Tag: Habsburgs

The Tyrolean Genocide

Published on by The Imperial Traditionalist3 Comments

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Although there were indeed a great many genocides in the twentieth century, most focus is given to the Holocaust, with a somewhat lesser focus given to the Rwandan Genocide, The Armenian Genocide, and occasionally the Holodomor in Ukraine. One of the many forgotten genocides is the genocide which occurred in the South Tyrol.

 

The origins of this tragedy lie in the irredentist aspirations of the Kingdom of Italy, a Kingdom which had come into being only through the viciously aggressive policies of the Savoy Kings of Piedmont-Sardinia, running roughshod over dozens of other kingdoms in their self-centered dreams of a single Italy, which is a foolish a notion as that of a single Germany. The Savoys had enamored themselves of the notion that all land up to the Brenner Pass, along with the Austrian Crown Lands of Istria and Littoral were Italian, and were willing to do nearly anything to obtain these lands, regardless of the opinions of those who lived there. For part of these lands claimed by Italy, was the South Tyrol, the southernmost portion of the very heartland of Austria, a land that had been Austrian for nearly eight hundred years. The Tyrolese had long been among the most loyal subjects of the Habsburg monarchs and, when Napoleon Bonaparte, in his infinite hubris, had sold the land of Tyrol to the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Tyrolese rose in valiant revolt, led by the great Andreas Hofer. Many a Tyrolean had shed his blood for, as Andreas Hofer said before he was to be executed by the French, “Gott, Kaiser, und Vaterland”. The Savoys however, whether out of pride, ignorance, or hatred, cared not for this. They would have their land, and cared not for the what the Tyrolean people felt.

Italy’s chance finally came with the Great War. Despite Italy’s alliance with Germany and Austria, she entered into (illegal) secret negotiations with the Entente, promising to betray her allies in exchange for the lands she coveted. The Entente eagerly agreed, and on May 24th, 1915, Italy’s perfidy became complete as the first shots were fired upon Austria-Hungary. Four years later, the war was over, the Central Powers having been defeated. Although Italy did not gain all the lands she had been promised, she had gained the South Tyrol, all the way north to the Brenner Pass. When Mussolini rose to power six years later, Italy would begin a systematic program to wipe out Tyrolean culture.

Before we begin to look into the genocide itself, we must define genocide. Raphael Lemkin, the man who invented the term “genocide” and is responsible for its legal definition today defined genocide as follows:

“Genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation” . . . “It is intended to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves.The objectives of such a plan would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups.”

Today, the United Nations Genocide Conventions legally defines genocide as follows:

(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Now with this in mind, let us look at what Italy did in the South Tyrol.

In 1923, three years after South Tyrol had been formally annexed, Italian place names, almost entirely based on the “Prontuario dei nomi locali dell’Alto Adige”, were made official. The very name “Tyrol” was banned, likewise the words “Tyrolean” and “South Tyrolean”. German newspapers, publishing houses, organized clubs and associations, including the South Tyrolean Alpine Club had to be renamed. The basis for these actions was a manifesto published by Ettore Tolomei, called the Provvedimenti per l’Alto Adige (“Measures for the Alto Adige”), which laid down the following principles as the basis for the Italian plans for cultural genocide in the South Tyrol.

 

  • Association of Alto Adige (South Tyrol) and Trentino in a single province with the capital city of Trento.
  •  Appointment of Italian municipal secretaries.
  •  Revision of the (citizenship) options and closure of the Brenner border for all persons to whom the Italian citizenship was not granted.
  • Entry and residence difficulties for Germans and Austrians.
  • Prevention of German immigration.
  • Revision of the census of 1921.
  • Introduction of Italian as the official language.
  • Dismissal of German officials or transfer to the old provinces (i.e. pre-war Italian provinces).
  • Dissolution of the “Deutscher Verband” (German association).
  • Dissolution of Alpine associations not under command of the Italian Alpine Club,transfer of all Alpine refuges to the Italian Alpine Club.
  • Prohibition of the name “Südtirol” and “Deutsch-Südtirol”.
  • Closure of the newspaper published in Bozen “Der Tiroler”.
  • Italianization of German local names.
  • Italianization of public inscriptions.
  • talianization of road and pathnames.
  • Italianization of the German surnames.
  • Removal of the Walther von der Vogelweide monument from the Walther Square in Bozen.
  • Increasing of Carabinieri troops (in the province) under the exclusion of Germans.
  • Preferential treatment for land acquisition and immigration of Italians.
  • Non-interference by foreign powers in South Tyrolean affairs.
  • Elimination of German banks, establishment of an Italian mortgage Bank.
  • Establishment of border customs offices in Sterzing and Toblach.
  • Generous support of the Italian language and culture.
  • Establishment of Italian nursery and primary schools.
  • Establishment of Italian secondary schools.
  • Strict control of foreign university diplomas.
  • Expansion of the “Istituto di Storia per l’Alto Adige” (Institute for the history of Alto Adige).
  • Realignment of the territory of the Diocese of Brixen and strict control of clergy activity.
  • Using only Italian in trials and court.
  • State control of the Chamber of Commerce and the agricultural authorities (Corporazioni).
  • Extensive programs for new rail junctions to facilitate the Italianization of Alto Adige (rail projects Milan-Mals, Veltlin-Brenner, Agordo-Brixen).
  • Increase military garrisons in Alto Adige.

