Most of the contributions in this volume are from academics and intellectuals within the Province of Bolzano/Bozen who negotiate and discuss these issues through their native languages: German, Italian and Ladin. By making their research accessible through English translations and abstracts, this volume seeks to bring their work on historical and contemporary developments in South Tyrol to a wider European and global audience. Hannes Obermair is an historian, Head of the Civic Archives of Bozen-Bolzano and Lecturer in Contemporary History at the University of Innsbruck. His research areas include medieval history, historiography and fascism. Recently he participated in South Tyrol’s historians’ commission, which developed the contentious Monument to Victory in Bozen into a museum of contemporary history. ISBN 978-3-0343-2240-9 www.peterlang.com South Tyrolean Transformations, 1915–2015 Georg Grote and Hannes Obermair (eds) Georg Grote, Associate Professor at University College Dublin, researches nationalism and regionalism in Europe. He has published widely on Irish and South Tyrolean history. He is currently, in cooperation with the EURAC in Bozen/Bolzano, establishing a collection of private archival sources on twentieth-century South Tyrolean everyday life in Prösels Castle. A Land on the Threshold Edited by Georg Grote and Hannes Obermair Peter Lang Individually and collectively, the essays in this volume challenge the simplistic reading of South Tyrol as merely a geographic region torn between Germanic and Italian cultures; instead, they explore the dynamic effects of its geographical, political and cultural history since 1915. South Tyrol, as a modern regional state in Europe, faces many of the same problems as other European regions, be they individual states or sub-state regions. A Land on the Threshold Among the many commemorations of World War I, little was made of the 100th anniversary of the secret Treaty of London between Italy and the Western War Allies in April 1915, which sealed the fate of South Tyrol for the duration of the twentieth century by passing it from Austria to Italy. In May 2015, a symposium was held in the medieval Prösels Castle in the Italian Dolomites to mark this historical moment. Contributors set out to explore the political, social and cultural impact of South Tyrol’s existence ‘on the threshold’ during the twentieth century. 

A Land on the Threshold A Land on the Threshold South Tyrolean Transformations, 1915–2015 Edited by Georg Grote and Hannes Obermair PETER LANG Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbiblio­grafie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Control Number: 2016963047 Cover image: Prösels Castle near Völs am Schlern. Photograph by Georg Grote. Cover design: Peter Lang Ltd. ISBN 978-3-0343-2240-9 (print) • ISBN 978-1-78707-420-0 (ePDF) ISBN 978-1-78707-421-7 (ePub) • ISBN 978-1-78707-422-4 (mobi) © Peter Lang AG, International Academic Publishers, Bern 2017 Wabernstrasse 40, CH-3007 Bern, Switzerland info@peterlang.com, www.peterlang.com, www.peterlang.net All rights reserved. All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems. This publication has been peer reviewed. Printed in Germany Contents List of Figures ix Acknowledgementsxiii Georg Grote and Hannes Obermair Introduction: South Tyrol: Land on a Threshold. Really? part i History xv 1 Rolf Steininger 1 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols 3 Carlo Moos 2 Südtirol im St. Germain-Kontext 27 Nina F. Caprez 3 Economic Hurdles after the Great War: How the South Tyrol-based Swiss Monastery Muri-Gries Overcame an Existential Crisis 41 Sabine Mayr 4 The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran 53 vi part ii Historiography 77 Markus Wurzer 5 Genesis of the South Tyrolean Iconic Figure Sepp Innerkofler: Actors, Narrative, Functions 79 Georg Grote 6 Challenging the Zero-Hour Concept: Letters across Borders 101 Eva Pfanzelter 7 The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 part iii Society Today 119 145 Sarah Oberbichler 8 “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke”: Migration Discourse in Alto Adige and Dolomiten and their Coverage of the Bozen “Immigrant Barracks Camps” of the Early 1990s 147 Julia Tapfer 9 Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen: Vereine und Vereinigungen von Migrant_innen in Südtirol. Eine Gegenüberstellung der Donne Nissà, der Associazione Panalbanese Arbëria und der Rumänischen Gemeinde 173 Friederike Haupt 10 Beobachtungen aus musiksoziologischer Sicht 197 vii Bettina Schlorhaufer 11 Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style”: South Tyrol’s Successful Special Path 217 Gareth Kennedy 12  Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft (The Uncomfortable Science)239 part iv Border Stories 257 Johanna Mitterhofer 13 Border Stories: Negotiating Life on the Austrian– Italian border 259 Paolo Bill Valente 14 Sulla soglia. Leggende meranesi, storie di confine 275 Marta Villa 15 Identità e riconoscimento attraverso i culti della fertilità e il paesaggio agricolo nel Tirolo del Sud. Il case study della popolazione giovane maschile di Stilfs in Vinschgau part v Renegotiating Belonging 287 305 Antonio Elorza 16 Alsace, South Tyrol, Basque Country (Euskadi): Denationalization and Identity 307 Lucio Giudiceandrea and Aldo Mazza 17 Living Together is an Art 327 viii Hans Karl Peterlini 18 Between Stigma and Self-Assertion: Difference and Belonging in the Contested Area of Migration and Ethnicity 341 Barbara Angerer 19 Living Apart Together in South Tyrol: Are Institutional Bilingualism and Translation Keeping Language Groups Apart? 361 Siegfried Baur 20 Grenzregion Südtirol. Schwierigkeiten und Möglichkeiten einer Erziehung zur Mehrsprachigkeit für ein vielsprachiges Europa381 Chiara De Paoli 21 Redefining Categories: Construction, Reproduction and Transformation of Ethnic Identity in South Tyrol Notes on Contributors 395 409 Index415 Figures Figure 3.1: Places relevant to the monastery of Muri-Gries and its post-war history.  46 Figure 8.1: Argumentation patterns in Alto Adige (157 articles). 156 Figure 8.2: Argumentation patterns in Dolomiten (58 articles). 157 Figure 11.1: Villa Ultenhof after completion, around 1900. The representative estate and its historical garden still exist today. Photo: Archivio civico di Merano, sign. 16881. 227 Figure 11.2: Perspective of the Villa Ultenhof. This sketch was probably designed by the local artist Tony Grubhofer for Musch & Lun (see also Figure 11.3). Perspective: Musch & Lun Archive, Thomas Kinkelin, Merano. Graphic processing: Olaf Grawert. 228 Figure 11.3: Villa Hübel was published by Musch & Lun already in 1899, illustrated with a perspective which was created by the reknown local artist Tony Grubhofer (1854–1935). In: Der Architekt, Wiener Monatshefte für Bauwesen und decorative Kunst, 5th year (Vienna: 1899), p. 3 and table 5. 229 Figures 11.4, Villa Ultenhof, ground floor plan. The floor plan 11.5 and 11.6: of the Villa Ultenhof corresponds to a mainrequirement of the Anglo–American Picturesque. Floor plan: Musch & Lun Archive, Thomas Kinkelin, Merano. Graphic design: Olaf Grawert. 230–231 Figure 11.7: The original Ansitz Reichenbach was an elongated building in the narrow, sloping Reichenbachgasse (Reichenbach alley). Photo: Archivio civico di Merano, sign. 17431. 233 x Figure 11.8: Figures Schloss Reichenbach after conversion. Photo: F. Peter, 1905, Archivio civico di Merano, sign. 8207. 234 Figures 11.9 M  usch & Lun, conversion of Ansitz Reichenbach and 11.10: into Schloss Reichenbach. Plans: Musch & Lun, Archivio civico di Merano, sign. 17435d and 17435d, undated. 235 Figures 11.11 U  nfortunately a plan of Schloss Reichenbach’s and 11.12: south façade doesn’t exist. A reconstruction was made after a photomontage, 2015. Graphic design and photomontage: Olaf Grawert. 236 Figure 12.1: Mediathek. Production image at the Österreichische Mediathek, Vienna, featuring the Richard Wolfram film Egetmann in Tramin, colour 16mm film transferred to digital. 3.23 min. Courtesy of Gareth Kennedy. Figure 12.2: Maskenschnitzer. Production image featuring woodcarver Lukas Troi with the mask of Alfred Quellmalz, ethnomusicologist with the SS Ahnenerbe Kulturkommission to South Tyrol. Courtesy of Gareth Kennedy. Figure 12.3: 245 248 Stuben-Forum. Contemporary hanging stube for housing Maskenschnitzer, 16mm film transferred to HD digital. 13.15 min. Design by Harry Thaler. Fabrication by Kofler with Deplau and Rothoblas. Gareth Kennedy, Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft (2014). Image by Serena Osti. 249 Figure 12.4: Installation view of Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft at ar/ge Kunst, Bozen/Bolzano, South Tyrol. Showing the contemporary hanging stube and the mask of Bronislaw Malinowski carved by Robert Griessmair. Gareth Kennedy, Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft (2014). Image by Serena Osti. 250 Figure 12.5: Framing Volkskunde. Unsere Frau/Schnals. Original photographs from the Alfred Quellmalz xi Figures Archive framed for Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft. Note the staged lighting and Quellmalz’s probing microphone. Courtesy of the Referat Volksmusik, Bozen/Bolzano.251 Figure 12.6: Axis at the Egetmann. The Axis at the Egetmann procession in Tramin for its “final” performance for the Ahnenerbe lens. Wolfram Sievers, Prefetto of Trento Italo Foschi and SS Obersturmbannführer Dr Wilhelm Luig of ADERSt enjoying the performance of the Egetmann procession at Walch Kellerei, Tramin, South Tyrol, February 1941. Courtesy of the private collection of Nicholas Kasel. 252 Figure 12.7: Stuben-Forum. Stuben-Forum held at ar/ge Kunst on 20 September 2014. Speakers (from left): Franz Haller, visual anthropologist; Hannes Obermair, historian; Elizabeth Thaler and Ina Tartler, Bozen Stadttheater; Hans Karl Peterlini, journalist and author; Thomas Nußbaumer, ethnomusicologist, University of Innsbruck; Georg Grote, Professor of German Studies, University College Dublin. Courtesy of Gareth Kennedy. Figure 13.1: Figure 19.1: The location of the places referred to in Chapter 13, “Border Stories: Negotiating Life on the Austrian–Italian border”. 261 Self-assessment for L2 competence levels B2/C2, CEFR (ASTAT 2006). 364 Figure 19.2: Bi-communitarian bilingualism in Südtirol/ Alto Adige. Adapted from Berruto (2003: 213). Figure 19.3: 254 365 An original public administration document and its translation presented in two columns. See: <http://www.provinz.bz.it/anwaltschaft/ download/G_2010–170.pdf>.380 Acknowledgements The editors of this volume would like to express their gratitude to all contributors, to the Peter Lang team for their support, University College Dublin, the Institute for Minority Rights in the EURAC and the Stadtarchiv Bozen, the Prösels Castle Kustos Michl Rabensteiner and the Kuratorium Schloss Prösels for the use of the castle facilities on 8 and 9 May 2015, the Völser Goldschmiede, the Binderstube and the Caffè Caroma in Völs, and to the Hotel Heubad in Obervöls for their generous support. Georg Grote and Hannes Obermair Introduction: South Tyrol: Land on a Threshold. Really? While South Tyrol is a part of Italy, it is also an autonomous province with distinct Austrian and German characteristics. Both South Tyrol’s geographic location and history underscores its position as a region where the north meets the south of Europe: at its border, Italian and German cultures and languages converse and Mediterranean and northern European climates collide. Hence, it has regularly been described as an “Übergangsland” – as a passage from north to south and vice versa. It has, however, been a contested region for 150 years, and political viewpoints have often characterized the approach of writers and commentators towards this mountainous region in the Central Alps. Depending on the source and context, the region has been claimed as a German or Italian one; only in recent years has there been a growing tendency to regard the region as both German and Italian.1 It is this latter tendency to view South Tyrol as a unique hybrid of both these cultures that this volume wishes to explore through the prism of various disciplines. While the German and Italian influences may not always harmonize with each other, this collection of essays reveals that they do inform and enrich the region resulting in a complex and diverse collective culture that is modern South Tyrol. Nothing has epitomized the German and Italian claims on South Tyrol as succinctly as the name of the area itself: Südtirol (South Tyrol) in German, Alto Adige in Italian. In many respects the word pair Alto 1 See Lucio Giudiceandrea, Spaesati, Italiani in Südtirol (Bozen: Raetia, 2007); and Lucio Giudiceandrea and Aldo Mazza, Stare insieme è un’arte. Vivere in Alto Adige/ Südtirol (Meran: alphabeta, 2012). xvi Georg Grote and Hannes Obermair Adige/South Tyrol hints at its complexity. Where there is a South Tyrol, there should be a North Tyrol, otherwise there would be no need to add the prefix “South” to distinguish one part of the landscape from another. North Tyrol is part of another independent state, Austria, which is located beyond the Brenner border. South Tyrol therefore highlights a connection to an area outside the Italian state. Those who call the region South Tyrol today, the vast majority of the 320,000 German-speaking South Tyroleans, keep alive the memory of the division of Tyrol in 1918 and a loyalty to a historical unity with Austria. They also stress their cultural affinity with the German-speaking world beyond the Brenner Pass. Alternatively, the fact that the 160,000 Italians in South Tyrol refer to the region as Alto Adige, the high Etsch/Adige region, implies that there must be a lower Etsch/Adige region. As the river Etsch/Adige flows from the Austrian–Italian–Swiss border down through the Vinschgau/ Val Venosta, unites with the river Eisack/Isarco and then flows to central Italy, this lower Etsch/Adige region is in Italy where the river flows into the Adriatic Sea. The Italian name for the region therefore emphasizes its geographical connection to the entire Italian landscape: it is literally drawing the region into the Italian homeland. Thus the two names for the region are not merely German and Italian versions of each other, they are, in fact, linguistic attempts to appropriate the area, based on competing political and cultural understandings of the region. Claims old and new It is widely accepted that the dispute over where South Tyrol belonged – to which state it should affiliate – began in 1866 with the leading exponent of Italian emancipatory nationalism, Giuseppe Mazzini. Mazzini claimed that only 20 per cent of the Tyrolean people living south of the Brenner Pass were of German origin and thus a minority easy to Italianize. The area, therefore, belonged to Italy and should become part of the new Italian Introduction: South Tyrol: Land on a Threshold. Really? xvii state.2 By the 1890s, the pro-Italian nationalist Ettore Tolomei had developed a pseudo-scientific argument that Italy’s boundaries were defined by nature and not by the ethnicity of the region’s population.3 This view went against the grain of contemporary nationalist sentiment across Europe, which regarded ethnicity as the marker of borders. Tolomei’s rationale was contested by an alternative Austrian–German vision expounded by various groups, in particular, the Tiroler Volksbund established in 1905. This Austrian–German cultural and political movement articulated a competing desire to see a Germanized Northern Italy as far south as Verona.4 Thus, on the eve of World War I, South Tyrol was in the eye of a cultural storm with two distinct and, apparently, incompatible views of the region’s cultural identity and political future. Hence in the early stages of the conflict, Italy played its political hand with its ambitions regarding South Tyrol firmly in its sights. In 1915, when it was far from certain that the Austrian–German alliance would lose the war, Italy joined forces with the Western Allies. Its strategy paid off when in 1918, as part of the spoils of war, it was rewarded with the southern part of the Austrian crownland Tyrol. When Mussolini came to power in late 1922, he tightened the Italian grip on South Tyrol by embarking on a Tolomei-led campaign of Italianizing the German-speaking population. The fascists attempted to Italianize all areas of individual and collective life in order to eradicate any traces of the Austrian–German tradition: place names and family names were Italianized; the only language accepted was Italian; and all kinds of Tyrolean collective organizations and newspapers were suppressed.5 In the face of such fascist suppression, many Tyroleans welcomed Hitler’s declaration that all German peoples belonged in the German Reich. However, Hitler was more interested in securing Mussolini’s friendship and creating the fascist axis in Europe than protecting or supporting German-speaking 2 3 4 5 Rudolf Lill, Südtirol in der Zeit des Nationalismus (Konstanz: Universitätsverlag Konstanz, 2002), p. 26. Georg Grote, The South Tyrol Question (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2012), pp. 15–18. Rolf Steininger, Südtirol im 20.Jahrhundert (Innsbruck: Studienverlag, 1997), p. 259. Grote, South Tyrol Question, pp. 35–52. xviii Georg Grote and Hannes Obermair South Tyroleans. Consequently, an agreement between the two fascist governments in Berlin and Rome in 1938 presented the German-speaking South Tyroleans with an option: if they wished to remain German-speaking and thus part of the Germanic cultural sphere, they had to physically emigrate to the German Reich, or remain in their “Heimat” in Italy and give up their loyalty to their Austrian–German language and tradition. This was a scenario that quite literally tore the German-speaking South Tyroleans apart through bitter disputes. By 31 December 1939, 86 per cent declared they were willing to leave, but, due to the wartime developments, only 75,000 actually managed to leave and of these 25,000 returned after 1945. The Option is still remembered as a traumatic event in South Tyrolean history because it symbolizes the limits of internal solidarity among the German-speaking population.6 Even after the end of fascism in Rome and Berlin in 1945, when all chances of reunification with Austria were truly dashed, many Germanspeaking South Tyroleans continued to harbour hopes of an end to Italian rule in the region or at least an end to Italianization. It was generally believed that the historic injustice of St Germain, the partition of Tyrol, would be remedied and Tyrol would be reunited. After 1945, the Cold War emerged swiftly and the Western Allies’ agenda to contain Stalin and communism took precedence over the fate of a small minority, which was also tarnished by its (alleged) sympathy for the German Reich. Italy managed to hold on to South Tyrol and, as Italian post-war domestic politics underwent no radical break with its past, unlike in Austria and Germany, South Tyroleans soon felt oppressed again by what they perceived as a continuation of fascist policies of Italianization in the province. Dissatisfaction smouldered over the years and finally erupted in what has become known as the “Bombenjahre” in the mid-1950s, a violent period of terrorist attacks on Italian infrastructure and representatives 6 Much has been written about the cultural and psychological impact of this Option period, which tore families apart and left a lasting legacy of bitterness and pain, and it is still claiming a major part of South Tyrolean historiography, see, for example, Eva Pfanzelter’s article in Chapter 7 of this volume. Introduction: South Tyrol: Land on a Threshold. Really? xix in South Tyrol and beyond which continued into the 1960s.7 It was not until the intervention of the United Nations and the ratification of the South Tyrolean autonomy in 1972 that South Tyrol finally embarked on a regionalist course within the framework of regional development stipulated by the European Economic Community. Within this programme of regional development and political engagement with the regions of Europe the protection of South Tyrol’s German-speaking population has achieved its full potential. It has resulted in a lasting appeasement with Italy, but also to the creation of a remarkable state-like regional self-confidence, distinct from both Italy and Austria.8 The “Regional State” South Tyrol has many of the hallmarks of historical nation-building, for example, the emergence of national literature and an accepted culture of writing history and commemorating crucial historical events central to the region’s development. Hans-Karl Peterlini’s recent history of the province, 100 Jahre Südtirol – Geschichte eines jungen Landes [100 Years of South Tyrol – History of a Young Country], testifies to this development. This publication sits beside other German language monographs on key events of the past 100 years and the biographies of the “founding fathers” of the “regional state”, among them the protagonists of the bombing campaigns in the 1960s and significant politicians. Hence, it can be argued that South Tyrol has transformed its position on the proverbial threshold into its raison d’être. The region defines its international significance by the strength of its autonomy and in providing a powerful example of the potential role European regions can play in the politics and culture of the EU. South Tyrol generally sees itself as a distinct entity, no longer as an area precariously perched between worlds, states and cultures, but as a region drawing strength from its political and geographical position and its cultural complexity. 7 8 Grote, South Tyrol Question, pp. 85–113. Grote, I bin a Südtiroler. Regionale Identität zwischen Nation und Region (Bozen: Athesia, 2009), pp. 225–250. xx Georg Grote and Hannes Obermair The modern land and its issues Spring 2015 heralded the hundredth anniversary of the secret treaty of London that sealed the fate of South Tyrol for the duration of the twentieth century, when this part of Habsburg’s crown colony was handed to Italy. While the German-speaking South Tyroleans have often stressed their histo-cultural allegiance with the Germanic world, the 1915 treaty resulted in the creation of new loyalties and new societal developments. The twentieth century would bring to the region war and violence, two dictatorships (Italian fascism and German national socialism), democracy, republicanism, peace initiatives, political wisdom and economic affluence, which have accompanied and influenced the drawn-out societal changes. A symposium was held in the medieval Castle Prösels in the Italian Dolomites in May 2015 to mark the hundredth anniversary of the 1915 London treaty. Contributors set out to explore through various disciplines the political, social and cultural impact of South Tyrol’s existence on the threshold during the twentieth century. Individually and collectively the essays in this volume challenge the simplistic reading of South Tyrol as merely a geographic region torn between two cultures; instead they explore the dynamic effects of its geographical, political and cultural history since 1915. South Tyrol is presented here as an institutional and state-like entity, a region facing very similar problems to many other regions in Europe, be they individual states or sub-state regions. Most of these contributions are from academics and intellectuals within the Province of Bolzano/Bozen who are used to negotiating and discussing these issues through their native languages German, Italian and Ladin. This volume seeks to bring their work and the history and development of South Tyrol to a wider European and global audience, hence the chosen language of English. The volume is subdivided into five thematic parts. In Part I Rolf Steininger analyses the steps towards partition in 1918; Carlo Moos explores the mechanics of the post-World War I St Germain Treaty negotiations; and Nina F. Caprez investigates the consequences of the partition for the economic survival of the monastery Muri-Gries. Finally, Sabine Mayr Introduction: South Tyrol: Land on a Threshold. Really? xxi provides an insight into the fate of the Jewish community in Meran during the early part of the twentieth century. Part II explores the historiography of the region: Marcus Wurzer demystifies and re-contextualizes the World War I hero Sepp Innerkofler; Georg Grote explores the realities of a zero hour in Austria, Germany and Italy for ordinary people by exploring hundreds of letters written by a couple suddenly divided by borders; and Eva Pfanzelter critically evaluates the commemoration of the Option period. Part III focuses on current challenges the province faces: Sarah Oberbichler investigates how major provincial newspapers presented the migration issue in the early 1990s; Julia Tapfer offers an analysis of how migrant societies have fared in South Tyrol; Friederike Haupt and Bettina Schlorhaufer analyse South Tyrolean regionalism in the arenas of music and architecture; and Irish artist Gareth Kennedy explores how anthropology was conducted in South Tyrol during the period of the Third Reich. Part IV deals with the existence of borders and their relevance for South Tyrol’s communities: Johanna Mitterhofer investigates life on the Austrian–Italian border; Paolo Valente looks at the significance of borders in the Meran area; and Martha Villa takes a detailed look at the small border community of Stilfs. Finally, Part V adds to the ongoing discussion on belonging in South Tyrol: Antonio Elorza compares and contrasts the situations in Alsace, the Basque Country and South Tyrol; Aldo Mazza and Lucio Giudiceandrea argue that cohabitation of different linguistic groups in South Tyrol equals art; Hans-Karl Peterlini analyses difference and belonging in migration and ethnicity; Barbara Angerer and Siegfried Baur both investigate the use of language in the process of cohabitation of German- and Italian-speaking populations; and Chiara de Paoli challenges existing definitions of ethnic identity. part i History Rolf Steininger 1 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols abstract Rolf Steininger sets the stage for the story of South Tyrol as we know it today, which began at the end of World War I, describing in detail the effects of the ceasefire and the ensuing Treaty of St. Germain agreements on the population and political life in South Tyrol. He also analyses the initially ambivalent Italian rule over its new province while Tyrolean politicians north and south of the Brenner Pass protested vociferously against the perceived injustice resulting from the partitioning of the country, despite Woodrow Wilson’s political ideals. Die militärische Niederlage der Mittelmächte besiegelte auch das Schicksal Tirols. Alle Versuche von Seiten Österreichs und Tirols, die Einheit des Landes zu retten, schlugen fehl. Am Ende der Friedensverhandlungen in St. Germain wurde Südtirol als „billige“ Kriegsbeute Italien zugeschlagen und am 10. Oktober 1920 offiziell annektiert. Bei allen Untersuchungen über dieses Thema steht ein Mann im Mittelpunkt, der letztlich für diese Entscheidung verantwortlich gemacht wird: der amerikanische Präsident Woodrow Wilson. Er galt seit den von ihm im Januar 1918 verkündeten 14 Punkten als Garant für das Selbstbestimmungsrecht der Völker, das Grundlage künftiger Friedensverhandlungen werden sollte. Am Ende waren die von der Missachtung dieses Prinzips Betroffenen zutiefst enttäuscht und voll Verachtung für diesen Mann. Das betraf nicht nur Österreich und Tirol, sondern auch Deutschland. Als Wilson 1924 starb und in Washington auf den Botschaftsgebäuden die Fahnen auf Halbmast gesetzt wurden, erhielt der deutsche Botschafter aus Berlin die Anweisung, dies nicht zu tun – ein diplomatischer Eklat erster Ordnung. 4 Rolf Steininger In Punkt 9 der 14 Punkte hatte es geheißen: „Es sollte eine Berichtigung der Grenzen Italiens nach den klar erkennbaren Linien der Nationalität durchgeführt werden.“1 Wäre es nur danach gegangen, hätte es eine Grenze am Brenner nicht geben dürfen. Tatsache ist, dass die 14 Punkte als „Grundsatzerklärung“ von den Verlierern maßlos überschätzt worden sind. Bindender und verpflichtender als noch so schön klingende „Grundsatzerklärungen“ waren Verträge, die während des Krieges abgeschlossen worden waren. Und mit Blick auf Südtirol gab es jenen „Londoner Vertrag“, den Italien, Großbritannien, Frankreich und Russland am 26. April 1915 unterzeichnet hatten (dessen Anerkennung Wilson allerdings immer verweigert hatte). Darin wurden Italien gegen Norden und Osten das Maximum der Hauptwasserscheide, das Trentino und das cisalpine Tirol „in seiner geographischen und natürlichen Grenze“, ferner die Länder Görz und die Gradiska, das Einzugsgebiet des Isonzo und der Krainische Distrikt Idria sowie Triest und die Halbinsel Istrien zugesagt.2 Wie war es dazu gekommen? Seit 1882 war Italien im „Dreibund“ mit Österreich-Ungarn und dem Deutschen Reich verbündet. Nach der Kriegserklärung des Habsburgerreiches an Serbien am 28. Juli 1914 beschloss die Regierung in Rom am 31. Juli die Neutralität Italiens, auch aus Protest dagegen, dass „die Verständigung der Verbündeten“,3 wie es im Vertrag hieß, unterblieben war. Berlin und Wien hatten allen Grund, gegenüber Italien misstrauisch zu sein, waren doch bereits während des Balkankrieges geheime Informationen über Rom bis nach St. Petersburg gelangt.4 Laut Artikel VII des Dreibundvertrages hatte Italien durch das österreichisch-ungarische Vorgehen auf dem Balkan Anspruch auf Kompensationen. Bereits am 2. August wurde vom italienischen Außenminister als Kompensationswunsch das Trentino genannt. Berlin übte damals starken Druck auf die Regierung in Wien aus, Italien 1 2 3 4 Herbert Michaelis und Ernst Schraepler (Hrsg.), Ursachen und Folgen (Berlin o. J.: Band 2), S. 375. Hanns Haas, „Südtirol 1919“, in: Handbuch zur Neueren Geschichte Tirols, Bd. 2, Zeitgeschichte, hrsg. v. Anton Pelinka u. Andreas Meislinger (Innsbruck: 1993), S. 96. Josef Fontana, Geschichte des Landes Tirol, Bd. 3. Die Zeit von 1848 bis 1918 (BozenInnsbruck-Wien: 1987), S. 28. Ebd., S. 427. 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols 5 territoriale Zugeständnisse zu machen. Wien allerdings stand einer Abtrennung altösterreichischer Gebiete äußerst unwillig gegenüber; die entsprechenden Vorstöße der Deutschen wies man mit dem Vergleich einer Abtrennung Elsass-Lothringens an Frankreich zurück. Außerdem befürchtete man, bei einem noch so kleinen Gebietszugeständnis an eine andere Nation einen Präzedenzfall zu schaffen, dessen Ausweitungen unabsehbar wären. In Wien versuchte man in der Folgezeit, bei den Verhandlungen mit Italien Zeit zu gewinnen. Es ist eine offene Frage, ob dies eine vertane Chance auf Seiten Wiens gewesen ist. Am 29. Januar 1915 forderte der italienische Botschafter in Wien, Herzog von Avarna, offiziell eine „territoriale Konzession aus dem Besitz der Monarchie“. Am 9. März, nach einer weiteren Intervention und verstärktem Druck aus Berlin, erklärte der österreichische Außenminister, Baron Stefan von Burián, seine grundsätzliche Bereitschaft zur Abtretung von k. u. k.-Gebieten an Italien. Am 28. März nannte er das Trentino, allerdings nur bis zur natürlichen Sprachgrenze und unter bestimmten wirtschaftlichen und militärischen Bedingungen. Die Italiener waren mit diesem Angebot nicht zufrieden. Sie forderten die sofortige Übergabe der Gebiete – und nicht erst bei Kriegsende – und die strikte Geheimhaltung der laufenden Verhandlungen.5 Am 10. April 1915 legte Italien seine Forderungen auf den Tisch: das Trentino in den Grenzen von 1810 (nördlich von Bozen, im Etschtal auf der Höhe von Gargazon, im Eisacktal auf der Höhe von Kollmann-Waidbruck, d.i. die napoleonische Grenze), das Isonzogebiet, das Kanaltal, Görz, Gradiska, die Inselgruppe Curzona, sowie Triest, das Freihafen und -Stadt werden sollte.6 Burián ging auf diese Forderungen nicht ein, erklärte sich jedoch 5 6 Richard Schober, Die Tiroler Frage auf der Friedenskonferenz von Saint Germain (Innsbruck: 1982), S. 49; sowie Ders., „St. Germain und die Teilung Tirols“, in: Klaus Eisterer und Rolf Steininger (Hrsg.), Die Option. Südtirol zwischen Faschismus und Nationalsozialismus, Innsbrucker Forschungen zur Zeitgeschichte 5 (Innsbruck: 1989), S. 33–50. Fontana, Tirol, S. 431. 6 Rolf Steininger am 16. April bereit, die Wasserscheide zwischen Vinschgau und Sulzberg als Grenze zu Österreich zu akzeptieren.7 Die Entente hatte mehr zu bieten. Schon seit August 1914 gab es entsprechende Kontakte; Italien wurden das Trentino, Triest und Valona für den Fall eines Kriegseintritts angeboten. Am 4. März 1915, parallel zu den Forderungen an Österreich-Ungarn, beauftragte der italienische Außenminister Giorgio Sonnino Botschafter Guglielmo Imperiali in London, der Entente die präzisen Forderungen Italiens vorzulegen. Dazu gehörte auch Südtirol bis zum Brenner. In London wurden diese Forderungen akzeptiert, wobei Südtirol als Tauschobjekt für die italienischen Forderungen am Balkan stand, die Russland strikt ablehnte. Der Londoner „Geheimvertrag“ wurde am 26. April 1915 unterzeichnet, am 23. Mai überreichte der italienische Botschafter in Wien die Kriegserklärung seiner Regierung. Diese Entwicklung entsprach den Wünschen der italienischen Nationalisten. Der extremste von ihnen mit Blick auf Südtirol war Ettore Tolomei, der auch heute noch vielfach als „Totengräber Südtirols“ gilt.8 Ein Erbe seines „Werkes“ ist noch heute in jeder Südtiroler Gemeinde zu sehen: die doppelsprachigen Ortsbezeichnungen. Die endgültige Inbesitznahme und Italianisierung Südtirols waren die beiden wichtigsten Anliegen Tolomeis. Die Realisierung dieser beiden Punkte – mit beinahe allen Mitteln – machte er zu seiner Lebensaufgabe. Wer war dieser Mann? Tolomei (1865–1952) stammte aus einer italienisch-nationalgesinnten Familie aus Rovereto. Über seine Mutter kam er bereits in frühester Jugend in Kontakt mit Südtirol; er verbrachte viel Zeit bei seinen Großeltern in Glen bei Neumarkt. Auf ähnliche Weise lernte er die Dolomiten bei Cortina d’Ampezzo kennen, wo Verwandte ein Hotel besaßen. Nach dem Besuch des Gymnasiums in Rovereto begann er 1883 in Florenz sein Studium der Geschichte und Geographie. Das zweite Studienjahr verbrachte er in Rom, 7 8 Schober, Tiroler Frage, S. 50. Vgl. zu Tolomei insgesamt Gisela Framke, „Im Kampf um Südtirol: Ettore Tolomei (1865–1952) und das Archivio per l’Alto Adige, Köln-Tübingen 1987“, sowie Dies., „Ettore Tolomei – ‚Totengräber Südtirols‘ oder ‚patriotischer Märtyrer‘?“ In: Eisterer und Steininger, Option, S. 71–84. 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols 7 wo er in Verbindung zur nationalistischen „Dante Alighieri-Gesellschaft“ trat. Nach dem Studium war er als Lehrer zunächst in Tunis (1888) tätig, dann an den italienischen Schulen von Saloniki (ab 1894), Smyrna (1897) und Kairo (ab 1898). 1901 kehrte er nach Italien zurück und erhielt im Außenministerium eine Stelle im Generalinspektorat für die italienischen Schulen im Ausland. Tolomeis Kampf um den Gewinn Südtirols für Italien begann bereits im März 1890, als die erste Ausgabe der von ihm initiierten und mitherausgegebenen Wochenschrift „La Nazione Italiana“ erschien. Die selbstgestellte Hauptaufgabe dieses Kampf- und Propagandablattes war die Popularisierung der nationalen und kulturellen Vorstellungen der „Dante Alighieri-Gesellschaft“. Außerdem wollte sie insgesamt zur Förderung ihrer irredentistischen Konzepte im Sinne des aufkommenden Nationalismus beitragen. Sie war eindeutig als Kampf- und Propagandablatt konzipiert. Den thematisch breitesten Raum nahmen Aufsätze über die beiden „klassischen Ziele“ des Irredentismus, „Trento e Trieste“, ein. Mehrere Artikel behandelten aber auch Gebiete in der Levante oder Nordafrika. Sie griffen damit dem späteren Programm des faschistischen Nationalismus, dem Traum vom Mittelmeerimperium und der Wiederherstellung der Größe des Alten Rom, vor. Die in diesen Jahren entstandene „Naturgrenztheorie“ wurde von Tolomei begeistert aufgenommen. Bereits in der ersten Nummer der „Nazione Italiana“ berichtete er darüber und unterstrich seine Artikel durch kartographische Darstellungen. Für ihn war im „Alto Trentino“, wie er Südtirol damals noch nannte, das ladinische Element von besonderem Interesse. Er erkannte damals zwar noch die ethnische Eigenständigkeit der Ladiner an, hielt aber die Assimilation ihrer Sprache an das Italienische für eine notwendige Voraussetzung zur Verwirklichung seines Programms. Das Ladinische betrachtete er als das lateinische Element in Südtirol. Durch eine Italianisierung der Ladiner hoffte er einen italienisch-ladinischen Keil in das deutschsprachige Gebiet zu treiben, der die „Re-Italianisierung“ begünstigen würde. Die Deutschsprachigen waren „Eindringlinge“ in italienisches Gebiet, die nun mit Absorbierung oder Aussiedlung zu rechnen hatten. Im Dezember 1890 musste die „Nazione Italiana“ aus finanziellen Gründen eingestellt werden. Von dieser ersten journalistischen 8 Rolf Steininger Unternehmung Tolomeis sind aber zahlreiche formale und inhaltliche Züge in die größere Publikation des Archivio per l‘Alto Adige übergegangen. Das breit angelegte thematische Spektrum, später im Archivio auf Südtirol beschränkt, umfasste hier wie dort eine Vielfalt an historischen, geographischen, literarischen, kunstgeschichtlichen, toponomastischen, ökonomischen und folkloristischen Beiträgen. Auch kann man bereits in der „Nazione Italiana“ jenes für Tolomei bezeichnende Argumentationsverfahren feststellen, bei dem ideologische Denkschemata prägend auch auf die mit wissenschaftlichem Anspruch geschriebenen Artikel einwirken. Der Gründung des Archivio per l‘Alto Adige gingen journalistische Tätigkeiten Tolomeis bei den Zeitschriften „Giornaletto“ und „Minerva“ voraus, ebenso im Jahre 1904 seine Besteigung des Glockenkarkopfes (auch Glockenkarkofel) in den Ahrntaler Alpen, den er zur „Vetta d’Italia“ erklärte (und die er als Erstbesteigung deklarierte, obwohl diese bereits 1895 durch Fritz Koegel stattgefunden hatte). Die Wahl des Namens entsprach der „Naturgrenztheorie“ und stattete diese Region mit dem äußeren Anschein der Italianität aus. Damit setzte Tolomei ein eindeutiges Zeichen für seinen Kampf um den Gewinn Südtirols für Italien. Das Instrument in diesem Kampf wurde das Archivio, dessen erste Ausgabe im August 1906 in Glen bei Neumarkt erschien. Entsprechend dem Programm des Archivio, das den Anspruch auf Wissenschaftlichkeit und strengste Objektivität erhob – wobei Anspruch und Wirklichkeit sehr weit auseinanderklafften –, wollte Tolomei die „Italianität“ Südtirols beweisen und propagieren. Der Anspruch auf Wissenschaftlichkeit schien durch die Mitarbeit namhafter Wissenschaftler aus dem Königreich Italien gewährleistet. Tolomei selbst meinte, dass der erste Band des Archivio in seiner Konzeption und Ausstrahlung für die österreichisch-tirolische Öffent­ lichkeit einem Machwerk verräterischer Gesinnung gleichkommen müsste. Er berichtete sogar mit Stolz von deutschen Demonstrationen gegen ihn und das Archivio in Neumarkt. Die österreichischen Behörden reagierten zunächst zurückhaltend. Das entsprach dem toleranten Pressegesetz, ging aber auch auf eine Fehleinschätzung der politischen Absichten Tolomeis zurück. Das änderte sich in den folgenden Jahren und führte zu einer Reihe von Prozessen 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols 9 und Verurteilungen, die Tolomei unter dem Schlagwort „Pressekampf gegen Österreich“ („Battaglia di stampa contro 1‘Austria“) wirkungsvoll für Propagandazwecke ausnützte. Die Tatsache, dass die vierteljährlich erscheinende Zeitschrift vor allem in öffentlichen und wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken auflag, verhalf ihr indirekt zu einem hohen Maß an Autorität; mit der Zeit erhielt sie sogar den Charakter eines Handbuchs oder Quellenwerkes. Für die Bevölkerung Italiens war es ab 1914 die einzige Quelle zur Südtirolfrage. Tolomei war aber auch in anderer Hinsicht aktiv: Er ließ Flugblätter mit Angaben über die „wahren“ ethnographischen Verhältnisse in Südtirol und Postkarten mit kartographischen Darstellungen der Region verbreiten; sein Bericht über die Besteigung der „Vetta d’Italia“ und Listen italianisierter Ortsnamen Südtirols wurden kostenlos an die Abonnenten des Archivio verschickt. Mitarbeiter der Zeitschrift wurden zu den verschiedensten Kongressen der „Dante Alighieri-Gesellschaf “ und zu den „Congressi Geografici Italiani“ entsandt. Tolomeis Aktion war durchaus erfolgreich. Die Zeitschrift fand in Italien schon bald die gewünschte Verbreitung, die von ihm besorgten italienischen Ortsnamen wurden allmählich in Landkarten, Lehrbücher, öffentliche Fahrpläne, Zeitungen und Zeitschriften aufgenommen. Bis zu Beginn des Ersten Weltkrieges gelang es Tolomei, das Gebiet zwischen Salurner Klause und Brenner mit einem Anschein von Italianität zu versehen, der von einem Großteil der über die lokalen Verhältnisse unkundigen Leserschaft als allgemein verbindlicher Rechtsanspruch aufgefasst wurde. Im Archivio wurden zwar alle möglichen Themen abgehandelt, aber bestimmte Themenschwerpunkte kristallisierten sich immer mehr heraus: Neben Beiträgen zur Illustration der Naturgrenzen – etwa in Form der Wasserscheidentheorie – wurde die Toponomastik immer wichtiger. Tolomei begriff die toponomastischen Studien als „Re-Italianisierungswerk“ der angeblich vor nicht allzu langer Zeit gewaltsam germanisierten Orts- und Flur-, aber auch Familiennamen. Seit 1915 wurde das Archivio in Rom gedruckt. In den nun verlegten „Serie di guerra“ lässt sich hinsichtlich des Themenspektrums und des Mitarbeiterstabs eine signifikante Veränderung feststellen. Den überwiegenden Teil der Beiträge verfaßte Tolomei jetzt selbst. Der wissenschaftliche Anspruch des Archivio, der besonders durch die Mitarbeit kompetenter 10 Rolf Steininger Fachleute gewährleistet werden sollte, erwies sich nun als bloßes Dekor, das gerade in den Kriegsjahren nur dürftig die rein propagandistische Tendenz der Zeitschrift zu überdecken vermochte. 