by Roberto Spazzali
The fight against fascism in Venezia Giulia had a
completely different development compared to the rest of Italy. Given that the
region was divided into two occupation zones - one under anglo-American
influence, the other under Yugoslav influence - a double “cleansing” operation
was carried out between 1945 and 1948. In the A Zone (Trieste, Gorizia and
Pula) it aimed at restoring democracy and national reconciliation. In the B
Zone the goal was the transformation of the social and political roles in
preparation for the future annexation to Yugoslavia.
In Venezia Giulia the civil and military authorities
decided to act independently and followed their own evaluation methods of the
possible criminal acts.
Fascism, persecutions of Slavic populations, racial laws,
the war of aggression, Istrian massacres in the autumn of 1943, nazi
deportations during the twenty-month-occupation, massacres by the Yugoslav
forces in May and June of 1945, all this had to be analyzed along with another
painful chapter dealing with the behaviour patterns of an entire society
belonging to a border region, where national, political and social tension in
the post-war period could not be undervalued or simplified. And yet everything
was simplified and presented as an inevitable phase in the transition to a post
war period. The priorities in the A zone were the necessity to restore the rule
of law and to erase rapidly any trace of fascism. In fact, only few sanctions
were passed, because the main focus was not on the regime itself, but rather on
its political actions, like racial laws or the civil war. In the B Zone the
“Poteri Popolari” (People’s Powers) movement seized the opportunity presented
by the “cleansing operations” to justify the massacres of May 1945 and to
remove the Italian ruling class in Istria from their posts, thus conditioning
the future leadership of the region - although each area set their own
criteria.
Furthermore, the Communist party of the Julian region
started thinking of a radical action against the fascist legacy, provided that
the Free Territory of Trieste would become a reality. However, the working
class of Trieste did not support the plan, which therefore did not go ahead.
In this research, based on unpublished documentation -
available for the first time for consultation - the Julian society of this
crucial period of the 20th century reveals an unexpected perspective.
See the appendix of this book or consult our website
to get the lists of the outcasts from the A and B Zones.
Taken from:
Epurazione di Frontiera 1945-48. Le ambigue sanzioni contro il fascismo nella Venezia Giulia.
I.R.C.I. - LEG, Gorizia, 2000
pages 408 ( 14 x 21 cm)