In October 1923, Italian became the mandatory language in all levels of government, and regulations by the fascist authorities required that all kinds of signs and public notices had to be in Italian only, and all maps had to use only Italian place names. In September 1925, Italian became the sole language permitted in courts of law, meaning that any Tyrolean who did no speak Italian could not go to court. In 1928, Italian became the only language used in schools, with Tyrolean children being forced to learn Italian, and German speaking teachers being fired. The German language was only kept alive in Tyrol thanks to illegal  Katakombenschulen, or “catacomb schools”, which were secret schools set up by the Tyroleans. German books had to be smuggled into the country. Much of the organization of the catacomb schools was done under the protection of the Catholic Church.

 

We can see in the Italian government’s policies a clear intent to destroy the native culture of the South Tyrol, and as such, the so-called “Italianization Programs” should be recognized as a genocide. Furthermore, the governments of the world should support the reunion of the South Tyrol with Austrian Tyrol, as the South Tyrolese people were, without regard for their own wishes, forcibly seperated from the rest of the Tyrol and from Austria, and were subjected to a cultural genocide and brutally repressed by the Italian Government.

Saint Joseph and Saint George, Patrons of the Tyrol, pray for us!

May the memory of the courage and loyalty of Andreas Hofer never fade!

 

( I would greatly appreciate it if people would re-blog this. I would usually not ask this, but I feel that there needs to be a greater awareness of what happened in the South Tyrol. Thanks!)

 

An Ideal Peace

Published on by The Imperial TraditionalistLeave a comment

What if the victorious allies in the Great War, had not been vicious, vengeful and blinded by nationalistic passion? What would have a good peace look like? Well, that is what I shall attempt to answer in this blog post. An ideal peace, while still remaining somewhat realistic. I will call it the Treaty of Lucerne.

~The Treaty of Lucerne~

  1. Germany will be partitioned into the 26 constituent states of the Former German Empire. (The Kingdom of Prussia, The Kingdom of Bavaria, The Kingdom of Saxony, The Kingdom of Württemberg, The Grand Duchy of Baden, The Grand Duchy of Hesse, The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, The Grand Duchy of Saxony, The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, The Duchy of Brunswick, The Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, The Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, The Duchy of Anhalt, The Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, The Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, The Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, The Principality of Reuss-Greiz, The Principality of Reuss-Gera, The Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, The Principality of Lippe, The Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck, The Free and Hanseatic City of Bremen and The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, in case you were wondering.) The German States may not unify again under Prussia, but are not barred from forming a German Confederation in the future, but may not do so for the next 25 years and said confederation may not be lead by Prussia.
  2. In order to weaken Prussia, Silesia is partitioned to Austria-Hungary and Prussian Saxony is given to The Kingdom of Saxony.
  3. The Treaty of London is disregarded, since it was made in secret, furthermore, Italy’s treachery will not be rewarded.
  4. Plebiscites will be held in Alsace, Lorraine, Schleswig and Holstein to decide whether these regions will remain in Germany.
  5. Austria-Hungary is reorganized as a confederation of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Croatia and Bosnia.
  6. The House of Karađorđević must pay reparations to Austria for supporting the Black Hand, acknowledge their guilt for starting the war and issue a former statement of apology to Austria-Hungary, The House of Habsburg and the world.
  7. Prussia must pay reparations to Belgium for invading a neutral country and for war crimes against the Belgian people and to the House of Romanov for sending Lenin to Russia.
  8. Thrace is given to Greece.
  9. Independant Armenian, Assyrian and Pontic Greek States are to be created.
  10. Poland is to be restored as a monarchy.
  11. The House of Karađorđević is to be deposed, and the Serbian throne given to the House of Obrenović, the rightful rulers of Serbia.
  12. Germany’s colonies are to be divided amongst the German States. If they are unable to be maintained by the German States, they are to be divided between Great Britain, France and Austria.
  13. Ukraine is to be recognized as an independant Kingdom lead by Archduke Wilhelm von Habsburg (AKA Basil the Embroidered) .
  14. The South Tyrol and Istria are to remain Austrian.
  15. The Ottoman possessions in Arabia, Jordan and Iraq are to be merged to create an Arab Kingdom ruled by the Hashemites.