1915 verbreitete Tolomei bereits ausführlich seine Vorstellungen über eine mögliche Annexion Südtirols und über die in diesem Falle zu treffenden Maßnahmen. Mehrere diesbezügliche Denkschriften gingen an den damaligen Ministerpräsidenten, an andere Regierungsstellen und verschiedene nationale Vereinigungen. Für die deutsche Bevölkerung war die Assimilierung vorgesehen, auch der Gedanke einer eventuellen Aussiedlung tauchte bereits auf. Im ArchivioBand 11 von 1916 veröffentlichte Tolomei dann sein erstes „Prontuario dei nomi locali dell‘Alto Adige“ mit der Übersetzung von ca. 10.000 Ortsund Flurnamen. Es waren ganz oberflächliche Übersetzungen, oftmals ohne Kenntnis der etymologischen Bedeutung des deutschen Namens. Manchmal war der deutschen Bezeichnung lediglich eine italienische Endung angehängt worden. Ein weiteres Betätigungsfeld der Jahre 1916/17 bildete die Anfertigung von geographischen Karten für das „Istituto De Agostini“, das die italienische Namensgebung Tolomeis unterstützte. Mit diesen Karten arbeitete dann die italienische Delegation in Saint Germain. Die Besetzung Südtirols durch italienische Truppen – nach Kriegsende! – war für Tolomei ein entscheidender Schritt auf dem Weg zur „Wiedergewinnung“ Südtirols. Für ihn ging es jetzt darum, die Situation radikal zu verändern und den Südtirolern zu zeigen, dass ihr Land endgültig italienischer Besitz war. Bereits im Oktober 1918 wurde in Rom das „Büro für die Behandlung des Cisalpinen Deutschtums“ eingerichtet. Dass Ministerpräsident Vittorio Orlando den Gedanken Tolomeis nicht so furchtbar weit entfernt stand, macht die Tatsache deutlich, dass er dieses Büro im November als „Kommissariat für die Sprache und Kultur des Oberetsch“ nach Bozen verlegte und Tolomei zum Leiter dieser Institution ernannte. Für sein Kommissariat konnte Tolomei einige Räume des Bozner Stadtmuseums requirieren.9 Die Aufgabe des Kommissariats fasste Tolomeis Mitstreiter Adriano Colocci-Vespucci in seinem Tagebuch in einem Satz zusammen: „Der 9 Framke, Kampf, S. 91. 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols 11 Zweck des Kommissariats war die Durchdringung der Italianität beim ersten Zusammentreffen mit der Bevölkerung.“10 Nach Meinung Tolomeis durfte es „keine Art von cisalpiner deutscher Autonomie“ geben: „Das Alto Adige muß ein unlösbarer Bestandteil der Venezia Tridentina bleiben.“ Um dies zu erreichen, hieß es in einem Sofortprogramm „Sofortige Erlassung von Regierungsdirektiven über die Behandlung des cisalpinen Deutschtums – keine Gewalttätigkeit, aber auch keine Schwäche, dem gemischtsprachigen Gebiet Stempel der Italianität aufprägen!“11 Dem Militärgouverneur Giuglièmo Pecori-Giraldi wurde Mitte November 1918 eine Liste mit 22 Südtiroler Persönlichkeiten überreicht. Diese politisch „gefährlichen“ Elemente sollten zwangsweise entfernt oder interniert werden. Was diese Liste betraf, so stellte Pecori-Giraldi später lakonisch fest: „Die Maßnahme der Internierung haben wir in einem einzigen Fall angewandt […]. Wir gingen vom Grundsatz aus, dass wir keine Märtyrer schaffen wollten.“12 Auch bei den anderen Punkten konnten sich Tolomei und sein Kommissariat nicht durchsetzen. Der Militärgouverneur hatte andere Vorstellungen von italienischer Politik in Südtirol, und von der Regierung in Rom kam mit Blick auf die laufenden Friedensverhandlungen in Paris ebenfalls keine ausreichende Unterstützung für Tolomei. So beschränkte sich die Tätigkeit des Kommissariats hauptsächlich auf provokatorische Demonstrationen gegenüber den Südtirolern.13 Neben Pecori-Giraldi war der Generalsekretär des Amtes für Zivilangelegenheiten beim italienischen Oberkommando, General Agostino D’Adamo, einer der hartnäckigsten Gegner des Kommissariats. Er wollte es sogar auflösen lassen, was ihm allerdings nicht gelang. Immerhin konnte er durchsetzen, dass das Oberkommando die Verlegung des Kommissariats nach Trient veranlasste.14 Colocci-Vespucci schrieb entsetzt in sein Tagebuch: „Die einzige Phase der 10 11 12 13 14 Zit. n. Karl Trafojer, Die innenpolitische Lage in Südtirol 1918–1925 (Wien: 1971), S. 63f. Zit. n. Claus Gatterer, Kampf gegen Rom. Bürger, Minderheiten und Autonomien in Italien (Wien-Frankfurt-Zürich: 1968), S. 296. Ders., Aufsätze und Reden (Bozen: 1993), S. 125. Framke, Kampf, S. 91. Vgl. Schober, Tiroler Frage, S. 186. 12 Rolf Steininger Italianität bis jetzt ist dieses Kommissariat, das Ettore Tolomei […] hier heroben errichtet hat, und D’Adamo will es auslöschen!“15 Nach heftigem Protest Tolomeis bei Außenminister Giorgio Sonnino hob die Regierung die Entscheidung des Oberkommandos am 18. Dezember 1918 wieder auf. Damit wurde das Kommissariat zwar gerettet, aber es blieb in seiner Arbeit auch weiterhin ziemlich erfolglos. Der größte Konflikt zwischen Militärregierung und Tolomeis Kommissariat entzündete sich im Bereich der Toponomastik.16 Schon im November 1918 forderte das Kommissariat von der Militärregierung die sofortige Einführung von italienischen Ortsbezeichnungen in allen Gemeinden und an den Bahnhöfen.17 Dabei stützte es sich auf Tolomeis „Prontuario“. Das Kommissariat wandte sich auch direkt an die Regierung in Rom und forderte, dass das „Prontuario“ als Grundlage für die Benennung der Ortsnamen in Südtirol verwendet werden sollte. Diese Forderung wurde in Rom nicht nur abgewiesen, die Regierung hielt auch weiterhin an den deutschen Bezeichnungen fest. So waren in den von der Staatsbahn am 20. November 1918 veröffentlichten Fahrplänen die Namen aller Bahnhöfe Südtirols in deutscher Sprache abgedruckt.18 Auch in den von Pecori-Giraldi später erlassenen Manifesten wurden im Unterschied zum ersten Erlass vom 18. November deutsche Ortsbezeichnungen verwendet. Pecori-Giraldi rechtfertigte seinen Widerstand mit dem Hinweis, dass „unverantwortliche Elemente, gedeckt durch den Namen, das Prestige und die Stärke des Heeres“ auf dem Gebiet der Toponomastik nicht vollendete Tatsachen schaffen könnten, die dem „Ansehen Italiens bei dieser Bevölkerung“ nur geschadet hätten.19 Verärgert fuhr Colocci-Vespucci mit zwei Soldaten die Bahnlinie entlang, um die deutschen Ortsnamen zu überpinseln und durch italienische zu ersetzen,20 die dann von der italienischen Armee wieder entfernt wurden.21 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Zit. n. ebd. Gatterer, Kampf, S. 296. Vgl. Framke, Kampf, S. 92. Vgl. Trafojer, Lage, S. 67. Zit. n. Gatterer, Kampf, S. 296. Vgl. Schober, Tiroler Frage, S. 186. Vgl. Gatterer, Kampf, S. 296. 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols 13 Auch in drei anderen Bereichen, die später noch eine entscheidende Rolle spielen sollten, war dem Kommissariat aufgrund der Interventionen des Oberkommandos kein Erfolg beschieden. Zum einen ging es um die Gründung einer italienischen Tageszeitung mit dem Namen „Isarco“, zum anderen um den Versuch, deutsche Ländereien und Realbesitz Italienern zu übertragen. Das Kommissariat nahm Kontakt mit der italienischen Hoteliersvereinigung auf, um den Ankauf von Hotels in Südtirol zu forcieren. Im Februar 1919 intervenierte das Comando Supremo, genauso wie bei dem Versuch des Kommissariats, italienische Schulen in Ortschaften mit italienischer Bevölkerung einzurichten und die deutschen Schulen in den ladinischen Tälern in italienische umzuwandeln. Man hatte dafür sogar schon Lehrkräfte aus ganz Italien gewonnen, die bereit waren, zu diesem Zweck nach Südtirol zu kommen.22 Colocci-Vespucci schrieb enttäuscht in sein Tagebuch, Südtirol habe „noch fast nichts von seinem österreichischen Charakter verloren“.23 Erst Ende April 1919, als klar war, dass Südtirol als Kriegsbeute Italien definitiv zugeschlagen wurde, gab Orlando seine Zurückhaltung auf. Er genehmigte neue Richtlinien zur Behandlung des „Germanismo cisalpino“, die unter maßgeblichem Einfluß Tolomeis ausgearbeitet worden waren. Sie sahen u.a. vor: 1. 2. Entfernung „pangermanistischer“ Persönlichkeiten; sofortige Errichtung italienischer Schulen gemäß dem Manifest vom 18. November 1918; 3. Einführung der italienischen Nomenklatur; 4. Errichtung der Einheitsprovinz Trient; 5. möglichst weitgehende Unterbrechung der Beziehungen mit Nordtirol. Wenn von italienischen Nationalisten wie Tolomei die Rede ist, die Südtirol italianisieren wollten, dann sollten jene Tiroler Nationalisten nicht vergessen werden, die das Trentino germanisieren wollten. Hier ist in erster Linie der 1905 gegründete „Tiroler Volksbund“ zu nennen, in dem mit Ausnahme der Sozialdemokraten Vertreter aller Parteien aktiv waren. So 22 23 Vgl. Trafojer, Lage, S. 66. Zit. n. Gatterer, Kampf. S. 295. 14 Rolf Steininger wie für Tolomei die deutschsprachigen Südtiroler keine Deutschen waren, waren für den Volksbund jene Trentiner, die italienisch sprachen, keine Italiener. Italianisierte Tolomei die Südtiroler Orts- und Flurnamen, so wurden jene im Trentino eingedeutscht – aus Riva wurde Reif, Rovereto zu Rofreit, der Gardasee zum Gartensee usw. Deutschnationale Tiroler formulierten neue Kriegsziele am „Südabhang der Alpen“, am Rande der Poebene.24 Man sprach sogar von einer partiellen Aussiedlung der Trentiner und der Ansiedlung deutscher Soldaten.25 Traurige Berühmtheit erlangte der Sterzinger Volkstag am 9. Mai 1918 (!), eine Veranstaltung des Tiroler Volksbundes unter Beteiligung von offiziellen Vertretern aller bürgerlichen Parteien. Es wurde ein 14-Punkte-Programm verabschiedet, in dem es u.a. hieß: „2. Gegenüber Italien natürliche Grenzen, die Tirol und Österreich besser schützen und altdeutsche Siedlungen […] an Österreich gliedern“, mit anderen Worten: die Vorverlegung der Grenze an die Südspitze des Gardasees und Grenzkorrekturen zur Einbeziehung deutscher Siedlungsinseln. Weiter wurde gefordert: 4. Deutsche Staatssprache und deutsche Staatsrichtung in Österreich. […] 5. Einheit und Unteilbarkeit Tirols von Kufstein bis zur Berner Klause, schärfste Ablehnung jeglicher Autonomie des südlichen Landesteiles, des sogenannten Welschtirols. 6. Unnachsichtige Bekämpfung der welschen Irredenta, vor allem durch Schutz und Förderung des Deutschtums in Südtirol einerseits und Ausweisung der irredentistischen Elemente andererseits, damit „Welschtirol“ endlich wieder österreichisches Land werde. […] 9. Besetzung des bischöflichen Stuhles in Trient mit einem Deutschen; gut-tirolerische, deutschfreundliche Priesterausbildung im Bistum Trient. 10. Vollständige Umgestaltung des Schulwesens in Welschtirol durch Einführung des deutschen Sprachunterrichtes als Pflichtfach aller 24 25 Haas, Südtirol, S. 100. Ebd. 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols 15 Schulen und Pflege tirolisch-vaterländischer und deutschfreundlicher Gesinnung unter Jugend und Lehrerschaft.26 Ein halbes Jahr später war dieser Traum ausgeträumt. Der Krieg war verloren. In Südtirol und Teilen Nordtirols stand die italienische Armee. Jetzt ging es nur noch darum, die Einheit des Landes zu retten. Weder in Innsbruck noch in Bozen konnte oder wollte man sich vorstellen, dass Südtirol an Italien verlorengehen würde. In Südtirol weigerte man sich zunächst einfach, die Realitäten nüchtern zu sehen. Der deutschnationale Bürgermeister von Bozen, Julius Perathoner, lehnte es sogar kategorisch ab, die Bilder des österreichischen Kaisers aus seinen Amtsräumen zu entfernen.27 Man ignorierte die Italiener einfach und verweigerte auch jede Art der Zusammenarbeit mit ihnen. Aus „Gründen der nationalen Würde“28 entsandte man z.B. keinen Vertreter an den als beratendes Organ der Militärregierung eingerichteten Provinzialrat für die „Venezia Tridentina“, die Bezeichnung für das Trentino und Südtirol. Jede Kontaktaufnahme wurde gleichgesetzt mit einer Anerkennung der bestehenden Situation oder gar mit Volksverrat. Wie dies manchmal im täglichen Leben aussah, beschreibt der von den Italienern aus Südtirol ausgewiesene Eduard ReutNicolussi in seinen Erinnerungen: Jeder Annäherungsversuch der Italiener wurde abgelehnt. Einladungen der Offiziere zu Festmählern blieben unbeantwortet. Die Militärbehörde in Bozen kam auf den Gedanken, sich auf dem Wege der Wohltätigkeit an die Bevölkerung heranzumachen. Für derartige Aktionen hatte der Südtiroler immer eine Schwäche gehabt. Die Militärmusik veranstaltete im Bozner Stadttheater ein Wohltätigkeitskonzert zugunsten der Stadtarmen. Da war es nun schwer, einen Boykott durchzuhalten. Man fand einen Ausweg: Einige Bürger kauften noch vor dem Konzert alle Eintrittskarten auf. Das Konzert selbst blieb unbesucht. So hatten die Armen ihr Geld und die Italiener keinen politischen Nutzen davon.29 26 27 28 29 Abgedruckt in: Der Tiroler, 12. Mai 1918, S. 1. Vgl. Leopold Steurer, Südtirol zwischen Rom und Berlin 1919–1939 (Wien-MünchenZürich: 1980), S. 32. Ebd. Eduard Reut-Nicolussi, Tirol unterm Beil, München 1928 (engl. Ausgabe, London: 1930; Neudruck Bozen: 1983), S. 27. 16 Rolf Steininger Die Rettung des Landes erhoffte man sich von Innsbruck, von Wien, der Friedenskonferenz und dem von Wilson verkündeten Selbstbestimmungsrecht. Am Anfang ließ sich die Sache sogar gut an. Am 4. November 1918 gründeten Vertreter der Tiroler Volkspartei und der Freiheitlichen Partei Südtirols unter Vorsitz von Julius Perathoner einen Provisorischen Nationalrat für Deutsch-Südtirol. Dieser Nationalrat gab sogar ein eigenes Amtsblatt heraus und proklamierte am 16. November die „Unteilbare Republik Südtirol“.30 Im Januar 1919 wurde deutlich, dass diese Politik auf Illusionen aufgebaut war. Das Comando Supremo löste den Nationalrat am 19. Januar auf. Josef Raffeiner, ein Zeitgenosse jener Ereignisse und von 1945 bis 1947 dann Generalsekretär der Südtiroler Volkspartei (SVP), erklärt die „verfehlte Politik“ der Südtiroler Führungsschicht teilweise damit, dass nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg sowohl in Südtirol als auch in Innsbruck und Österreich unter den gebildeten Schichten zahlreiche Stände waren, die einfach nicht glauben wollten, dass Südtirol von Nordtirol abgetrennt und mit Italien vereinigt werden sollte. Man glaubte an das Selbstbestimmungsrecht und an die 14 Punkte Wilsons und fürchtete, die Sache durch Verhandlungen mit Rom zu kompromittieren. Dieser Glaube zeugt aber von einer großen Kurzsichtigkeit. Man bedachte zu wenig, dass Österreich in der Villa Giusti bedingungslos kapituliert hatte und dass das sogenannte Selbstbestimmungsrecht eine so fragwürdige Angelegenheit ist, über dessen Tragweite die Großen der Welt auch heute noch nicht einig sind. Zu bemerken ist, dass nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg in Südtirol bei den Bauern und einfachen Leuten viel mehr als bei den sogenannten gebildeten Schichten die Auffassung verbreitet war, dass das Land infolge des verlorenen Krieges unwiderruflich bei Italien verbleiben werde. Es bestand die Tendenz, alles Heil von Innsbruck und Wien zu erwarten und deshalb möglichst wenig mit Rom zu verhandeln.31 Dass die Südtiroler die Möglichkeit hatten, eine „Republik DeutschSüdtirol“ auszurufen, ist für den italienischen Historiker und Diplomaten Mario Toscano der erste Beweis für die Mäßigung und Toleranz der Militärregierung,32 und die Überlegung dieser „Republik“, Steuern ein- 30 31 32 Vgl. Parteli, Südtirol, S. 8–13. Zit. n. Trafojer, Lage, S. 28. Mario Toscano, Storia diplomatica della questione dell’Alto Adige (Bari: 1967), S. 69 f. 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols 17 zuheben und eigene Banknoten und Briefmarken zu drucken – woraus nach Intervention des italienischen Oberkommandos allerdings nichts wurde –, ist für Toscanos Kollegen Umberto Corsini die „eigenartigste, utopistischste und fantastischste“ Willensäußerung der Südtiroler, nicht von Italien annektiert zu werden.33 Die – letztlich erfolglose – sozialistische Anschlusspolitik der Wiener Regierung hat den Tiroler Interessen damals wohl entscheidend geschadet. Anschluss an Deutschland und Einheit Tirols waren zwei Dinge, die nicht miteinander zu vereinbaren waren. Außenminister Otto Bauer wusste dies sehr wohl, dennoch forcierte er seine Politik. Am Ende hatte man gar nichts, weder Anschluss noch Einheit Tirols. In Südtirol glaubte man Ende November 1918 allerdings noch daran, dass der Anschluss Österreichs an Deutschland die Einheit Tirols sichern werde. Der Anschluss an Deutschland, so hieß es in der ersten Südtiroler Denkschrift, gelte als das „höchste Streben“. Als weitere Möglichkeiten wurden genannt Anschluss ganz Tirols an die Schweiz, eine selbständige Republik Tirol, ein neutrales Südtirol, Südtirol als Freistaat unter italienischer Herrschaft, und zuletzt ein autonomes Südtirol als Bestandteil Italiens.34 Anfang 1919 war man einen Schritt weiter. In einer Proklamation vom 7. Januar 1919 war von einem Anschluss keine Rede mehr, weil dies „den italienischen strategischen Argumenten für die Brennergrenze in die Hände“ arbeite: „Der einzig gangbare Weg zur Rettung liegt nunmehr in der sofortigen Selbständigkeitserklärung des deutschen Teiles von Tirol.“ Die entsprechende Proklamation wurde von einer Generalversammlung aller Südtiroler Parteien beschlossen, auch wenn die Sozialdemokraten ihre Zustimmung für den Fall einschränkten, dass die deutsch-österreichische Südtirolpolitik scheitere.35 Wenn überhaupt die Einheit des Landes zu retten gewesen wäre, dann durch einen mutigen, entschlossenen Schritt, nämlich die von den Südtiroler bürgerlichen Parteien geforderte Erklärung eines unabhängigen 33 34 35 Corsini, in: Umberto Corsini und Rudolf Lill, Südtirol 1918–1946, hrsg. v. d. Autonomen Provinz Bozen-Südtirol (Bozen: 1988), S. 61. Schober, Tiroler Frage, S. 469. Ebd., S. 371. 18 Rolf Steininger Tirols. Dazu aber waren die Sozialdemokraten mit Blick auf Wien weder in Bozen noch in Innsbruck bereit. So kam es am 20. Januar 1919 nur zu einem einstimmigen Beschluss der Tiroler Landesversammlung, in dem die Rede von der Bereitschaft zu „schwersten Opfern“ war, sollte Südtirol nicht anders zu retten sein.36 Mit Protestversammlungen, Bittschriften und Appellen war damals keine Politik zu machen. Aber genau dies blieb den Südtirolern nur mehr übrig, genauso wie später nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Ähnlich wie 1946 Unterschriften über den Brenner geschmuggelt und im April in Innsbruck Bundeskanzler Leopold Figl überreicht wurden,37 wurde ein Memorandum der Südtiroler Bürgermeister an Präsident Wilson im Februar 1919 vom Schnalstal aus über den 3600 Meter hohen Similaun in das Ötztal und von dort weiter nach Innsbruck gebracht. In eindringlichen Worten appellierte man an Wilson: Es kann, es darf nicht sein, dass man den Namen Tirol nach einer tausendjährigen glänzenden Vergangenheit aus der Geschichte löscht, die freien Söhne dieses Berglandes unter fremdes Joch zwingt und ihnen ihre Sprache, ihre Art und Kultur raubt. Seien Sie unserem Volkstum, unserem Lande der gerechte Richter, und das Volk von Deutsch-Südtirol wird Ihren Namen von Geschlecht zu Geschlecht vererben als den des Retters unserer Heimat.38 Wilson entschied aus realpolitischen Überlegungen – manche vermuten aus Unwissenheit – anders. Seine auf einer Pressekonferenz in Paris abgegebene Erklärung zur Adriafrage am 24. April bestätigte alle Befürchtungen: Südtirol würde von Italien annektiert werden. In dieser Situation beschloss die Tiroler Landesversammlung am 3. Mai 1919, Tirol als „neutralen Freistaat auszurufen, falls nur dadurch die Einheit dieses Gebietes erhalten bleibt“.39 Zum einen kam diese Erklärung viel zu spät, zum anderen waren 36 37 38 39 Haas, Südtirol 1919, S. 129. Vgl. hiezu Rolf Steininger, Autonomie oder Selbstbestimmung? Die Südtirolfrage 1945/1946 und das Gruber-De Gasperi-Abkommen (Innsbruck: 1987; Neuauflage: 2006), S. 58–61. In Faksimile bei Rolf Steininger, Südtirol im 20. Jahrhundert. Vom Leben und Überleben einer Minderheit (Innsbruck-Wien: 1997), 4. Auflage 2004, S. 264. Schober, Tiroler Frage, S. 265 u. S. 588. 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols 19 aber auch jetzt die Sozialdemokraten immer noch nicht – mit Rücksicht auf die Wiener Anschlusspolitik – bereit, diesen Beschluss mitzutragen. Sie enthielten sich der Stimme. Die Wahlergebnisse in späteren Jahren waren die Quittung dafür. In Saint Germain wurde inzwischen nicht verhandelt, sondern diktiert und der österreichischen Delegation am 2. Juni 1919 der erste Teil der Friedensbedingungen übergeben. Südtirol würde verloren gehen. Einer der drei Tiroler Vertreter in Saint Germain, der Christlich-soziale Dr. Franz Schumacher, vor dem Krieg Kreisgerichtspräsident in Trient, schrieb an die Landesregierung in Innsbruck: Was die Gebietsbestimmungen betrifft, wurden wie bei den übrigen Ländern, so auch bei den Tirolern, die schlimmsten Befürchtungen noch übertroffen. Nicht nur das ganze Gebiet südlich der Waffenstillstandslinie, wie es jetzt von Italien besetzt gehalten wird, soll an Italien verloren gehen, sondern auch noch ein Teil des außerhalb dieser Linie gelegenen Pustertales, das altehrwürdige Innichen, das schwer geprüfte Sextental, die Gemeinden Vierschach und Winnebach sollen der imperialistischen Ländergier der Italiener zum Opfer fallen.40 In zwei großen Memoranden vom 10. und 16. Juni 1919 versuchte man auf österreichischer Seite, noch etwas zu retten. Über Südtirol hieß es da: Nach so viel Leid und Bangigkeit, die ein heldenhaftes und auch auf seine ruhmreiche Vergangenheit stolzes Volk zu ertragen hatte, schreitet man daran, das Land Andreas Hofers zu zerstückeln und Südtirol endgültig der Fremdherrschaft zu unterwerfen; man greift sogar auf Gebietsteile, die beim Waffenstillstand der Besatzung entgangen sind.41 Österreich bot eine Neutralisierung ganz Tirols und die Schleifung aller Befestigungsanlagen in Südtirol an, forderte gleichzeitig für alle umstrittenen Gebiete eine Volksabstimmung. Alles war vergeblich. Am 20. Juli erfolgte die Übergabe der kompletten Fassung der Friedensbedingungen. 40 41 Schober, „St. Germain“, in: Eisterer und Steininger, Option, S. 43. Ebd., S. 44. 20 Rolf Steininger Otto Bauer zog die Konsequenz aus einer gescheiterten Politik und trat zurück. Auch dies blieb ohne Auswirkungen auf das Schicksal Südtirols. Die endgültigen Friedensbedingungen vom 2. September 1919 stellten den Schlußpunkt für Südtirol dar: Ohne Autonomiebestimmungen, ohne Minderheitenschutz kam das Land zu Italien. Am 6. September 1919 stimmte die Nationalversammlung in Wien dem Diktat von St. Germain mit 97 gegen 23 Stimmen zu. Die Tiroler Abgeordneten beteiligten sich zum Zeichen des Protestes nicht an dieser Abstimmung. Vier Tage später unterzeichnete Staatskanzler Karl Renner den Vertrag. Die italienischen Nationalisten, allen voran Tolomei, triumphierten. Tolomei schrieb noch 30 Jahre später voller Genugtuung in seinen Memoiren: Keine Zulassung einer Volksabstimmung, keine Garantie […], die Grenze bei der Vetta! Der wunderbare Erfolg nach Jahrhunderten sollte durch keinen Augenblick der Schwäche in Paris getrübt werden […]. Finis Austriae, die Irredenta ist zu Ende […], es gibt keine Südtirolfrage mehr, Österreich hat unterzeichnet.42 In der Sitzung der österreichischen Nationalversammlung am 6. September 1919 hieß es für die Südtiroler Abgeordneten, Abschied zu nehmen. Reut-Nicolussi ergriff zum letzten Mal das Wort. Was er sagte, sollte zum Vermächtnis werden: Gegenüber diesem Vertrage haben wir mit jeder Fiber unseres Herzens, in Zorn und Schmerz nur ein Nein! Ein ewiges, unwiderrufliches Nein! (Stürmischer Beifall im ganzen Haus, in den auch die dicht gefüllten Galerien einstimmen) […]. Es wird jetzt in Südtirol ein Verzweiflungskampf beginnen, um jeden Bauernhof, um jedes Stadthaus, um jeden Weingarten. Es wird ein Kampf sein mit allen Waffen des Geistes und mit allen Mitteln der Politik. Es wird ein Verzweiflungskampf deshalb, weil wir – eine Viertelmillion Deutscher – gegen vierzig Millionen Italiener stehen, wahrhaft ein ungleicher Kampf.43 Reut-Nicolussi ahnte, was kommen würde, trotz anderslautender Versprechungen von Seiten der Italiener. Was der Leiter ihrer Delegation 42 43 Ettore Tolomei, Memorie di vita Rom: 1948, S. 415 ff. Reut-Nicolussi, Tirol, S. 30. 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols 21 in Paris und Präsident des italienischen Senats, Tommaso Tittoni, am 27. September 1919 in der römischen Kammer erklärte, dass nämlich Italien der Gedanke einer Unterdrückung und Entnationalisierung der nationalen Minderheiten vollkommen fernliege, dass Sprache und kulturelle Einrichtungen geachtet würden, dass in Südtirol niemals ein Polizeiregiment mit Verfolgungen und Willkürherrschaft eingeführt werde, was König Viktor Emanuel III. wenig später noch einmal bestätigte,44 das alles hatte schon bald keine Bedeutung mehr. Am 24. September 1920 stimmte der Senat in Rom für ein Annexionsgesetz, mit dem die im Vertrag von Saint Germain Italien zugesprochenen Gebiete mit königlichem Dekret zu festen Bestandteilen des italienischen Staates erklärt wurden. Am 10. Oktober 1920 trat es in Kraft.45 In Südtirol nannte man dies eine „Schandtat“ vor der Geschichte.46 In einem Aufruf der Parteien wurde Südtirol als „Opfer des Friedensvertrages“ bezeichnet und auf die Verweigerung des Selbstbestimmungsrechtes hingewiesen. Gleichzeitig äußerte man die Hoffnung auf „nationale Befreiung“. Die Bevölkerung wurde allerdings aufgefordert, „jede Ungesetzlichkeit zu vermeiden und mit Ruhe und Würde das Schicksal zu tragen“.47 Zu irgendwelchen Zwischenfällen kam es denn auch nicht. Der Volksbote beschrieb die im Lande herrschende Stimmung folgendermaßen: Ungebrochen und unbesiegt standen wir am Ende des schweren Krieges da, da kam der Pharisäer Wilson und ließ uns meuchlerisch von rückwärts erdolchen. Wochen, Monate, ja mehr als ein Jahr hatten wir gegen alle Aussicht gehofft und uns an jeden Strohhalm geklammert […], bis endlich die rauhe Wirklichkeit auch den hoffhungsseligsten Träumer weckte und zeigte, dass wir zwar da und dort Mitleid fanden, aber nirgends Hilfe.48 44 Zit. n. ebd. S. 38. 45 Luciano Dallago, Liberalismo, Nazionalfascismo e Alto Adige (1918–1923) (Milano: 1971), S. 88 46 Hartwig Falkensteiner, Die italienische Südtirolpolitik von 1918 bis 1922 (Dipl. Innsbruck: 1995), S. 84. 47 Zit. n. Reut-Nicolussi, Tirol, S. 67 f. 48 Michael Forcher, Geschichte Tirols in Wort und Bild (Innsbruck: 1984), S. 206. 22 Rolf Steininger Die Reaktion in Nordtirol war heftiger. Am Tag der Annexion wurde ein großer „Landestrauertag“ organisiert. Der Schulunterricht entfiel am 9. Oktober, die Schüler wurden über die Bedeutung des Tages aufgeklärt. Die Geschäfte blieben geschlossen, in Kinos wurden keine „unwürdigen Programme“ gezeigt. Am Abend des 9. Oktober läuteten die Kirchenglocken im ganzen Land, am 10. Oktober gab es Trauersitzungen von Landtag und Landesregierung, Gemeinderat, Senat der Universität und AndreasHofer-Bund sowie Trauergottesdienste in jeder Gemeinde. Öffentliche Gebäude und Kirchen waren schwarz beflaggt.49 Mit ohnmächtiger Wut reagierte die Nordtiroler Presse. In den „Innsbrucker Nachrichten“ hieß es auf Seite 1: „Und Trauerfahnen wehen …“; im „Tiroler Anzeiger“ hieß es: „Adler, Tiroler Adler! Nicht verzage!“ Die Artikel waren mit schwarzem Trauerrand versehen.50 In den darauffolgenden Wochen fanden weitere Trauersitzungen des Tiroler Landtages, der Tiroler Landesregierung sowie der Gemeinderäte statt. Am 15. Dezember 1920 schieden die Südtiroler Vertreter aus dem Tiroler Landtag aus. Ein Jahr später erklärte der Innsbrucker Bürgermeister Wilhelm Greil in einer außerordentlichen Sitzung des Gemeinderates: […] Kein Volk der Erde hat eine so tiefe, innige Heimatliebe wie die Tiroler. Unser ganzes Volk fühlt es in tiefster Seele, dass Süd- und Nordtirol ein untrennbares Gebiet ist, welches zusammengehört […]. Wir können ohne Südtirol nicht leben, und Südtirol nicht ohne Nordtirol.51 Von nun an wurden Jahr für Jahr – nachweislich bis 1936 – jeweils am 10. Oktober, dem „Landestrauertag“, solche Sitzungen mit mehr oder weniger demselben Programm durchgeführt, jeweils organisiert vom Andreas-Hofer-Bund. Auch die Presse berichtete immer wieder; ab 1933 49 50 51 Hildegard Haas, Das Südtirolproblem in Nordtirol von 1918–1938, phil. Diss. (Innsbruck: 1984), S. 29. Ebd., S. 31. Vgl. Elisabeth Gasteiger, Innsbruck 1918–1929. Politische Geschichte, phil. Diss. (Masch.) (Innsbruck: 1986), S. 260. 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols 23 verstummten dann die Berichte über die Annexion vom 10. Oktober mehr und mehr.52 Die Sozialdemokraten nahmen von Anfang an an diesen Veranstaltungen nicht teil, weil sie diese deutschnational-völkisch-antiitalienischen und wenig „antifaschistischen“ Demonstrationen nicht für sinnvoll hielten, insbesondere seit dem „Verrat der Heimwehr“ von 1928. Dafür entwickelten sie eine eigene, sehr intensive Aktivität in Südtirol: in ihrer Presse, in Zusammenarbeit mit nach Österreich emigrierten italienischen Antifaschisten (in Innsbruck und Wien), als soziale Hilfe für die aus Südtirol ausgewiesenen Eisenbahner, Bauarbeiter und Postbeamten usw. Generalkommissar Luigi Credaro versuchte indessen, die Südtiroler zu beruhigen: Sobald als möglich werden die politischen Wahlen ausgeschrieben werden. Die Regierung und das Parlament werden in gemeinsamer Arbeit mit den politischen Vertretern die administrative und wirtschaftliche Organisation des Gebietes in Angriff nehmen […]. Hierbei wird es vornehmste Sorge der Regierung sein, an den lokalen Einrichtungen nichts ohne die Mitwirkung jener Männer zu ändern, die euer Vertrauen als Vertreter eurer Interessen und Bedürfnisse senden wird […]. Ich wünsche auf das lebhafteste, dass die neue Ordnung des Gebietes den berechtigten Wünschen der in einer Atmosphäre der Würde, Arbeit und des gegenseitigen Vertrauens vereinigten tridentinischen Volkstämme, wie wir es bei den Italienern, Ladinern und Deutschen des benachbarten Kantons Graubünden bewundern, entspreche.53 Credaro konnte noch so schöne Worte finden – das änderte nichts daran, dass das Vertrauen, das die Südtiroler in ihn gesetzt hatten, bereits weitgehend geschwunden war. Er hatte am 22. Juli 1920 per Dekret die Zweisprachigkeit der öffentlichen Aufschriften für Bozen, Meran und einige Ortschaften des Unterlandes angeordnet und in den deutschen 52 53 Haas, Südtirolproblem, S. 33. Als die Südtirolfrage im Oktober 1960 vor der UNO in New York behandelt wurde, wurde in Innsbruck erstmals wieder der offiziellen Annexion Südtirols durch Italien in Großkundgebungen gedacht – mit beabsichtigter Fernwirkung Richtung New York. Vgl. hierzu Rolf Steininger, Südtirol zwischen Diplomatie und Terror 1947–1969, Band 2, 1960–1962 (Bozen: 1999), S. 232–236 sowie S. 365–371 (Abbildungen). Zit. n. Trafojer, Lage, S. 204 f. 24 Rolf Steininger Sprachinseln südlich von Salurn die deutsche Unterrichtssprache verboten und die italienische eingeführt. Auch wenn die Sprachenanordnung nicht befolgt und von Rom auch wieder aufgehoben wurde, Credaro traute man nicht mehr. Es waren kleine Schritte, die das Gefühl der Ohnmacht und des Ausgeliefertseins in Südtirol steigerten. Am 26. Oktober 1920 wurde mit königlichem Dekret die italienische Verfassung auf die neuen Gebiete ausgedehnt. Und mit einem weiteren Dekret vom 30. Dezember 1920 erhielten jene Südtiroler, die vor dem 24. Mai 1915 in einer Gemeinde gemeldet waren, die italienische Staatsbürgerschaft. Durch eine im Vertrag von Saint Germain verankerte Bestimmung erhielten diejenigen, die später zugezogen waren, das Recht auf Option für die italienische Staatsbürgerschaft. Betroffen davon waren etwa 30.000 Bewohner, meist Eisenbahn-, Post- oder Gerichtsbeamte und Lehrer, die zum größten Teil aus anderen Ländern der ehemaligen k. u. k. Monarchie stammten. Über Annahme oder Ablehnung der Optionsgesuche entschied eine politische Provinzialbehörde. Trotz gegenteiliger Zusage wurde die Angelegenheit von italienischer Seite weder rasch noch großzügig bearbeitet. Etwa 10.000 Anträge wurden abgelehnt. Die meisten der Betroffenen wanderten nach Nordtirol oder in das übrige Österreich aus, da für ihre Arbeit die italienische Staatsbürgerschaft Voraussetzung war. Bei den Eisenbahnen verloren bis 1923 90 Prozent der Beamten ihren Posten. Die entlassenen Beamten wurden sofort durch Italiener ersetzt. Dadurch schritt die Italianisierung des Bahnpersonals sehr zügig voran. Im Verkehrsknotenpunkt Franzensfeste beispielsweise bestand bereits Ende 1921 die Hälfte der Bewohner aus Italienern.54 Die entlassenen Südtiroler Eisenbahnbediensteten erhielten zum großen Teil im Raum Tirol eine neue Anstellung. Sie lebten dort teilweise unter unwürdigen Bedingungen. Hildegard Haas berichtet von 406 Bediensteten, die im Oktober 1922 eine Wohnung benötigten und infolge der großen Wohnungsnot zwangsweise in Eisenbahnwaggons untergebracht werden mussten. Man bezeichnete sie als „Waggonbewohner“. Sie lebten dort ohne sanitäre Einrichtungen, Abortanlagen, Wasseranschlüsse 54 Vgl. Falkensteiner, Südtirolpolitik, S. 88 f. 1918/1919. Die Teilung Tirols 25 und Kochgelegenheiten. „Viele Frauen waren unterleibsleidend, die Kinder litten zumeist an Tuberkulose.“55 In Südtirol setzte Credaro inzwischen neue Maßnahmen. Im März 1921 erließ er eine Verfügung, nach der die offizielle Bezeichnung für das Trentino und für Südtirol ausschließlich „Venezia Tridentina“ war. Die „Meraner Zeitung“ reagierte am 29. März mit folgendem Kommentar: Eine Venezia Tridentina gibt es für uns Deutsche nicht und wird es nie geben […]. Es ist, gelinde gesagt, ein starkes Stück, uns im Wege eines ganz und gar ungesetzlichen Regierungsdekretes einen Namen aufoktroyieren zu wollen, der in der sinnfälligsten Weise den Gedanken der politischen Einheit Südtirols mit dem Trentino und die Vorherrschaft Trients zum Ausdruck bringt, und wir sind nicht gesonnen, diesen Schlag hinzunehmen. […] Der Generalkommissar täte besser daran, sich mehr um die Verwaltung zu kümmern, als solche aufreizenden Erlässe zu produzieren. […] Wir leben nicht in einer Venezia Tridentina, die wir nicht kennen, sondern in Südtirol. Auch nach dem Erlasse des Generalkommissars!56 Anderthalb Jahre später waren die Faschisten an der Macht. Für Südtirol begann ein langer Leidensweg. 55 56 Haas, Südtirolproblem, S. 60. Zit. n. Trafojer, Lage, S. 229 f; Falkensteiner, Südtirolpolitik, S. 91 f. Zur Südtirolfrage im 20. Jahrhundert insgesamt vgl. Steininger, Südtirol (wie Anm. 38). Carlo Moos 2 Südtirol im St. Germain-Kontext abstract This chapter focuses on the efforts of post-World War I Austria to prevent the separation of Tyrola and the handing over of South Tyrol to Italy. Carlo Moos demonstrates how Otto Bauer and Chancellor Karl Renner, in particular, as Austrian representatives in St Germain, attempted to salvage as much as possible against the backdrop of the wider policy of land loss Austria was affected by. These efforts failed because of Italy’s post-war aspirations to achieve Great Power status and the indifference of the victorious allies towards the South Tyrol issue. Am 11. November 1918 folgte auf Karls Verzichterklärung das Ende der letzten kaiserlichen Regierung Heinrich Lammasch, und am Tag darauf wurde die Republik Deutschösterreich proklamiert. Otto Bauer, seit dem 12. November 1918 Staatssekretär für Äusseres, bat Anfang März 1919 über die deutschösterreichische Vertretung in Bern den an einer Völkerbundkonferenz teilnehmenden Lammasch, zu dem er trotz dessen monarchistischer Einstellung „das vollste Vertrauen“ hatte, um Unterstützung gegenüber amerikanischen und englischen Diplomaten für Deutschböhmens, das Sudetenland, Südtirol und die bedrohten Grenzgebiete in Kärnten und in der Untersteiermark sowie in Bezug auf die Anschlussfrage an Deutschland und nicht zuletzt auch wegen der herrschenden wirtschaftlichen Not.1 Lammaschs guter, aber im Kontext der Friedenskonferenz von St. Germain trotzdem wirkungsloser Ruf 1 Aussenpolitische Dokumente der Republik Österreich 1918–1938 (ADÖ), Band 1: Selbstbestimmung der Republik. 21. Oktober 1918 bis 14. März 1919, hg. v. Klaus Koch, Walter Rauscher, Arnold Suppan (Wien-München: 1993), Dok. 183, S. 503ff. 28 Carlo Moos in den Entente-Staaten gründete auf seiner Teilnahme an den Haager Konferenzen von 1899 und 1907 und seiner Mitgliedschaft im ständigen Schiedshof in Den Haag sowie in seinen im Herrenhaus des österreichischen Reichsrats 1917 und 1918 gehaltenen Friedensreden.2 Insofern ist diese Episode bezeichnend für die vielen so vorurteils- wie aussichtslosen Versuche des damaligen (deutsch-)österreichischen Aussenministers, alle Kanäle zu nützen, um die befürchteten Gebiets-Abtretungen in der Friedensregelung abzuwehren. Im folgenden wird versucht, den Fokus auf die Abtretungsproblematik als ganze zu legen, worin einzelne Mosaiksteine argumentativ verschoben werden konnten, es den Protagonisten Otto Bauer in Wien und Staatskanzler Karl Renner als Leiter der Friedensdelegation in St. Germain aber darum ging, wenn nicht das Ganze, so wenigstens so viel wie möglich davon zu retten. Nach Bekanntwerden des ersten Teils der St. Germain-Bestimmungen im Juni 1919 jagten sich die Protestnoten zahlreicher österreichischer Institutionen, Gemeinden und Länder gegen den „Gewaltfrieden“, wie man ihn tout court apostrophierte (nicht zu Unrecht, aber angesichts der Rolle, die das Habsburgerreich bei der Auslösung des Kriegs gespielt hatte, auch nicht zu Recht), und vor allem gegen die Abtretung Süd-Tirols und Süd-Böhmens, aber auch Deutschböhmens und des Sudetenlandes, deren Zuteilung aus geographischen Gründen nicht ernsthaft erwartet werden konnte. Interessanterweise kamen die Proteste auch aus Ländern, die ihrerseits mit der Idee einer Abtrennung spielten wie Vorarlberg, das sich 1919 an die Schweiz anschliessen wollte,3 dessen Landtag am 27. Juli 1919 dem 2 3 Zu denken ist an die Reden vom 28. Juni 1917, 27. Oktober 1917 und 28. Februar 1918, in: Heinrich Lammasch, Europas elfte Stunde (München: 1919), S. 135–172. Vgl. u.a. Aussenpolitische Dokumente der Republik Österreich 1918–1938 (ADÖ), Band 2: Im Schatten von Saint-Germain. 15. März 1919 bis 10. September 1919, hg. v. Klaus Koch, Walter Rauscher und Arnold Suppan (Wien-München: 1994), Dokk. 295, 295A, 295B, S. 332–335, und Dok. 315, S. 365f. S. auch Christian Koller, „‚ … der Wiener Judenstaat, von dem wir uns unter allen Umständen trennen wollen‘. Die Vorarlberger Anschlussbewegung an die Schweiz“, in: Helmut Konrad und Wolfgang Maderthaner (Hg.), Das Werden der Ersten Republik. … der Rest ist Österreich, Band I (Wien: 2008), S. 83–102. Südtirol im St. Germain-Kontext 29 Staatsamt für Äusseres schrieb, das Selbstbestimmungsrecht der deutschen Völkerschaften Europas sei aus rein imperialistischen Gesichtspunkten der Sieger vollständig missachtet worden. Auf dem Boden der alten Monarchie seien slawische Staaten errichtet worden, die weit entfernt davon seien, national einheitlich zu sein, sondern Millionen von Deutschen umfassten, während sich Italien, das seinen Vergrösserungsdrang in die Formel der Erlösung unerlöster „Volksgenossen“ gekleidet habe, am „kerndeutschen“ Südtirol vergreife. Obwohl das Interesse der Völker den „Aufbau des Friedens auf den Grundsätzen der Gerechtigkeit und Menschlichkeit“ erfordere, werde Gewalt „im Interesse imperialistischer Kapitalistenkreise“ geübt.4 Zu den definitiven Friedensbestimmungen sticht aus den Voten der Debatte im Nationalrat vom 6. September 1919 vor allem der christlichsoziale Leopold Kunschak durch eine Globalabrechnung mit Ministerpräsident Clemenceaus Begleitnote zum Vertragstext vom 2. September heraus, worin nebst ihrer Kriegsschuld vor allem die Zwangsherrschaft der alten Monarchie angeprangert wurde, unter welcher die nicht deutschsprachigen Völker schlecht gehalten worden seien.5 Hätte man in Paris – so Kunschak – „die geschichtliche, kulturelle und parlamentarische Entwicklung des alten Österreich“ untersucht, „so wäre man nicht zu dem Urteil gekommen, dass wir Deutsche eine Barbarenherrschaft über die anderen Nationen in Österreich“ ausgeübt hätten.6 Am Ende der stürmischen Debatte wurde der Unterzeichnung des Vertrags seitens der Christlichsozialen und der Sozialdemokraten, aber gegen die Stimmen der Grossdeutschen zugestimmt, nachdem Staatskanzler Renner versichert hatte, dass in den Verhandlungen „nicht mehr zu erreichen war“ und die Entscheidung nicht verschoben werden könne.7 Gleichzeitig erhob die Nationalversammlung aber „vor aller Welt“ einen feierlichen Protest gegen die Losreissung der 4 5 6 7 Österreichisches Staatsarchiv (ÖSTA), Archiv der Republik (AdR), Neues Politisches Archiv (NPA), Karton 319, Liasse 15/13 (Proteste gegen einen Gewaltfrieden), N. 121. Vgl. ADÖ, Band 2, Dok. 355, S. 476, 478. Clemenceaus Begleitnote vom 2. September 1919 findet sich im Bericht über die Tätigkeit der deutschösterreichischen Friedensdelegation in St. Germain-en-Laye, II. Band, Wien 1919, Beilage 73, S. 310–317. ADÖ, Band 2, Dok. 355, S. 480. Ebd., Dok. 355, S. 487. 