which had been planned to become an independent state.In these areas, there was a forced policy of Italianization of the population in the 1920s and 1930s [http://www.drcar-murko.si/en/vsbina.php?id=11] . Even during the brief preliminary period of occupation (1918-1920) Italy had begun a policy of assimilation of Croats and Slovenes. This resulted in the closure of the classical lyceum in Pazin, of the high school in Voloska (1918), the closure of the Slovenian and Croatian primary schools and the exile of some distinguished Croats and Slovenians to
Sardinia and to other places in Italy. In addition, there were acts of fascist violence not hampered by the authorities, such as the torching of the "Narodni dom" (National House) in Pula and Trieste carried out at night by Fascists with the connivance of the police (July 13, 1920). The situation deteriorated further after the annexation of theJulian March , especially afterMussolini came to power (1922). The official policy of cleansing other nationalities was under no international restraint, as Italy had not given any undertaking about the rights of minorities in either the peace treaties or the Rapallo treaty.In Istria the use of Croatian and Slovene languages in the administration and in the courts had already been restricted during the occupation (1918-1920). In March 1923 the prefect of the
Julian March prohibited the use of Croatian and Slovene in the administration, whilst their use in law courts was forbidden by Royal decree on 15 October 1925. The deathblow to the Slovenian and Croatian school system in Istria was delivered on 1 October 1923 with the scholastic reform of ministerGiovanni Gentile . The activities of Croatian and Slovenian societies and associations (Sokol, reading rooms, etc) had already been forbidden during the occupation, but specifically so later with the Law on Associations (1925), the Law on Public Demonstrations (1926) and the Law on Public Order (1926). All Slovenian and Croatian societies and sporting and cultural associations had to cease every activity in line with a decision of provincial fascist secretaries dated 12 June 1927. On a specific order from the prefect of Trieste on 19 November 1928 the Edinost political society was also dissolved. Croatian and Slovenian co-operatives in Istria, which at first were absorbed by the Pula or Trieste Savings Banks, were gradually liquidated [ [http://razor.arnes.si/~mkralj/istra-history/e-periodtotal.html A Historical Outline Of Istria ] ] .After this complete dissolution of all Slav political, cultural and economic organizations, armed resistance was organized against Italian rule (seeTIGR ), followed by new repression, which further embittered relations between the two communities.In 1927, Italian fascist minister for public works
Giuseppe Caboldi Gigli wrote inGerarchia magazine, a fascist publication, that "The Istrian muse named as foibas those places suitable for burial of enemies of the national [Italian] characteristics of Istria". The minister also added stanzas of a poem, written in dialect "A Pole xe arena, Foiba xe a Pizin" ("In Pula there is a coliseum, in Pazin foibas") ["Gerarchia", vol. IX, 1927: "La musa istriana ha chiamato Foiba degno posto di sepoltura per chi nella provincia d’Istria minaccia le caratteristiche nazionali dell’Istria"sr icon [http://www.ex-yupress.com/novi/novilist34.html ] [sr iconhttp://www.danas.co.yu/20050217/dijalog1.html] [it icon http://www.lavocedifiore.org/SPIP/article.php3?id_article=1692] [it iconhttp://www.osservatoriobalcani.org/article/articleview/3901/1/176/] [it icon http://www.laregione.ch/interna.asp?idarticolo=105997&idtipo=91] .Under the program non-Italians were forced to attend
Italian language schools and to use only the Italian language in public places including churches.Slovenian and Croatian institutions, were vandalized, as were German cultural institutions. Libraries and the media were closed. Croatian, Slovenian, German and Frenchtoponyms were systematically translated and immigration of Italians from otherregions of Italy was encouraged.Julian March and Italian Dalmatia
Most non-Italians resisted these policies as far as possible, sometimes with the support of local Catholic clergy of the same origin. Some Slovenes and Croatians willingly accepted Italianization as a compromise required in order to gain full status as Italian citizens and favour upward social mobility.
Lojze Bratuž , a Slovene choirmaster who led severalSlovenian language churchchoir s and resisted the persecution of Slovenes in the area aroundGorizia , was arrested on December 27, 1936, tortured and forced to drink petrol and engine oil [An article fromRTV Slovenia entitled '70 years since the death of Lojze Bratuž'. The fourth paragraph reads "Fatality 27.12.1936. Fascists seized Bratuž on December 27, 1936, after a mass at which he had led the choir. They took him to a nearby building, where he was forced to drink petrol and engine oil" ("Usodni 27.12.1936Fašisti so Bratuža prijeli 27. decembra leta 1936 po maši, pri kateri je vodil pevski zbor. Odpeljali so ga v bližnjo stavbo, kjer so ga prisilili, da je pil bencin in strojno olje". See http://www.rtvslo.si/kultura/modload.php?&c_mod=rnews&op=sections&func=read&c_menu=4&c_id=37339] .In 1926, claiming that it was restoring surnames to their original Italian form, the Italian government announced the Italianization of German, Slovene and Croatian surnames, giving this program open legislative form, adding further pressure to these ethnic groups. [Regio decreto legge 10 Gennaio 1926, n. 17: Restituzione in forma italiana dei cognomi delle famiglie della provincia di Trento] [Hrvoje Mezulić-Roman Jelić: O Talijanskoj upravi u Istri i Dalmaciji 1918-1943.: nasilno potalijančivanje prezimena, imena i mjesta, Dom i svijet, Zagreb, 2005., ISBN 953-238-012-4 ] . There was no exception for first names.
