Istrian exodus

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The expression Istrian exodus or Istrian-dalmatian exodus is used to indicate the diaspora of ethnic Italians from Istria, Fiume and dalmatian Zara lands, who were under Italian rule since World War I according to the Treaty of Rapallo, 1920 and were assigned to Yugoslavia by the Paris Peace Treaty of February 10, 1947.

Different sources give figures ranging from 200,000 to 350,000 ethnic Italians who left the areas in the aftermath of the conflict.

Contents

[edit] Events

The event should be considered in the historical context of World War II and in the wake of the mass killings attributed to Yugoslav partisans during and shortly after World War II, in which the majority of victims were ethnic Italians.

Many episodes are controversial and can involve different interpretations and points of view. It is sufficiently sound to say that the episodes of mass killings, mainly due to retribution attacks by the local population, occurred partly under conditions of guerrilla fighting of Slovenian, Croatian and Italian partisans against Nazi Germany, the Italian Social Republic's troops and their local collaborators after the occupation of the territory by the communist Yugoslav partisan army. These events presumably happened with the full knowledge of resistance leaders, such as Josip Broz Tito and other anti-fascist leaders.

Killings may have included war crimes as well as civilian crimes of private or political retaliation. The mass killings might have been part of a plan of political cleansing, that is the elimination of potential enemies of the communist Yugoslav rule, including members of German and Italian fascist military units, Italian civil servants, Italian, Slovenian and Croatian anti-communists and that part of the Italian communities that supported the appartenance to Italy.

Some Italian sources claim that the situation was tantamount to ethnic cleansing. However, a significant part of the Slavic population had a very negative attitude towards Italians stereotyped as Fascist oppressors (partly rooted in the harsh conditions imposed upon them by the fascist regime), so ethnic tensions could have played some role as far as individual motivations are concerned.

Italian historians like Raoul Pupo, Roberto Spazzali, Guido Rumici and Arrigo Petacco have focussed on episodes of violence (including foibe mass killings, deportation and rapes) against ethnic Italians.[1]

A quote from the report of the mixed Italian-Slovenian commission succinctly describes the circumstances of the 1945 killings:

   
“
 14. These events were triggered by the atmosphere of settling accounts with the fascist violence; but, as it seems, they mostly proceeded from a preliminary plan which included several tendencies: endeavours to remove persons and structures who were in one way or another (regardless of their personal responsibility) linked with Fascism, with the Nazi supremacy, with collaboration and with the Italian state, and endeavours to carry out preventive cleansing of real, potential or only alleged opponents of the communist regime, and the annexation of Venezia Giulia to the new Yugoslavia. The initial impulse was instigated by the revolutionary movement which was changed into a political regime, and transformed the charge of national and ideological intolerance between the partisans into violence at the national level.
   
”

Fear of further retaliation, economic insecurity and the international political context that eventually led to the Iron Curtain resulted in approximately 300,000 people, mostly Italians, leaving the region. The London Memorandum of 1954 gave to the ethnic Italians the choice of either opting to leave (the so-called optants) or staying. These exiles were to be given compensation for their loss of property and other indemnity by the Italian state under the terms of the peace treaties.

Some famous postwar exiles from territories include actresses Alida Valli and Laura Antonelli, race driver Mario Andretti, singer Sergio Endrigo, boxer Nino Benvenuti, tennis player Orlando Sirola, stylist Ottavio Missoni.

[edit] Reparation

On February 18, 1983 Yugoslavia and Italy signed a treaty in Rome where Yugoslavia agreed to pay US$110 million for the compensation of the exiles' property which was confiscated after the war. Up to its breakup in 1991, Yugoslavia had paid US$18 million. Slovenia and Croatia, two Yugoslav successors, agreed to share the remainder of this debt. Slovenia assumed 62% and Croatia the remaining 38%. Italy did not want to reveal the bank account number so in 1994 Slovenia opened a fiduciary account at Dresdner Bank in Luxembourg, informed Italy about it and started paying its US$55,976,930 share. The last payment was due in January 2002. Until today, the solution of the matter between Croatia and Italy has been delayed.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Raoul Pupo, Il lungo esodo. Istria: le persecuzioni, le foibe, l'esilio, Rizzoli, 2005, ISBN 88-17-00562-2

[edit] References

  • Raoul Pupo, Il lungo esodo. Istria: le persecuzioni, le foibe, l'esilio, Rizzoli, 2005, ISBN 88-17-00562-2.
  • Raoul Pupo and Roberto Spazzali, Foibe, Mondadori, 2003, ISBN 978884249015 .
  • Guido Rumici, Infoibati, Mursia, Milano, 2002, ISBN 88-425-2999-0.
  • Arrigo Petacco, L'esodo. La tragedia negata degli italiani d'Istria, Dalmazia e Venezia Giulia, Mondadori, Milano, 1999.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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