30 Carlo Moos Sudetendeutschen und gegen die Abtrennung Südtirols und erwartete, „dass der Völkerbund das unfassbare Unrecht, das an den Sudetendeutschen, an Deutschsüdtirol sowie an wichtigen Teilen Kärntens, Steiermarks und Niederösterreichs verübt werden soll, ehebaldigst wieder gutmachen wird“.8 In der Folge wurde wiederholt darüber gestritten, ob Otto Bauer mit seiner Anschlusspolitik gegenüber dem Deutschen Reich Österreichs Chancen in St. Germain vertan habe. Das Gegenteil dürfte der Fall sein. M. E. hat Bauer in der damaligen Konstellation eine sehr kluge Aussenpolitik geführt. So liess er in Wien viel Material vorbereiten, das der Friedensdelegation nach St. Germain überstellt wurde, aber grösstenteils nicht eingesetzt werden konnte, weil die alliierten Sieger, zu denen auch die sich formierenden Nachfolgstaaten der Donaumonarchie (ausser Österreich und Ungarn) gehörten, bekanntlich keine Verhandlungen führten, sondern Bedingungen diktierten. Ausserdem kam Bauer der gut zehn Jahre ältere und ihn um zwölf Jahre überlebende Renner als Kanzler in die Quere, obwohl Bauer ihm 1918/1919 trotz früheren Divergenzen loyal diente, auch wenn er ihn an intellektueller Schärfe überragte. Renner, der „wandlungsfähige Pragmatiker“,9 der 1938 dem „Anschluss“ zustimmen sollte und in einer Schrift über die Sudetendeutschen das Münchner Abkommen lobte,10 hatte den Problemen gegenüber einen anderen „approach“ als Bauer, auch wenn die beiden in den Grundpositionen ihrer gesellschaftspolitischen Ansichten komplementäre Spielarten des Austromarxismus verkörperten.11 8 9 10 11 Bericht über die Tätigkeit der deutschösterreichischen Friedensdelegation, II. Band, Beilage 81, S. 628f. Aussenpolitische Dokumente der Republik Österreich 1918–1938 (ADÖ), Band 3: Österreich im System der Nachfolgestaaten. 11. September 1919 bis 10. Juni 1921, hg. v. Klaus Koch, Walter Rauscher und Arnold Suppan (Wien-München: 1996), S. 19. Vgl. Gerald Stourzh, „Vom Reich zur Republik“, in: Gerhard Botz und Gerald Sprengnagel (Hg.), Kontroversen um Österreichs Zeitgeschichte. Verdrängte Vergangenheit, Österreich-Identität, Waldheim und die Historiker, 2. erweiterte Auflage (Frankfurt a.M.: 2008), S. 287–324, hier S. 299f. S. auch Walter Rauscher, „Die Republikgründungen 1918 und 1945“, in: Von Saint-Germain zum Belvedere. Österreich und Europa 1919–1955, ADÖ, Sonderband (Wien: 2007), S. 18. Vgl. Norbert Leser, „Gesellschaftspolitische Grundpositionen im Austromarxismus. Grundlagen von Theorie und Praxis bei Otto Bauer und Karl Renner“, in: Politik Südtirol im St. Germain-Kontext 31 1945 wurde Renner zur Spielfigur Stalins, der von den selbstbewussten Briefen des „ersten Kanzlers der Republik Österreich“ angetan gewesen sein muss,12 mutierte im Kontext des beginnenden Kalten Kriegs aber zum Mann des Westens, wobei gerade das Aufbrechen des West-Ost-Gegensatzes eine damals auch von Renner erhoffte Rückgabe Südtirols aber verunmöglichte. Seine Wendigkeit, die sich für die Zweite Republik als segensreich erweisen sollte, wäre nie Bauers Sache gewesen, der am 4. Juli 1938 in Paris an einem Herzversagen starb, nachdem er Österreich schon nach dem Bürgerkrieg vom Februar 1934 hatte verlassen müssen. Demgegenüber arrangierte sich Renner nicht nur mit dem “Ständestaat“, obwohl er im Frühling 1934 einige Monate im Wiener Landesgericht eingesperrt wurde, sondern auch mit Hitlers Grossdeutschland. Nach diesem kurzen Blick auf die zwei Protagonisten von Österreichs Friedenssuche 1918/1919 zurück nach St. Germain, wo sich die Lage nicht nur aussergewöhnlich komplex, sondern auch reichlich verworren präsentierte. Vorarlberg und Tirol hatten im November 1918 den Beitritt zu Deutschösterreich nur provisorisch erklärt und erwogen 1919 die Separation und den Anschluss an die Schweiz oder an Teilstaaten des Deutschen Reiches oder sogar – als „Freistaat Tirol“ – die Unabhängigkeit.13 Im St. Germain-Zusammenhang wurde auch die Neutralisierung Südtirols in der Art der Schweiz oder sein Einbezug in die Schweizer Neutralität nach dem Vorbild Nordsavoyens erwogen. Damit befasste sich vor allem Johann 12 13 und Gesellschaft im alten und neuen Österreich. Festschrift für Rudolf Neck zum 60. Geburtstag, hg. v. Isabella Ackerl, Walter Hummelberger und Hans Mommsen, Band II (Wien: 1981), S. 83–89. Zum Austromarxismus ist zu beachten: Ernst Hanisch, „Sozialismus als Ziel; Sozialdemokratie der Weg: Otto Bauer als PolitikerIntellektueller“, in: Pavlina Amon et al. (Hg.), Otto Bauer. Zur Aktualität des Austromarxismus, Konferenzband 9. Juli 2008 (Frankfurt a.M.: 2010), v.a. S. 134–139. Renner an Stalin, 15. April 1945, in: Karl Renner in Dokumenten und Erinnerungen, hg. v. Siegfried Nasko (Wien: 1982), S. 148ff. S. auch Renners Brief an Stalin vom 26. Mai 1945, ebd., S. 151ff. Vgl. Alfred Ableitinger, „Demokratisierung und Landesverfassung 1918–1920. Versuch einer Bilanz“, in: Österreichische Forschungsgemeinschaft (Hg.), Studien zur Zeitgeschichte der österreichischen Länder, Band 1: Demokratisierung und Verfassung in den Ländern 1918–1920 (St Pölten-Wien: 1983), S. 184–197, hier S. 188f. 32 Carlo Moos Andreas Eichhoff, einer von Bauers Stellvertretern in St. Germain und anschliessend der erste Gesandte der Republik Österreich in Paris, in dessen Nachlass sich verschiedene diesbezügliche Entwürfe und Texte finden.14 In dieser Konstellation schrieb Bauer am 24. Mai 1919 Renner nach St. Germain, es sei nötig, sich mit Italien zu verständigen, um Unterstützung in der ungleich wichtigeren Frage der Grenze in Kärnten und in der Südsteiermark zu erlangen. Doch werde diese Politik durch die Überschätzung der Südtirol-Frage und den diesbezüglichen Terror der Tiroler verunmöglicht. So könne geschehen, dass sowohl Südtirol als auch Kärnten und Marburg verloren gehen. Wichtig für Österreich sei, sich nicht zu binden und sowohl die Anschluss- wie die Föderationsfrage und manche wirtschaftlichen Fragen offen zu lassen.15 Wie sich in der Folge zeigte, gelang es zwar, Kärnten zu retten, aber die Hoffnungen auf Italien erfüllten sich nicht; vielmehr sollte dieses Scheitern Ende Juli 1919 zu Bauers Rücktritt beitragen. Von seiner Äusserung über die Überschätzung der SüdtirolFrage darf man aber nicht darauf schliessen, dass ihm Südtirol gleichgültig gewesen wäre. Vielmehr hat er im Gegenteil schon am 4. Dezember 1918 in der provisorischen Nationalversammlung sehr klar gesagt, was es ihm und „allen Deutschen“ bedeutete. Es gebe „vielleicht nirgendwo einen Fleck deutscher Erde, der jedem Deutschen so teuer ist“, denn es sei „die einzige Stelle in der Welt, wo der Süden deutsch ist“.16 Gleichzeitig sah er aber, wie er unmittelbar nach seinem Rücktritt erläuterte, dass es aus der Habsburgerzeit gegenüber Italien „manche Schuld zu sühnen“ gab und es darum ging, zu zeigen, dass es „die alten Machthaber“ waren, die Italien „unseren Erbfeind zu nennen pflegten“. Dass aus der von ihm gewünschten Verständigung mit Italien nichts wurde, lag seiner Meinung an Fiume, das die Mächte Italien nicht geben wollten, während sie ihm dafür Bozen gewährten.17 14 15 16 17 ÖSTA, Kriegsarchiv (KA) B/874 Depot Eichhoff, Mappe 51. NPA Präsidium (Nachlass Bauer), Karton 233, Umschlag II d, N. 564 und 566. ADÖ, Band 1, Dok. 65, S. 253. Otto Bauer, „Acht Monate auswärtiger Politik. Rede, gehalten am 29. Juli 1919“, in: Otto Bauer, Werkausgabe, Band 2 (Wien: 1976), S. 192ff. Südtirol im St. Germain-Kontext 33 Nachdem der Friedensdelegation am 2. Juni 1919 der erste Teil des Entwurfs der Friedensbedingungen übergeben worden war, telegraphierte Bauer den Gesandten in Bern (Haupt), im Haag (Medinger) und in Berlin (Hartmann) bitter, diese seien noch viel härter als jene für Deutschland. Von zehn Millionen Deutschen kämen mehr als vier Millionen unter Fremdherrschaft, und die „Vergewaltigung Südtirols“ sei viel ärger als erwartet. Auch wirtschaftlich würde Österreich schwerer getroffen als Deutschland, weil die Beziehungen Deutschösterreichs zu den Gebieten, mit denen es wirtschaftlich verbunden war, „unvergleichlich enger“ gewesen seien als die Beziehungen Deutschlands zum feindlichen Ausland. Besonders hart muss für Bauer gewesen sein, dass sich die Hoffnung auf eine bessere Behandlung durch Verzicht auf den Anschluss als „töricht“ erwies. Vielmehr behandle die Entente das schwächere und von ihr abhängigere Deutschösterreich „noch wesentlich schlechter als das gehasste Deutschland“.18 Damit hatte er nicht Unrecht. Renner hatte sich schon früher aus St. Germain über diesen Punkt beklagt. So schrieb er Bauer am 26. Mai 1919, man werde nicht um ein Haar besser behandelt als die Deutschen, eher im Gegenteil: vor jenen habe man „noch immer den Respekt des Hasses, uns aber behandelt die hiesige Presse mit liebenswürdiger Geringschätzung“.19 Erschwerend kam bei Österreich dazu, dass es neben den eigenen Ansprüchen jene der andern Nachfolgestaaten gab, die aus je verschiedenen Gründen in den Augen der Siegermächte vor denjenigen Deutschösterreichs und Ungarns kamen, und dass die in Paris ausschlaggebenden Informationen vor allem vom Tschechen Benesch, dem Kroaten Trumbic und anderen „Gesinnungsgenossen“ stammten, wie Unterstaatsekretär Pflügl verkürzend, aber nicht unrichtig Bauer schon am 11. Februar 1919 aus Bern geschrieben hatte.20 Und wenn Bauer den Gesandten Hartmann in Berlin über die oben zitierte Mitteilung hinaus noch aufforderte, der deutschen Regierung die Bitte 18 19 20 Telegramm vom 3. Juni 1919, NPA Präsidium, Karton 4, Umschlag 15/2, N. 379. Vgl. ADÖ, Band 2, Dok. 260, S. 197f. Renner an Bauer, 26. Mai 1919, NPA Präsidium (Nachlass Bauer), Karton 233, Umschlag II d, N. 574. NPA Präsidium (Nachlass Bauer), Karton 234, Umschlag V, N. 71. 34 Carlo Moos nahezulegen, eine Note an die Entente zu richten, dass es dem Deutschen Reich nicht gleichgültig sein könne, wenn vier Millionen Deutsche einer „verhassten Fremdherrschaft unterworfen würden“,21 so war dies schon deswegen hoffnungslos, weil das Deutsche Reich kaum dasselbe Interesse an Österreich und seinen Problemen hatte wie umgekehrt dieses am Deutschen Reich. Bezeichnenderweise meldete Hartmann in einer Notiz vom 12. Juni 1919 denn auch nach Wien, ein Protest gegen die Friedensbedingungen für Österreich scheine der deutschen Regierung „zurzeit untunlich“, da die Gegner bis zu ihrer Antwort auf die deutschen Gegenvorschläge die Empfangnahme deutscher Noten abgelehnt hätten.22 Der am gleichen 12. Juni aus St. Germain nach Wien überstellte Entwurf einer Note, mit der eine deutschböhmische Denkschrift an die Entente begleitet werden sollte, versuchte demgegenüber eine Parallelargumentation in dem Sinn, dass für die Deutschösterreicher ein schweres Unrecht sei (und ein grösseres als das seinerzeit gegenüber Elsass-Lothringen begangene), was für das tschechische Volk ein „verhängnisvolles Abenteuer“ werde, denn es werde ein Kriegsherd im Herzen Europas geschaffen, in dem dreieinhalb Millionen Deutsche „als Teil einer grossen und alten Nation“ in die Gewalt eines kleinen Staates von sechseinhalb Millionen Tschechen gegeben würden, eines Staates, welcher unseliger wäre als das alte Österreich, wo zwischen den verschiedenen Nationen zumeist ein „Zustand schwebenden Gleichgewichts“ geherrscht habe.23 Neben einer deutlichen Beschönigung des Zustands der alten Monarchie fällt hier ein propagandistisch überhöhter Alarmismus auf, der allerdings von den späteren Entwicklungen auf tragische Weise gerechtfertigt werden sollte. Allerdings ist zu bedenken, dass die Noten zuhanden der Alliierten nach Erhalt des ersten Teils der Friedensbedingungen nunmehr direkt in St. Germain entworfen wurden, im Sinne dessen, was Renner als „Entwöhnung“ von der Staatskanzlei bezeichnete, die eingetreten sei, „seitdem wir auch hier viel zu 21 22 23 Bauer an Hartmann, 3. Juni 1919, NPA Präsidium (Nachlass Bauer), Karton 233, Umschlag II c, N. 481. Vgl. ADÖ, Band 2, Dok. 261, S. 198. NPA Präsidium (Nachlass Bauer), Karton 233, Umschlag II c, N. 482. NPA Präsidium, Karton 4, Umschlag 15/2, N. 389 und 390. Vgl. ADÖ, Band 2, Dok. 273, S. 248f. Südtirol im St. Germain-Kontext 35 tun haben“.24 Interessant ist indessen, dass Bauer auch auf diese Entwürfe durchaus weiter Einfluss nahm. So wollte er in seinem Antworttelegramm vom 13. Juni nach St. Germain zurückhaltender mit der Überlebensfähigkeit der Tschechoslowakei ohne Deutschböhmen argumentieren und kam erst in zweiter Linie auf den angeblichen „Kriegsherd“ zu reden, der „für die Welt und ihre soziale Erneuerung verhängnisvoller werden [könne] als selbst der Kriegsherd des Balkans“. Realistischerweise wollte er nicht die Vereinigung Deutschböhmens mit Innerösterreich verlangen, sondern lediglich das Selbstbestimmungsrecht mit Hilfe konstituierender Landtage für Deutschböhmen und das Sudetenland. Einen Anschluss an Österreich wollte er nur für den Znaimer Kreis und den Böhmerwaldgau.25 So zeigt sich die Vielschichtigkeit der im St. Germain-Kontext angestellten Überlegungen beim Überlappen der verschiedenen Themenfelder in den mehrgleisig vorbereiteten Argumentarien sehr klar. Trotzdem blieb alles vergeblich. Am 13. Juli 1919 schrieb Bauer Renner nach St. Germain, Italien wolle über Südtirol nicht verhandeln, weshalb eine Neuorientierung versucht und auf die französisch-amerikanische Seite abgerückt werden müsse, was indessen seine Demission voraussetze. Er sei den Franzosen als „exponiertester Grossdeutscher“ und als „vermeintlicher Bolschewik“ verdächtig und überdies auf die italienische Orientierung festgelegt. Leitgedanke seiner Politik sei die Annäherung an Italien gewesen, die an dessen „intransigentem Imperialismus“ aber gescheitert sei. Er sei sicher, dass seine Demission die Stellung zur Entente und vor allem zu Frankreich, aber auch zu England erleichtern werde.26 Dies mag richtig und von Bauer uneigennützig gedacht gewesen sein, änderte aber nichts an der so oder so für Österreich höchst ungünstigen Gesamtsituation. Unterstaatssekretär von Pflügl hatte Bauer schon einiges früher (im erwähnten Brief aus Bern) 24 25 26 Renner am 9. Juni 1919 an Ludwig Brügel, Pressechef der Staatskanzlei, zit. in: Georg Schmitz, Karl Renners Briefe aus Saint Germain und ihre rechtspolitischen Folgen, Schriftenreihe des Hans Kelsen-Instituts, 16 (Wien: 1991), S. 8. NPA Präsidium, Karton 4, Umschlag 15/2, N. 393. Vgl. ADÖ, Band 2, Dok. 274, S. 251. NPA Präsidium (Nachlass Bauer), Karton 233, Umschlag II d, N. 668. Der Brief findet sich auch in Schmitz, Karl Renners Briefe aus Saint Germain, S. 10f. 36 Carlo Moos sehr klar von der „Fülle von Wut, Galle und […] Leidenschaften“ geschrieben, welche „die Franzosen gegen uns aufgespeichert haben“ (worin nicht zuletzt auch die Folgen der unglücklichen Sixtus-Affäre fassbar gewesen sein mögen), und vom „namenlosen Hass“, der sie gegen alles beseele, was deutsch sei.27 Was dagegen den Vorwurf des „Bolschewiken“ anbelangt, so war er von Bauers Habitus und von seinem politischen Verhalten gegenüber den einheimischen Kommunisten her eine absurde Qualifizierung. Schon ein kurzer Blick auf seinen differenziert und (mit Ausnahme der Anschlussproblematik) realistisch argumentierenden Aufsatz „Rätediktatur oder Demokratie?“ von Ende März 1919,28 aber noch mehr die vielschichtigen Bemerkungen zur ungarischen Räteregierung machen seine Position hinreichend klar. So schrieb er dem deutschösterreichischen Gesandten Cnobloch am 27. Mai 1919 nach Budapest machiavellistisch, die deutschösterreichische Regierung habe im Moment kein Interesse am baldigen Sturz der dortigen Räteregierung, weil die eigenen Aussichten in der westungarischen Frage gegenüber Sowjet-Ungarn günstiger seien, während ihr Sturz es der Entente erleichtern würde, Deutschösterreich in eine Donau-Föderation zu zwingen und den Anschluss auch für später zu erschweren; und schliesslich hätte ein Sturz der Regierung in Ungarn ein konterrevolutionäres Regime zur Folge, was eine solche Bewegung auch in Deutschösterreich stärken würde.29 In einem langen Brief teilte Bauer am 18. Juni 1919 seine Position Béla Kun, dem Chef der ungarischen Räteregierung, auch direkt mit. Zunächst erklärte er, weswegen ein Treffen unmöglich sei (es wäre der Beweis, „dass die behauptete Verschwörung von Berlin, Wien, Budapest und Moskau tatsächlich existiere“), und dass er die Diktatur des Proletariats in Österreich „in der gegenwärtigen Phase“ für unmöglich halte. Dies exemplifizierte er auf über zehn Seiten ausgesprochen differenziert, um mit der Äusserung zu schliessen, dass er sich die Weltrevolution „viel weniger geradlinig, viel langwieriger, komplizierter, mannigfaltiger, nach 27 28 29 11. Februar 1919, NPA Präsidium (Nachlass Bauer), Karton 234, Umschlag V, N. 71. Jetzt in Otto Bauer, Werkausgabe, Band 2 (Wien: 1976), S. 133–151. Vgl. zum Bolschewismus-Vorwurf auch Bauers Rede „Acht Monate auswärtiger Politik“, Werkausgabe, Band 2, S. 194ff. NPA Präsidium (Nachlass Bauer), Karton 234, Umschlag IX b, N. 350. Südtirol im St. Germain-Kontext 37 Zeit und Ort differenzierter“ vorstelle, als die meisten von Kuns näheren Freunden dies täten.30 Die Demission Bauers erfolgte definitiv am 25. Juli 1919 mit Schreiben an den Präsidenten der Nationalversammlung Seitz, weil seine Bemühungen an der „Intransigenz des italienischen Imperialismus gescheitert“ seien und dieser dazu zwinge, „neue Bahnen zu betreten“, er selber aber nicht hoffen könne, „Vertrauen bei den französischen Machthabern zu finden“. Er glaube daher, dass seine Person „nur noch eine Erschwerung jener Politik sein könnte“, die ihm „objektiv notwendig“ und „historisch geboten“ scheine.31 Der Sache verpflichtet, für die er einstand, opferte er sich selber und zog sich in die Parteiarbeit zurück. Dass diese der Grund für seinen Rücktritt als Aussenminister gewesen sei, wie Richard Schüller, ein Mitglied der Friedensdelegation in St. Germain, in seiner Schrift „Finis Austriae“ schrieb („Bauer soon considered his resignation, because he believed his activity in the field of ‚socialization’ would be more important than his function in the Foreign Office“),32 dürfte eine Fehlinterpretation sein, auch wenn Bauer in der Tat weiter als Vorsitzender der Sozialisierungskommission wirkte, welche u.a. das am 15. Mai 1919 von der Nationalversammlung verabschiedete weltweit (mit Ausnahme der Sowjetunion) erste Betriebsrätegesetz ausgearbeitet hatte.33 Keineswegs kann man aber wie Walter Rauscher von einem „Scherbenhaufen“ von Bauers Diplomatie reden, weil Südtirol 30 31 32 33 NPA Präsidium (Nachlass Bauer), Karton 234, Umschlag IX d, N. 393–408. Vgl. auch ADÖ, Band 2, Dok. 279, S. 289–293; hier S. 289, 293 und mit Datum 16. Juni 1919. Vgl. auch Miklos Szinai, „Otto Bauer und Béla Kun“, in: Erich Fröschl und Helge Zoitl (Hg.), Otto Bauer (1881–1938). Theorie und Praxis, Beiträge zum wissenschaftlichen Symposion des Dr-Karl-Renner-Instituts abgehalten vom 20. bis 22. Oktober 1981 in Wien (Wien: 1985), S. 11–23; auch hier ist der Brief, offenbar Bauers einziger an Kun, vom 16. Juni 1919 datiert (S. 11). ADÖ, Band 2, Dok. 324, S. 377f. Unterhändler des Vertrauens. Aus den nachgelassenen Schriften von Sektionschef Dr Richard Schüller, hg. v. Jürgen Nautz, Studien und Quellen zur österreichischen Zeitgeschichte 9 (Wien-München: 1990), S. 231. Vgl. Hans Hautmann, „Ferdinand Hanusch – der Staatssekretär (30. Oktober 1918 bis 22. Oktober 1920)“, in: Ferdinand Hanusch (1866–1923). Ein Leben für den sozialen Aufstieg, hg. v. Otto Staininger (Wien: 1973), S. 89ff. 38 Carlo Moos und die Sudetengebiete nicht zu retten waren und die Anschlusspolitik aufgegeben werden musste.34 Ein solches Verdikt suggeriert, dass ein anderer Aussenminister in diesen Fragen erfolgreicher gewesen wäre, was angesichts der Versailler Grosswetterlage absurd ist. Eher umgekehrt mag einem Bauers Rücktritt rückblickend als Fehler erscheinen, denn die Friedensbedingungen sind ohne ihn nicht besser geworden, während einiges andere im Hinblick auf die Folgezeit bei einem nachhaltigeren Verbleiben in der Regierung, wo er im Oktober 1919 auch das Präsidium der Sozialisierungskommission niederlegte, vielleicht anders gekommen wäre. Dies gilt m.E. selbst dann, wenn man die von den Christlichsozialen hartnäckig bekämpfte Sozialisierung unter den konkreten Umständen der beginnenden Ersten Republik als faszinierende „Schimäre“ qualifiziert.35 So oder so dürfte aber zu vermuten sein, dass der ich-bezogene Renner froh gewesen sein muss, dank Bauers Rücktritt in St. Germain keine Verhaltensanweisungen mehr entgegennehmen zu müssen.36 Mit Sicherheit zeigt sich in diesem Kontext einmal mehr das Verhängnisvolle der italienischen Politik, die zum Untergang der Monarchie geführt hatte und danach den prekären Frieden zusätzlich belastete. Wie sich ex post deutlich erweist, war Bauers Entscheid, auf Italien setzen zu wollen, weitgehend illusorisch gewesen, was nicht bedeutet, dass man es nicht wenigstens versuchen musste. Wie unglaublich hartnäckig das Königreich allein auf den eigenen Vorteil bedacht war, zeigt schon das Detail der Besetzung des Bahnhofs von Thörl-Maglern in Kärnten, auf den die Italiener offensichtlich grossen Wert legten und ihn während sechs (!) Jahren bis zum 19. November 1924 besetzt hielten, obwohl diese Grenze 34 35 36 Walter Rauscher, Karl Renner. Ein österreichischer Mythos (Wien: 1995), S. 180f. Robert Stöger, „Der kurze Traum. Strategie und Praxis der Sozialisierung“, in: Helmut Konrad und Wolfgang Maderthaner (Hg.), Das Werden der Ersten Republik. … der Rest ist Oesterreich, Band II (Wien: 2008), S. 124–138, hier S. 136. Schmitz stellt fest, Renner habe in St. Germain regelmässig Briefe von Bauer erhalten, der ihm Anweisungen für das Verhalten der Friedensdelegation gab; Schmitz, Karl Renners Briefe aus Saint Germain, S. 13. Südtirol im St. Germain-Kontext 39 durch die Grenzregulierungs-Kommission schon 1921 definitiv zu ihren Ungunsten festgesetzt worden war.37 Es gibt im verworrenen St. Germain-Problemknäuel – wie mir scheint – eine einzige klare Linie, und sie war Otto Bauers Versuch, Italien ins schwierige Kräftespiel einzuspannen, ein Versuch, der von Anfang an zum Scheitern verurteilt war, weil Italien keine rationale Aussenpolitik führte, sondern eine vermeintlich prestigereichere Grossmachtrolle spielen wollte, für die es nicht befähigt war. Bauer, der einen sehr klaren Blick für Machtverhältnisse hatte, sah dies genau, dachte aber – vergebens – diesen Umstand zugunsten Österreichs ausnützen zu können, was schon am nicht zu ändernden Faktum der Auflösung des Habsburgerreichs und der Schwäche des Nachfolgestaates Österreich scheitern musste, ebenso aber auch an der Gleichgültigkeit der Siegermächte (auch jener, die kurz vorher noch ganz oder teilweise zum gleichen Reich gehört hatten) am Schicksal des krisengeschüttelten Kleinstaates. So wurde Südtirol das Opfer einer Konstellation, die unter anderen Umständen vielleicht zu seiner „Rettung“ für Österreich hätte führen können, und blieb dies nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg weiter. 37 In NPA Karton 299, Liasse 9/VI, findet sich ein umfangreiches Faszikel, das diese Endlosauseinandersetzung der Jahre 1921–1924 dokumentiert. Vgl. auch den Hinweis bei Paul Mechtler, „Internationale Verflechtung der österreichischen Eisenbahnen am Anfang der Ersten Republik“, in: Mitteilungen des österreichischen Staatsarchivs, Band 17/18 (1964/1965), S. 404. Nina F. Caprez 3 Economic Hurdles after the Great War: How the South Tyrol-based Swiss Monastery Muri-Gries Overcame an Existential Crisis abstract After the Great War, the crisis-ridden economic region of South Tyrol presented difficult conditions also for the Muri-Gries monastery’s survival. Nina F. Caprez presents an insight into the crisis management as handled by a community of monks in a phase of dramatically changed political, economic and social conditions. She also sheds light on the sometimes contradictory strategic approaches applied by the convent to master the omnipresent stress they experienced. Economic challenges after the Great War After World War I the people in South Tyrol, in addition to human suffering and mourning the separation from Austria, encountered immense material losses. Damaged infrastructure and properties, neglected agricultural businesses and the loss of human and animal labour resulted in production declines and supply shortages (particularly as far as milk, meat, dung and liquid manure were concerned).1 Funds needed for reconstruction came from a sector that underwent fundamental changes due to the outcome of 1 Andrea Leonardi, “Von der Vorherrschaft des primären zum Vormarsch des tertiären Sektors”, in: Andrea Leonardi (ed.), Die Region Trentino-Südtirol im 20. Jahrhundert. Vol. 2: Wirtschaft: Die Wege der Entwicklung (Trento: Fondazione Museo storico del Trentino, 2009), pp. 7–56, reference p. 17. 42 Nina F. Caprez the war and the occupation of South Tyrol by the Italian troops. Austria had financed its estimated 35.1 billion krona war expenses mainly by borrowings. After the war, there was no payment of interest or reimbursement. The war was lost and so was the money.2 By contrast with its value in 1914, the krona had now only one sixteenth of its former purchasing power. Hyperinflation followed, and in July 1922 complete currency devaluation occurred. The krona was only worth one fourteen thousandth of its prewar value.3 In South Tyrol, the Italian lira replaced the krona as early as April 1919. This change of currency terminated the previous dual currency situation. The new boundaries drawn at the end of war separated the South Tyrolean financial institutions from their headquarters in Austria and encouraged establishment and influence of Italian banks in South Tyrol. On 15 January 1919 a subsidiary of the Banca di Roma opened in Bolzano.4 By using the credit system and investments, Italian national companies influenced the growing energy market of South Tyrol and related industries such as the railways.5 South Tyrol – in earlier times characterized by local flux of money – was now integrated into a larger, centrally controlled financial circuit that was oriented towards another nation.6 The same was true for the energy industry that was increasingly dominated by national companies.7 Such development in South Tyrol and Italy was accompanied, 2 3 4 5 6 7 Roman Sandgruber, Ökonomie und Politik. Österreichische Wirtschaftsgeschichte vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart (Vienna: Carl Ueberreuter, 1995), p. 327. “Kriegsausgaben. Geld, Geld und noch einmal Geld”, DiePresse.com <http://die presse.com/home/zeitgeschichte/1513018/print.do> accessed 11 August 2014. Maurizio Visintin, “Die ‘auswärtigen’ Banken in der Zwischenkriegszeit”, in: Andrea Leonardi (ed.), Die Region Trentino-Südtirol im 20. Jahrhundert. Vol. 2: Wirtschaft: Die Wege der Entwicklung (Trento: Fondazione Museo storico del Trentino, 2009), pp. 289–302, reference pp. 289–290. Visintin, Die “auswärtigen” Banken in der Zwischenkriegszeit, pp. 290–292. Mariapia Bigaran, “Das Wachstum des Dienstleistungssektors zwischen Zentralismus und Autonomie”, in: Andrea Leonardi (ed.), Die Region Trentino-Südtirol im 20. Jahrhundert. Vol. 2: Wirtschaft: Die Wege der Entwicklung (Trento: Fondazione Museo storico del Trentino, 2009), pp. 111–138, reference p. 112. Bigaran, Das Wachstum des Dienstleistungssektors, p. 115. Here, great differences in ownership structures between Trento and Bolzano are identifiable. In the Bolzano region, the chemical group Montecatini became the powerful operator and owner of Economic Hurdles after the Great War 43 similar to other areas in Europe, by a shift of the organizational power from local administrations to national governments. This meant, on the political level, loss of power and influence of local players and increasing influence of national operative parties.8 The new borders fixed in 1918 and 1919 also redefined the economic areas. These changes, combined with the economic weakness of many of the successor states of the former Dual Monarchy, forced the people in South Tyrol to seek new markets for selling their goods. Fruit and wine-growing farmers had a tough job on the Italian domestic market. They therefore focused on northern sales markets (Switzerland and Germany).9 For a while, the South Tyrolean tourism industry lost access to exactly those markets. Being part of Italy now also meant being a war enemy of the German central Europeans, the former main clientele of the Tyrolean tourism sector. In addition, the sector was confronted with war-damaged infrastructures and a new domestic tourism of non-native speakers.10 A particular wave of feelings made Italians travel to the new provinces: their desire to visit the theatres of war brought new visitor groups to South Tyrol and other European battlegrounds. Difficult first after-war years were followed by the heyday of tourism in the second half of the 1920s and the related expansion of tourist facilities. Winter sports in particular started an immense development. As a result, more guests arrived, new regions were made accessible and existent infrastructures suitable for wintertime use. Moreover, social changes brought the sector a new, non-aristocratic upper class. The 8 9 10 several industry and power plants. On that point: Andrea Bonoldi, “Technologien, Kapitalien und Kontrolle der Ressourcen: Die regionale Elektrizitätswirtschaft”, in Andrea Leonardi (ed.), Die Region Trentino-Südtirol im 20. Jahrhundert. Vol. 2: Wirtschaft. Die Wege der Entwicklung (Trento: Fondazione Museo storico del Trentino, 2009), pp. 235–252, reference pp. 244–245. Bigaran, Das Wachstum des Dienstleistungssektors, p. 115. Rudolf Palme, “Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte Tirols nördlich und südlich des Brenners von 1918 bis 1920”, in: Casimira Grandi, Tirolo – Alto Adige – Trentino 1918–1920: Atti del convegno di studi (Trento: Società di Studi Trentini di Scienze Storiche), pp. 381–419, reference pp. 381–383. Leonardi, Von der Vorherrschaft des primären zum Vormarsch des tertiären Sektors, p. 28. 44 Nina F. Caprez existential problems were followed by new challenges that accompanied the heterogeneous domestic and foreign clientele with differing interests (cures, sports, short and long stays) as well as by technological changes due to funiculars and cog railways and the increasing level of motorization.11 Getting through an economically problematic time: The monastery in Muri-Gries Founded in 1027, the monastery located in Muri, Switzerland, was a Benedictine monastic house that was active and influential beyond the region. After its abolition in 1841, the Convent relocated to two new religious houses in Sarnen, Canton Obwalden, Switzerland, and to Gries near Bolzano, South Tyrol, then still an integral part of Austria–Hungary, in order to continue life and maintain spheres of influence. Although thanks to the armistice signed in November 1918 by Italy and Austria– Hungary peace returned to South Tyrol after four years of war, times for the Benedictine monastery in Gries were still harsh: with the end of the armed conflicts and the simultaneous occupation of South Tyrol by Italian soldiers the struggle for survival began. The monastery was in debt, the number of employees decimated, buildings and assets damaged and the chance for the community to stay on in South Tyrol uncertain. The monastery’s strong involvement in war bonds resulted in the loss of the entire monastery’s fortune.12 Due to political pressure and committing 11 12 Andrea Leonardi, “Vom Elitetourismus zum Massentourismus”, in: Andrea Leonardi (ed.), Die Region Trentino-Südtirol im 20. Jahrhundert. Vol. 2: Wirtschaft: Die Wege der Entwicklung (Trento: Fondazione Museo storico del Trentino, 2009), pp. 341–364, reference pp. 351–358. Letter from Abbot Alfons Augner to Pope Pius XI, Gries, dated 29 October 1927, and reaction from Abbot Primas Fidelis von Stotzingen, Rome, dated 14 November 1927, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, BN 294 (BN stands for Bestellnummer and refers to the order numbers according to Findbuch Archiv Gries ab 1845). Economic Hurdles after the Great War 45 loyalty to the monarchy, the Muri-Gries monastery signed Austrian war bonds worth no less than 1.1 million krona between 1914 and 1917.13 It was Abbot Alfons Augner who had the primary responsibility for the decisions of the monastery. His friend Leo Treuinfels, abbot of the Marienberg monastery in the Vinschgau Valley, was full of optimism and confidence about the good result of the war and thus publicly called for the signature of war bonds even in the year 1917.14 It can be assumed that his attitude influenced the Benedictines in Gries. Apart from monetary damage the monastery incurred a decline of earnings due to the shortage of personnel and material caused by the war. Furthermore, the buildings were intentionally damaged by the soldiers billeted by the monastery. On top of this, there was food shortage in the entire region. In short, this was the unfavourable basis for the subsequent dramatic events. Withdrawal and march-through of the Austrian–Hungarian soldiers, Italian occupation, beginning of military administration, legal uncertainty, establishment and blocking of a new border between North and South Tyrol, introduction of the Italian currency and later institution of some Italian legislative sectors entailed tremendous burdens. In the Muri-Gries monastery reactions to these changes were swift, anticipatory and aimed at ensuring the continuation of the community, namely its economic and legal existence. Against this backdrop, a double strategy was pursued: in South Tyrol the monastery Superiors made every endeavour to secure and save everything possible. And in Switzerland they evaluated the options to return home. 13 14 As to the pressure exercised by Austrian authorities to sign war bonds: letter from the Austrian minister for cultural affairs and education: Vienna, dated 5 November 1916, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, BN 122. As to the complaint about official pressure and extent of losses: letter to the chair of the Bishop in Trento, Gries, dated 27 April 1920, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, BN 84. Othmar Parteli, “Abt Leo Maria Treuinfels 1885–1928”, in: Südtiroler Kulturinstitut (ed.), 900 Jahre Benediktinerabtei Marienberg 1096–1996: Festschrift zur 900-Jahrfeier des Klosters St. Maria Schuls-Marienberg (Lana: Tappeiner, 1996), pp. 451–504. 46 Nina F. Caprez Figure 3.1: Places relevant to the monastery of Muri-Gries and its post-war history: 1. Habsthal; 2. Hermetschwil; 3. Muri; 4. Sarnen; 5. Müstair; 6. Innsbruck; 7. Siebeneich, Gries & Bozen. Consolidation efforts in Gries With the end of war, uncertainty about South Tyrol’s political fate also reached Gries. Fear of expropriation characterized the emotions and actions taken by the monastery Superiors from then on.15 At different levels they 15 Augner, diary dated 9 May 1921 and Convent Muri-Gries, Kapitelsakten 1888–1939, pp. 86–87, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, abbots’ archives and BN 425. Economic Hurdles after the Great War 47 endeavoured to protect the community and its estate, property and cultural assets from the grasp of the secular Kingdom of Italy. Abbot Alfons Augner pushed the sale of estates in South Tyrol, which would generate the urgently needed financial means on the one hand and make the fear of secularization obsolete on the other hand. In a first phase, Muri-Gries sold properties worth 190,000 lire.16 These were Villa Rodenstein and properties inherited from Baroness Louise von Giovanelli. The next wave of selling followed in the years 1927 and 1928.17 Little by little everything was divested that was allowed to be sold.18 Requests for sale were based on the grounds that the proceeds would help meet bank debts and repair buildings as well as goods.19 As another reaction to the changed political situation Abbot Alfons Augner obtained an authorization by the pope to move cultural assets out of the country. Thus, he arranged for the transfer to Switzerland of at least sixteen boxes filled with valuables.20 The monastery also became 16 17 18 19 20 Application from the Muri-Gries monastery to the Commissariato Generale Trento for a sale permit regarding Villa Rodenstein, Gries, dated 27 April 1920, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, BN 84. Letter to the chair of the Bishop in Trento and the Commissariato Generale Trento, Gries, dated 1 June 1920, BN 84. Sales were subject to official approval. Monastery assets were linked by contract to the monastery and inalienable. In fact, sums for construction works in Gries were regularly entered in the books while at the same time lack of financial resources appear as can be seen from the reminders for unpaid taxes and from cash orders. Tax liabilities increased during the war and amounted to the double of its pre-war value at the end of war. In 1921 the Gries Abbey paid more than 18,000 lire for taxes. Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, BN 409. In a 1919 late summer conversation between Pope Benedict XV and Abbot Alfons Augner the Holy Father encouraged and authorized the latter to remove church assets to Switzerland. A few years later, the argument of the sequestration risk served as a ground for the pope’s consent to sell goods, too. Augner, diary dated 6 October 1919. The first big protection measures to save cultural assets after the Great War took about two years. Valuables stored in North Tyrol during the war were not supposed to be returned to Gries but to be transferred to Switzerland. The monastery was granted prominent support from Switzerland and Austria for these cultural assets transfers. The public record office of Nidwalden (Switzerland), the federal Councillor Motta 48 Nina F. Caprez active at the judicial level. In order to prevent its expropriation and designation as so-called ownership of the German Reich, the Siebeneich nunnery near Bolzano that belonged to Muri-Gries and originated from Habsthal in Germany was declared Priory of Hermetschwil and its Swiss origin was proclaimed by a lawyer.21 Moreover, an emergency school was installed in Siebeneich. Here too, a double security strategy is apparent. Swiss affinity was emphasized and at the same time local commitment reinforced. Legal support was also called on when the monastery sought to secure an inheritance made in 1917 whose transfer was not yet registered at the time of the occupation of South Tyrol. In this context the monastery Superiors did not even shy away from wash-sales and clandestine repurchase agreements.22 However, they did not only sell but at the same time also looked for other alternatives that would help them keep and secure their position in Gries. As from 1924 they ran in lieu of the loss-making hostel for prospective teachers an Agricultural College belonging to the monastery, based on the model of similar schools in Sion (Switzerland), Sursee (Switzerland) and Mehrerau-Bregenz (Austria). The economist Fr Rudolph Grüter was its principal. Along with external teachers, five padres from the Muri-Gries Convent taught in the new school. They provided one year courses with the subsequent possibility of a half-year internship. Between seventeen 21 22 (Switzerland) and the keeper of the archives Stowasser from the former “Haus-, Hofund Staatsarchiv” in Vienna (Austria) supported the interests of the monastery. Letter from the keeper of the archives of Nidwalden to Abbot Alfons Augner, Stans, dated 16 October 1920; letter from Fr Bonifaz Stücheli to the Swiss Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sarnen, dated 6 October 1920; and correspondence between Abbot Alfons Augner and Fr Johann B. Egger, Gries and Sarnen 1920, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries and in Sarnen, Provisional book number A3. The said three nunneries are successors of the Muri nunnery, which once formed a double monastery together with the monks’ Convent of Muri. For example, the 1912 acquired Villa Rodenstein was fictitiously sold in 1920, and a farm located in Moritzing was sold under a repurchase agreement and rebought in 1934. Purchase agreements, permit to sell, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, BN 84, 104 and Augner, diary dated 30 April 1920, 8 November 1934. Economic Hurdles after the Great War 49 and thirty young men attended the courses.23 In the beginning, Prince Bishop Endrici Coelestin from Trento as well as the royal Provveditore Luigi Molina also supported the agricultural training school in the Gries Abbey.24 In the course of the fascist Italianization politics in South Tyrol, the monastery lost its authorization to teach two years later and the school was closed down.25 Following this, the building was used as Retreat house. Later on, it became a home for young men again and its successor building is now a hostel for students of both genders and all religions. Alternatives in Switzerland? Uncertainty arising in the Gries monastery at the end of the war was big. For the event of an abolition or expulsion, the monks examined the chances of a return to Switzerland. It was in the first place Abbot Alfons Augner and the Sarnen-based Fr Augustin Staub who put out their feelers and explored possibilities in catholic Switzerland to host the Convent of Gries. They got in touch with politicians, clergy and bank representatives as well as private sponsors. In a first phase they pursued projects at five different locations. In particular, they evaluated opportunities for a resettlement or a new settlement respectively in Sarnen, Sachseln, Muri, Fischingen and Luthern Bad. Acquisitions of properties as well as clerical and educational commitments were discussed also for Hermetschwil and Zug. But just as 23 24 25 Curricula of the said model schools as well as list of teachers, school timetables, internship agreements from Gries, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, BN 244. Letter from Prince Bishop Coelestin Endrici, Trento, dated 12 March 1924, and letter from the royal Provveditore Molina to the Mayor of Gries and the Royal Technical Institute of Bolzano, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, BN 244. With regard to the person of Mr Molina, his scope of functions and competences, see <http://www. agiati.org/ara_abbonamenti.jsp?ID_LINK=113111&area=195&id_context=322746> accessed 21 June 2015. Newspaper article (without newspaper name, place and date), Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, BN 244. 