School certificates were no longer issued in languages other than Italian, schools in other languages were closed and school programs in other languages were abolished. Use of other languages was systematically forbidden.
The Italian administration encouraged the removal of Slavic populations to
Puglia andCalabria in southern Italy and East Africa. Italians from Southern Italy were encouraged to populateIstria andZadar . Italian teachers were brought to elementary schools and kindergartens.Dodecanese
The policy also affected the inhabitants of the
Dodecanese islands, conquered by Italy in 1912. Although the islands were overwhelmingly Greek-speaking, with by a relatively small Turkish-speaking minority and an even smaller Ladino-speakingJew ish minority (with few Italian speakers), schools were required to teach in Italian, and the Greek Orthodox religion of most of the inhabitants was strongly discouraged. These measures caused a good deal of Greek emigration from the islands, replaced by a moderate amount of Italian immigration.Venezia Tridentina (Bolzano)
Under the 1939
Alto Adige Option Agreement ,Hitler and Mussolini determined the status of Germans living in theVenezia Tridentina in theprovince of Bolzano . They could emigrate toGermany or theGreater German Reich 's territory in theCrimea , or stay in Italy and accept their complete Italianization. As a consequence of this, South Tyrolean society was deeply riven. Those who wanted to stay, the so-called "Dableiber", were condemned as traitors while those who left ("Optanten") were defamed asNazis . Because of the outbreak of theWorld War II , this agreement was never fully implemented. IllegalKatakombenschulen ("Catacomb schools") were set up to teach children theGerman language .The Second World War
During the
Second World War Italy occupied almost all ofDalmatia , and the Italian government made stringent efforts to Italianize the region. Among other things, it was forbidden to listen to any radio station in Croatian, and those doing so risked being identified as an enemy of the state and executed. Croats and Slovenes were not allowed to buy land or property, and drastic measures were enacted to ensure that. [Josip Grbelja: Talijanski genocid u Dalmaciji - konclogor Molat, Udruga logoraša antifašista u talijanskom Koncentracijskom logoru Molat : Regoč, Zagreb, 2004., ISBN 953-6813-01-7 ] The program was implemented byItalo Sauro , son ofNazario Sauro and personal counselor toBenito Mussolini for Italianization.
Italian occupying forces were accused of commiting war crimes in order to transform occupied territories into ethnic Italian territories. [ [http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/issuedetails.aspx?issueid=990541c2-46f4-4c51-a191-16e03a64a65b&articleid=cbfd7ebc-ed2c-46a5-a4c6-6a27b7e7662b#acbfd7ebc-ed2c-46a5-a4c6-6a27b7e7662b Review of Croatian History Issue no.1 /2005] Z. Dizdar: Italian Policies Toward Croatians In Occupied Territories During The Second World War ] .
The Italian government operated many concentration and internment camps [ [http://www.giorgiobassani.it/list%20of%20concentration%20camps.htm Elenco Dei Campi Di Concentramento Italiani ] ] for Slavic citizens, such asRab concentration camp and one on the island ofMolat . Survivors received no compensation from Italy after the war.Mario Roatta was the commander of the 2nd Italian Army inYugoslavia and to suppress the mounting resistance led by the Partisans adopted tactics of "summary executions, hostage-taking, reprisals, internments and the burning of houses and villages" [ [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/rmis/2004/00000009/00000003/art00005 IngentaConnect General Roatta's war against the partisans in Yugoslavia: 1942 ] ] , for which after the war the Yugoslav government sought unsuccessfully to have him extradited for war crimes. He was quoted as saying "Non dente per dente, ma testa per dente" ("Not a tooth for tooth but a head for a tooth"), while GeneralMario Robotti , Commander of the Italian 11th division in Slovenia and Croatia was quoted as saying "Si ammazza troppo poco" ("There are not enough killings") in 1942 [ [http://www.libreriauniversitaria.it/si-ammazza-troppo-poco-crimini/libro/9788804551294 «Si ammazza troppo poco». I crimini di guerra italiani. 1940-43 - Oliva Gianni - Mondadori - Libro ] ] [ [http://www.bol.it/libri/scheda/ea978880456404.html «Si ammazza troppo poco». I crimini di guerra italiani 1940-1943, Gianni Oliva, Mondadori - 2007 - libri - BOL ] ] [ [http://www.unilibro.it/find_buy/Scheda/libreria/autore-oliva_gianni/sku-12356598/si_ammazza_troppo_poco_i_crimini_di_guerra_italiani_1940_1943_.htm «Si ammazza troppo poco». I crimini di guerra italiani 1940-1943 Oliva Gianni ] ] [ [http://mondediplo.com/1999/05/08francesco Sixty years of ethnic cleansing, by Tommaso Di Francesco and Giacomo Scotti ] ] .ee also
*
Cultural assimilation
*Linguicide
*Italia irredenta
*Alto Adige Option Agreement
*Prontuario dei nomi locali dell'Alto Adige
*TIGR References
External links
*hr icon [http://hakave.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=197&Itemid=159 Portal Hrv. kulturnog vijeća]
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