50 Nina F. Caprez quickly a return to Muri and the takeover of a teachers’ seminary in Zug were ruled out.26 The monks pondered over the purchase of the run-down monastery and functional buildings in Luthern Bad.27 For quite a long time they pursued the idea of a revival of the Fischingen monastery thanks to the Conventuals from Gries as well as an amalgamation of the Muri-Gries monks in Sarnen.28 A takeover of the Parish and sinecure privileges at Sachseln, proposed back in the previous century, was again dealt with.29 First concrete steps to implement the return plans manifested themselves by the 1920 takeover of the Hermetschwil parish and the additional land acquisition at Sarnen.30 That Switzerland was most attractive for the monks could also be seen in the several time-consuming transfers of cultural assets to this country whose legal system they preferred over those in Italy and Austria. While the financial situation of the Gries abbey remained desperate, they 26 27 28 29 30 Fr Bonifaz Stücheli informed Abbot Alfons Augner about the offer to take over the teachers’ seminary in Zug. The former approved the project despite their shortage of personnel resources. He called it a chance to gain a better foothold in Switzerland, to be able to obtain more candidates for joining an abbey and to save a Catholic institution. Letter from Fr Bonifaz Stücheli to Abbot Alfons Augner, dated 22 March 1928, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, abbots’ archives. Letter from Director V. Blum to Abbot Alfons Augner, Riechenthal, dated 20 February 1920, and other documents, for example, draft of a lease agreement, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Sarnen, Provisional book number I4. With regard to the Waldbruderkloster Luthern Bad, abolished in 1917, or respectively, the property possessed by the Luthern parish, see the public record office of Lucerne: <http://query.staatsarchiv.lu.ch/detail. aspx?ID=1193190> or <http://www.kultur-bad.ch/historische-fotos-luthern/luthernbad/waldbrüder-kloster/> both accessed 23 April 2015. Regarding the eventful history and revival of the Fischingen monastery, cf. a.o. Benno Schildknecht, “Kloster Fischingen”, Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz <http://www. hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D301.php> accessed 27 April 2015. Letter from curate J. Rohrer to Abbot Alfons Augner, Sachseln, dated 3 December 1919, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Sarnen, Provisional book number I4. Correspondence between Abbot Alfons Augner and Fr Johann B. Egger, Gries and Sarnen 1920, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Sarnen, Provisional book number A3. These were the first actions after the war. During the war, the community became already active and bought additional real estate in Sarnen in 1916. Convent MuriGries, Kapitelsakten 1888–1939, dated 15 September 1916, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, BN 425. Economic Hurdles after the Great War 51 managed to improve the monetary situation at Sarnen. In 1928 the teachers’ contracts for the monks working at the Cantonal School were redrafted and the income situation of the abbey considerably improved.31 The South Tyrol abbey was often short of money and was repeatedly forced to “order” money from Sarnen, which created tensions between the subsidiaries.32 Conclusion Ensuing from the shifting of boundaries, the after-war conditions changed fundamentally, especially in the financial and the energy market as well as in trade and tourism. Many a financial debacle caused by the war was further aggravated after the war as a result of those changes. The Muri-Gries monastery’s agitations following the Italian occupation and annexation of South Tyrol show a deep feeling of insecurity; they are, however, also a sign of new hopes. Apart from property sales and security actions regarding cultural assets, legal measures and restructurings were the key concern in Gries. In addition, arrangements were made in Switzerland in case the community would be forced to leave South Tyrol. In order to be prepared for a possible expulsion of the Convent from Gries, the possibilities for a settlement in the old homeland were negotiated and investments made. Not without fear, but with “trust in God” and optimism investments were made in both locations, Gries and Sarnen. 31 32 Increase of the annual salaries by 2,000 CHF, which resulted in an annual salary of 7,000 CHF per teacher. Augner, diary dated 29 January 1933. Economist Fr Rudolf Grüter regularly complains about money shortage, and in 1927 he badly needs 300,000 lire. Before he finally got 20,000 CHF, he suffered a rebuff from the headmaster in Sarnen (Fr J. B. Egger) since the latter needed the funds for his intense on-site building activities (Professorenheim). Letter from Fr Rudolf Grüter to Abbot Alfons Augner, dated 31 July 1927, and Augner, diary dated, for example, 24 September 1923, 20 January 1933, Muri-Gries abbey archives in Gries, abbots’ archives. Sabine Mayr 4 The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran abstract Sabine Mayr outlines the history of the Jewish community of Meran, whose members paved the ground for a strong and self-conscious Jewish community and tried to keep a good relation with its Christian neighbours, despite the constant anti-Semitic attacks in local conservative and catholic newspapers. Their huge material losses after 1938 and their deportation to extermination camps are touched on in summaries of reconstructed lives of some Jewish families from South Tyrol. Similar to many other European towns, there had been Jewish communities, too, in Bozen, Brixen and Trento in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but soon they disappeared, due to the pressure of intolerable circumstances. This is how Rabbi Aron Tänzer explains the development of Jewish presence in today’s area of Südtirol-Trentino, which until the First World War was referred to as the region of Tirol.1 Appointed “district Rabbi of South Tyrol” officiating in Meran, Tänzer in 1905 published his “History of the Jews in Hohenems and in the Rest of Vorarlberg”, a detailed historical portrayal, in which he shows that for centuries neglection and mistrust were at the basis of the behaviour of the South Tyrolean Christian population against the few Jewish inhabitants, which was constantly on the verge of 1 Place names are referred to in the language used in the respective social context, which for most families supporting the Königswarter Foundation and later the Jewish community in Meran was marked by the use of the German language. 54 Sabine Mayr turning into a murderous anti-Jewish pogrom.2 Professional prohibitions and commercial restrictions, so-called protection payments allowing Jews to live only in restricted regions under narrowly defined conditions (“Schutzund Toleranzgelder”), penalty charges, seizures of their property, oppressive taxes, incitements, raids, ill-treatment and expulsions determined the everyday life of Jews still in the seventeenth, eighteenth and at the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. As a result of harassments through local and higher authorities in Hohenems and elsewhere, many larger Jewish families left their hometowns and moved to the south of Tyrol and to other areas, hoping to be able to lead a better life. Aron Tänzer, who had been appointed Senior Rabbi in Hohenems by 1896, preferred to live in Meran and for this reason he agreed that years later his responsibility was restricted to South Tyrol. The Königswarter Foundation in Meran paid for his position in Meran, even if it was never officially acknowledged by the ministry in Vienna. The refusal of the Austro–Hungarian authorities to acknowledge Meran as an independent Jewish community contributed to Tänzer’s departure in 1907 when he accepted an invitation to Göppingen.3 2 3 Aron Tänzer, Die Geschichte der Juden in Hohenems und im übrigen Vorarlberg. Teil 1 und 2 der Geschichte der Juden in Tirol und Vorarlberg (Meran: 1905), p. 8; Joachim Innerhofer and Sabine Mayr, Mörderische Heimat. Verdrängte Lebensgeschichten jüdischer Familien in Bozen und Meran (Bozen: 2015), p. 28 et seq. If Jewish life in South Tyrol only marginally appears in the first two volumes of Tänzer’s “History of the Jews in Hohenems and in the Rest of Vorarlberg”, it was supposed to be treated in great detail in a third volume, which however, due to his premature departure from Meran, was never published. Still many of Tänzer’s references to South Tyrol could be assembled to form the basis of the following brief picture of Jewish life in South Tyrol. Aron Tänzer, Die Geschichte der Juden in Hohenems und im übrigen Vorarlberg, p. 792; Österreichische Israelitische Union, Kalender für Israeliten 5666 1905–1906 (Vienna: 1898), p. 335; Karl Heinz Burmeister, “Die Entstehung der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde in Meran”, in: Karl Heinz Burmeister and Federico Steinhaus, Beiträge zu einer Geschichte der jüdischen Kultusgemeinde von Meran, Kulturzentrum “Anne Frank” (Trento: 1987), p. 67; Uri R. Kaufmann, “Die Hohenemser Rabbiner Abraham Kohn und Aron Tänzer und die jüdischen Bestrebungen ihrer Zeit”, in: Eva Grabherr (ed.), “… eine ganz kleine Gemeinde, die nur von den Erinnerungen lebt!” Juden in Hohenems, Catalogue of the Jewish Museum Hohenems (Hohenems: 1996), p. 46; Patrick Gleffe, “Rabbiner Dr Aron The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran 55 From 1822 onwards a Jewish merchant from Hohenems trading with canvas, fustian, cotton cloth, scarves and veils held a branch office in Bozen. He had been called Veit Levi and – after the Bavarian edict of 17 July 1813 decreed Jews from Vorarlberg to carry German family names – was known as Urban Rosenthal. His sons were Philipp and Josef Rosenthal. They ran the spinning factory in Hohenems bought in 1841 as well as an additional factory for dye-works and embroideries and were suppliers to the markets in all crown lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, in Russia and many other countries. The Rosenthal brothers thus ensured the livelihood of many Jewish and non-Jewish families in Hohenems. Further Jewish merchants in the area of Bozen were the draper and jewellery merchant Heinrich Henle, Isaac Heumann from Switzerland, Jonathan Ulmann from Bavaria, Abraham Levi from Alsace and the merchant Gerson Marx trading luxury and leather goods. Gerson Marx provided kosher meals and minyan services for Jewish merchants who stayed in Bozen when there were the four main sales fairs. From 1828 onwards Gerson Marx was the local imperial postmaster. In 1838 he requested emperor Ferdinand I to annul the antiJewish prohibition to own property and to allow him to buy a meadow in order to harvest hay for his horses. It would have allowed Gerson Marx to sell the manure of his horses at acceptable prices and to renovate or rebuild the post office building, but his inquiry was rejected.4 4 Tänzer und der Traum vom ‘Bezirksrabbinat Meran’”, in: Thomas Albrich (ed.), Jüdische Lebensgeschichten aus Tirol – Vom Mittelalter bis in die Gegenwart (Innsbruck: 2012), p. 187; Ilse Wegscheider, “Dr Aron Tänzer, Leben und Werk”, in: Karl Heinz Burmeister (ed.), Rabbiner Dr Aron Tänzer – Gelehrter und Menschenfreund (1871– 1937) (Bregenz: 1987), p. 42 et seq. Francesco Saracino, “Jüdisches Leben in Bozen im 18. Jahrhundert: Die Familien Gerson und Hendle”, in: Thomas Albrich (ed.), Jüdische Lebensgeschichten aus Tirol – Vom Mittelalter bis in die Gegenwart (Innsbruck: 2012), p. 75; Aron Tänzer, Die Geschichte der Königswarter-Stiftung in Meran 1872–1907 (Meran: 1907), p. 8; Thomas Albrich, “Jüdisches Leben in Tirol und Vorarlberg von 1806 bis 1867”, in: Thomas Albrich (ed.), Jüdisches Leben im historischen Tirol, vol. 2, Von der bayerischen Zeit 1806 bis zum Ende der Monarchie 1918 (Vienna-Innsbruck: 2013), p. 157 et seq.; Helmut Rizolli and Walter Schneider, “Jüdische Lebensbilder aus Bozen”, in: Simon und 56 Sabine Mayr In the 1820s Daniel and Jakob Biedermann came to South Tyrol. Aron Tänzer called them the first and for a long time only Jews of Meran. They might have followed the trade routes of their father, the draper Seligmann or Salomon Lämle, who in 1813 had accepted the name of Biedermann. The Biedermann brothers first dealt with cloth and fabrics and held a shop in the Postgasse, where they also exchanged foreign currencies. In the 1830s they opened the bank “D. & J. Biedermann”, which soon gained the confidence of local merchants and contributed to the flourishing of the town of Meran, which just started to become a very popular health resort. When the municipal savings bank, the “Meraner Sparkasse”, was founded in 1865, Daniel Biedermann was appointed to the executive committee. Both Biedermann brothers were members of Meran’s voluntary fire brigade. At Jakob Biedermann’s death in 1876 the writer of the obituary recalled his upright and plain sense widely acknowledged among farmers and bourgeoisie, punning on the adjective “bieder” included in the family name.5 In 1848 the banker David Lehmann settled in Bozen. From 1867 to 1896 he was the owner of the maison “Engelsburg” in the Bindergasse, and the Silesian merchant Adolf Huldschiner, who was married to David Lehmann‘s second daughter Johanna, invited to minyan services on festive days from the 1870s onwards.6 The merchant Salomon Egg from Hohenems 5 6 Sarah in Bozen – Jüdische Präsenz in und außerhalb der Stadt bis zum 18. Jahrhundert (Bozen: 2012), p. 84; Hohenems Genealogie <http://www.hohenemsgenealogie.at>. Private Notes by Sepp Herzum, Wenzel Herzum’s son, “D. & J. Biedermann, Bankgeschäft, Meran”, p. 1; Aron Tänzer, Die Geschichte der Königswarter-Stiftung in Meran 1872–1907, p. 8 et seq.; id., Die Geschichte der Juden in Hohenems und im übrigen Vorarlberg, p. 498 et seq.; Thomas Albrich, Jüdisches Leben in Tirol und Vorarlberg von 1806 bis 1867, p. 163 ff.; Meraner Zeitung, 16. August 1876, p. 3. Elisabeth Huldschiner Fille (ed.), Robert Huldschiner. Journalismus für die Menschen (Bozen: 2004), p. 8; Historical Archive of Bozen, Commercial Licences before 1927, letter of Julius Perathoner on the Huldschiner family, 1 July 1920; Österreichische Israelitische Union, Kalender für Israeliten 5659 1898/1899 (Vienna: 1898), p. 301; Martin Achrainer, “Jüdisches Leben in Tirol und Vorarlberg von 1867 bis 1918”, in: Thomas Albrich (ed.), Jüdisches Leben im historischen Tirol, vol. 2, Von der bayerischen Zeit 1806 bis zum Ende der Monarchie 1918 (Vienna-Innsbruck: 2013), p. 232 et seq. The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran 57 in 1865 started a cloth and drapery business in Bozen.7 By 1854 Ernst and Wilhelm Schwarz founded a brewery in Vilpian. The Schwarz brothers had led the canteen during the construction of the fortress “Franzensfeste” around 1833 and leased the brewery, which was established on the premises of the former convent of the Coelestian order in Gries near Bozen abolished by Joseph II in 1782 and which Wilhelm Schwarz bought in 1860. In 1876 Ernst Schwarz and his sons Siegmund and Arnold Schwarz opened the bank “E. Schwarz und Söhne” on the main square of the old town centre of Bozen.8 From 1867 onwards, the new railway connection across the Brenner Pass took poorer patients and visitors to Meran. Thus, the call for formal ackowledgement as Jewish community became louder, but still officially remained unheard. This is why the Jews of Meran had to act under the guise of the “Königswarter Foundation”, which was founded in 1872 with a generous grant from the Königswarter family, who had been encouraged to do so by the Biedermann brothers and by doctor Raphael Hausmann from Breslau. At approximately the same time and like many Jewish patients from the German-speaking area and from eastern countries of the Austro– Hungarian empire Jakob Straschnow left Prague and came to South Tyrol, but instead of curing his lung disease he began to write for the local newspaper “Bozner Zeitung”, founded in 1842 as a forum for progressive and constitutional debate and for liberal policies and the scrutiny of outdated 7 8 Archives of the Mercantile Museum, Chamber of Commerce of the Province of Bozen, Register of recorded companies, Announcement of Salomon Egg’s commercial activity of 23 March 1865. Gotthard Andergassen and Ettore Frangipane, 1808–2008: Bozner Waltherplatz in Bildern (Bozen: 2008), p. 167; Roman Drescher, Bier in Südtirol – Geschichte des Brauereiwesens und Wirtshausbrauereien heute (Bozen: 2013), p. 23 et seq.; Archives of the Mercantile Museum, Chamber of Commerce of the Province of Bozen, Register of recorded companies, Announcement of the commercial activity; Anita Kritzinger, Beitrag der jüdischen Familie Schwarz zur wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung Südtirols (Innsbruck: 2001), p. 61 et seq.; id., “Vom Hausierer zum Großinvestor – Der wirtschaftliche Aufstieg der Familie Schwarz”, in: Thomas Albrich (ed.), Von Salomon Sulzer bis “Bauer & Schwarz”. Jüdische Vorreiter der Moderne in Tirol und Vorarlberg (Innsbruck: 2009), p. 205 et seq. 58 Sabine Mayr clerical privileges. As the only daily newspaper in South Tyrol of that time, the “Bozner Zeitung” was mostly read by urban middle-class and liberal readers, “a large intelligent readership”,9 as Straschnow, editor-in-chief from December 1872 to March 1873, announced in his first issue. It was exposed to a strong headwind. On the other side of the political spectrum were the conservatives, who in the newspaper Tiroler Volksblatt fiercely advocated the privileges of the Catholic church as in the questions of electoral and educational reform. They were supported by Trento’s bishop, who repeatedly condemned the “Bozner Zeitung” as forbidden literature, which brought the loss of many readers, but also had bizarre consequences like clergymen threatening to deny religious assistance to the subscribers of the “Bozner Zeitung” in the case of an illness or inspecting confessors whether they had intended to read the “Bozner Zeitung”.10 Another critical voice was Daniel Spitzer, the author of witty feuilletons and humorous satires. On 20 May 1875 he recorded a very pronounced Tyrolean religious attitude, which manifested itself in the many clergymen in town or in the almost daily held religious processions. Spitzer shows that a respectful or neutral attitude towards Jews was not a rare event at the beginning of the 1870s, when he writes: “Yet Tyrolean farmers are also very compliant towards people of another religion, for when they meet with Polish Jews sojourning for health reasons they kiss their hands, since, due to their kaftan and the most happy circumstance that they tuck their trousers in their boots, they enjoy great resemblance with clergymen.”11 But many such positive views of Jews were to disappear only a few years later due to the constant spread of hatred by the Tiroler Volksblatt and later also by the newspapers Tiroler Volksbote and Der Tiroler, all railing against “Jewish impiety”, “Jewish modernity” and “Jewish liberalism”. In March 1900 the “Burggräfler”, first published in 1882, strongly agitated against Jews from 9 10 11 Bozner Zeitung, 12 December 1872, p. 1. Bozner Zeitung, 23 December 1871, p. 3; 27 December 1871, p. 3; 29 December 1871, p. 3; 12 December 1872, p. 1; Gottfried Solderer (ed.), Das 20. Jahrhundert in Südtirol, vol. 1: Abschied vom Vaterland (Bozen), p. 30 and 85. Daniel Spitzer, Wiener Spaziergänge II, Gesammelte Schriften, vol. 2 (Munich-Leipzig: 1912), p. 54, 109 and 299 (translation by the author). The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran 59 Upper Hungary and thus clearly targeted its verbal assaults at representatives of the Königswarter Foundation. Upper Hungary was not only their place of origin, but its famous religious centre founded by Rabbi Chatam Sofer in Bratislava (then known under its Hungarian names Poszony or Pressburg) formed the background for a very pious life, practised by many Jewish families in Meran. One of the clerical scribblers with whom Jakob Straschnow had to argue and who were repeatedly summoned to court because of their injurious reporting was the clergy Sebastian Glatz, later to be the parish priest of Meran. Glatz coined the expression of “Tyrol’s spittoons” for the liberal “Bozner Zeitung” and the “Tagblatt” published in Innsbruck.12 He was a delegate to the legislative assembly for many years, a member of the advisory board of the educational council and initiated the construction of the Andreas Hofer chapel in St. Leonhard in Passeier, whose paintings show three children endowed with a gloriole and with the names “S. Andreas v. Rinn, S. Ursula v. Lienz, S. Simon v. Trient”. It has repeatedly been criticized that still today such paintings pass without comment in South Tyrol.13 It is yet unknown why Glatz abstained from including the local blood libel constructed around the South Tyrolean boy “Franzele von Montiggl”, narrated from 1744 onwards and reported in the pamphlet “Four Tyrolean Children – Victims of Chassidic Fanatism” (“Vier Tiroler Kinder – Opfer des chassidischen Fanatismus”) of 1893 by the Viennese parish priest Joseph Deckert. Anti-Semitic propaganda of such works and religious school books like “Katholischer Kindergarten” promoted rejection and fear against Jews and, as Kurt Schubert, the founder of the Department of Jewish Studies at the University of Vienna and of the Jewish Museum in Eisenstadt, observes, were the breeding ground for national socialist perpetrators and those who during the Nazi regime looked away with good conscience. Not even the Italian writer and senator Alessandro Manzoni stood up for the truth against Italian blood libels quickly spreading 12 13 Bozner Zeitung, 29 January 1873, p. 3; 19 February 1873, p. 3. Sabine Gruber and Peter Eickhoff, 111 Orte in Südtirol, die man gesehen haben muss (Cologne: 2014), p. 186 et seq.; Wolfgang Duschek and Florian Pichler, Meran wie es war 1900–1930 (Meran: 1983), p. 41 et seq. 60 Sabine Mayr after the proceedings against the Jews of Trento in 1475. The proceedings and tortures of 1475 in Trento had been initiated by bishop Hinderbach, who had been in need of money for his prestigious buildings, and had led to the execution of all male Jews of the town, the coersive christening of their wives and as a consequence the imposure of a “cherem”, a Jewish ban to shun the entire region including Meran.14 In 1879 the local town administration recorded twenty-six Jews living in Meran, while up to 600 Jews came as guests every year. In 1893 around eighty Jews with permanent abode and around 1,000 Jewish visitors were recorded.15 Patients treated in Meran came from the most wealthy and liberal-minded families of the Habsburg monarchy. The Königswarter Foundation was supported by the Rothschild and Dormitzer family and by Wilhelm von Gutmann, founder of the largest coal business of the Austro– Hungarian Empire and from 1891 to 1892 president of the Jewish community in Vienna. After his death in 1891, the president of the Königswarter Foundation Arnold Wodianer was succeeded by Philipp Bauer, the owner of a cotton and linen factory, with generous annual contributions and donations. Both of his children, the later Austromarxist politician Otto Bauer and Freud’s patient Ida Bauer, temporarily went to school in Meran.16 14 15 16 Kurt Schubert, Die Geschichte des Österreichischen Judentums (Vienna: 2008), p. 91 et seq.; Ronnie Po-chia Hsia, Trient 1475. Geschichte eines Ritualmordprozesses (Frankfurt am Main: 1997), p. 54 et seq. and 167 et seq.; Günther Pallaver, “Simonino da Trento. Ein Ritualmordprozess und seine Folgen (1475–1975)”, in: Die Geschichte der Juden in Tirol von den Anfängen im Mittelalter bis in die neueste Zeit, Sturzflüge 15/16 (1986), p. 132; Federico Steinhaus, “Von der Vernichtung zum Wiederaufbau (1938–1948)”, in: Karl Heinz Burmeister und Federico Steinhaus, Beiträge zu einer Geschichte der jüdischen Kultusgemeinde von Meran, Kulturzentrum “Anne Frank” (Trento: 1987), p. 98. Karl Heinz Burmeister, “Die Entstehung der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde in Meran”, in: Karl Heinz Burmeister and Federico Steinhaus, Beiträge zu einer Geschichte der jüdischen Kultusgemeinde von Meran, Kulturzentrum “Anne Frank” (Trento: 1987), p. 68 et seq. As Freud wrote in his study on the case history of “Dora” Peppina Zellenka, the wife of Hans Zellenka, another supportive member of the Königswarter Foundation, had an affair with Philipp Bauer during their stay in Meran. Sigmund Freud, “Bruchstück einer Hysterie-Analyse”, in: Sigmund Freud, Gesammelte Werke, vol. 5 (London: 1942); The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran 61 Financed by Jewish communities all over Europe which thus promoted Meran’s international reputation, the Jewish sanatorium inaugurated in 1893 was the most prestigious charity project of the Königswarter Foundation. In 1901 a synagogue was opened in the park of the sanatorium. By 1902 a third of the almost fifty doctors practising in Meran were Jewish.17 In 1909 the Jewish sanatorium was amplified by a comfortable new main building disposing of sixty rooms with balconies and furnished with the most modern medical and technical equipment, including two modern kitchen for milky and meaty meals. But it was not before 9 November 1921 that the Jewish community was officially acknowledged, which after the treaty of Saint-Germain of 1919 had become a concern of the Italian state. Members of the Jewish community like the hoteliers Leopold, Josef, Jakob and Julius Bermann or Paul Berger and sanatorium directors like Max Bermann or Geza von Gara managed to draw on and further develop Meran‘s past reputation as a world-renowned health resort. Until 1938 the Jewish community in Meran had about 400 members, directors of hotels and sanatoriums like the above mentioned, doctors, dentists, chemists, veterinarians, bankers, lawyers, architects, real estate agents, writers, artists, actors, singers, musicians, photographers, tailors, cooks and merchants trading in various commodities such as fur, wood, cereals, meat, groceries, art objects, antiquities, carpets, leather, stationery, books, cloth, fashion, china and stoneware, tires, components of cars or wine cellars, electrical appliances or musical instruments. South Tyrol and Trentino recorded about 600 members of the Jewish community, as Walter Goetz, the commissioner of the Jewish community Ernst Hanisch, Der große Illusionist Otto Bauer (1881–1938) (Vienna: 2011), p. 12 and 21; Meraner Zeitung, 6 July 1913, p. 3; Aron Tänzer, Die Geschichte der KönigswarterStiftung in Meran 1872–1907, p. 45; Christian Herbst, “Die Brüder Daniel und Jakob Biedermann in Meran”, in: Thomas Albrich (ed.), Jüdische Lebensgeschichten aus Tirol – Vom Mittelalter bis in die Gegenwart (Innsbruck: 2012), p. 141 et seq.; Federico The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran 63 1870, he settled in Meran in order to found a kosher restaurant, which first was in Freiheitsstraße and later was transferred to the Starkenhof. In 1905 his son Leopold Bermann acquired Villa Bellaria (current address of the building: Otto Huber-Straße 13), which after merging with Villa Gothensitz in 1912 became one of Meran’s most elegant hotels. In 1906 Leopold’s brother Jakob Bermann bought the pension Ortler, closely located in today’s Carducci-Straße 28, while Max Bermann in 1907 opened his Sanatorium Waldpark in today’s Schafferstraße 64. Due to the large number of mostly religious visitors attracted by Hotel Bellaria in the 1920s and 1930s some guests spent the night at another hotel, but had their kosher meals at the Bellaria. “Hotel Bristol was our ‘main annexe’”, explains Leopold Bermann, son of Josef Bermann, who in 1924 took over the Bellaria from his father Leopold and in 1926 married Sarah Gans from Frankfurt. Josef Bermann was the last president of the Jewish community in Meran before its eradication. With the community’s relief committee he tried to help the many refugees from Germany and Austria escaping to South Tyrol, regarded as relatively safe until October 1938. “Then there was a wider range of tolerance between religious and non-religious Jewish gastronomy, and Zionists, which of course were not religious, or guests with a Jewish background observing a few traditions, but not considered religious also went to kosher The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran 65 had. At night they were deported to the “Arbeitserziehungslager” Reichenau near Innsbruck.22 We only have knowledge of the fates of five victims: of Therese Reich, who died on 9 November 1943, the lawyer John Gitterman killed on 14 December 1943, Josef Honig on 22 January 1944 and Emma Götz on 2 February 1944. Emma Götz was the wife of the merchant Moritz Götz from Moravia, a once very popular supplier of groceries and chicken to kosher hotels and Christian clients. The merchant Alfred Bermann died on 24 March 1944.23 Terka and Julius Bermann had married in 1922 in the Schiffschul, an orthodox synagogue in Vienna. In August 1943 Julius, Terka and their twins Erich and Jakob crossed the provincial border and fled to Vervò in Val di Non in Trentino. A friend had also found shelter here, Katharina Rapaport, who in September 1935 had fled from Munich and in Meran had met the 22 Archives of the “Völkischer Kampfring Südtirols – VKS”, letter of “SS-Brigadeführer” Karl Brunner to the “Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Optanten für Deutschland” (AdO), 12 September 1943; Michael Wedekind, Nationalsozialistische Besatzungs- und Annexionspolitik in Norditalien 1943 bis 1945. Die Operationszonen “Alpenvorland” und “Adriatisches Küstenland” (Munich: 2003), p. 353 et seq.; Leopold Steurer, “‘Undeutsch und jüdisch’ – Streiflichter zum Antisemitismus in Tirol”, in: Die Geschichte der Juden in Tirol von den Anfängen im Mittelalter bis in die neueste Zeit, Sturzflüge 15/16 (1986), p. 60 et seq.; Leopold Steurer, “La deportazione dall’Italia (1939–1945): Bolzano”, in: Materiale di Lavoro, Rivista di studi storici 4 (1985), p. 13; Thomas Albrich, “Die Verfolgung der Juden in der Operationszone Alpenvorland nach dem September 1943”, in: Thomas Albrich (ed.), Jüdisches Leben im historischen Tirol 3: Von der Teilung Tirols 1918 bis in die Gegenwart (Vienna-Innsbruck: 2013), p. 336 et seq.; Johannes Breit, 66 Sabine Mayr chauffeur Leopold Zadra, whom she married in August 1938. Documents in the archive of the Jewish community in Meran provide evidence that an employee of the company Carboni Lex called Auer later boasted about having captured Katharina Zadra and Terka Bermann in Val di Non. The researches of Cinzia Villani confirmed the arrest on 16 October 1943 by a member of the SS and of the SOD, the latter from Meran. According to Villani, Katharina and Terka were kept in the town prison of Meran until 19 October 1943, when they were deported to Reichenau. Terka’s last sign of life is a letter dated 16 April 1944, in which she wrote to her husband that she would soon be brought to the east. Information made available to the Jewish Museum in Meran say that Katharina Zadra died on 31 October 1943.24 On 19 November 1943 “SS-Hauptscharführer” Alfons Niederwieser confirmed to “SS-Sturmbannführer” Rudolf Thyrolf that thirty former inhabitants had been arrested outside Meran and taken to Reichenau – apart from the group already arrested on 16 September 1943 – and that their apartments, shops and houses had been locked and sealed.25 Refugees driven out of the province of Bolzano from 1938 onwards and “racially” persecuted persons who provisionally could stay longer because their Italian citizenship had not been withdrawn or due to their old age – officially estimated to be more than 1,000 – left behind thirty houses in the inner districts of Meran, which were greedily taken by callous profiteers, in several cases members of the “Partito Nazionale Fascista”. A large part of the former Jewish owners were murdered by the Nazis and those who survived received no or only very little compensation for their losses. Mostly compensations 24 25 Interview with René Weiss and Rachel Horwitz, 20 June 2014; Archive of the Jewish community in Meran, Documents of the Jewish Community, Series “Files, Accounting and Correspondence before 1949”, folder 7, file 29, undated list of the persons involved in the arrest of the Jews from Meran; report by Leopoldina Micheletti, in: Federico Steinhaus, Ebrei/Juden – Gli ebrei dell’Alto Adige negli anni trenta e quaranta (Firenze: 1994), p. 99 et seq.; Cinzia Villani, Zwischen Rassengesetzen und Deportation, p. 164 et seq.; Archives of the International Tracing Service, Bad Arolsen, cards no. 85877330, 85877342, 85877338. Private Archive of Maurizio Goetz, letter of Alfons Niederwieser to “SS-Sturmbannführer” Rudolf Thyrolf, 19 November 1943. The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran 67 were denied with the excuse that applicants were no longer Italian citizens. Among those who left Meran in 1939 were Lotti Steinhaus, born on 1906 in the Bohemian health resort Karlsbad, and her son Federico. They fled to Torbole on Lake Garda in July 1939 and soon to other Italian provinces, finally to be brought to Venosa in the province of Potenza in the southern region of Basilicata. Villa Sellnitz and their leather shop were sold for peanuts. Their house had once been the residence of the bankier and estate agent Wenzel Herzum, son-in-law of Friedrich Stransky, who had long managed the Biedermann bank and had succeeded Philipp Bauer as president of the Königswarter Foundation.26 Until the Great Depression some members of the Jewish community worked for the Meran branch of the “Wiener Bankverein”, whose Meran offices located on the corner of today’s main building of the local “Sparkasse” were directed by Siegfried Schlesinger. Born in 1875 in Vienna Schlesinger, who had lived in Meran since 1910, was married to Maria Eriksen, who had come from Denmark to cure her lung disease. In autumn 1938 Siegfried Schlesinger was among the applicants for the conversion to Protestantism and was among the very few who had been accepted by the Protestant community in Meran.27 In Summer 1939 the Schlesingers fled to France, which they wanted to cross in order to get a ship transfer from Dunkerque to the USA, but after the German invasion on 10 May 1940 they stayed in the south of France, where Siegfried Schlesinger luckily escaped a house search by the Gestapo and survived. Pension Scandinavia and the Schlesingers’ appartment had been entrusted to their housekeeper, who 26 27 File number 437, cadastral district Mais, construction plot 600, land plot 1403/5, land register of Meran; Lotti Steinhaus interviewed by Elisabeth Gasser, in: “Im Zeichen Davids. Die jüdische Kultusgemeinde von Meran in Geschichte und Gegenwart”, a film documentary by Elisabeth Gasser and Rudy Kaneider (RAI Sender Bozen: 1987); Lotti Goliger-Steinhaus, Mein lieber Federico. Geschichte einer jüdischen Familie (Bozen: 1994), p. 27 et seq. Hans H. Reimer, Lutherisch in Südtirol. Die Geschichte der Evangelischen Gemeinde Meran, eine Spurensuche zum Protestantismus in Südtirol und im Trentino (Bozen: 2009), p. 366; Archives of the Register of Companies, Chamber of Commerce of the Province of Bozen, Announcements of companies dissolved between 1929 and 1959, Announcement of the commercial activity by Maria Eriksen. 68 Sabine Mayr in 1947 was sentenced with her husband, who was a member of the SOD, and a friend for having committed robbery.28 Ludwig Baranek was born in 1882 in Vienna and had lived in Meran since 1909. He is another refugee of the year 1939, even if he had converted to Catholicism in 1905 and to Protestantism in 1914. He first worked at the lawyer’s office of the poet Hugo Zuckermann, who had founded the association of Zionist students “Theodor Herzl” and the “Jüdische Bühne”, the first Jewish theatre in Vienna. Baranek was an independent lawyer from 1921 onwards and in 1923 received the Italian citizenship. In 1928 he renounced it – “like an old pair of shoes contemptuously thrown into the corner”, as an Italian ministry official put it – and adopted the Austrian citizenship.29 He also arranged for his cancellation from the register of the chamber of lawyers and moved to Vienna in July 1929. The following year, however, he moved back to Meran and again received the Italian citizenship – after the intervention of two ambassadors, the president of the senate, several Members of Parliament and the prefect of the province of Bolzano Giovanni Battista Marziali. Baranek was highly respected among his colleagues. Fascist authorities observed that he had applied for the membership of the Fascist Party, but had never been seen on meetings or other events.30 28 29 30 Commissione per la ricostruzione delle vicende che hanno caratterizzato in Italia le attività di acquisizione dei beni dei cittadini ebrei da parte di organismi pubblici e privati, “Le spoliazioni nella zona d’operazione prealpi: Bolzano, Trento e Belluno”, Final Report (Rome: 2001), p. 189 f.; Hans H. Reimer, Lutherisch in Südtirol. Die Geschichte der Evangelischen Gemeinde Meran, eine Spurensuche zum Protestantismus in Südtirol und im Trentino (Bozen: 2009), p. 447 et seq. Archive of the Chamber of Lawyers of the Province of Bolzano, file on Ludwig Baranek, letter of an unnamed ministry official to the state secretary of the union “Sindacato Nazionale Fascista Avvocati e Procuratori”, 19 November 1931; Rosanna Pruccoli, “Zuckermann, Altmann und Tänzer: drei jüdische Persönlichkeiten vor dem Hintergrund des Ersten Weltkriegs”, in: Siegfried de Rachewiltz (ed.), Zachor – Juden im südlichen Tirol im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert (Lana: 2012), p. 108 et seq.; Anna L. Staudacher, “Jüdisch-protestantische Konvertiten in Meran 1868–1914”, in: Maajan – Die Quelle 96/3 (2010), p. 3566; address books of Merans of the years 1912, 1921, 1929 and 1933; phone book for the “Tre Venezie” of 1935. Archive of the Chamber of Lawyers of the Province of Bolzano, file on Ludwig Baranek, Ludwig Baranek to the chamber of lawyers in Bolzano, 17 June 1929, letter The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran 69 In October 1921 Italy’s King Viktor Emanuel III came to Meran on the occasion of laying the boundary stone at the Brenner Pass, which in South Tyrol was of course a very controversial visit. While leaving his office the same day Baranek met his landlady, who explained that she intended to fasten the tricolour on the balcony of his studio since she did not want to fasten the Italian flag on her own balcony. Baranek did not allow his landlady to enter his office. Still, after this brief exchange known to the police informed by both, Baranek was considered to be anti-Italian and subversive, an attitude also recorded for Hermann Zipper, member of the Jewish community, and the lawyer Erwin Langer. Baranek was accused of neglecting the use of the Italian language at court and in official documents. By 1931, Baranek clarified in a written document that he had always only wanted to perfom in his profession as well as possible and that he had always taken care of all his clients irrespective of whether they were of Italian or German origin. He further explained that many of his clients were Italian-speaking.31 Baranek’s partner Maximilian Füchsel, born in 1881 in Vienna and converted to Catholicism by 1912, complained to the authorities that he was ignored for the administration of bankrupt estates, while 31 of the council of the chamber of lawyers in Bolzano, 21 June 1929, Maximilian Füchsel to commissioner Salvatore De Angelis from the “Sindacato Provinciale Avvocati e Procuratori”, 15 September 1930; State Central Archives, Rome, PS A 16, “Ebrei stranieri”, folder 9, file 15, Notes of the director of the political police for the Department of General and Confidential Matters, 7 May 1934, letter of the prefect of the province of Bolzano to the general directorate for public sicurity in the Ministry of the Interior, 19 June 1934. Archives of the Chamber of Lawyers of the Province of Bolzano, file on Ludwig Baranek, letter of Claudio Grandello to the president of the council of the chamber of lawyers in Bolzano Enrico Riboli, 22 October 1930, letter of Ludwig Baranek to the commissioner of the chamber of lawyers in Bolzano Pietro Grassi, 25 February 1931; letter of the commissioner of the chamber of lawyers in Bolzano Pietro Grassi to the council of the chamber of lawyers in Bolzano, 15 April 1931; State Central Archives, Rome, PS A 16, “Ebrei stranieri”, folder 9, file 15, letter of the prefect of the province of Bolzano to the general directorate for public sicurity in the Ministry of the Interior, 27 February 1936. 70 Sabine Mayr young trainees without any professional experience were commissioned or accountants who had just recently settled in the province.32 Ludwig Baranek was the target of the article titled as “Jewish Invasion in South Tyrol”, published in the “Münchner Zeitung” on 22 April 1934 and agitating in the national socialist mode. Baranek was claimed to be the head of the Jews emigrated from Germany and Austria and accused of harming South Tyrolean farmers and merchants by purchasing property, starting commercial activities and holding secret meetings at Hotel Bristol in Meran.33 Director Johann W. Krahé defended himself by pointing out that Hotel Bristol was in the possession of the Italian state and that no secret or other form of meeting was held which could have conflicted with the Italian law, even if about half of his guests were Jewish. Krahé also observed that the writer of the article in the “Münchner Zeitung” obviously had a tight connection to Meran and was only guided by personal interests, harming the NSDAP by raising wrong accuses.34 Baranek explained that he had indeed been consulted on legal questions concerning economic options, but had never been concerned with politics nor the alleged secret meetings. Still, the Italian Ministry of the Interior considered Baranek to be the author of the above-mentioned anti-Semitic and agitating article.35 In 1939 Ludwig Baranek lost his Italian citizenship. On 3 August 1939 he informed the chamber of lawyers that he renounced from further pursuing his profession. Ludwig and Elise Baranek transferred their residence to Ritten and fled to San Remo in the summer of 1939 after a short stay in 32 33 34 35 Archive of the Chamber of Lawyers of the Province of Bolzano, file on Maximilian Füchsel, letter of Maximilian Füchsel to the president of the council of the chamber of lawyers in Bolzano Enrico Riboli and the president of the court in Bolzano, 15 March 1929 and 18 March 1929, letter of the council of the chamber of lawyers in Bolzano to Maximilian Füchsel, 18 August 1929. “Münchner Zeitung”, 22 April 1934. “Hakenkreuzbanner”, 30 April 1934; Central Archive of the State, Rome, PS A 16, “Ebrei stranieri”, folder 9, file 15, letter of Johann W. Krahé to the editor of the “Hakenkreuzbanner”, 28 April 1934. Central Archive of the State, Rome, PS A 16, “Ebrei stranieri”, folder 9, file 15, notes made by the director of the political police for the Department of General and Confidential Matters, 7 May 1934. The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran 71 Cavareno in Val di Non. After the war Walter Goetz informed a relative that Ludwig and Elise Baranek managed to survive.36 Robert Spitzer was another partner of Baranek. Like Hermann Honig and Riccardo Luzzatto Spitzer often worked for the Jewish community. Born in 1899 in Vienna to Gisela Schmeichler from Brno and Wilhelm Spitzer from Eisenstadt, he was the owner of several properties in Meran like Villa Heidelberg and Villa Jägersheim in the Tobias-Brenner-Straße. Their forced sales in 1939 and 1940 respectively were contested after the war, as in many other cases to no avail.37 One of the issues in which the Jewish community of Meran was defended by Robert Spitzer was the disposal of the old Jewish cemetery, which according to municipal arrangements should be cleared like the adjacent old Catholic and Protestant cemeteries and transferred to the new Jewish cemetery outside the town centre. The area behind the “Casa del Fascio” was expected to be structured as fitting to fascist requirements. Thus the mortal remains of 670 graves had to be exhumed.38 Josef Bermann defended the religious requirement of perpetuous and immovable graves against the municipal administration and the Ministry of 36 37 38 Archive of the Jewish community in Meran, Documents of the Jewish Community, Series “Files, Accounting and Correspondence before 1949”, folder 11, file 37, letter of Walter Götz to Lucia Baranek, 15 June 1946, letter of Lucia Baranek to Walter Götz, 26 May 1946; Archives of the Chamber of Lawyers of the Province of Bolzano, file on Ludwig Baranek, letter of Ludwig Baranek to the union “Sindacato Nazionale Fascista Avvocati e Procuratori”, 3 August 1939, letter of Ludwig Baranek to the directorate of the “Sindacato Nazionale Fascista Avvocati e Procuratori”, 3 September 1939, letter of the Bolzano district of the “Sindacato Nazionale Fascista Avvocati e Procuratori” to the national office, 9 April 1940. File number 806/II cadastral district Mais, construction plots 769 and 870, land plots 1409/6 and 1409/8, land register of Meran. Historical Archives of the Italian Jewish communities, archive collections from 1934 onwards, folder 39, file 3 “Cemeteries”, letter of Josef Bermann to the Association of the Italian Jewish communities, 2 January 1938, letter of Robert Spitzer to Josef Bermann, 19 February 1938, letter of Robert Spitzer to the Association of the Italian Jewish communities, 22 July 1938, letter of Guido Broise to the Association of Italian Jewish communities, 29 October 1939. 72 Sabine Mayr the Interior.39 After Bermann’s departure the Jewish community of Meran was administered by Guido Broise from 1939 to 1941 and later, when the transferral of the remains and tombstones was to be carried out, by Placido Cesareo, both in their function as governmental commissioner of the Jewish community in Meran. Josef Kohn asked to be cautious, especially with the graves of the famous writer Perez Smolenskin, the psychologist Moriz Lazarus and the wife and daughter of Raphael Hausmann, Sophie and Berta Hausmann. Walther Hausmann was a doctor like his father Raphael and was appointed head of the Department of Light Biology and Light Pathology of the University of Vienna. He committed suicide a few days after on 22 April 1938 he had lost his position at the University.40 Josef Kohn had been the last executive doctor of the Jewish sanatorium of Meran and the doctor who had treated Franz Kafka during his stay in Meran in spring 1920. Kafka depicted Kohn as “a Zionist from Prague”, with whom he exchanged journals and books.41 Josef and Gisela Kohn were the owners of Villa Gladona inSchafferstraße 28, but had to sell it in 1940. The sale was contested in 1946.42 39 40 41 42 Historical Archives of the Italian Jewish communities, archive collections from 1934 onwards, folder 39, file 3 “Cemeteries”, Appeal to the Ministry of the Interior by Josef Bermann, 18 August 1938. Katherina Kompatscher, “… und so beschloss ich, Arzt zu werden”; Dr Raphael Hausmann, “Merans erster jüdischer Kurarzt”, in: Thomas Albrich (ed.), Von Salomon Sulzer bis “Bauer & Schwarz”: Jüdische Vorreiter der Moderne in Tirol und Vorarlberg (Innsbruck-Vienna: 2009), p. 271; “Meraner Zeitung”, 1 February 1905, p. 2; Namentliche Erfassung der österreichischen Holocaustopfer, “Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstands” <http://www.doew.at>; Universität Wien, Gedenkbuch für die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus an der Universität Wien 1938; Anna Pixner-Pertoll, Ins Licht gebaut: Die Meraner Villen (Bozen: 2009), p. 286; file number 250/II cadastral district Mais, construction plots 182/7 and 182/8, land plots 1305/2 and 1305/4, land register of Meran. Franz Kafka, letter to Felix Weltsch, April/May 1920, in: Franz Kafka, Die Briefe (Darmstadt: 2012), p. 234. File number 418/II cadastral district Mais, construction plot 524, land register of Meran; Commissione per la ricostruzione delle vicende che hanno caratterizzato in Italia le attività di acquisizione dei beni dei cittadini ebrei da parte di organismi The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran 73 Some of the oldest members of the Jewish community of Meran – among them merchant Emil Löwy, born in 1878 in Rust in Austria, Jenny Vogel, owner of the kosher restaurant and guesthouse Vogel, for which after the war the lawyer Erwin Langer managed to get a compensatory payment from the profiteers of the forced sale in 1940, merchant Moritz Götz and hotel manager Paul Berger – recommended not to oppose to the decree of transferral any longer in order to avoid deteriorating relations with the local authorities and population.43 Rabbi Joshua Grünwald, born in 1890 in Sopron, managed to flee to New York in 1939. On 19 July 1940 he published an article on the transferral of the old cemetery in the newspaper “Aufbau” inviting concerned relatives to contact the local Jewish community.44 At the same time the thirty-four members of the Jewish community still living in Meran by then signed a written consent with the municipal administration of Meran explaining that the latter would pay all expenses incurring during the transferral, while the Jewish community would provide for the necessary religious requirements. Eighteen of the members of the Jewish community listed with their names on this document did not survive the murderous persecutions beginning in 1943. Among them should be remembered Emil and Siegfried Löwy, Emma and Moritz Götz, Jenny and her daughter Ernestina Vogel, Abraham Grabowsky, the merchant Renzo Carpi, the merchant Wilhelm Breuer, Henriette Imlauf, widow of the decorator Ferdinand Imlauf, after 1903 president of the cooperative association of upholsterers and decorators and from 1908 to 1914 member of the town council in Meran, Terka Bermann, Katharina Zadra, the merchant Carlo Servi, Josef Honig, Gertrude Benjamin, her sister the chemist pubblici e privati, Le spoliazioni nella zona d’operazione prealpi: Bolzano, Trento e Belluno, Final Report (Rome: 2001), p. 177. 43 Historical Archives of the Italian Jewish communities, archive collections from 1934 onwards, folder 39, file 3 “Cemeteries”, letter of Emil Löwy to Guido Broise, 13 January 1940, letter of Jenny Vogel to Guido Broise, 11 January 1940, letter of Moritz Götz to Guido Broise, 10 January 1940, letter of Paul Berger to Guido Broise, 9 January 1940. 44 Aufbau, 19 July 1940. 74 Sabine Mayr Meta Sarason, who from 1917 to 1922 managed a chemical company named “Maja”, and their mother Celeste Elkan.45 In 1946 Walter Götz asked the Association of Italian Jewish communities for assistance when opposing to the intention to construct a new building on the ground of the old cemetery, which the local town administration had bought in spring 1941. In the documents cited above it had always declared not to use the property for construction works, but to turn it into a public garden like the old Catholic and Protestant cemeteries. By 1946 the area was however projected to be used for a cinema. Today the municipal kindergarten “Maddalena di Canossa” is located where once there had been the old Jewish cemetery of Meran.46 In March 1956 a sale contract was signed between the then president of the Jewish community and the construction company “Società Fratelli Vanzo” comprising the entire property of the Jewish community in Meran – the Jewish sanatorium, which at the end of the 1930s was planned to be used as an old people’s home and after the war served as a hospital for survivors of the concentration camps, Pension Margot built in 1897, and the property in between where two large multi-storey residential buildings were constructed. According to the later president of the Jewish community Federico Steinhaus the decision to sell the sanatorium had been the final collapse of the Jewish community in Meran.47 Today the Jewish history of the “Greutendamm”, as the district around the synagogue had once been called, where hundreds of refugees found shelter, seems to be eradicated. There is no indication as to the humanitarian thought, which had laid the basis for the world-renowned sanatorium, only a punning wink, when 45 46 47 Historical Archives of the Italian Jewish communities, archive collections from 1934 onwards, folder 39, file 3 “Cemeteries”, undated document signed by thirty-four members of the Jewish community. Archive of the Jewish community in Meran, Documents of the Jewish Community, Series “Files, Accounting and Correspondence before 1949”, folder 7, file 29, Walter Götz to the Association of Italian Jewish communities, 8 May 1946. Federico Steinhaus, “Niemals vergessen! Die Jüdische Kultusgemeinde in Meran”, in: Die Geschichte der Juden in Tirol von den Anfängen im Mittelalter bis in die neueste Zeit, Sturzflüge 15/16 (1986), p. 162; File numbers 262/II, 451/II, 2144/II and 2159/ II cadastral district Mais, land register of Meran. The Annihilation of the Jewish Community of Meran 75 the farmer’s union “Südtiroler Bauernbund” accomodated in the building unintentionally recalls one of its founders: Philipp Bauer. By establishing a didactical database on former members of the Jewish community of Meran, the Jewish Museum Meran contributed to the discussion of the local history in order to enforce the awareness that cultural diversity is a constructive factor of a society conscious of its history and of its European context.48 48 The database was made possible thanks to the support from the municipal administration of Bozen, the Department of Italian Culture and the Department of Museums of the Autonomous Province of Bozen as well as the Foundation “Südtiroler Sparkasse”. Database of the Jewish Museum Meran <http://database.meranoebraica.it>. part ii Historiography Markus Wurzer 5 Genesis of the South Tyrolean Iconic Figure Sepp Innerkofler: Actors, Narrative, Functions abstract In 1915 Sepp Innerkofler, a famous mountain guide from South Tyrol, died in battle on the Italian front. Shortly after his death he was glorified as a war hero. In this chapter Markus Wurzer seeks to answer the following questions: Who constructed the war hero? Through which practices did the actors create the heroic narration? How was the narrative configurated? And finally, which were the motives that promoted the genesis? When you visit the Messner Mountain Museum, which is located at Castle Sigmundskron nearby Bozen, you will discover six sculptures of 230cm height placed within the circular wall. They had been created by the Tyrolean sculptor Alois Fasching on behalf of the owner of the museum, the famous mountaineer Reinhold Messner. The sculptures represent important figures of the Tyrolean history from the fourteenth up to the twentieth century personally chosen by Messner: First of all, you will recognize the poet Oswald von Wolkenstein (1376–1445) and the rebel Michael Gaismair, who led the peasants during the German Peasants’ War (1524–1525). In the second place, you will detect Andreas Hofer, Josef Speckbacher and Father Haspinger, who became leaders of the Tyrolean Rebellion against the French and Bavarian occupation forces during the War of the Fifth Coalition (1809). Accompanying these Tyrolean heroes, Fasching also created a sculpture of the mountain guide and innkeeper Sepp Innerkofler. During World War I he fought at the Dolomite front and was finally killed on 4 July 1915 during a 80 Markus Wurzer patrol combat at the top of the mountain Paternkofel.1 Posthumously he turned into a war hero and his tale became a symbol for the combat against Italy, which remained in the Tyrolean public sphere and is still remembered nowadays. Within the (South) Tyrolean remembrance of World War I the figure of the war hero Innerkofler still occupies a central position, for example, the festivities in his hometown Sexten on occasion of the centenary of his death in 2015 lasted for two days: his descendants ascended the Paternkofel, a mass was celebrated, a memorial in remembrance of the Standschützen was inaugurated. Political representatives such as Günther Platter, the Tyrolean Governor, participated in the ceremonial act.2 In 2015 Innerkofler’s central position became particularly obvious. During this year, festivals remembering World War I had been held all over Tyrol. While all others were dedicated to a collective (e.g. the victims of the war in general or the dead of a community or group such as the Standschützen in particular), the festivity in Sexten remained the only one devoted to a single person – Innerkofler. The story of Innerkofler’s heroic death essentially shaped the public idea of the characteristics of the mountain warfare in the Dolomites. The war as a heroic defence battle of old men, boys and mountain guides, who are remembered as brave soldiers voluntarily and successfully fighting against the superior forces of Italy in the stunningly beautiful surrounding of the Dolomites. This romantic vision was already created during World War I by means of stories such as Innerkofler’s. During the Interwar period these stories were fixed and thereby established a proper myth about the war in the mountains, which passed on – even after World War II – up to the present day through high-circulating and popular scientific works.3 1 2 3 Messner Mountain Museum, Bozen <http://World War w.a-fasching.com/index. php?id=458> accessed 29 August 2015. “Gedenkfeier zum 100. Todestag von Sepp Innerkofler” <http://World War w.tt. com/panorama/gesellschaft/10219990-91/gedenkfeier-zum-100.-todestag--von-seppinnerkofler.csp> accessed 29 August 2015. Oswald Überegger, Erinnerungskriege: Der Erste Weltkrieg, Österreich und die Tiroler Kriegserinnerung in der Zwischenkriegszeit (Innsbruck: Wagner, 2011), pp. 266–268. Genesis of the South Tyrolean Iconic Figure Sepp Innerkofler 81 This article aims to raise the question, why and how Innerkofler achieved the described key position in the South Tyrolean memory of World War I, which is baffling due to the following observations: At the first glance the answer seems to be obvious: His military achievements put him on the world’s cultural map. As patrol leader, Innerkofler accomplished several successful operations, for which he rose in rank and became distinguished with military decorations. Nevertheless, this argument can be weakened quickly, when one considers that – at the Dolomite Front – there have been numerous other soldiers too, who commended themselves through reckless moves for a heroic status in the common memory. Additionally, Innerkofler’s final undertake – the capture of Paternkofel – was a failure, albeit he was awarded the golden medal for fortitude, the highest decoration a common soldier could get. By taking a closer look, the issue gets even more puzzling: Innerkofler became the symbol for a war that lasted for three and a half years (May 1915–November 1918) although he took part in this conflict for only one and a half months (23 May 1915–4 July 1915). In spite of that fact, Innerkofler is naturally associated with the mountain warfare, whereas other soldiers who went through the whole war and – in reference to their military distinctions – had been just as successful as Innerkofler are forgotten.4 Additionally, heroic figures of World War I were rarely preserved within the common memory until the present day. Individual heroes such as military leaders, airmen and submarine commanders were certainly constructed during the war, however, in many cases they were not able to establish a supraregional importance and were obliviated thereafter.5 The mountain warfare of 1915 to 1918 knows a vast number of such forgotten heroes. Nowadays nobody would associate names such as Hans Kröll, 4 5 Wilhelm Eppacher, Hohe Österreichische Auszeichnungen an Tiroler im 1. Weltkrieg (Innsbruck: Wagner, 1966). Gerhard Schneider, “Heldenkult”, in: Gerhard Hirschfeld, Gerd Krumeich and Irina Renz (eds), Enzyklopädie Erster Weltkrieg (Paderborn-München: Schöningh 2004), pp. 550–551. 82 Markus Wurzer Peter Pasolli, Johann Forcher or Johann Kometer with the Great War in the alpine war theatre.6 So why and how could the heroic figure of Sepp Innerkofler survive until today and how could he become such a dominant issue in the South Tyrolean remembrance of World War I? In order to answer these questions in a first place, this article will locate Innerkofler in the historical context. In a further step, the actors who constructed the hero during the war, their narrative and the tale’s functions will be analysed. A prospect on the history of the hero’s reception will conclude the article. Sepp Innerkofler and his historical context Sepp Innerkofler was born in 1865 in Sexten/South Tyrol, a village near the Austrian/Italian–Hungarian border. With reference to his vocational career, he was an ascender: As son of a peasant, he worked as a stonemason in the first place. Later, he started to take an active part in the context of alpine tourism. In the nineteenth century, summer vacationists and alpinists discovered the Dolomites as their El Dorado. As mountaineer, mountain guide, innkeeper of sundry refuges and eventually as tenant of the Drei-Zinnen-Hütte, which is still a famous alpine hut near the Drei Zinnen, Innerkofler built up a reputation. He was so successful that in 1906 he was able to build his own hotel, the Dolomitenhof near Sexten.7 The outbreak of the war in 1914 ended Innerkoflers promising tourism career. Admittedly, he was not conscripted due to his age on the one hand – aged fifty years, he was already too old for the regular military service – and his disqualification on the other hand, which was determined during a 6 7 Eppacher, Auszeichnungen an Tiroler, pp. 43, 45, 67, 68. Hans Heiss and Rudolf Holzer, Sepp Innerkofler: Bergsteiger, Tourismuspionier, Held (Wien: Folio 2015). Genesis of the South Tyrolean Iconic Figure Sepp Innerkofler 83 medical examination in his youth.8 While the regular Austrian–Hungarian army was transferred to the eastern and south-eastern front, Tyrol prepared itself for an eventual war against Italy, which remained neutral at the beginning of the war. Therefore, the Standschützen were mobilized. This institution was organized in local gun ranges. Through regular firing practice it promoted the Landesverteidigungsgedanken [attendance of provincial defence]. The military reform in 1913 transformed the Standschützen from a voluntary institution into a formation which was forced to fight in the war in case it was called.9 That is the reason, why Innerkofler, as a member of the local gun range in Sexten since his early youth, became a soldier in spite of his age and incapability.10 Finally, the military put Innerkofler on oath on 27 August 1914.11 For now, he was able to stay at home. However, on 19 May 1915, a few days before the official declaration of war was announced by Italy to Austria–Hungary, his battalion was conscripted. They occupied positions in the Dolomites a few kilometres from Sexten. During the first weeks the Italians attacked the Tyrolean front rarely and moved forward slowly. So a Krieg der Bergführer [War of mountain guides] emerged in this rough terrain, which means that small detachments tried to occupy important heights, to prevent the enemies from the chance to circumvent military barriers in the valleys.12 Based on his pre-war knowledge of the terrain, which he had gained as a mountaineer and mountain guide, he served as a patrol leader. His tasks were different: He had to guide the Austrian–Hungarian artillery fire, convey messages and guide small groups of soldiers to scout the terrain or to 8 9 10 11 12 Tyrolean Provincial Archive (TLA), Evidenzarchiv, Stellungsliste für Tirol, Bezirk Lienz, Geburtsjahr 1865, Band 15/2/31, Josef Innerkofler, Los-Nr. 31. Christoph von Hartungen, “Die Tiroler und Vorarlberger Standschützen – Mythos und Realität”, in: Klaus Eisterer and Rolf Steininger (eds), Tirol und der Erste Weltkrieg (Innsbruck-Wien: Studienverlag), pp. 61–104, here pp. 63–64, 67. Denkmalausschuss (ed.), Festschrift Osttirol, herausgegeben anlässlich der Einweihung des Bezirks-Kriegerdenkmales in Lienz (Lienz: Eigenverlag, 1925), p. 88. TLA, Evidenzarchiv, Grundbuchblatt Nominalkonsignation, Sepp Innerkofler (geb. 1865). Wolfgang Etschmann, “Die Südfront 1915–1918”, in: Eisterer and Steininger, Tirol und der Erste Weltkrieg, pp. 27–60, here p. 30. 84 Markus Wurzer attack foreign positions. For some of those undertakings he was medalled and rose in rank.13 Finally, he was one of three dead soldiers during a small skirmish on the Paternkofel, which the Austrian–Hungarians tried to conquer.14 After the failed attack and Innerkofler’s death, the location of his corpse was uncertain.15 Three years later, during summer 1918, his resting place could be located. The Italians rescued the dead body and buried him on the top of Paternkofel. On 27 August 1918 Innerkofler’s mortal remains were exhumed and transferred to the cemetery in Sexten.16 Genesis of the war hero Neither do heroes arise overnight, nor do they appear out of the nowhere. Every time there are certain people who perform relevant acts and are responsible for the genesis. Therefore, it is important to underline that it is not enough for a potential hero to do the right act at the right time for the right cause. More relevant is the existence of a consent between the communicators, which consist of the power holder and the population, about the heroic deed itself and its interpretation. In most cases the impulse is set from above by the ruling sphere, on which the public from below reacts. Together they form a communicational network, which constructs the heroic figure in a two-way process of negotiation. By writing and speaking about the historical person, they create a narrative picture of the historical event and 13 14 15 16 Meinrad Pizzinini, “Standschützen-Oberjäger Sepp Innerkofler”, in: Hermann Hinterstoisser, Christian Ortner and Erwin Schmidl (eds), Die k. k. Landwehr Gebirgstruppen: Geschichte, Uniformierung und Ausrüstung der österreichischen Gebirgstruppen von 1906 bis 1918 (Wien: Militaria 2006), pp. 302–303. Bavarian Main States Archives (BHSA), Abt. IV. Kriegsarchiv, Alpenkorps, 17 Kriegstagebuch Tirol 24 May–14 October 1915. TLA, Film Nr. 552, Ehrenbuch, Sillian, Sexten, Abschnitt 2 Sillian, Sepp Innerkofler. Tyrolean Provincial Museum Ferdinandeum (TLMF), Brief von Anton Trixl an Viktor Schemfil vom 27 May 1937, Sig. FB 33370. Genesis of the South Tyrolean Iconic Figure Sepp Innerkofler 85 fill it with their message. Also the mass media play a very important role in its creation and distribution.17 In the era of World War I, newspapers had been the place, where heroes were born and the honouring began. A look into the print media between 1915 and 1918 will reveal, which players contributed to the genesis of the heroic figure of Sepp Innerkofler, which narrative they shaped and which function they allotted to it. Actors On 7 July 1915, three days after the failed attack on Paternkofel, the death of Innerkofler was revealed. The newspaper Innsbrucker Nachrichten reported that they had been informed by an authorized instance that “the famous Dolomite mountain guide and innkeeper of the Drei-Zinnen-Hütte, owner of the ‘Dolomitenhof ’” was killed in action.18 However, the newspaper did not reveal the identity of the mentioned authority. According to the analysis of the sources, it seems to be the Tiroler Landesverteidigungskommando (LVK) [Tyrolean commando of provincial defence], which at this time was located in the Tyrolean provincial capital Innsbruck and was commended by General Viktor Dankl. During the course of the following days the message was distributed through regional and supraregional newspapers. For example on 8 July the Tagespost in Linz19 and on 9 July the NeuigkeitsWelt-Blatt in Vienna reported that with Innerkofler “a well-known and famous personality of the tourist scene” died in battle.20 17 18 19 20 Silke Satjukow, “Propaganda mit menchlichem Antlitz im Sozialismus: Über die Konstruktion einer Propagandafigur. Der ‘Held der Arbeit’ Adolf Hennecke”, in: Rainer Gries and Wolfgang Schmale (eds), Kultur der Propaganda (Bochum: Winkler 2005), pp. 167–192, here pp. 180–186. “Sepp Innerkofler den Heldentod gestorben”, Innsbrucker Nachrichten (7 July 1915); in German: “der bekannte Dolomiten-Bergführer und Hüttenwirt auf der Dreizinnenhütte, Besitzer des ‘Dolomitenhofes’ […]” (my translation). “Der Heldentod eines Tiroler Bergführers”, Tagespost (8 July 2015). “Der Dolomitenführer Sepp Innerkofler gefallen”, Neuigkeits-Welt-Blatt (9 July 1915); in German: “eine in Touristenkreisen überaus bekannte und beliebte Persönlichkeit” (my translation). 86 Markus Wurzer Mountain guide and hotelier Innerkofler was already well-known by a wider public before World War I. Tourists, who had climbed summits with him, made him famous by writing about their adventures in newspapers and alpine journals.21 This explains why the death of a seemingly common soldier in a little skirmish caused ripples in the water. According to a newspapers report the population at the home front was highly affected when they heard about his death “as if a little ruler would have died with him”.22 The atmosphere within the troops at the Dolomite front was tense: Firstly, the success of the so-called Paternkofel-Unternehmen [Paternkofel-undertaking] was already doubted by involved soldiers before its execution.23 In the second place, the death of Innerkofler, who was sacrificed by the military leadership through this suicide operation, whipped up the feelings of the soldiers. The denial of several mountain guides to participate in another attack one day after Innerkofler’s death can be valued as an expression of these feelings.24 Due to these strong, emotional reactions, which in the end questioned the military expertise of the commanding officers, it seems logic that the LVK Tyrol had no interest in leaving the interpretation of Innerkofler’s death to chance. On 8 July 1915 Dankl’s commando already addressed a telegraphic request to the commando of the southwestern front in order to suggest the posthumous awarding of the golden medal of fortitude to Innerkofler. The next day, Archduke Eugen, who led the commando, permitted the accolade. A slower, written request should be handed in later.25 21 22 23 24 25 Alois Dreyer, “Alpenfreude und Alpensport”, Westermanns Monatshefte 55; “Wie Sepp Innerkofler fiel”, Neuigkeits-Welt-Blatt (22 July 1915). Oskar Blobel, “Sepp Innerkofler”, in: Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (14 July 1915); in German: “wie wenn mit ihm ein kleiner Herrscher gefallen wäre” (my translation). Viktor Schemfil, “Die Paternkofel-Unternehmung und der Tod Sepp Innerkoflers”, Veröffentlichungen des Museums Ferdinandeum 26/29 (1938), pp. 517–536, here 520. Letter from Ing. Planck, who was a World War I veteran, to Gottfried Kalser (29 July 1985). I would like to thank Mr Kalser, who provided the document for me. Austrian State Archives (ÖStA), Kriegsarchiv, Belohnungsakten des Weltkrieges 1914–1918, Mannschaftsbelohnungsanträge (MBA) Nr. 113.840 (Karton 69), Antrag auf Verleihung der Goldenen Tapferkeitsmedaille für den Standschützen-Oberjäger der Standschützenkompanie Sexten Sepp Innerkofler. Genesis of the South Tyrolean Iconic Figure Sepp Innerkofler 87 After the awarding was authorized, this information spread by means of various newspapers. The Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung26 [Tyrolean soldier newspaper], which was released by the LVK itself, first published the news on 14 July 1915 in a prominent article on its front page.27 Thus, fallen Innerkofler was declared a war hero in an official way from above. Simultaneously, this indicated to the population that the prominent figure did not die vainly. On the contrary, that he was killed for a higher reason, “for his emperor, his German folk and his land Tyrol!”28 Hereby, not only Innerkofler’s destiny but also the war in general were donated sense. The Anerkennung [appreciation] by the German Alpine Corps followed this goal too.29 The publication of Innerkofler’s heroic death in other daily newspapers led to the spread of the news abroad on a nationwide level, so that the former mountaineer and innkeeper Innerkofler became a war hero.30 Additionally, they wanted to clarify the conditions of Innerkofler’s death in battle as soon as possible. In the very same issue of the Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung, in which the awarding of Innerkofler was announced, a sensational report was published, which was written by Oskar Blobel, the editor of the Innsbrucker Kriegsflugblätter [war leaflets of Innsbruck] and received its information from an official statement, most likely from the LVK:31 This description circulated in the press until the end of July 1915.32 Innerkofler’s narrative was already underlying this report. 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Roman Urbaner, “‘… daran zugrunde gegangen, daß sie Tagespolitik treiben wollte?’ Die ‘Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung’ 1915–1917”, eForum zeitGeschichte 3/4 (2001) <http:// World War w.eforum-zeitgeschichte.at/> accessed 29 August 2015. “Einem der besten Söhne Tirols”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (14 July 1915). “Der Dolomitenführer Sepp Innerkofler gefallen”, Neuigkeits-Welt-Blatt (22 July 1915); in German: “[…] für seinen Kaiser, sein deutsches Volk und sein Land Tirol (my translation)!” BHSA, Abt. IV. Kriegsarchiv, Alpenkorps, 85 Operationsbefehle 26 May–19 June 1915. For example, “Letzte Ehrung Sepp Innerkoflers: Die goldene Tapferkeitsmedaille für den toten Landesverteidiger”, Neuigkeits-Welt-Blatt (16 July 1915). Oskar Blobel, “Sepp Innerkofler Blobel”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (14 July 1915). For example, “Von unserem Sepp Innerkofler”, Innsbrucker Nachrichten (14 July 1915); “Wie Sepp Innerkofler fiel”, Neuigkeits-Welt-Blatt (22 July 1915). 88 Markus Wurzer The special treatment of Innerkofler’s death resulted from his prewar prominence. The comparison with a fameless soldier who received the golden medal too will illustrate this point. The k. k. GendarmerieWachtmeister [sergeant of the imperial and royal police] Anton Reyer received his distinction nearly as quickly as Innerkofler did. When his awarding was announced, he was just listed with other honoree on the front page of the Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung.33 By contrast, Innerkofler’s story was given nearly the whole page containing essentially the same message.34 Nearer information about Reyers heroic action was published one and a half months later35 – in case of Innerkofler, the details were published immediately. In a next step communicators from below responded to the official stylization of Innerkofler as a war hero through private and individual initiatives, which were published in the newspapers from the middle of July 1915 onwards. For the analysis two things should be kept in mind: Firstly, anti-Habsburg contents would certainly not be published. Secondly, in most cases the authors of articles remained anonymous. Hereafter, it should be tried to identify groups of actors. Communicators of the military sphere were especially active: Arthur von Wallpach, captain in a Standschützen battalion, devoted a poem to Innerkofler.36 The soldier A. Geigl did the same.37 On the contrary, Hans Mahl wrote an obituary.38 Another trooper made a wooden relief, which General Dankl presented the Tyrolean governor.39 The Viennese Rudolf Granichstaedten-Czerva had the idea to locate a memorial for Innerkofler 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 “Amtlicher Teil”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (18 June 1915). “Einem der besten Söhne Tirols”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (14 July 1915). “Unsere Helden. K. k. Gendarmerie-Wachtmeister Anton Reyer der Gendar­ merieabteilung Nr. 2”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (31 July 1915). Arthur von Wallpach, “Sepp Innerkofler. Sextener Standschütze, gefallen 3. auf 4. Juli 1915”, Tirol Soldatenzeitung (18 July 1915). A. Geigl, “Sepp Innerkofler”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (26 February 1916). Hans Mahl, “Sepp Innerkofler”, Pustertaler Bote (16 July 1915). “Sepp Innerkofler”, Innsbrucker Nachrichten (27 May 1916). Genesis of the South Tyrolean Iconic Figure Sepp Innerkofler 89 (which was never realized).40 The war artist Franz von Defregger created a portrait of the hero, which shows him with the attributes of a soldier and a mountaineer: wearing a uniform with rifle, a hiking pole and climbing rope.41 This picture had already circulated in the public as a postcard during the war.42 Julius von Kaan-Albest, who was a war artist, painted a picture of Innerkofler. On the one hand, he recreated Defregger’s tableau and on the other, he added the golden medal, which was awarded posthumously.43 War correspondent Alice Schalek had already glorified Innerkofler’s death in 1915 in her book Tirol in Waffen [Tyrol in arms].44 Last but not least, the exhumation of Innerkofler’s corpse was documented in nine photographs by Anton Trixl, who was commander of a stock nearby Sexten.45 These photos fuelled the emerging myth further.46 Civilians in the hinterland participated in the construction of the war hero, too. For instance, Viennese Adolph Schroth and a certain H. Ringler from Feldkirch wrote poems.47 Against this, Oskar Blobel, who already occurred, devoted one of his flyers to Innerkofler.48 On this leaf the massif of the Drei Zinnen were reinterpreted as an enormous tombstone. “Ein Sepp Innerkofler-Denkmal”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (25 August 1915). A. Geigl, “Sepp Innerkofler”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (26 February 1916). Archive of the German Alpine Club (DAV), Postkarte von Sepp Innerkofler (1865– 1915), FOP 3 PK/98/1. 43 Archive of the Austrian Alpine Club (OeAV), Portrait Sepp Innerkoflers von Julius von Kaan-Albest, Kunst/210. 44 Alice Schalek, Tirol in Waffen: Kriegsberichte von der Tiroler Front (München: Schmidt, 1915), p. 107. 45 Tyrolean Archive Photography (TAP), Sammlung Werkmeister Anton Trixl, L314– L322; “Die Bergung der Leiche des Helden Innerkofler”, Ostdeutsche Rundschau (11 December 1918). 46 Martin Kofler and Markus Wurzer, “Zur Entstehung und Entwicklung eines Mythos. Sepp Innerkofler und die Fotografien seiner Bergung 1918 von Anton Trixl”, Tiroler Heimat 78 (2014), pp. 135–157. 47 Adolph Schroth, “Zu Sepp Innerkoflers Tod”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (3 September 1915), pp. 4–5; H. Ringler, “Auf den Tod des Führers Sepp Innerkofler”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (20 July 1915). 48 Oskar Blobel, “Sepp Innerkofler”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (9 and 14 July 1915). 40 41 42 90 Markus Wurzer Through this and similar representations the hero got linked closely with them. A prediction: The rocks became a natural memorial.49 Last but not least, communicators of the clerical sphere can be detected. The priest Anton Müller, who is well-known by his pseudonym as Brother Willram, wrote the poem, which adorned Innerkofler’s remembrance cards.50 At the recommendation of General Dankl Adolf Innerkofler, who also worked as a priest and was an author and a relative of the fallen, was commissioned by the publishing company Tyrolia to write a biography.51 He did not accomplish to finish his work during war. An extract was published later in 1925.52 As exemplified, there are three different groups of actors: military personnel, civilians and priests. The actors used umpteen forms of remembrance, which were communicated via newspapers. The practices compromise several text styles (report, poem, biography, obituary), plastic (relief, memorial) and pictorial works (graphics, paintings, postcards, photography). These first venerations must be seen in context of Innerkofler’s prewar prominence. After he was declared a hero through the posthumous awarding of the golden medal, individual enshrinements, which resulted mostly of private initiatives, succeeded. By contrast, people such as the war correspondent Schalek, war artists Defregger and Kaan-Albest, author Innerkofler and the anonymous soldier, who created the wooden relief, operated on a semi-official level. In one way or another they received orders from above to take part in the constructional process of the heroic figure. The first three were part of the propaganda machinery and the latter were delegated from General Dankl himself and it seems that Dankl was one of the key players. He arranged both, the posthumous awarding and the relief. In addition, he was involved in the biography. Ultimately, as commander of the LVK, he was able to control the flow of information about 49 50 51 52 Anton Holzer, Die Bewaffnung des Auges. Die Drei Zinnen oder Eine kleine Geschichte vom Blick auf das Gebirge (Wien: Turia, 1996), pp. 53–54. Archive of OeAV, Bearb. 128.3, Innerkofler Sterbebild. “Ein Sepp Innerkofler-Denkmal”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (25 August 1915). Denkmalausschuss, Festschrift Osttirol, pp. 86–93. Genesis of the South Tyrolean Iconic Figure Sepp Innerkofler 91 “case Innerkofler” via the Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung. All other newspapers just copied their reports. Nevertheless, the analysis shows that a master plan aiming at making Innerkofler a war hero systematically did not exist. On the contrary, the impression arises that private and individual initiatives from below evolved from the official honour from above and developed their own dynamics. These ebbed away until spring 1916. Narrative Although the actors of the Innerkofler myth are very different, they are unified by one fact: By writing and speaking they constructed the narrative reflection of the historic person – the hero – and negotiated the message the heroic figure should be occupied with. In this point, Innerkofler crossed the line from the historic “human being” to the “superman”. Silke Satjukow describes a heroic figure as a linkage between historical facts and narrative fictions.53 In case of Innerkofler such a melange was formed, too. Responsible therefore were not only the formerly described actors but also the journalistic practice to publish the same reports and pictures in different newspapers. This happened for instance with the report of Oskar Blobel, which was reprinted several times.54 In this manner the base frame of the narrative was shaped and standardized. Indeed, the basics never changed over the past 100 years. Only details, which were reported falsely in the first place, were corrected bit by bit.55 The analysis of these similar reports, which were published during July 1915, shows that the narrative consists of three components. Innerkofler’s 53 54 55 Satjukow, “Propaganda”, pp. 168, 175–180. Oskar Blobel, “Sepp Innerkofler”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (14 July 1915); “Von unserem Sepp Innerkofler”, Innsbrucker Nachrichten (14 July 1915); “Sepp Innerkofler”, Karnisch-Julische Kriegszeitung (20 July 1915). Markus Wurzer, “Konstruktion des Kriegshelden Sepp Innerkofler: Akteure, Narrative und Funktionen”, in: Steffen Höhne (ed.), Helden und Heldenmythen in Deutschland, Frankreich und Japan, currently in press. 92 Markus Wurzer heroic deeds are just one of them. The second aspect is the reference to his pre-war life as mountain guide and hotelier. Nearly each report uses this advice as a starting point to tell the story about the war hero itself. It seems that this narrative device was used because (in this case) a pre-war story about Innerkofler, the famous mountaineer, already existed. Thirdly, his civil and military works are always embedded in the breath-taking and beautiful alpine landscape of the Dolomites. This aspect offered a further point of contact: Due to the activity of the Deutscher und Österreichischer Alpenverein [German and Austrian Alpine Club], which sustained alpine huts in this region before World War I, the names of peaks and villages were well-known by a broader audience. In the intersection of his heroic deeds, his ideal biography (cultural affinity to the population as German-speaking Tyrolean, father, husband etc.; reputation within the mountaineer elite; pre-war prominence) and the romanticized mountain countryside a highly emotional tale was created.56 Counter statements, which arrived from the frontline at the hinterland weeks later, remained ineffective against the already fixed master narrative.57 Functions Not only was the LVK of Dankl in charge of the genesis of the narrative, but also took part in its public use. This can be exemplified by means of the official emanation about the golden medal, which already states that “with him […] one of the first heroes of the Tyrolean provincial defence passed away. He was a bright role model for all soldiers, a worthy descendant of the heroes of 1809.”58 From above Innerkofler was described as a military 56 57 58 Markus Wurzer, “Der Dolomitenkämpfer Sepp Innerkofler”, in: Stefan Karner and Philipp Lesiak (eds), Erster Weltkrieg: Globaler Konflikt – lokale Folgen. Neue Perspektiven (Innsbruck-Wien-Bozen: Studienverlag, 2014), pp. 371–388, here pp. 378–380. Wurzer, “Konstruktion des Kriegshelden Sepp Innerkofler”. “Einem der besten Söhne Tirols”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (14 July 1915); in German: “mit ihm […] einer der ersten Helden der Tiroler Landesverteidigung dahingegangen Genesis of the South Tyrolean Iconic Figure Sepp Innerkofler 93 role model, which sacrificed himself for Gott, Kaiser und Vaterland [God, emperor and fatherland]. This ascription was taken over by the communicators from below. For instance, the lyrical I in the sonnet of trooper Geigl addresses Innerkofler in the first verse directly: “You summiteer, role model of our days.”59 Another soldier, Hans Mahl, appealed in a suitable way: “Come what may, the enemy will learn that in each Tyrolean the ghost of Sepp Innerkofler lives on constantly until eternal times. His death, so cruel he hits us, is a bright shining example of utterly fearless fortitude, which encourages and inspires for new actions.”60 In this context, the heroic figure should fulfil the following task: It should improve the reputation of the Standschützen in general. The regular army had resentments against them caused by their lacking military training and fighting experience.61 Former awards for successful undertakings followed this calculation too.62 Moreover, in the tradition of the Tiroler Wehrhaftigkeit [Tyrolean ability to put up a fight] Innerkofler represented a connecting link between the Tyrolean heroes of 1809 and the defenders of 1915.63 In addition to that, the narrative shaped the common imagination about the mountain warfare as a heroic man-against-man fight in a beautiful landscape – especially from the interwar period onwards. 59 60 61 62 63 [sei]. Er war ein leuchtendes Vorbild aller Soldaten, ein würdiger Nachkomme der Helden von 1809” (my translation). A. Geigl, “Sepp Innerkofler”, Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (26 February 1916); in German: “Du Gipfelstürmer, Vorbild unsern Tagen” (my translation). Hans Mahl, “Sepp Innerkofler”, Pustertaler Bote (16 July 1915); in German: “Mag kommen was da will, der Feind wird es erfahren, dass in jedem Tiroler der Geist Sepp Innerkoflers fortlebt auf ewige Zeiten. Sein Tod, so schmerzlich er uns trifft, ist ein hell aufleuchtendes Beispiel todesmutigster Tapferkeit, das anspornt und zu neuen Taten belebt” (my translation). Von Hartungen, Standschützen, pp. 79–84. ÖStA, MBA Nr. 120.011 (Karton 75), Antrag auf Verleihung der Silbernen Tapferkeitsmedaille 1. Klasse für Sepp Innerkofler vom 28. Mai 1915. Überegger, Erinnerungskriege, p. 268; for more information: Martin Schennach, “Der wehrhafte Tiroler: Zu Entstehung, Wandel und Funktion eines Mythos”, Geschichte und Region 14/2 (2005), pp. 81–112. 94 Markus Wurzer Nevertheless, the Innerkofler myth did not play an important role for the war propaganda. Innerkofler and his story disappeared rapidly from the newspapers. An analysis of the quantity of reports in the newspaper databases of the Austrian National Library and the South Tyrolean Provincial Library in context with Innerkofler shows that the number of released articles declined distinctively in spring 1916.64 During July 1915 twenty-seven articles were detected.65 Until the end of 1915 only twelve were found.66 A descending trend, which continued: five articles were found in 1916 and none in 1917.67 Only in 1918 Innerkofler appeared again in several newspapers, since his grave was detected in August 1918.68 The hero and his dramatic story disappeared from the newspapers with the turn of the year 1915/1916. He would have been forgotten, if not the former Austrian officers discovered, used and exploited him in the 1920s. 64 65 66 67 68 Search of “Sepp Innerkofler”, in: ANNO. Historische Zeitungen und Zeitschriften <http://anno.onb.ac.at/> accessed 29 August 2015; search of “Sepp Innerkofler” in Tessmanndigital <http://digital.tessmann.it/> accessed 29 August 2015. Tagespost (7, 8, 21 and 24 July 1915); Wiener Zeitung (8, 9 and 13 July 1915); Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (9, 14, 17 and 20 July 1915); Der Tiroler (9 and 18 July 1915); Neuigkeits-Welt-Blatt (9, 10 and 16 July 1915); Innsbrucker Nachrichten (7 July 1915); Volksfreund (10 July 1915); Vorarlberger Volksblatt (11 and 25 July 1915); Fremden-Blatt (15 July 1915); Pustertaler Bote (16 July 1915); Tiroler Stimmen (16 July 1915); Meraner Zeitung (17 July 1915); Karnisch-Julische Kriegszeitung (20 July 1915); Neue Freie Presse (23 July 1915); Wiener Bilder (25 July 1915). Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (12, 18 and 25 August, 3 September 1915); Meraner Zeitung (20 August 1915); Brixener Chronik (21 August 1915); Tagespost (24 August 1915); Neue Freie Presse (27 August 1915); Der Tiroler (8 October 1915); Vorarlberger Volksblatt (13 October 1915); Neuigkeits-Welt-Blatt (14 October 1915); Arbeiterwille (10 November 1915). Neue Wiener Friseur-Zeitung (15 February 1916); Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung (26 February 1916); Innsbrucker Nachrichten (27 May 1916); Der Tiroler (28 May 1916); Brixener Chronik (28 May 1916). Reichspost (18 May and 13 June 1918); Der Tiroler (25 May and 29 August 1918); Brixener Chronik (25 May 1918); Wiener Zeitung (12 June 1918); Fremden-Blatt (13 June 1918); Neue Freie Presse (13 June 1918); Salzburger Chronik (27 August 1918); Bozner Nachrichten (29 August 1918); Das Tiroler Volksblatt (31 August and 4 September 1918); Das interessante Blatt (5 September 1918); Ostdeutsche Rundschau (11 December 1918). Genesis of the South Tyrolean Iconic Figure Sepp Innerkofler 95 Rediscover and retell the heroic tale The remembrance of the lost war was a disputed territory in Austria of the interwar period. Finally, the former officers and their interpretation of the war prevailed over other interpretations. As apparent eyewitnesses, they claimed themselves the only ones to write about the war due to their expertise. Using an aggressive and apologetic writing style, they tried to warrant the lost war. Therefore, they “forgot” unpleasant events on the one hand and, on the other hand, put the supposed moral values of the dead such as the willingness to sacrifice themselves and their sense of duty in the centre of their works.69 In order to distribute these merits, they needed a concrete “face” to make them tactile for the audience. On that account, the heroic figure of Innerkofler came in usefully. His pre-war famousness recommended him for the heroic status. His deeds of arms contributed hereto to a lower extent, since – in this point – he did not differ from other soldiers, who acted somehow heroic. However, in case of Innerkofler a (pre-war) narration already existed, to which the officers could relate. Other points which favoured him were – as already mentioned – his ideal biography as a German-speaking Tyrolean, father, husband and innkeeper, who lived closely to the Italian border before he defended his home country as a Standschütze.70 Cletus Pichler, for instance, who was a high-ranked officer during World War I, celebrated Innerkofler 1925 “as glowing role model of all soldier-like and manlike virtues”.71 In addition to the officers’ historiography, authors, who wrote about the history of the battalion in which Innerkofler had served, dedicated him some pages.72 Moreover, newspapers wrote about him again regularly on the occasion of the anniversary of his death.73 Furthermore, they 69 70 71 72 73 For additional information: Überegger, Erinnerungskriege, pp. 56–126. Wurzer, “Dolomitenkämpfer”, pp. 383–384. Cletus Pichler, “Sepp Innerkofler: Gedenkblatt anlässlich seines vor 10 Jahren, am 4. Juli 1915, erfolgten Heldentodes”, Tiroler Anzeiger (4 July 1925). For example, Anton von Mörl, Die Standschützen im Kriege 1915–1918 (InnsbruckWien-München: Wagner, 1934); Denkmalausschuss, Festschrift Osttirol, pp. 86–93. For example, Pichler, “ Sepp Innerkofler”, p. 1. 96 Markus Wurzer published serial stories about him narrating his whole live from his childhood to his military service in a very romantic way.74 Photographs such as the ones Anton Trixl shot in 1918, were distributed alongside with books and newspaper articles.75 In the 1930s to other dimensions of conveyance appeared on the surface: literature76 on the one hand and alpine films77 on the other. In particular, it should be pointed towards the novel Der Sepp from Karl Springenschmid78 and Luis Trenker’s film Berge in Flammen [Mountains in Flames].79 These forms of remembrance established a heroic narrative in the 1920s and 1930s, which was both, formed during World War I and forgotten temporarily. Through this intensive commemorative work, Innerkofler became the central figure in the remembrance of the mountain warfare, which he is still today. However, it must be noted that all of these practices are based on mechanisms of “active oblivion” and “selective memory”.80 The younger generation of authors, which did not experience the war and started to write about it in the 1970s, never questioned the problematic genesis of the narrative.81 More alarmingly, they took over these narratives. Therefore, a critical reflection is absolutely necessary in the present day in order to 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 “Sepp Innerkofler, der große Bergführer und Standschützenheld”, Weltguck: Illustrierte Wochenpost, pp. 28–32 (1935); Andreas Piller, “Sepp Innerkofler – Der Held vom Paternkofel. Fortsetzungsgeschichte”, Tiroler Landbote pp. 4–8 (1938). Kofler and Wurzer, “Zur Entstehung und Entwicklung eines Mythos”, pp. 147–150. A selection: Oswald Ebner, Kampf um die Sextner Rotwand. Im Anhang: Das Kriegstagebuch des Bergführers Sepp Innerkofler (Bregenz: Teutsch, 1937), pp. 15–26; Anton von Bossi Fedrigotti, Tirol bleibt Tirol. Der tausendjährige Befreiungskampf eines Volkes (München: Kienesberger, 1935), p. 242. Überegger, Erinnerungskriege, pp. 84–85. Karl Springenschmid, Der Sepp (München: Bergverlag, 1931). Helmut Alexander, “Der Dolomitenkrieg im ‘Tiroler’ Film”, in: Eisterer and Steininger, Tirol und der Erste Weltkrieg, pp. 227–255, here p. 233. Überegger, Erinnerungskriege, p. 267. A selection: Heinz von Lichem, Spielhahnstoß und Edelweiß: Die Friedens- und Kriegsgeschichte der Tiroler Hochgebirgstruppe ‘Die Kaiserschützen“ von ihren Anfängen bis 1918 (Graz-Stuttgart: Leopold Stocker, 1977), pp. 128–132; Michael Wachtler and Günther Obwegs, Dolomiten. Krieg in den Bergen (Bozen: Athesia, 20106), S. 70–85. Genesis of the South Tyrolean Iconic Figure Sepp Innerkofler 97 correct the common imagination of the mountain warfare. The Paternkofel episode depicted as elemental, knightly duel between Innerkofler and the Alpino Piero de Luca, shaped the public imagination sustainably about the war from the interwar period onwards. From then on, it was remembered as an archaic, heroic fight, man versus man. The fact that the war in the Alps was a trench warfare both, material-intensive and human-intensive, such as those at the western, eastern or the Isonzo frontline was forgotten and eliminated from the public memory. In reality, modern weapons such as machine guns, hand grenades, mines, heavy artillery dominated all war theatres and the Dolomites were no exception.82 Bibliography Alexander, Helmut, “Der Dolomitenkrieg im ‘Tiroler Film’”, in: Klaus Eisterer and Rolf Steininger (eds), Tirol und der Erste Weltkrieg (Innsbruck-Wien: Studienverlag, 1995), pp. 227–255. Bossi Fedrigotti, Anton von, Tirol bleibt Tirol. Der tausendjährige Befreiungskampf eines Volkes (München: Kienesberger, 1935). Denkmalausschuss (ed.), Festschrift “Osttirol”, herausgegeben anlässlich der Einweihung des Bezirks-Kriegerdenkmales in Lienz (Lienz: Eigenverlag, 1925). Ebner, Oswald, Kampf um die Sextner Rotwand. Im Anhang: Das Kriegstagebuch des Bergführers Sepp Innerkofler (Bregenz: Teutsch, 1937). Eppacher, Wilhelm, Hohe Österreichische Auszeichnungen an Tiroler im 1. Weltkrieg (Innsbruck: Wagner, 1966). Etschmann, Wolfgang, “Die Südfront 1915–1918”, in: Klaus Eisterer and Rolf Steininger (eds), Tirol und der Erste Weltkrieg (Innsbruck-Wien: Studienverlag, 1995), pp. 27–60. Hartungen, Christoph von, “Die Tiroler und Vorarlberger Standschützen – Mythos und Realität”, in: Klaus Eisterer and Rolf Steininger (eds), Tirol und der Erste Weltkrieg (Innsbruck-Wien: Studienverlag, 1995), pp. 61–104. 82 Überegger, Erinnerungskriege, pp. 246–247. 98 Markus Wurzer Heiss, Hans, and Rudolf Holzer, Sepp Innerkofler: Bergsteiger, Tourismuspionier, Held (Wien: Folio 2015). Holzer, Anton, Die Bewaffnung des Auges. Die Drei Zinnen oder Eine kleine Geschichte vom Blick auf das Gebirge (Wien: Turia, 1996). Kofler, Martin, and Markus Wurzer, “Zur Entstehung und Entwicklung eines Mythos. Sepp Innerkofler und die Fotografien seiner Bergung 1918 von Anton Trixl”, Tiroler Heimat 78 (2014), pp. 135–157. Lichem, Heinz von, Spielhahnstoß und Edelweiß: Die Friedens- und Kriegsgeschichte der Tiroler Hochgebirgstruppe “Die Kaiserschützen” von ihren Anfängen bis 1918 (Graz-Stuttgart: Leopold Stocker, 1977). Mörl, Anton von, Die Standschützen im Kriege 1915–1918 (Innsbruck-Wien-München: Wagner, 1934). Pizzinini, Meinrad, “Standschützen-Oberjäger Sepp Innerkofler”, in: Hermann Hinterstoisser, Christian Ortner and Erwin Schmidl (eds), Die k. k. Landwehr Gebirgstruppen: Geschichte, Uniformierung und Ausrüstung der österreichischen Gebirgstruppen von 1906 bis 1918 (Wien: Militaria 2006), pp. 302–303. Satjukow, Silke, “Propaganda mit menschlichem Antlitz im Sozialismus: Über die Konstruktion einer Propagandafigur. Der ‘Held der Arbeit Adolf Hennecke’”, in: Rainer Gries and Wolfgang Schmale (eds), Kultur der Propaganda (Bochum: Winkler 2005), pp. 167–192. Schalek, Alice, Tirol in Waffen: Kriegsberichte von der Tiroler Front (München: Schmidt, 1915). Schemfil, Viktor, “Die Paternkofel-Unternehmung und der Tod Sepp Innerkoflers”, Veröffentlichungen des Museums Ferdinandeum 26/29 (1938), pp. 517–536. Schennach, Martin, “Der wehrhafte Tiroler: Zu Entstehung, Wandel und Funktion eines Mythos”, Geschichte und Region 14/2 (2005), pp. 81–112. Schneider, Gerhard, “Heldenkult”, in: Gerhard Hirschfeld, Gerd Krumeich and Irina Renz (eds), Enzyklopädie Erster Weltkrieg (Paderborn-München: Schöningh, 2004), pp. 550–551. Springenschmid, Karl, Der Sepp (München: Bergverlag, 1931). Überegger, Oswald, Erinnerungskriege: Der Erste Weltkrieg, Österreich und die Tiroler Kriegserinnerung in der Zwischenkriegszeit (Innsbruck: Wagner, 2011). Urbaner, Roman, “‘… daran zugrunde gegangen, daß sie Tagespolitik treiben wollte? Die ‘Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung’ 1915–1917”, eForum zeitGeschichte 3/4 (2001) <http://World War w.eforum-zeitgeschichte.at/> accessed 29 August 2015. Wachtler, Michael, and Günther Obwegs, Dolomiten. Krieg in den Bergen (Bozen: Athesia, 20106). Genesis of the South Tyrolean Iconic Figure Sepp Innerkofler 99 Wurzer, Markus, “Der Dolomitenkämpfer Sepp Innerkofler”, in: Stefan Karner and Philipp Lesiak (eds), Erster Weltkrieg: Globaler Konflikt – lokale Folgen. Neue Perspektiven (Innsbruck-Wien-Bozen: Studienverlag, 2014), pp. 371–388. Wurzer, Markus, “Konstruktion des Kriegshelden Sepp Innerkofler: Akteure, Narrative und Funktionen”, in: Steffen Höhne (ed.), Helden und Heldenmythen in Deutschland, Frankreich und Japan (currently in press). Georg Grote 6 Challenging the Zero-Hour Concept: Letters across Borders abstract This chapter challenges the notion of the zero hour – a new beginning – at the end of World War II, a time when the historical era of fascism ended in central Europe and a new one began. Through the focus of a young couple’s exchange of love letters, dating from February 1945 to early 1948, Georg Grote demonstrates how the aftershocks of the Third Reich influenced people’s lives across the new borders in Europe, namely post-war Austria and Germany. 8 May 1945 has been one of the most significant dates in the history of modern Europe. The day marks the end of World War II in Europe, the collapse of the Third Reich and the unconditional surrender of the Nazi Regime. In the context of South Tyrolean regional history, the day also marks the foundation of the Südtiroler Volkspartei (SVP) and thus the beginnings of German-speaking South Tyrolean collective endeavours to speak with one voice after the catastrophic divisions of the Option period. In both cases the metaphor of the “Stunde 0”, the Zero Hour, has been applied to mark the aftermath of fascism and the end of World War II.1 The idea that 8 May 1945 marked the beginning of a new era and the 1 See selected literature on the “Zero Hour”: Helmut Peitsch, German Culture at the Zero Hour (Berlin: Arcadia, 2006); Hannes Krauss (ed.), Vom Nullpunkt zur Wende (Essen: Klartext, 1994); Erich Lessing and Michael Gehler, Von der Befreiung zur Freiheit. Österreich nach 1945 (Innsbruck: Tyrolia, 2015), pp. 15–52; Tony Judt, Postwar (London: Vintage, 2005), p. 4ff; Eric Hobsbawm, Das Zeitalter der Extreme (München: DTV, 1998), p. 285ff; Sabine Loitfellner, “Hitlers erstes und letztes Opfer? 102 Georg Grote definitive end of an old one was embraced by many nations in an attempt to come to terms with their past – a past often marked by various degrees of involvement and collaboration with fascism and Nazism. The significance of this concept is underscored by the fact that it was used by both those who regarded 8 May 1945 as a point of surrender and loss and those who considered it a moment of victory and hope. After 1945 Italy, Germany and Austria found themselves on opposite sides of this divide. Both Italy and Austria managed to present themselves very quickly as victims of fascism and the Nazi Regime and pointed the finger at Germany, which was soon understood as guilty for the outbreak of the war, mass killings and genocide of an unprecedented magnitude. In the immediate aftermath of May 1945 and for many years afterwards, many Germans remained unwilling to embrace the total surrender of the Wehrmacht as liberation from Nazism. For many the defeat of Nazism represented a devastating loss, and the steep rise in suicides testify to the extent of this despair. However, ultimately Germany did come to Zwischen Anschluss und Auschwitz-Prozess. Zum Umgang mit Österreichs mit seiner NS-Vergangenheit”, in: Kerstin von Lingen (ed.), Kriegserfsahrung und nationale Identität in Europa nach 1945 (Paderborn: Schöningh, 2009), pp. 150–169; Jeffrey Herf, Divided Memory, The Nazi Past in the two Germanies (London: Harvard, 1997); Helmut Dubiel, Niemand ist frei von der Geschichte. Die nazionalsozialistische Herrschaft in den Debatten des Deutschen Bundestages (München: Hanser, 1999); Norbert Frei, Vergangenheitspolitik. Die Anfänge der Bundesrepublik und die NS Vergangenheit (München: Beck, 1997); Peter Novick, The Holocaust and Collective Memory (London: Bloomsbury, 2000); Erna Paris, Long Shadows, Truth, Lies and History (London: Bloomsbury, 2001); Erna Domansky and Jutta de Long, Der lange Schatten des Krieges (Münster: Aschendorff, 2000); Anne Fuchs, Mary Cosgrove and Georg Grote (eds), German Memory Contests. The Quest for Identity in Literature, Film, and Discourse since 1990 (New York: Camden, 2006); Herbert Herzmann, Nationale Identität. Mythos und Wirklichkeit am Beispiel Österreichs (Hamburg: Tredition, 2014); Aram Mattioli, “Viva Mussolini”. Die Aufwertung des Faschismus im Italien Berlusconis (Paderborn: Schöningh, 2010); Hans Woller, Geschichte Italiens im 20. Jahrhundert (München: Beck, 2010); Christian Jansen, Italien seit 1945 (Göttingen: Vandenhoek / Ruprecht, 2007); Gian Enrico Rusconi, Deutschland-Italien (Paderborn: Schöningh, 2003). Challenging the Zero-Hour Concept: Letters across Borders 103 accept the blame for Nazism in the decades following 1945 and worked its way through the guilt and moral weight of this regime on the collective psyche. South Tyrol is arguably one of the most significant theatres in which the different interpretations of “Zero Hour” were rehearsed and played out, particularly in the small German-speaking population. The estrangement between Germany, Austria and Italy in the wake of the war resulted in various interpretations of the meaning of 8 May. South Tyroleans faced the moral dilemma that they were indiscriminately associated with Nazi Germany because of their language and their partial support of the regime. Torn apart by the previous Option period;2 many had left their Heimat between 1940 and 1943 to live in the Reich and Austria, the Ostmark in Nazi jargon, and countless South Tyroleans found themselves still dressed in the Wehrmacht uniform on VE Day, either because they had joined the Wehrmacht voluntarily or were conscripted during the time of Nazi occupation of the are between 1943 and 1945. In early 1945 Austria was still a part of the German Reich and South Tyrol was the “Operationszone Alpenvorland”, an area occupied by the Wehrmacht in 1943 to secure a strategic position against the Western Allies as they approached from the South. May 1945, the total surrender of Germany, merely added to the complexity of the situation: the Reich was on its knees, Austria not yet re-established, and South Tyrol had been reclaimed by the Italian resistance – the Italian flag was flying on the Brenner Pass. While there is a significant historiography about the 2 An agreement between the two fascist governments in Berlin and Rome in 1938 forced the German-speaking South Tyroleans to decide if they wanted to remain German-speaking and thus part of the Germanic cultural sphere, in which case they would have to emigrate to the German Reich, or remain in their “Heimat” in Italy and give up their loyalty to their German/Austrian language and tradition. This was a scenario that tore the German-speaking South Tyroleans apart through bitter disputes. By 31 December 1939, 86 per cent declared they were willing to leave, but, due to the wartime developments, only some 75,000 actually left and 25,000 returned after 1945. The Option remains a trauma in South Tyrol because it symbolizes the limits of internal solidarity among the German-speaking population (Eva Pfanzelter’s focuses on commemoration in Chapter 7). 104 Georg Grote impact of this political situation on South Tyrol, there is relatively little understanding of what this scenario meant to local people. How did it affect those who had been active across those national divides that had been plastered over since 1938 and 1943 respectively? And how did the Anti-German-ness, which reportedly emerged in Europe after the War, present itself in this theatre? This chapter seeks to explore South Tyrol as a micro-study of the complexities of negotiating the meaning and reality of “Zero Hour” for “ordinary people” after 1945. The focus is not on political elites or political strategies, but on the people whose lives had been shaped and utterly altered by the course of World War II. For this purpose, this chapter draws on one particular set of letters between a young German-South Tyrolean couple separated by the conflict and whose correspondence, between 1945 and 1948, provides a glimpse of the everyday reality of negotiating “Zero Hour”.3 These letters remind us of how history is experienced without the benefit of hindsight and often in the face of profound uncertainty – of which there was much in South Tyrol. The immediate post-war letters of Elfriede Henky and Karl Ober span the period between February 1945 and March 1948. During this entire period, documented in about 500 letters resulting in some 1,500 individual documents, Karl and Elfriede maintained contact solely through letter writing and did not meet once. Their history began in February 1945, when they met for the first time in a Luftwaffeneinheit in Giessen. Elfriede, born in 1925, was a German national from Frankenthal in the Palatine and worked in the Kleiderkammer (the equipment section) of Mainz Finthen military airport. Karl, born in 1923, was then a Wehrmacht soldier of South Tyrolean origin, an Optant from Bozen, who, after the collapse of the Third Reich and some time in French prisoner of war camp, withdrew to Austria and spent the early post-war years in Mayrhofen in the Zillertal. They fell in love with each other in the three weeks they spent together in Giessen between February and April 1945. They then rekindled their relationship 3 All letters quoted in this article have been digitized and are in the possession of the author. Challenging the Zero-Hour Concept: Letters across Borders 105 in 1946, when Karl, back in Austria, wrote to Elfriede in Germany. They maintained and nurtured their romance through letters until 1948, when they finally met again in Germany and later married. This source is a rare find in that it is complete and comprises entire conversations, which respond to each other and embrace the medium of letter-writing fully. Both writers are eloquent in their attempts to express their emotions and their feelings for each other in long and often beautifully written letters, the contents of which extend far beyond an exchange of information or general comments on post-war life. However, for the purposes of this article, the focus will be on how the letters address three main issues relevant to the development of relationships between the nations: the re-establishment of borders and frontiers between Austria, Germany and Italy; revived prejudices and national stereotypes; and the memory of war and the total surrender in May 1945. Karl took to writing to Elfriede in early 1945 after they were separated as they were serving in different units in the German army. In the first letter that is preserved and that, judging by its contents, must be the first letter of this correspondence, dated early February, he calmed her nerves by saying that “we need to see this storm out”,4 thus likening the man-made catastrophe to a natural disaster that had to be weathered. In the same month, he described an air raid on Mainz and listed the number of casualties known to him. One injured Wehrmacht assistant lay on a stretcher and told him that “she hoped to live for her beloved Führer and her fatherland”.5 Reporting on another air raid he describes how the “Tommies were all over us” and “how their attacks rattled the box”.6 These late February letters reflect strongly the Nazi terminology with Karl alleging that the British air raids are no longer “a clean fight”. Yet he is sure that “the war is not yet lost” because he has not “quite lost his belief in the Führer, in Germany and the final 4 5 6 Doc 5563, 12 Feb 45: “Wir müssen warten, bis dieser Sturm vorübergeht.” Doc 5567, 12 Feb 45: “Hoffentlich bleibe ich am Leben, ich muss noch leben für meinen lieben Führer und fürs Vaterland.” Doc 5581, 16 Feb 45, “es hat gerappelt im Karton”, “die Tommys waren über uns”. 106 Georg Grote victory.”7 The victory can only be achieved, however, if “we give it all and fight to the very end”8 – classic Nazi “Durchhaltepropaganda”. By early March Karl’s letters slowly began to reflect a loss of faith in the German war effort, however, presumably to quell Elfriede’s fears, he continued to believe “air men will always come through”.9 Evidently, Karl sensed the potential “Endzeitstimmung” and feared the chaos that may ensue, thus he developed a plan to stay in touch with Elfriede: It is possible that we, due to the war, may loose sight of each other, you’ll never know, but to maintain our contact I have come up with a little plan how we may never lose each other. Pay attention! It is possible that you may have to leave Giessen and that you may receive my letters late or never, and it is the same with me in return. If we do not hear from each other any more, there is only one way: aim for the postal direction of Mayrhofen, my Heimat. Write to my sister Marta, you will always get information and my address from her and so will I from you. No need to be fearful now, but this is a precaution to prevent losing contact with each other.10 Indeed, his fears were present as they did lose contact with each other between May 1945 and early 1946. 7 8 9 10 Doc 5582, 16 Feb 45: “diese Tiefflieger sind nicht sauber”, “noch ist der Krieg für uns nicht verloren”, “ich hab meinen Glauben an den Führer, an Deutschland und an den Sieg noch nicht verloren”. Doc 5583, 16 Feb 45: “Wir müssen unser Letztes geben.” Doc 5590, 3 March 45: “Flieger sind Sieger und alle Zeit bereit.” Doc 5602/3, 10 March 45: “Es kann möglich sein, das wir in der nächsten Zeit, kriegsbedingt, uns ein wenig aus dem Gesichtskreis verlieren werden man kann nicht wissen um unsere Verbindung mit der Post aufrecht zu erhalten hab ich mir so ein klein Plan ausgedacht wodurch wir uns nie verlieren können. Pass mal gut auf ! Es ist möglich, dass auch du von Giessen aus wegkommst und dich meine Briefe nicht oder erst sehr spät erreichen, so ist es auch umgekehrt mit mir. Sollte von uns einer gar nichts mehr vom anderen wissen so ist nur eines möglich und zwar Postziel Mayrhofen, also meine Heimat! Schreib an meine Schwester Marta da kannst du immer eine Nachricht von mir und Adresse erhalten und ich auch von dir. Nur nicht gleich bangen aber es ist eine Vorsichtsmassregel damit wir uns nicht verlieren.” (His sister’s address in Mayrhofen/Zillertal is attached.) Challenging the Zero-Hour Concept: Letters across Borders 107 In fact, Karl was interned in an American POW camp in France on 23 March 1945. When he wrote to Elfriede on 12 January 1946, from Mayrhofen, he told her that he had just returned after eight months in a French PoW camp. He expressed hope that she is alive and well.11 He alluded to their last conversation, “do you remember when I told you that it might turn out like that”. In a really remarkable turn, he stated that it was a “twist of fate that we were not guilty” for what had happened. In early 1946 Karl would most certainly have been aware of the atrocities committed by Germany during the war. He served as a soldier in the Wehrmacht and was part of this war machinery, so one can only assume that his denial of guilt related to his allegiance towards Austria. Austria had managed to clear itself very soon after 1945 of any involvement in the German war crimes by stating that the country had been, in fact, the first victim of German aggression in 1938. This was the most important foundation myth of the post-war Austrian republic and an escape from moral guilt for many Austrians – Karl may have been one of them. The tone of the letter and the question “Do you still love me despite these borders that separate us?” indicate that the “we” does not refer him and her, but Germans and Austrians and that he is well capable of differentiating between war guilt and his strong feelings for a German woman. However, for him personally the war sabotaged his plans, “all these plans I have had. It would have been so great. One feels like screaming from pain and disappointment.”12 Following his months in the POW camps and following his four years in 11 12 Doc 5612: 12 Jan 46: “Nach fast einem Jahr kann ich dir endlich wieder ein mal ein paar Zeilen zukommen lassen und ich hoffe, dass sie dich, meine Liebe, in bester Gesundheit erreichen werden. Ich bin ende November von meiner 8 monatigen Gefangenschaft aus Frankreich zurückgekehrt …” Doc 5613, 12 Jan 46: “Kannst dich noch erinnern an meine Worte die ich dir eines abends sagte? Ja Friedl es war vielleicht eine leise Vorahnung, das es so kommen musste und wir nicht schuldig! Schicksals gut Ironie!” … “Ist dir noch etwas gelegen an mir, liebst du mich trotzdem noch wenn uns auch bittere Grenzen trennen? Kannst noch warten bis sich alles wieder ein mal ein bissl eingespielt hat?” … “Was hab ich nicht alles für Pläne gehabt! Es wäre so schön gewesen! Ach Friedl, man könnte schreien vor schmerz und enttäuschung [sic].” 108 Georg Grote the Wehrmacht, he acknowledged that there is nothing else to be done than to start again and build a new life.13 Throughout 1946 Karl’s letters recorded his end of war experiences; he described the final weeks of the Third Reich, the death of his comrades,14 and the loss of Elfriede’s photograph in one of the British air raids.15 Harking back to happier times, he remembered fondly meeting Elfriede for the first time in the Wehrmacht clothing office where she worked.16 There is little doubt that the end of the war caused him much pain – “You feel like screaming when you remember it”17– while he was thankful to be alive, he does describe a sense similar to depression: “I am grateful to God I am still alive but there is very little joy left”.18 Elfriede’s first post-war letter dates back to August 1946, in which she explained that she had responded to his first letter from February, as soon as the postal blockade between Germany and Austria had been lifted.19 She shared her stories about war time comrades, gave him a detailed account of 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Doc 5615, 12 Jan 46: “8 lange Monate bin ich ohne ein Lebenszeichen gewesen, was ich da seelisch und körperlich durchgemacht habe ist nicht zu beschreiben. Besonnen und Ernster bin ich wieder gekommen, wieder von vorn anzufangen ist der Lohn für diese 4 langen Jahre!” Doc 5627, 6 Aug 46, “Kameraden, die ich nie vergessen werde”. Doc 5666, 23 Oct 46: “ Ja, liebe Friedl, dein Bild habe ich vor mir liegen, ein trautes Bild, so wie ich dich in Erinnerung habe, den anders kann ich mir dich nicht vorstellen, auch die anderen hab ich noch alle, ja sogar noch eines mehr, eines welche unter meiner Hand entstanden ist, damals in Gonsenheim im Krankenservice. Das einzige Bild was ich noch gerettet habe weil ich es gleich nach hause schickte die anderen werden wohl noch im Schützengraben liegen der inzwischen wohl auch wieder fruchtbare Erde geworden ist. Dort mögen sie wohl ein stilles Grab erhalten haben wenn nicht eine beherzte Hand sie aufgelest hat.” Doc 5620, 16 Jan 46: “… genau 2 Jahre das ich dich kennen lernte. Ich sehe noch die kleine Stube der Bekleidungskammer und dich als ‘Volkzivilist’ …” Doc 5627, 6 Aug 46: “Dann kam es wie ein Unwetter herangerauscht, dann war es aus. Schreien könnte man, wenn man alles verfolgt.” Doc 5627, 6 Aug 46: “Es ist eine Gnade Gottes, das ich heut zu hause bin, aber mich freut nichts mehr.” Doc 5629, 11 Aug 46: “auf deinen Brief im Februar habe gleich durch einen Kameraden geantwortet, auch seit die Briefsperre aufgehoben ist, habe ich gleich geschrieben, aber keine Antwort erhalten.” Challenging the Zero-Hour Concept: Letters across Borders 109 her end of the war and expressed the wish to be with him in Austria, but, unfortunately “there is no way to obtain a passport”.20 If she was married to him, she may have a chance of getting across, she added and hoped that “these stupid borders” may not be there forever, and then she will be with him.21 In a very real sense the future of their romance depends on borders – psychological and physical – and how permeable they may be. Uncertainty, impotence and frustration pervade these letters – their lives are hampered by “stupid” borders, by bits of papers, postal blockades and passports. In the letters of Elfriede and Karl we can see how the reality of borders and the politics of geography were negotiated and accommodated by ordinary people. On occasion the two discussed the issue quite consciously. In August 1946, Elfriede queried a reference Karl made in a previous letter to his second Heimat – North Tyrol: “You are writing your letters from, as you say, your second Heimat, Karl, how am I to interpret this? Tyrol is your Heimat and not your second Heimat. But surely, you know best where you belong.”22 Karl’s poignant response articulates the highly personal ramifications of cultural displacement – just where he belonged was not, he notes, up to him, but bureaucrats in Austria, Italy or Paris. His heart may feel one thing, but he was enough of a realist to know he would “belong” where international politics dictated: Tyrol is my second Heimat insofar as I am South Tyrolean, but deep in our heart we are Tyroleans, even though my Heimat is currently occupied by another power. In those days, in 1940, I came over the Brenner Pass in that general emigration of the South Tyroleans. Then, not much was written about it in the newspapers, but for so many people this is the most burning issue in Austria – the South Tyrol question. To 20 21 22 Doc 5630, 11 Aug 46: “Wenn ich gekonnt hatte ware ich nicht hier sondern in Östreich [sic]. Ich bekomme auf alle Arten keinen Pass.” Doc 5634, 11 Aug 46: “Wenn es für mich einen Pass gebe, ware ich schon längst bei Dir. Ich habe mich schon so oft danach befragt. Man hat mir gesagt ‘So viele Deutsche würden ausgewiesen da dürfte ich nicht rein, anderst dagegen würde es aussehen, wenn ich geheiratet ware mit Dir.’” … “Aber ewig sind diese dummen Grenzen ja auch nicht, dann kann ich ja zu dir kommen.” Doc 5631, 11 Aug 46: “Du schreibst da ‘aus meiner zweiten Heimat’ Karl, wie soll ich das verstehen? Tyrol ist doch Deine Heimat u. nicht Deinen zweite. Na du müsst ja besser wissen wo Du hingehörst.” 110 Georg Grote this day I do not know if I am an Italian or should be one or if our old motherland Austria will accept us as citizens. Until the question of my Heimat has been solved, nobody knows if they will have to go back to it or not.23 For Karl his displacement dated to the Option of 1940 – “the general emigration” – while newspapers did not focus on it, for his people the issue was “the South Tyrol Question”: They still did not know if they were “or should be” Italian, or if the “motherland” of their hearts Austria would reclaim them as citizens. Like so many others, he was where was because of family ties, but his fate, and the fate of so many other people in 1945 depended on the politics of peace talks: “I am only staying here [in Mayrhofen] because of my mother, … but shipwrecked that I am I will reach some coast! At the moment we are waiting anxiously for the decision of the Paris Conference.”24 Karl’s response was very remarkable as it highlighted the complex nature of the South Tyrol issue during the era of the Third Reich: The fact that he felt the need to summarize the Option agreement between the Reich and Italy in his post-war letter would suggested that the issue was never an item of conversation between them when they spent time together during the last phase of the war. There may have been no need for it as Germany and Austria were part of the Reich and South Tyrol was part of the Nazi occupied “Operationszone Alpenvorland”. Both Karl and Elfriede were part of the German Wehrmacht – part of one collective identity. Once Germany was defeated, the borders between Germany, Austria and Italy reappeared almost overnight, and the necessity for an explanation of the 23 24 Doc 5644, 7 Sept 46: “Liebe Friedl, erst mal das mit der zweiten Heimat! Tirol ist meine zweite insofern da ich Südtiroler bin, aber im Herzen gehören wir zu Tirol, wenn auch einen andere Macht zur Zeit im Besitz meiner Heimat ist. Damals im Jahre 1940 kam ich über den Brenner im Zuge der allgemeinen Auswanderung der Südtiroler. Damals wurde nicht viel geschrieben in den Zeitungen, aber für so viele Leute es ist die brennendste Frage Österreichs, die Südtiroler Frage. Ich weiss heut noch immer nicht, ob ich ‘Italiener’ bin oder sein soll oder ob uns unser ehemaliges Mutterland Österreich als Bürger aufnehmen wird! Bis die Frage meiner Heimat noch nicht gelöst ist, weiss man nicht ob ich wieder hinein muss.” Doc 5645, 7 Sept 46: “Hier haltet mich nur noch meine Mutter fest! Aber lassen wir die Kugel rollen, irgendwo wird so ein armer Schiffbrüchiger schon landen! Vorläufig heissts nun abwarten auf den Entscheid der Pariser Konferenz.” Challenging the Zero-Hour Concept: Letters across Borders 111 complex nature of Heimat, nationality and belonging became evident. At this stage, after the war, it was important to Karl that Friedl understood his background to be South Tyrolean, who had been uprooted by Italo– German politics and who was now stranded in Austria. By 10 September 1946, Karl was beginning to despair of his prospects and blamed his precarious situation on the fact that he was from South Tyrol. He explained that he had a job, but was not earning enough and “on top of that I am a South Tyrolean, Heimat-less and without any rights.”25 He also told her of a rumour that “we South Tyroleans will probably be resettled back into our Heimat. I am not interested in returning, and if I have to, certainly not without you.” He planned to obtain permission from the military administration in Innsbruck to visit her and to try to get a job as an electrician. He asked her to enquire “if it is possible at all for a South Tyrolean to get a job in Germany.”26 At the end of September she responded to his request by writing: “This is a difficult issue right now. Many soldiers who returned from the war are working as farm labourers as there is nothing to be done in the factories. You as Ausländer [non-German] could be lucky, but you may also try the Americans in Mannheim. Maybe at the UNRA, that’s the provisions section for foreigners … We have an Italian, who works as a hair dresser in Mannheim, and he is earning good money and has enough to eat.”27 Alternatively, she suggested that she may come to 25 26 27 Doc 5649, 10 Sept 46: “arbeite wieder in meinem alten Beruf, verdiene pp. 140–150 Schillinge, ‘mache damit keine grossen Sprünge. Dazu ist man noch Südtiroler, Heimat und Recht loβ!’” [sic] Doc 5650, 10 Sept 46: “Nun Friedl möcht ich dir etwas schreiben zu was ich mich entschlossen habe, es kann noch länger dauern aber es wird wahrscheinlich so kommen. Wir Südtiroler warden wahrscheinlich wieder nach unserer Heimat verfrachtet werden. Ich habe durchaus nicht interesse wieder zurückzukehren wenn schon dann nicht ohne dich!” … “ob es überhaupt möglich ist eine Stellung als Südtiroler zu erlangen!” Doc 5659, 24 Sept 46: “Du schreibst wegen einem Arbeitsplatz. Da wird wohl bei uns schlecht etwas zu machen sein. Viele zurückgekehrte Soldaten arbeiten bei den Bauern weil in der Fabrik nicht zu tun ist. Höchstens du als Ausländer könntest’s mal probieren, aber wie wäre es bei den Amerikanern in Mannheim? Eventuell bei der UNRA. Das ist die Versorgung für Ausländer. … Wir selbst haben auch einen 112 Georg Grote live in his Heimat. He may not be able to live in her Heimat, a place “where people eat almost nothing else but potatoes, but it would be the same for me because I am a Reichsdeutsche, however, this will not confuse me as I know what it means to live abroad.”28 She clearly understood Austria, in 1946 no longer part of the German Reich, to be a foreign country, and this became the premise of understanding for the further exchange of letters. She added, “I would get used to circumstances in your place, if only I knew how people treat Reichsdeutsche.”29 Karl, however, was still embedded in the past and struggled to accept the physical existence of and the strong policing on the border between Austria and Germany.30 He nevertheless confirmed that as a “Reichsdeutsche she is not welcome by everyone in this part of Austria, and I am not the only one who has a German woman.”31 Friedl, fully aware of the German reputation after the war, repeatedly reopened their correspondence after weeks of silence by asking if he had forgotten about her because she was German: “What does a German girl symbolise? I know, Karl, that German girls are not liked anywhere.”32 Her anxieties grew to such a degree that Karl felt the 28 29 30 31 32 Italiener, der arbeitet in Mannheim beim Friseur … er verdient schönes Geld und hat sein essen.” Doc 5660, 24 Sept 46: “Du kannst hier in dieser Gegend wo man sich fast nur von Kartoffeln ernährt nicht glücklich werden. Für mich ist es ja ebenso in deiner Heimat, den ich bin eine Reichsdeutsche. Aber das kann mich nicht erschüttern, ich weis ja was es heisst im Ausland zu leben.” Doc 5661, 7 Oct 46: “An diese Verhältniss bei Euch würde man sich ja auch gewöhnen. Wenn ich nur noch wüsste wie die Leute zu uns sind als Reichsdeutsche. Alle würden dann ja Büβchinese mich nennen.” Doc 5663, 23 Oct 46: “… wenn ich so nachdenke könnte ich glatt in einer Siegfried Stimmung geraten und ausser Rand und Band kommen wegen dieser vermaledeiten Staatsgrenze!” Doc 5664, 23 Oct 46: “Wenn du auch Reichsdeutsche bist, würden sie dich fast ohne ausnahme gerne sehen. Freilich bestimmte Kreise sind nicht gut zu sprechen darüber aber sollen wir etwa von diese abhängig sein? … In dieser Hinsicht bin ich nicht der einzige, der dann eine Deutsche zur Frau hat.” Doc 5671, 30 Oct 46: “Lässt dich deine Freundin da unten nicht schreiben oder hast du mich schon vergessen? Was ist eben auch schon ein deutsches Mädel? Überall warden die deutschen Frauen nicht gerne gesehen, Karl das weis ich.” Challenging the Zero-Hour Concept: Letters across Borders 113 need to calm her and assuage her fears: “There are so many Reichsdeutsche women here, you’ll see that nobody will make a fuss about it.”33 However, crossing the border was anything but easy. Both of them were aware of the difficulties of a cross-border relationship, in February 1947 Friedl reported that she met an Austrian who told her it was easier for any foreigner to get a visa for Germany than for an Austrian.34 Karl also confirmed the estrangement between the two countries by telling her about a recent experience at the local administration: “We depend on the mercy of the people in the local offices. I hope this will work. You know, it’s quite difficult if you have decided to marry a German, of all people. I was asked if I could not have found another girl. I told them this was quite a stupid question and asked the gentleman who had posed this question if his matters of the heart were going to be influenced by a stranger’s opinion. He answered, logically, ‘No’, and that settled the issue … You’d want to puke when you think about the difficulties created for us, and all of that just because you are a German. I certainly ain’t one.”35 While occasionally nationalities got confused in post-war Germany – she mentioned a man from Triest in the neighbourhood who was made stateless during the Third Reich and who was now possibly Austrian36 – but 33 34 35 36 Doc 5688, 18 Dec 46: “Es sind so viel Reichsdeutsche Frauen hier, wirst sehen Friedl, dass sich kaum ein Mensch darüber aufhalten will.” Doc 5713, 17 Feb 47: “Auf der Militär-Regierung hat ein Osterreicher zu mir gesagt: wenn ich in heiraten wollte ginge es, da bekäme ich eher einen Pass, aber so muss du schon einen Pass beantragen für nach Deutschland. Als Ausländer bekommst du dann einen Pass für in deine Heimat eher noch als von Ostreich nach Deutschland.” Doc 5761, 26 April 47: “Also sind wir von der Gnade oder Ungnade dieses Menschen [auf dem Amt] abhängig. Na ich will hoffen, dass es gelingt. Weist es ist schon schwierig, speziell wenn man ausgerechnet ein Deutsche heiraten will! Mich haben sie natürlich gefragt ob ich den kein anderes Mädel gefunden hätte. Ich sagte darauf es sei eine ziemlich dumme Frage, und fragte den Herren der mir die Frage stellte, ob er auch über seine Herzensangelegenheiten, sich von Fremden beeinflussen lasse. Darauf sagte er logischerweise ‘Nein’ und so war der wunde Punkt umgangen. … Es ist wahrlich zum kotzen wenn man bedenkt das man uns solche Schwierigkeiten machen will und nur deshalb weil du eine ‘Deutsche’ [sic] bist. Ich bin ja ‘keiner’?!” Doc 5781, 9 May 47: “Du hier gar nicht weit von uns wohnt eine Frau, der Mann ist von Triest. Er wurde im 3.Reich staatenlos gemacht. Jetzt ist er, glaube ich Ostreicher.” 114 Georg Grote the demarcation lines between being Austrian and German were clearly felt. Friedl reported that an acquaintance in the area had warned her against the Austrians: “Never take an Austrian. They are not straightforward nor trustworthy. I told him you were different.”37 Karl, however, often used examples of successful relationships between Germans and Austrians to reassure Friedl. For example, in May 1947 he told her of a good relationship between Reichsdeutsche and Austrians in the Zillertal: “My friend Heinz Böhmer has married a Reichsdeutsche from the Ruhrgebiet, she absolutely loves being here with us. There are a good few Reichsdeutsche women in the village, so you will find good friends very soon.”38 For Friedl the German people were not homogenous, and she feared that she might not relate to women from other parts of the country. In July 1947, she asked: “Are there no women from the Palatine married over there? I am not sure if I understand the other ones because of their dialects.”39 While she had failed to understand the nuances of Karl’s sense of Heimat, he, in turn, had a simplified understanding of German-ness presuming that all German women would be friends. Despite the obstacles and fears, both Friedl and Karl were determined to be reunited irrespective of cultural, political or geographic boundaries. In June 1947, Friedl urged Karl to accelerate the process of getting a passport, but yet again, her anxieties about the new realpolitik emerged: “Tell your dear secretary he may hurry and help issue a passport very soon. Or does he actively want to discourage you from marrying a German? Is it my fault that I was born and reared in Germany? A human being is a human 37 38 39 Doc 5798, 15 May 47: “Deine Elfriede sagt die nicht, hattest du auch ein Mädel hier gefunden? Meine Freunde sagen nehmlich so. Wo ich mein Landjahr gemacht hab, der Mann hat mit Händ und Füssen abgewehrt. Nie einen Östreicher so hat er gesagt. Die wären falsch. Ich hab ihm dann versichert, dass Du anderst bist.” Doc 5818, 27 May 47: “Nun wegen den Bergen brauchst dich nicht zu sorgen Friedl. Mein Freund Heinz Böhmer hat auch eine Reichsdeutsche, aus dem Ruhrgebiet glaub ich ist sie, geheiratet und die fühlt sich sauwohl hier bei uns. Es sind ja noch viel mehr Reichsdeutsche Frauen im Ort, so dass du bald gute Freundinnen haben wirst.” Doc 6505, 22 July 47: “Sind keine Pfälzerinnen bei Euch verheiratet? Ob ich mich mit den anderen wegen der Sprache wohl verstehe?” Challenging the Zero-Hour Concept: Letters across Borders 115 being, be it in Germany of in the US, in France or in Greece, is doesn’t matter. The main thing is they get on with each other”.40 It was an ironic plea – the main thing is to get on with each other – in the wake of a world war, but it highlights the vulnerability of human relationships in Europe’s volatile political landscape. Friedl would evidently not just have strangers to convince, but even her future relatives, as Karl had evidently told her that his brother did not like Germans: “I will give it a try with your brother. I don’t think it’s right to judge a human being harshly just because they are Reichsdeutsche. It is not my fault that my father was from the Palatine and did not come from Tyrol.”41 Not surprisingly, they both wrote often of the time they met, and despite the war they always framed these memories as positive counterpoints to the uncertainty of the immediate post-war period. In October 1946, Friedl recalled: “Yes, Giessen was a wonderful time, but unfortunately way too short. I often think of this time. Despite all the air raid alarms of those stupid Tommies, it was a beautiful time, a glorious three months of my life.”42 Karl engaged fully with Friedl’s attempts to build a common memory out of the ruins of 1945: “My dear, those memories are the only things we have of that golden time in Giessen. O, how I remember it all, let’s hope for an equally beautiful future.”43 Throughout these deliberations the destruction 40 41 42 43 Doc 6440, 8 June 47: “Grüss euren lieben Herrn Sekretär er möchte sich beeilen und dem herrn Landrat gute Worte geben, dass er deinen Pass gleich fertig macht, dass es doch nicht mehr allzu lange dauert. Oder will er gar auch nicht, dass du eine Deutsche heiratest? Was kann ich dazu dass ich in Deutschland zur Welt kam und grossgezogen wurde? Mensch ist Mensch ob in England oder USA, in Frankreich oder Griechenland das bleibt sich doch egal. Die Hauptsache sie verstehen sich und hauen sich als ab u. zu. Nicht.” Doc 6778, 27 Jan 48: “Bei deinem Bruderherz will ich es auch mal versuchen. Ich kann doch nicht einen Menschen nicht verurteilen nur weil er Reichsdeutscher ist. Ich bin doch nicht Schuld daran, dass mein Vater ein Pfälzer und nicht Tiroler war.” Doc 5669, 21 Oct 46: “Ja Giessen, das war eine schöne Zeit aber leider zu kurz. Oft denke ich an diese Zeit. Trotz der vielen Alarmen von den dummen Tommies, war das eine schöne Zeit, ein herrliches Vierteljahr meines Lebens.” Doc 5680, 31 Dec 46: “Mein lieb, die Erinnerungen sind wohl das einzige was wir noch haben von der golden schöne Zeit in Giessen. Oh wie sehr hab ich alles noch im Gedächtnis, hoffen wir auf eine ebenso schöne Zukunft.” 116 Georg Grote of war remained very much secondary to their attempts to reconstruct a common past. When Karl wrote of joining the army it became a positive memory because it was linked with meeting Friedl: “Tonight at 7, 3 years ago we arrived in Giessen. It was my first day in the army, and the 27th was the last. But these were also the most beautiful days. I will never forget these days, Amerod-Rödgen. The gentlemen Geissler and Krausse. What may they be doing now? And what is Kranzel-Karl doing? Is he married yet? He was old enough. And Hinrich, the poor guy, he received a shot in the head. Do you think he is still in contact with Annemarie von Annerock? I always think of those comrades. The tall blond Resi is married. So is Erika Hoffman. I am sure you remember them both.”44 In fact, Karl’s depictions of his war-time experiences often resembled an adventure holiday: “You know, Friedl, I often think of the things that passed. Yugoslavia, Munich, Finland, Norway, Giessen, Mainz-Finthen and then the POW time and the homecoming. All of this was such a wonderful way that I cannot thank our dear God enough that today I am still among the living. Despite all these little and big memories and sufferings, I am still happy because everything on this world that is alive is beautiful, despite the dark shadows of the post-war period on the horizon.”45 44 Doc 6510, 28 Dec 47: “Das war mein erster Tag beim Barras, am 27.3. der letzte. Aber es waren bestimmt auch die schönsten. Nie kann ich diese Tage vergessen AmerodRödgen. Die Herren Geissler u. Krausse. Was beide wohl machen? Was wird wohl Kranzel-Karl machen? Wird er verheiratet sein? Alt genug war er ja. Und Hinrich, der arme Jung, hatte einen Kopfschuss noch bekommen. Ob er mit der Annemarie von Annerock (?) wohl noch im Briefwechsel steht? Immer muss ich an alle Kameraden denken. Die grossen blonde ‘Resl’ ist verheiratet. Erika Hoffmann auch. Du kannst dich bestimmt an beide erinnern.” 45 Doc 6553, 26 Aug 47: “Weist Friedl, ich denke oft zurück an das vergangene. Jugoslawien – München – Finnland, Norwegen, Giessen, Mainz-Finthen und schliesslich Gefangenschaft und Heimkehr. All dieses ist so ein wunderbarer Weg das ich mich nicht oft genug beim lb. Gotte bedanken kann das ich heute noch unter den Lebenden weile. Wenn auch mit kleine und grosse unmerkliche Andenken und Leiden, bin ich doch glücklich weil alles was auf der Welt ist und lebt ist schön, wenn auch noch die trüben Schatten der Nachkriegszeit am Orizont [sic] stehen …” Challenging the Zero-Hour Concept: Letters across Borders 117 These dark shadows were to affect Karl as a South Tyrolean Optant particularly strongly, and, despite his positive outlook on life, his longing for his Heimat Bozen remained a persistent theme in his letters. In December 1947 he recalled the Option period: After some time, as I was conscripted into the army, I thought no human being could be happier than me. I was free and without worries amidst my Heimat Südtirol. Then came the emigration! I had to leave beautiful Bozen, South Tyrol and the entire glorious Heimat, this was the first shadow. Soon I got to know Mayrhofen and I managed to forget a lot of my woes. I finally lived among people who spoke my language, and that had been my weak spot for a long time. Then came the tough years in the Wehrmacht where I learnt about suffering and need, but where I also had some beautiful hours, and the most beautiful I spent with you.46 It pained Karl that South Tyrol no longer featured in the news, and nobody seemed to care about the plight of the Optanten. He came across an old article on Tyrol in a German magazine and complained: “It is a wonder that Tyrol exists in any German magazine – it must have been a war-time magazine.”47 Karl hankered after the old order and the strong connections with German culture. In January 1948 he wrote to Friedl: “I often listen to Radio Stuttgart as they broadcast a nice programme, just the reception is quite poor with my Volksempfänger. I have had the radio since 1940 and it is still working, after all, it is a German product.”48 46 47 48 Doc 6571, 13 Dec 47: “Nach langer Zeit, als ich zum Militär eingerückt, glaubte ich, es könnte kein glücklicher Mensch sein als ich. Sorgenlos inmitten meiner Berge Südtirols. Dann kam die Auswanderung! Das schöne Bozen, ja Südtirol die ganze schöne herrliche Heimat musste ich verlassen, das war der erste schatten. Doch bald lernte ich Mayrhofen kennen und dies lies mich vieles vergessen. Ich lebte endlich unter Menschen die gleichsprachig waren, und das war bei mir schon lange die schwache Seite. Dann kamen die harten Jahre beim Barras wo man Not und Leid kennen lernte doch auch schöne Stinde, die schönsten vebrachte ich bei dir.” Doc 5623, 6 Aug 47: “Ein Wunder das noch ein Stück Tirol in einer deutschen Zeitschrift existiert, sicher ist es noch eine Kriegszeitschrift gewesen.” Doc 6762, 18 Jan 48: “Ich höre des öftern Radio Stuttgart weil es immer ein ganz nettes Programm hat, nur mit dem Empfang ist es mit mein Volksempfänger oft sehr schlecht … Hab ihn schon seit April 40 und er geht immer noch. Es ist eben noch ein deutsches erzeugnis!” 118 Georg Grote In January 1948, three years after they had first met, they still had not been able to meet again, their love existed through their letters alone, and various plans to cross the border proved unsuccessful as neither of them managed to obtain the necessary travel documentation. Their planned wedding had to be postponed twice for this reason. All of this made both of them question the idea of liberation in 1945. In January 1948 Karl wrote: “Yes Friedl, we are living in a liberated Austria, but yet it is still like a prison as you cannot even move as you like in your own country.”49 Her reply was prompt and ambiguous: “be happy Karl that you have a liberated country, you cannot change that anyway. We have a saying here, not everything that sparkles is gold.”50 However, from January 1948 their correspondence became increasingly dominated by their plan to meet in the South of Germany. Both of them collected intelligence regarding where it might be safest for Karl to cross the border illegally, and towards the end of February they agreed on a meeting place just North of Lindau near Lake Konstanz in Germany. Friedl and Karl as contemporary witnesses challenged the established view that the end of the war meant a caesura in people’s lives in that they introduce us to their private world that is dominated by continuations instead, coupled with very reluctant realizations of the new political realities, which, in the first instance, spell inconvenience. There was no before and after 8 May, there was a postwar life that sought normality and future, but that drew heavily on the experience of the past, which, to our surprise, was remembered largely positively. Their letter exchange is a reminder of the blind spots of constructed memory and the arbitrariness of accepted historical interpretations, which speak more to the needs of the (everchanging) present than to the “factuality” of past events. 49 50 Doc 6762, 18 Jan 48: “Ja Friedl wir leben hier im Befreiten Österreich, und doch ist es wie ein Gefängnis, weil man sich nicht ein mal im eigenen Land bewegen kann wie man will.” Doc 6771, 24 Jan 48: “Sei zufrieden Karli dass Ihr ein Befreites Land habt. Du änderst es ja nicht. Bei uns sagt man da nur. Ist nicht alles Gold was glänzt.” Eva Pfanzelter 7 The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 abstract Eva Pfanzelter examines the historical development of memory of the Option and the population re-settlement of South Tyroleans between 1939 and 1943. A central issue of such memory is the tenacious persistence of the idea of victimhood in the collective memory of German- and Ladin-speaking South Tyroleans. Up until today, the Option is seen as a commonly experienced collective blow of fate at the hands of foreign forces – the Italian fascists and the German national socialists. On the other hand, over the past decades there have also been many changes to what and who is being remembered, and how. Introduction When dealing with the South Tyrolean culture of remembrance one soon realizes that pertinent historical writings appeared quite late in the age of commemoration – the last three decades, when a fundamental change in the cultures of remembrance took place worldwide. In Europe this boom was characterized by a spreading to the memorialization of the dictatorships in the east of the continent, in the USA and in many South American as well as Asian nations the memory of the consequences of wars and tyranny was discovered. More recent are the newly erected memory institutions in different countries in Africa.1 Nowadays, however, academics in South 1 Günter Morsch, “… ‘Eine umfassende Neubewertung der Europäischen Geschichte’?”, 15 October 2010 <http://www.gedenkstaettenforum.de/nc/aktuelles/einzelansicht/ news/eine_umfassende_neubewertung_der_europaeischen_geschichte/> accessed 120 Eva Pfanzelter Tyrol are also increasingly occupied with the conceptual twins History and Commemoration, stimulated not least because of the effective media wars of the last two decades, which are and have been loosened by the concrete materiel of monuments left as legacies of fascism, such as the Monument to Victory in the provincial capital Bozen or the ossuaries with imported remains of Italian soldiers who had never fought on that soil. These relics of the fascist dictatorship of the 1920s and 1930s, chiseled in stone, stand alongside the monuments to the statutes of autonomy constituted by the nine South Tyrolean state museums. They are considered an expression of South Tyrolean identity – in accordance with the law in all three official South Tyrolean languages – and they fulfil an important cultural-political, almost nation-building function, by documenting regional diversities and specific features, as well as by displaying the vitality and independence of the region.2 An awareness of the constructiveness of history, of the efficacy of monuments and symbols, of changing historical-political instrumentalization, and especially of the identity-generating effects of historical remembrance thrives superbly in a regional-historical context. However, it was the primacy of memory which really brought to the fore to what degree the collective memory of the German- and Ladin-speaking3 South Tyroleans differs from that of the Italian-speaking populace.4 To adequately understand the 2 3 4 11 June 2015; for example, Isivivane Freedom Park <http://www.freedompark.co.za/> accessed 17 June 2015; Apartheidmuseum <http://www.apartheidmuseum.org/> accessed 17 June 2015. Thomas Ohnewein, “Die Südtiroler Landesmuseen: Ausdruck einer neuen Landesidentität”, in: Georg Grote and Barbara Siller (eds), Südtirolismen. Erinnerungskulturen – Gegenwartsreflexionen – Zukunftsvisionen (Innsbruck: Wagner, 2011), pp. 113–121, here p. 121. In order to facilitate reading, the terms German-speaking versus Italian-speaking shall be used, especially since in this context the Ladin-speaking memory developed alongside the German-speaking one. Hans Heiss and Hannes Obermair, “Erinnerungskulturen im Widerstreit. Das Beispiel der Stadt Bozen/Bolzano 2000–2010”, in: Patrick Ostermann, Claudia Müller and Karl-Siegbert Rehberg (eds), Der Grenzraum als Erinnerungsort. Über den Wandel zu einer postnationalen Erinnerungskultur in Europa, Histoire 34 (Bielefeld: Transcript, 2012), pp. 63–80, here pp. 77–80. The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 121 German-language remembrance it is necessary to ascertain the emergence of a distinct historiography (Georg Grote calls this – in lieu of a more suitable term – the National Historiography of South Tyrol 5). Within this historiography the discourse on victimization plays a central role and reinforces the formation of a separate identity, in the sense of a dissociative identity or a demarcating identity, and it defines itself by the German-speaking’s own suffering – for which Italy as a nation and fascism as a regime is seen to be responsible.6 Even today, the Option of 1939 – the resettlement of the German-speaking population from South Tyrol – provides the presumed proof for the correctness of this victim theory. This article takes as its starting point the question of how the landscapes of remembrance concerning the Option resettlements influence the collective memory of German-speaking South Tyroleans. It also seeks to find out just how pronounced and profound the memory of the Option is. Thus, ultimately the thesis of this article is that the victim theory – meaning that the Option was a collectively experienced stroke of fate brought about by foreign powers, or fate itself – still lives on in the collective memories of German- and Ladin-speaking South Tyroleans, and is endorsed by both those who stayed in South Tyrol and those who emigrated. On the other hand, there is a permanent debate and attempt to come to terms with the fascist and national socialist past – including the perpetration of or complicity by citizens in offences of all three language groups; this would require, as Christian Meier claimed, that there be “work on the past, by the greater part of the population and not only with those principally responsible”. A coming to terms or coping with the past in this way is clearly an act of courage, but also “devilishly difficult, and not only because it requires self-criticism”.7 It is much easier to point out one’s own assumed heroism or refer to one’s own martyrdom and to the brown or black – meaning fascist – past of “all the others”. 5 6 7 Georg Grote, I bin a Südtiroler: Kollektive Identität zwischen Nation und Region im 20. Jahrhundert (Bozen: Athesia, 2009), pp. 255–257. Heiss and Obermair, “Erinnerungskulturen”, pp. 77–80. Christian Meier, Das Gebot zu vergessen und die Unabweisbarkeit des Erinnerns. Vom öffentlichen Umgang mit schlimmer Vergangenheit (München: Siedler, 2005), p. 96. 122 Eva Pfanzelter Memory and regionalism Almost three decades of memory research and the paradigmatic changes associated with it have spawned a fundamentally novel form of historiography. The categories History and Memory have now – on regional, national, trans- and international levels – advanced to become guiding concepts.8 The successes of remembrance research owe a lot to the contemporaneous memory boom9 which took place particularly in the 1990s and which was transmuted after the turn of the century into a veritable memory industry.10 This process relied primarily on a boom of memory, according to Christoph Cornelißen, and not only in Europe but especially in the USA, in Asia, and more recently in Africa.11 After the end of the Cold War in 1989, after the waves of EU-driven changes and globalization, the broad consensus of mis-memories which arose after 1945 began to waver: the self-perception of post-war governments and societies can no longer be preserved or defended by exploiting the decade-long historical understanding present within the collective memory.12 On the one hand, this trend has enhanced the awareness of victims and delinquents, as well as the victims’ rivalry; on the other hand, there has been an increased and intensified museumization in the recent past. As part of this development history has become a media experience, and history serves to exacerbate nationalistic trends and identity building. Due to the dominance of “collective wide-spread memories among peoples, nations 8 9 10 11 12 Harald Schmid, “Regionale Erinnerungskulturen – ein einführender Problemaufriss”, in: Harald Schmid (ed.), Erinnerungskultur und Regionalgeschichte (München: Meidenbauer, 2009), pp. 7–22, here p. 7. Morsch, “… ‘Eine umfassende Neubewertung’”. Lee Kerwin Klein, “On the Emergence of Memory in Historical Discourse”, in: Representations 69, Special Issue: Grounds for Remembering (Winter 2000), pp. 127– 150, here pp. 127–128. Christoph Cornelißen, “Was heißt Erinnerungskultur? Begriff – Methoden – Perspektiven”, Geschichte in Wissenschaft und Unterricht 54/10 (2003), pp. 548–563. Tony Judt, “The Past Is Another Country: Myth and Memory in Postwar Europe”, Daedalus 121/4, Immobile Democracy? (Autumn 1992), pp. 83–118, here pp. 108–110. The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 123 and religious communities” there is a tendency towards “national” (mis-) appropriation of local and regional groups.13 If, however, John Foot 200914 and Giovanni de Luna15 emphasized a broad gap in the memory landscapes for Italy, because 1,000 years of past history were difficult to subsume under one common denominator, this would point to a lack of common national memory. This becomes pertinent for South Tyrol in several respects, where ethnicity is added as a dividing, separating element. South Tyrol’s memory landscape is thus one of those numerous examples of how remembrance cultures diverge implicitly from the national master narratives. In federalist Italy the German-speaking population in South Tyrol also writes its own separate history16 and exhibits a specifically regional memory or culture of memory, which differs markedly from that of the nation as a whole, but also from that of the former sister region, the Austrian State of Tyrol, and even from Austria generally, its former mother country. This history underscores the specific regional identities and defines regional, national and transregional/-national relationships.17 Within the area of tension between a Europe of Regions and globalization South Tyrol’s separate history of remembrance has always reflected purposefully arranged and embellished historical-political functions in various ways, depending on the ethnic group in question, as well as generational changes,18 and has often been instrumentalized by the various mass media. With respect to group psychology the collective memory of the German minority has always been dictated by the “emotionally charged narrative of heroic sacrifice” in World War I, as well as the “subsequent 13 14 15 16 17 18 Christoph Cornelißen, “Erinnerungskulturen”, in: Dokupedia Zeitgeschichte. Begriffe, Methoden und Debatten der zeithistorischen Forschung (2012) <http://docupedia.de/ zg/Erinnerungskulturen_Version_2.0_Christoph_Corneli%C3%9Fen> accessed 11 June 2015. John Foot, Italy’s divided memory (Italian and Italian American Studies) (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). Giovanni De Luna, La Repubblica del dolore. Le memorie di un’Italia divisa (Milano: Feltrinelli, 2011). Grote, I bin a Südtiroler, p. 259. Schmid, “Regionale Erinnerungskulturen”, pp. 7–14. Heiss and Obermair, “Erinnerungskulturen”, pp. 63–65. 124 Eva Pfanzelter unjust treatment” by the fascist regime.19 German-speaking South Tyroleans do not identify with (Italian) nationalist elements. They have a different narrative, and South Tyrol boasts quite distinctive memory landscapes. This has been obvious in recent years in the discussions about identity, which are reflected – and not exclusively – in the titles of books and articles: I bin a Südtiroler [I’m a South Tyrolean], Südtiorolismen [South Tyroleanisms], SüdtirolerIn als Identität [South Tyrolean as Identity] and Diskursive Trans-/ Formationen Südtiroler Identität [Discourse on Trans-/formational South Tyrolean Identity]20 are just a few examples of this trend. Precisely questions of identity and the demonstration of differences or similarities, of demarcations and frictions between the three ethnic groups in their selfimage and collective values point to their “complex cultural fabric”.21 The ethno-cultural identities in South Tyrol grate against historical symbols – such as the Monument to Victory, the Brenner (State) Boundary, the Industrial Zone in Bozen, the arguments about town and street names –, which play a part in defining identities for all language groups.22 Within this discursive context on memory of all of the three language groups, issues of remembrance stand in diametrical opposition to each other. The lack of research on these areas of conflict between national and regional remembrance practices is evident in these lieux de memoire. They 19 20 21 22 Laurence Cole, “Geteiltes Land und getrennte Erzählungen. Erinnerungskulturen des Ersten Weltkrieges in den Nachfolgeregionen des Kronlandes Tirol”, in: Hannes Obermair, Stephanie Risse and Carlo Romeo (eds), Regionale Zivilgesellschaft in Bewegung/Cittadini innanzi tutto. Festschrift für/Scritti in onore di Hans Heiss (WienBozen: Folio, 2012), pp. 502–531, here p. 510. Grote, I bin a Südtiroler; Georg Grote and Barbara Siller (eds), Südtirolismen: Erinnerungskulturen – Gegenwartsreflexionen – Zukunftsvisionen (Innsbruck: Wagner, 2011); Lucio Giudiceandrea, “SüdtirolerIn als Identität. Die schwierige Ausbildung von Identitätsmodellen in Südtirol”, in: Grote and Siller, Südtirolismen, pp. 281–92; Vincenzo Bua, Andreas Oberprantacher and Pier Paolo Pasqualoni, “‘& ueber allem schwebt der henngeier’. Diskursive Trans-/Formationen Südtiroler Identität”, in: Grote and Siller, Südtirolismen, pp. 305–324. Siegrun Wildner, “Ethnizität und Identität in deutschsprachiger Literatur aus und über Südtirol” (2004) <http://www.inst.at/trans/15Nr/05_08/wildner15.htm> accessed 31 March 2015. Giudiceandrea, “SüdtirolerIn”, pp. 281–283. The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 125 can lead to a “renaissance of the idea of nation”, just as they can possibly mutate towards crystallization points of ethno-cultural identities.23 In South Tyrol the memories of the Option point directly to all these issues. Remembering the Option In academic literature the Option of 1939 is consistently portrayed as a “trauma of South Tyrolean society”, as a “profound rift”, as the greatest social “breakdown of solidarity”, as a “deep wound” and “long-lasting weakening” of the minority, as “the most sorrowful chapter in history, which was written by the people in their own country”.24 Yet, the facets of Germanlanguage remembrance of the Option have changed significantly during recent decades. Standardization and politicization in the 1950s and 1960s Immediately after the end of World War II, at the beginning of May 1945, the German-speaking minority in South Tyrol was deeply divided on questions relating to the Option and its complexities during wartime, or at the least since 8 September 1943. Due to the liabilities of the Optants (those who chose German citizenship according to the resettlement agreement of 1939), those who had remained behind in South Tyrol, the Dableiber 23 24 Dittmar Schorkowitz, “Geschichte, Identität und Gewalt im Kontext postsozialistischer Nationsbildung”, Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 1/135 (2010), pp. 99–160, here p. 100. See also Günther Pallaver, “Die Option im Jahr 1939. Rahmenbedingungen, Ablauf und Folgen”, in: Günther Pallaver and Leopold Steurer (eds), Deutsche! Hitler verkauft euch! Das Erbe von Option und Weltkrieg in Südtirol (Bozen: Rætia, 2011), pp. 13–34, here pp. 24–29; Grote, I bin a Südtiroler, p. 138; Rolf Steininger, Südtirol im 20. Jahrhundert: Vom Leben und Überleben einer Minderheit (Innsbruck-Wien-MünchenBozen: Studienverlag, 1997), p. 155. 126 Eva Pfanzelter or remainers, took over the political responsibilities and almost overnight filled in the deep gaps of the past years. However, a good third of the South Tyrolean People’s Party (Südtiroler Volkspartei/SVP), which was founded on 8 May 1945 by Dableiber and leading supporters of the resistance group Andreas-Hofer-Bund, now also consisted of Optants. The situation was similar in the following recruitment campaign for membership of the SVP: even for former national socialist functionaries there were no obstacles to being accepted, let alone for Optants who had already emigrated and had not yet been able to return to South Tyrol.25 Italian politics, in turn, exploited the statelessness of all Optants for the German Reich in 1939 as a bargaining chip at the peace negotiations and thereby helped to promote the formation of a South Tyrolean victim theory.26 This victimization thesis ultimately served not only the interests of the political elite of South Tyrol: the German-speaking minority was stylized as a victim of two dictatorships, and the Option was seen as the result of two decades of fascist oppression. It was “seen in undifferentiated contexts, as an endured collective stroke of fate, which the South Tyroleans suffered in their passive role.” Debates about exoneration served to obscure or mask out the endemic brown (= fascist) past, even though collaborators and delinquents were often to be found among their own political ranks. The massive upheaval of 1943 also became quite evident when the “persecution of National-Socialist opponents, of prominent Dableiber, Italians, and generally of those daring to think differently, and ‘those who were different’ – such as the Jews”,27 began to emerge. In the beginning, discussions about victimization served to promote the united demand for self-determination, then later to support the legitimation of autonomy. But the debate always included an urgent statement directed against Italy – against the Italian-speaking state and the Italianspeaking minority in South Tyrol which represented this state. However, 25 26 27 More at: Eva Pfanzelter, “Die (un)verdaute Erinnerung an die Option 1939”, Geschichte und Region/Storia e regione 22/2 (2013), pp. 13–40. Eva Pfanzelter, Südtirol unterm Sternenbanner: Die amerikanische Besatzung Mai– Juni 1945, Mit Fotodokumentation und DVD (Bozen: Rætia, 2005), pp. 230–232. Pallaver, “Option”, p. 26. The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 127 this topic of victimization was not without its dissenting voices, the most prominent of whom were Hans Egarter and Silvio Flor, along with less well-known protagonists in this continuous conflict – above all in the rural communities of South Tyrol. And yet, these dissenting voices went unnoticed in post-war society and soon fell silent a few months after the end of the war. Afterwards any discussion about the complicity of South Tyroleans was possible in village communities at best, because everything on a larger scale contradicted the official interpretation of the war time period. Personal testimony or eyewitness accounts were unwelcome. Interest was centered around the “construction of a revised, corrected and homogenous collective view of history”.28 Discussions about victimization were possible because they found their counterparts on the Italian side and on the other side of the Brenner: Austria, with its exculpation by the Allies, slipped into the role of “first victim of National Socialist Germany.” Italy’s status as a “cobelligerent” of the Allies hindered a thorough eradication of fascism and a de-nationalization. In the wave of talk about liberation, Italian-speakers were able to bolster their self-image with the myth of the resistenza, while German-speakers took refuge as self-proclaimed victims of the Option. The SVP silently integrated former national socialists into their ranks, the Democrazia Cristiana took in former fascists – reflecting numerous parallels to the situation in the Austrian state of Tyrol.29 The actual strategic necessity of this case for victimization was, however, only feasible immediately after the end of the war – from 1945 to 1948 – with the Gruber-De Gasperi Agreement, the revision of the Option agreement and the Italian State Treaty in mind. Thus the Option had a historicalpolitical function after 1945 and has enduringly influenced South Tyrol’s political culture, with lasting effects even today. This became especially 28 29 Martha Verdorfer, “Geschichte und Gedächtnis. Die Erinnerung an die Option von 1939”, in: Pallaver and Steurer, Deutsche, pp. 365–383, here pp. 368–370. Eva Pfanzelter, “Unvollkommene Demokratisierung: Italien 1943–1945”, in Ingrid Böhler, Eva Pfanzelter and Rolf Steininger (eds), Stationen im 20. Jahrhundert, Innsbrucker Forschungen zur Zeitgeschichte 27 (Innsbruck-Wien-Bozen: Studienverlag, 2011), pp. 113–137. 128 Eva Pfanzelter evident following the time of change of power within the SVP in 1957. There was a reversal towards a more radical party leadership, which severely affected not only Italy, but also those members of its own ranks with differing political views. The Ideology of National Heritage was superimposed by a Fetishism of Unity. Dissension was considered treason against one’s own ethnic group.30 On the other hand, those were decades when most of the stone symbols of the Option were created. The numerous South Tyrolean settlements (mainly in Austria) and the re-settled home-comer housing in Bozen, Meran, Bruneck, Brixen and Sterzing still bear testimony (in part) to the relocation of approximately 75,000 people from South Tyrol into the German Reich, and to the 25,000 who later moved back to South Tyrol. Often in these settlements the stories of successful integration or reintegration were quite incomplete. The conflicts arising from the immigration of South Tyroleans into the communities on the other side of the Brenner are generally quite well documented31 and show similarities to present, contemporary immigrant problems. The re-settlement buildings and apartments in the city districts Rentsch and Haslach, as well as those in the Reschen-Street in Bozen, were emergency solutions, especially so shortly after the war. There the situation became critical because of the lack of living quarters for the growing number of Italian workers. Those returning were not only exposed to the hostilities of their own language groups but were also instrumentalized by the political machinery: the catchword Death March was propagated at their expense as well. In the rural communities again, those who had gone through a double re-location and were mostly without any possessions were disdainfully called riff-raff.32 30 31 32 Pallaver, “Die Option”, pp. 25–30; Verdorfer, “Geschichte und Gedächtnis”, pp. 367–368. For example, Michael Astenwald, Genese, Transformation und Persistenz der Südtiroler Siedlungen in Innsbruck Neu-Pradl: Politische, ideologische und städtebauliche Hintergründe einer Siedlungserweiterung der NS-Zeit, sowie deren Verflechtung mit Österreichs Sozialem Wohnbau von 1918–1945 (unpublished Diploma-Thesis Innsbruck, 2011). Helmut Alexander, Stefan Lechner and Adolf Leidlmair, Heimatlos: Die Umsiedlung der Südtiroler (Wien: Deuticke, 1993). The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 129 Controversy and scientification in the 1970s and 1980s The changes of the 1960s and 1970s, subsumed under the catchword 1968, deeply shocked all social and political sectors and, with some delay, also reached out into the peripheries, such as South Tyrol. With the history from below there was a paradigmatic change within historiography: marginal groups, minorities and gender research received a fixed place in the elite or diplomatic history. The missing archiving of these groupings led, among other things, to the establishment of oral history as a method of historical science, at the same time turning the relationship between historians and contemporary witnesses upside down.33 To the extent that contemporary witnessing no longer consisted only of well-known political and ecclesiastical elites and only served to verify or falsify facts, the everyday life-stories of representatives of all social strata gained in significance. In Germany, using these methods, a beginning was to be made in understanding the Holocaust, and in the second half of the 1980s there emerged a strong debate by historians about the uniqueness of the Holocaust. In South Tyrol as well, a critical generation began question the Wehrmacht generation. The political foundations for a cautious pluralism were laid by the Second Autonomy Statute of 1972. The traditional historical picture of South Tyrol began to totter for the first time, at the end of the 1960s, under the criticisms of journalists, literary figures and contemporary historians. The most prominent of these figures were Claus Gatterer and Joseph Zoderer.34 Numerous debates were also fought and printed in the magazine Skolast, which was published in the name of the South Tyrolean Students’ Union by Rainer Seberich and Franz von Walther.35 However, conservative social groups which supported the victim theory maintained a particularly persistent inertia of rest up into the first half of the 1990s. This was quite evident in the polemics of Alfons Gruber’s 33 34 35 Cf. also: Pfanzelter, “Die (un)verdaute Erinnerung”. The book titles of the authors named in this chapter are cited in the bibliography. Brigitte Foppa, “Nur net rogeln! Zum Umgang mit Option und Widerstand in Südtirol”, Skolast. Zeitschrift der Südtiroler HochschülerInnenschaft 54/2 (2009), pp. 74–87, here p. 74. 130 Eva Pfanzelter 1974 “South Tyrol under Fascism”. Gruber’s central thesis was based on a denial of any solidarity and ideological proximity of South Tyroleans with national socialism and reduced the Option to a form of homeland confiscation by the fascists. Having been received positively by the press, this point of view was repeated and strengthened by the Regional Council in Trento and the South Tyrolean State Parliament in their brochures on the thirtieth anniversary of the end of national socialism and fascism in the spring of 1975.36 Gruber’s followers also included advocates of that position that denied South Tyrol’s own national socialism and wanted it defined as having been brought in, since 1933, from Germany. Those, including opinion-forming elitist groups, supporting this imported interpretation, can be found mainly in the South Tyrolean People’s Party. The media foundations of this conservative bulwark were to be found primarily in the daily newspaper Dolomiten. Its letters to the editor section was used as a forum for the generally tempestuous and polemical discussions during the 1980s. This forum was primed and stocked by several media confrontations which offered opportunities for staging intense avowals of national socialist ideology,37 as can be found, for example, in the support of the radically national socialist book by Willi Acherer, … Mit seinem schweren Leid … [… With his Enormous Suffering …]. In contrast, contemporary South Tyrolean history – and particularly the Option – became a publically political topic from 1975 onwards. The critical contemporary historiography of the 1970s and 1980s can now be understood as a sort of delimiting and emancipatory process with respect to an official memory, which based itself on “stereotyped and undifferentiated assertions” about the suffering of the South Tyrolean Volk, and about the dictatorship of fascism. Many names can be quoted as protagonists of this phase of thinking; perhaps exemplary for all of them are Rainer Seberich, 36 37 Günther Pallaver and Gerald Steinacher, “Leopold Steurer: Historiker zwischen Forschung und Einmischung”, in: Christoph von Hartungen, Hans Heiss, Günther Pallaver et al. (eds), Demokratie und Erinnerung. Südtirol – Österreich – Italien. Festschrift für Leopold Steurer zum 60. Geburtstag (Innsbruck-Wien-Bozen: Studienverlag, 2006), pp. 51–91, here pp. 60–61. Foppa, “Nur net rogeln”, pp. 74–80. The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 131 the young historian and student of Claus Gatterer, Leopold Steurer, the Munich Jesuit priest Reinhold Iblacker, the exponent of the New Left/ Neue Linke/Nuova Sinistra, Alexander Langer, with the Initiativkommitee gegen die Option 1981 [Initiative Committee against the Option 1981],38 the historians Martha Verdorfer, Walther Pichler, Alessandra Zendron, and Piero Agostini. The Option-era also became a fashionable topic in the literature of the 1980s. The literary productions took the form of a veritable coming out of many of those involved. In numerous (auto-)biographies, plays and novels first the Dableiber, then the Optants, and finally – with Franz Thaler – even the deserters had their say. A time of intense historical debate, in which broad strata of the population were involved, was initiated through an assertion by Reinhold Messner, the world-famous extreme mountain climber, in an Italian RAI-Uno television interview in 1981. Alluding to the Option, Messner stated that “Penso che nessun popolo ha tradito tanto la ‘Heimat’ come gli altoatesini” [no people have so betrayed their homeland as have the South Tyroleans].39 Alongside these incidents there was a diversification of the mass media taking place at that time. And so, activities and reports by some critical journalists at the RAI broadcasting center in Bozen provided decisive impulses for change: to name a few, the journalist Gerd Staffler needs to be mentioned, with the Südtiroler Volkszeitung (re-named Tandem in 1981) and the film They Said No! (Sie sagten nein!),40 along with the weekly publication FF, which appeared beginning in 1980 under the editorship of Gottfried Solderer, and Solderer’s documentary film Die Option [The Option]. In several documentary films the RAI subsequently began to deal with South Tyrolean contemporary history. Among the most viewed and commented broadcasts is the television interview from January 1982 between Reinhold Messner, Josef Rampold and Friedl Volgger. The last of these was in fact a member of the Wehrmacht generation like Josef Rampold, but contrary to his contemporaries exhibited, in his publications 38 39 40 Verdorfer, “Geschichte und Gedächtnis”, pp. 376–378; Pallaver, “Option”, pp. 31–33. Cited in Foppa, “Nur net rogeln!”, p. 78. Ibid. pp. 76–78. 132 Eva Pfanzelter and his speeches, understanding and support for a new way of examining the interwar and war periods.41 Encouraged by support from the South Tyrolean Students’ Union and its backers on the one hand, fueled by the media-supported, conservative establishment on the other, verbal blows were exchanged for almost ten years in the above-mentioned print media, on the radio and the newly founded television broadcaster, RAI Bozen.42 The 1980s were thus years of upheaval, in which now the mass media, and above all the pluralization of the media landscape, were to play a decisive role. The climax of this decade of re-appraisal certainly took place in the year 1989, commemorating the Option’s fiftieth anniversary. Although the proposal by the Green-Alternative List to make this a commemorative year was rejected, the South Tyrolean State Government financed the exhibition Option – Heimat – Opzioni [Option – Homeland – Opzioni], which the Tyrolean Historical Association organized in Bozen, and which was attended by around 30,000 visitors. With this extremely successful exhibit, and with Felix Mitterer’s film Verkaufte Heimat. Eine Südtiroler Familiensaga [Homeland Sell-off. A South Tyrolean Family Saga], directed by Karin Brandauer as a co-production of Austrian, German and Italian broadcasters, produced and broadcast for the first time in 1989,43 the Option had by then definitively slipped out of its academic framework and has become part of general social discourse. This comment, however, is not meant to detract from the numerous other lecture series, academic publications44 and instructional curricula for secondary schools. 41 42 43 Pfanzelter, “Die (un)verdaute Erinnerung”. Pallaver and Steinacher, “Leopold Steurer”, pp. 58–60. Parts 1 and 2, directed by Karin Brandauer, deal with the time-period of the Option itself, that is, 1938–1945, parts 3 and 4, directed by Gernot Friedel, take place in the post-war years. 44 For example, Klaus Eisterer and Rolf Steininger (eds), Die Option: Südtirol zwischen Faschismus und Nationalsozialismus, Innsbrucker Forschungen zur Zeitgeschichte 5 (Innsbruck: Haymon, 1989); and of course the companion volume to the exhibition: Benedikt Erhard (ed.), Option–Heimat–Opzioni: Eine Geschichte Südtirols/ Una storia dell‘Alto Adige, Katalog zur Ausstellung des Tiroler Geschichtsvereins (Bozen: Tiroler Geschichtsverein/Bozen, 1989). The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 133 Historians have consistently judged the two decades of intensive discussions about the interwar- and war-period as years of critical debate, in which – in the final analysis – the historical awareness of South Tyrolean society was decisively altered and the collective memory was intensely influenced. At any rate, it can be noted conclusively: if the decades succeeding the Second World War were a time of forgetting, the 1970s and 1980s (each of which is to be considered a long decade) were times of remembering. South Tyrolean society had entered into a phase of re-appraisal, clarification and enlightenment, as Christian Meier described in detail in 2010.45 Historicization, chauvinistic patriotism and trivialization from the 1990s to today If the year 1989 represented the climax of public debates about the Option and about the era of the two fascisms, this had primarily to do with the fact that that was a commemorative year. Anniversaries attract the public’s attention at regular intervals, but they are soon forgotten thereafter. 1989, in fact, was a special year not only for South Tyrol, it was a memorable year throughout Europe and the world. It represented a caesura with respect to cultural remembrance. In 1992 Tony Judt said that Europe’s identity had been formed, up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of communism, above all by issues of separation both by the Iron Curtain at the end of World War II and by forgetting the immediate past preceding this separation. The manner in which Europe “distorted, sublimated, and appropriated”46 the experiences of war left behind a basically false European identity, which constructed a feeble, instable boundary between the past and the present in collective memories. The remembrance problems, which were consequently left unsolved, formed the hub of a deep European identity crisis in the 1990s. The upheavals of 1989 removed the decade-old taboos about war remembrances, but at the same time new myths and misinterpretations 45 46 Meier, Das Gebot, pp. 90–95. Judt, “The Past Is Another Country”, p. 84. 134 Eva Pfanzelter arose, especially about the time after 1945.47 The many social and political continuities, the incomplete democratizations, the Resistance myths, accompanied by an insufficient de-Nazification and the rivalry for remembrance by the communist oppression (in historiographic circles known as victim rivalry) forced their ways into the collective memory of Western European societies over the following decades. In Germany there were fierce debates about economic continuities, the political continuance of the national socialist ideology and the uninterrupted careers of Nazis. In Italy and France the socially germane controversies of the 1990s did away with the myths of résistance and resistenza.48 Paradoxically, this breaking of taboos also led to the fact that those who told a different version of history were and are now acceptable again: Holocaust denial, anti-Semitism, radical nationalism and a new right-wing radicalism are phenomena which have been cropping up increasingly throughout Europe since the middle of the 1980s, and in the 1990s began to become once more socially presentable, due in part to globalization and the media revolution – a worldwide crisis of modernization.49 Can these European and international remembrance phenomena also be discovered in South Tyrol’s handling of the Option? In fact, academic and popular scientific interest in the Option has remained unabated since 1989: there is a deluge of literature about coming to terms with this subject. 1989 thus can more probably be seen as a turning point year than as a climax year. In the subsequent decades numerous regional-historical issues of the fascist and national socialist era were tackled, and yet interest in the subject more and more shifted to the academic arena. It is indisputable that the Option has experienced a historicization, even if the distortions of the past – depending on personal concerns – are still present, even if contemporary witnesses look back on the events of those times sine ira et studio. The victim theory also has survived in collective memory. Not only 47 48 49 More on this topic: Pfanzelter, “Die (un)verdaute Erinnerung”. Robert A. Ventresca, “Mussolini’s Ghost: Italy’s Duce in History and Memory”, History and Memory 1/18 (2006), pp. 86–119, here pp. 89–91. Frank Decker and Marcel Lewandowsky “Dossier Rechtsextremismus, Populismus” ( June 2009) <http://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/rechtsextremismus/41192/ was-ist-rechtspopulismus> accessed 11 June 2015. The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 135 that: the public handling of the fascist and national socialist past is in no way critical or without reservations these days. The common practices of covering up, re-interpretation, denial and belittlement are on the daily order of affairs in society, as recently exhibited with the historical review of the Homeland Cultural Clubs (from music bands to societies for traditional costumes to the companies of traditional militia, the Schützen). On the one hand, these improper methods of dealing with history enable the propagation of erstwhile right-wing thinking (also in the very powerful political parties) – in South Tyrolean jargon affectionately called ultrapatriotic. On the other hand, they foster trivialization and denial, as can be seen above all on television and the internet during recent years.50 But one thing at a time: the success story leading towards a proper understanding and clarification of the Option-era is strikingly illustrated in academic literature. In a recently compiled literature database,51 which contains Option-related academic works, there are 881 entries. Among the writings in German, Italian and English which have appeared since 1941 there has been a boom since the late 1970s. The largest number of works – 20 to 25 percent – appeared in the 1990s and in the first years since the turn of the century; since 2011 alone 122 relevant texts have been written. In addition, aside from these publications, re-appraisal of the Option period, begun in the 1980s, has had a considerable impact. One impressive long-term result has been the founding of a work group on regional history. Originating as a private initiative in Bozen in 1990, this work group of historians from South Tyrol, Trent and the Austrian State of Tyrol has, since its inception, been working on a methodological and content-based, transcultural renewal of regional history. From this group, in cooperation with the South Tyrol State Archives, resulted the journal Geschichte und Region/storia e regione [History and Region] which was first published in 1992. In Schloss Tirol the interactive contemporary history exhibition entitled Sonderthema Heimkehrer Option [Special Theme – Homecomers – Option] was organized. In the 1990s there were prolonged protests against the naming of a South 50 51 Pfanzelter, “Die (un)verdaute Erinnerung”. Database “Wissenschaftliche Literatur zu Option und Erinnerung” <http://www. optionunderinnerung.org> accessed 11 June 2015. 136 Eva Pfanzelter Tyrolean school remembrance of a former member of the National Socialist Party; consequently in 2000 the Secondary School (Realgymnasium) in Bozen did away with the name Raimund von Klebelsberg. Since the turn of the century various places of remembrance to the victims of national socialist persecution have been established, and regular memorial events take place on 27 January, the International Holocaust Memorial Day. A cross-language history book for secondary schools, the opening of a center for regional history by the University of Bozen (located in Brixen), as well as the difficult historical contextualization of the Monument to Victory in Bozen in July 2014 in the form of a documentation center for contemporary history in the crypt of the building, bear witness of conscious acts of open and self-critical dealings with historical topics.52 This success story is, on the other hand, shadowed over by increasing neo-fascist activities which have been evident since the early 1990s among some Italian-speakers and radical ultra-patriotic German-speakers – both right-wing populist camps have been instrumentalizing South Tyrol’s interwar and war history for the better part of the past three decades. A chauvinistic patriotism has been developing, expressing itself in the form of an excessive national identification, which does not exist in reality for the Italians, let alone for the German-speaking minority in South Tyrol. The German-speaking, anti-elitist and anti-pluralistic parties revert back – unfortunately with much success – to a backward form of historical interpretation which makes use of the jargon of the Option victim theory and reduces the South Tyrol issue – again – to a propagandistically escalated separation between German and Italian. In connection with this view South Tyrol’s own victim rivalry has thrived: in this case, the victims are not those suffering from despotic communist regimes; rather the new debate about remembrance revolves around the activists (terrorists, freedom fighters, Bumser [bombers], etc.), stylized as martyrs, whose right-wing radical and nationalistic background has been totally blanked out of the public discourse.53 52 53 Further details see Pfanzelter, “Die (un)verdaute Erinnerung”. Leopold Steurer, “Propaganda im ‘Befreiungskampf ’”, in: Hannes Obermair, Stephanie Risse and Carlo Romeo (eds), Regionale Zivilgesellschaft in Bewegung/ The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 137 The South Tyrolean victim theory has been reanimated in recent years in some well financed television documentaries from the first decades of the twenty-first century,54 which attempt to mask out the latent national socialism in South Tyrol, to trivialize, deny the true past, or present onesided arguments. These documentations have received devastating criticism from South Tyrolean historians but also for the first time from the daily newspaper Dolomiten.55 The trivializations, relativizations and right-wing nationalist reinterpretations of historical events have intensified, above all, on the Internet. A good example for this can be found in the German language Wikipedia article on the South Tyrol Option, or the presentation of “South Tyrol from 1919 to 1945” by the Tyrolean Heritage Society in the Tyrolean school network. But also the South Tyrolean People’s Party has openly resolved to delete the Option from the official SVP history presented on the Internet: the conflicts in 1939 with all their social consequences, resembling a civil war, are no longer even mentioned when relating about the formation of the South Tyrolean People’s Party in 1945. Even though the cooperative efforts of those who had remained in South Tyrol were surely difficult, and the party “wanted to be a representative organ for all population strata” – the Option, this very unpleasant past movement, was erased from the official memory with obvious historical-political intention. And yet in this official historical account the victim theory survived to the extent that national socialism and the party’s own deeply fascist history were not even mentioned.56 54 55 56 Cittadini innanzi tutto. Festschrift für/Scritti in onore di Hans Heiss (Wien-Bozen: Folio, 2012), pp. 386–400, here p. 389. For example, Anita Lackenberger and Gerhard Mader, Heimat verloren – Heimat gewonnen? Spurensuche zur Option der Südtiroler 1939, 2006 oder Birgit Mosser Schuöcker, Südtirol: Überlebenskampf zwischen Faschismus und Option, 2009. Dolomiten, 14 July 2009. Südtiroler Volkspartei (ed.), “Entstehung und Entwicklung der SVP” <http://www. svp.eu/de/partei/geschichte/> accessed 20 November 2013. 138 Eva Pfanzelter Conclusion and outlook Every effort to comprehend the past after wars, civil wars, revolutions and upheavals needs understanding and time, and it cannot be denied that such events might not better be forgotten instead of actively remembered. The Option was, as Günther Pallaver and Leopold Steurer said “the greatest social de-solidarization” of the German- and Ladin-speaking South Tyrolean population, and it took on “guises of a beginning civil war”.57 Spying, harassment, defamations and denunciations were part of everyday life amongst the German-speaking minority. At best, indifference was shown by fellow Italian-speaking citizens, who had suffered expulsion from their homeland by the fascists. The processes behind all this, the complicity by the civil society with totalitarian regimes, is better understood these days. The events after 1945 led to a long period of forgetting, borne by the idea of victimization. Then followed, in the 1970s and 1980s, a phase of cultural and academic clarification. Since then the topic has lost a lot of its currency and relevancy – at least up until the point in time when, due to cultural changes unleashed by new migrations, traditional historical images are challenged to a fresh urgency of legitimization. It seems that justice, the necessity for remembrance, have at least been well served for the time being. Or maybe not? No matter how loud and legitimate and necessary the outcry of the victims and all those who act as their advocates, will be: the question will be asked again and again whether the past should not be laid to rest. But there will have to be a differentiation: where genocide is concerned, the struggle against forgetting must go on with all forcefulness. Not least because someone like Hitler might conclude from the silence surrounding the murder of the Armenians that anything goes –without fearing any consequences.58 If historical events experience a historicization, then they have to be made accessible to broad sectors of society. Today there can be no doubt – in 57 58 Pallaver, “Die Option”, pp. 28–29. Meier, Das Gebot, p. 89. The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 139 South Tyrol, but also in the Austrian State of Tyrol – that access is being granted to artefacts or historiographic findings concerning the era of the Option and its remembrance; the above argumentations show, however, that much of this activity takes place solely within academic circles. In a recently conducted interview project with witnesses of the Option-era one goal was to show where and how the Option is visible and accessible today in the collective memory of the South Tyrol populace. More recent publications59 and the popular-scientific contextualization of sections of the interviews on the Internet (<http://www.optionunderinnerung.org>) are meant to contribute to a balanced presentation because, as Günther Pallaver once stated, the Option belongs not only to the German side, today it belongs to all those who live in this country.60 Bibliography Acherer, Willy, … Mit seinem schweren Leid: Jugendbekenntnis eines Südtirolers. Mit Geleitwort von Karl Felderer (Brixen: 1986). Agostini, Piero, and Alessandra Zendron, Quaranta anni tra Roma e Vienna (Torino: ERI, 1987). Alexander, Helmut, Stefan Lechner and Adolf Leidlmair, Heimatlos: Die Umsiedlung der Südtiroler (Wien: Deuticke, 1993). Astenwald, Michael, Genese, Transformation und Persistenz der Südtiroler Siedlungen in Innsbruck Neu-Pradl: Politische, ideologische und städtebauliche Hintergründe einer Siedlungserweiterung der NS-Zeit, sowie deren Verflechtung mit Österreichs Sozialem Wohnbau von 1918–1945 (unpublished Diploma-Thesis Innsbruck, 2011). 59 60 Eva Pfanzelter (ed.), Option und Erinnerung/La memoria delle opzioni, Geschichte und Region/Storia e regione 22/2 (Innsbruck-Wien-Bozen: Studienverlag, 2013); Pfanzelter, Option und Gedächtnis: Erinnerungsorte der Südtiroler Umsiedlung 1939 (Bozen: Rætia, 2014). Günther Pallaver and Leopold Steurer, “Der Umgang mit einem Trauma. Über das Erbe von Option und Weltkrieg in Südtirol”, in: Pallaver and Steurer, Deutsche!, pp. 7–12, here p. 11. 140 Eva Pfanzelter Bua, Vincenzo, Andreas Oberprantacher and Pier Paolo Pasqualoni, “‘& ueber allem schwebt der henngeier’. Diskursive Trans-/Formationen Südtiroler Identität”, in Georg Grote and Barbara Siller (eds), Südtirolismen. Erinnerungskulturen – Gegenwartsreflexionen – Zukunftsvisionen (Innsbruck: Wagner, 2011), pp. 305–324. Cole, Laurence, “Geteiltes Land und getrennte Erzählungen. Erinnerungskulturen des Ersten Weltkrieges in den Nachfolgeregionen des Kronlandes Tirol”, in: Hannes Obermair, Stephanie Risse and Carlo Romeo (eds), Regionale Zivilgesellschaft in Bewegung/Cittadini innanzi tutto. Festschrift für/Scritti in onore di Hans Heiss (Wien-Bozen: Folio, 2012), pp. 502–531. Cornelißen, Christoph, “Erinnerungskulturen”, In Dokupedia Zeitgeschichte. Begriffe, Methoden und Debatten der zeithistorischen Forschung (October 2012) <http://docupedia.de/zg/Erinnerungskulturen_Version_2.0_Christoph_ Corneli%C3%9Fen> accessed 11 June 2015. Cornelißen, Christoph, “Was heißt Erinnerungskultur? Begriff – Methoden – Perspektiven”, Geschichte in Wissenschaft und Unterricht 54/10 (2003), pp. 548–563. De Luna, Giovanni, La Repubblica del dolore. Le memorie di un’Italia divisa (Milano: Feltrinelli, 2011). Decker, Frank, and Marcel Lewandowsky, “Dossier Rechtsextremismus, Populismus” ( June 2009) <http://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/rechtsextremismus/ 41192/was-ist-rechtspopulismus> accessed 11 June 2015. Eisterer, Klaus, and Rolf Steininger (eds), Die Option: Südtirol zwischen Faschismus und Nationalsozialismus, Innsbrucker Forschungen zur Zeitgeschichte 5 (Innsbruck: Haymon, 1989). Erhard, Benedikt (ed.), Option-Heimat-Opzioni: Eine Geschichte Südtirols/Una storia dell‘Alto Adige, Katalog zur Ausstellung des Tiroler Geschichtsvereins (Bozen: Tiroler Geschichtsverein/Bozen, 1989). Foot, John, Italy’s divided memory (Italian and Italian American Studies) (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). Foppa, Brigitte, “Nur net rogeln! Zum Umgang mit Option und Widerstand in Südtirol”, Skolast. Zeitschrift der Südtiroler HochschülerInnenschaft 54/2 (2009), pp. 74–87. Gatterer, Claus, Im Kampf gegen Rom: Bürger, Minderheiten und Autonomien in Italien (Wien-Frankfurt-Zürich: Europa Verlag, 1968). Gatterer, Claus, Schöne Welt, böse Leut: Kindheit in Südtirol (Wien-München-Zürich: Molden, 1969). Giudiceandrea, Lucio, “SüdtirolerIn als Identität. Die schwierige Ausbildung von Identitätsmodellen in Südtirol”, in: Georg Grote and Barbara Siller (eds), Südtirolismen. Erinnerungskulturen – Gegenwartsreflexionen – Zukunftsvisionen (Innsbruck: Wagner, 2011), pp. 281–292. The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 141 Grote, Georg, I bin a Südtiroler: Kollektive Identität zwischen Nation und Region im 20. Jahrhundert (Bozen: Athesia, 2009). Grote, Georg, and Barbara Siller (eds), Südtirolismen: Erinnerungskulturen – Gegenwartsreflexionen – Zukunftsvisionen (Innsbruck: Wagner, 2011). Gruber, Alfons, Südtirol unter dem Faschismus, Schriftenreihe des Südtiroler Kulturinstitutes 1 (Bozen: Athesia, 1974). Heiss, Hans, and Hannes Obermair, “Erinnerungskulturen im Widerstreit. Das Beispiel der Stadt Bozen/Bolzano 2000–2010”, in: Patrick Ostermann, Claudia Müller and Karl-Siegbert Rehberg (eds), Der Grenzraum als Erinnerungsort. Über den Wandel zu einer postnationalen Erinnerungskultur in Europa, Histoire 34 (Bielefeld: Transcript, 2012), pp. 63–80. Iblacker, Reinhold, Keinen Eid auf diesen Führer: Josef Mayr-Nusser, ein Zeuge der Gewissensfreiheit in der NS-Zeit (Innsbruck-Wien-München: Tyrolia, 1979). Judt, Tony, “The Past Is Another Country: Myth and Memory in Postwar Europe”, Daedalus 121/4, Immobile Democracy? (Autumn 1992), pp. 83–118. Lee Klein, Kerwin, “On the Emergence of Memory in Historical Discourse”, in: Representations 69, Special Issue: Grounds for Remembering (Winter 2000), pp. 127–150. Meier, Christian, Das Gebot zu vergessen und die Unabweisbarkeit des Erinnerns. Vom öffentlichen Umgang mit schlimmer Vergangenheit (München: Siedler, 2005). Morsch, Günter, “‘… Eine umfassende Neubewertung der Europäischen Geschichte’?” (October 2010) <http://www.gedenkstaettenforum.de/nc/aktuelles/einzelans icht/news/eine_umfassende_neubewertung_der_europaeischen_geschichte/> accessed 11 June 2015. Ohnewein, Thomas, “Die Südtiroler Landesmuseen: Ausdruck einer neuen Landesidentität”, in: Georg Grote and Barbara Siller (eds), Südtirolismen. Erinnerungskulturen – Gegenwartsreflexionen – Zukunftsvisionen (Innsbruck: Wagner, 2011), pp. 113–121. Pallaver, Günther, “Die Option im Jahr 1939. Rahmenbedingungen, Ablauf und Folgen”, in: Günther Pallaver and Leopold Steurer (eds), Deutsche! Hitler verkauft euch! Das Erbe von Option und Weltkrieg in Südtirol (Bozen: Rætia, 2011), pp. 13–34. Pallaver, Günther, and Gerald Steinacher, “Leopold Steurer: Historiker zwischen Forschung und Einmischung”, in: Christoph von Hartungen, Hans Heiss, Günther Pallaver et al. (eds), Demokratie und Erinnerung. Südtirol – Österreich – Italien. Festschrift für Leopold Steurer zum 60. Geburtstag (Innsbruck-WienBozen: Studienverlag, 2006), pp. 51–91. Pallaver, Günther, and Leopold Steurer, “Der Umgang mit einem Trauma. Über das Erbe von Option und Weltkrieg in Südtirol”, in: Günther Pallaver and Leopold 142 Eva Pfanzelter Steurer (eds), Deutsche! Hitler verkauft euch! Das Erbe von Option und Weltkrieg in Südtirol (Bozen: Rætia, 2011), pp. 7–12. Pfanzelter, Eva, Südtirol unterm Sternenbanner: Die amerikanische Besatzung Mai–Juni 1945, Mit Fotodokumentation und DVD (Bozen: Rætia, 2005). Pfanzelter, Eva, “Die (un)verdaute Erinnerung an die Option 1939”, Geschichte und Region/Storia e regione 22/2 (2013), pp. 13–40. Pfanzelter, Eva, “Unvollkommene Demokratisierung: Italien 1943–1945”, in: Ingrid Böhler, Eva Pfanzelter and Rolf Steininger (eds), Stationen im 20. Jahrhundert, Innsbrucker Forschungen zur Zeitgeschichte 27 (Innsbruck-Wien-Bozen: Studienverlag, 2011), pp. 113–137. Pfanzelter, Eva (ed.), Option und Erinnerung/La memoria delle opzioni, Geschichte und Region/Storia e regione 22/2 (Innsbruck-Wien-Bozen: Studienverlag, 2013). Pfanzelter, Eva (ed.), Option und Gedächtnis: Erinnerungsorte der Südtiroler Umsiedlung 1939 (Bozen: Rætia, 2014). Schmid, Harald, “Regionale Erinnerungskulturen – ein einführender Problemaufriss”, in: Harald Schmid (ed.), Erinnerungskultur und Regionalgeschichte (München: Meidenbauer, 2009), pp. 7–22. Schorkowitz, Dittmar, “Geschichte, Identität und Gewalt im Kontext postsozialistischer Nationsbildung”, Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 1/135 (2010), pp. 99–160. Seberich, Rainer, “Bozen im Schatten des Großdeutschen Reiches”, in: Südtiroler Kulturinstitut (ed.), Stadt im Umbruch. Beiträge über Bozen seit 1900, Jahrbuch des Südtiroler Kulturinstitutes 8 (Bozen: Südtiroler Kulturinstitut, 1973), pp. 108–149. Steininger, Rolf, Südtirol im 20. Jahrhundert: Vom Leben und Überleben einer Minderheit (Innsbruck-Wien-München-Bozen: Studienverlag, 1997). Steurer, Leopold, “Propaganda im ‘Befreiungskampf ’”, in Hannes Obermair, Stephanie Risse and Carlo Romeo (eds), Regionale Zivilgesellschaft in Bewegung/Cittadini innanzi tutto. Festschrift für/Scritti in onore di Hans Heiss (Wien-Bozen: Folio, 2012), pp. 386–400. Steurer, Leopold, Südtirol zwischen Rom und Berlin 1919–1939 (Wien-MünchenZürich: Europa Verlag, 1980). Steurer, Leopold, Martha Verdorfer and Walter Pichler, Verfolgt, verfemt, vergessen: Lebensgeschichtliche Erinnerungen an den Widerstand gegen Nationalsozialismus und Krieg. Südtirol 1943–1945 (Bozen: Sturzflüge, 1993). Südtiroler Volkspartei (ed.), “Entstehung und Entwicklung der SVP” <http://www. svp.eu/de/partei/geschichte/> accessed 20 November 2013. Thaler, Franz, Unvergessen: Option, KZ-Dachau, Kriegsgefangenschaft, Heimkehr: Ein Sarner erzählt, Mit einem Vorwort von Dr Friedl Volgger und einer Zeittafel von Dr Leopold Steurer, Sonderdruck der Kulturzeitschrift „Sturzflüge“ 25 (Bozen: 1988). The (Un)digested Memory of the South Tyrolean Resettlement in 1939 143 Ventresca, Robert A., “Mussolini’s Ghost: Italy’s Duce in History and Memory”, History and Memory 1/18 (2006), pp. 86–119. Verdorfer, Martha, “Geschichte und Gedächtnis. Die Erinnerung an die Option von 1939”, in Günther Pallaver and Leopold Steurer (eds), Deutsche! Hitler verkauft euch! Das Erbe von Option und Weltkrieg in Südtirol (Bozen: Rætia, 2011), pp. 365–383. Verdorfer, Martha, Zweierlei Faschismus: Alltagserfahrungen in Südtirol 1918–1945, in: Ö part iii Society Today Sarah Oberbichler 8 “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke”: Migration Discourse in Alto Adige and Dolomiten and their 148 Sarah Oberbichler until recent times we were aware of the guest worker problem solely from hearsay. Now, however, it is no longer possible for us to close our eyes to this phenomenon”.2 Statistically, immigrants at that time were not of any particular significance, but today migrants, constituting 8.9 per cent of the South Tyrolean population, have numerically overtaken the smallest of the three autochthonous language groups, the Ladin-speakers.3 In recent years academic research has begun to address the topic of “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke” 149 The mass media provide sources of indirect experience, since information about migrants which is conveyed through the media offers recipients 150 Sarah Oberbichler One of these “spectacular” public discourses (termed “camp discourse” in this chapter), which kept the South Tyrolean dailies occupied for a lengthy period of time, dealt with the barracks settlements which had arisen illegally in the provincial capital of Bozen at the beginning of the 1990s. The analysis of this discourse is based on comments and arguments (which are always ingredients of discourses) and on assessments of the discourse’s in-depth semantic aspects.11 Arguments are made to explain and promote opinions, to establish or carry out political measures, or to justify actions. Those argumentation frameworks anchored in the everyday knowledge or thinking within the collective memory are introduced into the media for political purposes and intentions.12 The present author offers an analysis, and particularly a comparison, of these various thought and argumentation paradigms present in two South Tyrolean daily newspapers, each representing their language group. It is assumed that media reporting about migration in an ethnically fragmented society is distinguished by the utilization of argumentation patterns based on specifically cultural aspects or factors related to the linguistic communities. The main emphasis here is upon issues dealing with the predominant topoi and their linguistically (German/Italian) relevant aspects in the “camp discourse” at the beginning of the 1990s: Are the topoi in the Germanand Italian-speaking discourses different? Are the migrants perceived as a threat? Do cultural and cross-language boundaries arise when discussing the migrant communities? If yes, is a “we-feeling” created and fostered among the Italian and German language groups? 11 Dietrich Busse, “Ist Diskurs ein sprachenwissenschaftliches Objekt? Zur “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke” 151 “Living amidst trash and rats, forgetting and hoping”: The debate about the “immigrants barracks” in Bozen Historical background Pull factors such as social security and employment led to an increased immigration into the northernmost province of Italy, especially into the provincial capital Bozen, in the early 1990s.13 During the first phase of this immigration, the migrants came to Bozen as harvest workers, as dishwashers, or as cleaning personnel, employment sectors where there was a great need and demand for immigrant workers.14 These new immigrants came from countries located in North, Central and South Africa, as well as in Asia.15 However, the city of Bozen was not prepared for these new immigration waves. Grave housing shortages, inadequate social integration efforts and the defensive attitude of the South Tyrolean provincial government fostered the construction and expansion of so-called illegal “barracks camps”. The largest of these “wild” settlements, which were reminiscent of metropolitan slums, emerged at the Rome Bridge, at the Drusus Bridge, in Mayr-Nusser Street and in the south of Bozen, where populations of Roma and Sinti had already set up their accommodations. The living conditions in these settlements were precarious: The inhabitants lived in self-made barracks, in caravans, or even in cars, and neither sanitary facilities, water nor heating were available.16 These barracks settlements were spread over the entire city of Bozen. The reasons for this sprawl can be found in the poorly segregated housing 13 14 15 16 Girardi, “Geschichtlicher Abriss”, in: Medda-Windischer et al. (eds), Migration in Südtirol und Tirol, p. 78. Martin Frimmel, “Schwarze gegen Schwarze”, Profil: Das unabhängige Nachrichtenmagazin Österreichs (10 December 1990), p. 64. Roberta Medda-Windischer et. al., Standbild und Integrationsaussichten (Bozen: EURAC Research, 2011), p. 28. Frimmel, “Schwarze gegen Schwarze”, Profil: Das unabhängige Nachrichtenmagazin Österreichs (10 December 1990), p. 64. 152 “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke” 153 However, the provincial governor at that time, Luis Durnwalder, of the South Tyrolean People’s Party (Südtiroler Volkspartei – SVP), wanted to address this topic with the necessary “objectiveness” and placed the citizens of South Tyrol in the foreground, stating his view that it would be … extremely unjust if we treat those who may have come here illegally and have erected illegal housing better than those who have lived here for decades, paid their taxes, have families, but also do not have homes.21 The SVP pursued a clear policy in the early 1990s. Standing staunchly by the side of the South Tyrolean native populace it took a defensive stance towards migrants. This rationale was and still is even today in accordance with the party program of the SVP: The South Tyrolean People’s Party considers it to be their basic duty and mission […] to protect our country and its people from foreign infiltration due to artificially subsidized and uncontrolled immigration.22 Being associated with the almost daily reports about theft and drug dealing in the barracks settlements, the situation came to a head in 1991. And yet not until 1992 were measures taken to clear the areas, after the pressure to find a solution to the “barracks camp problem” increased and the sanitary authorities of the community of Bozen repeatedly complained to the community authorities about the poor hygienic conditions and the danger of epidemic outbreaks.23 The community did attempt to improve the situation in the barracks settlements by financing sanitary facilities, cleaning up the camps and providing water and electricity, but with moderate success.24 21 22 23 24 bz.org/de/datenbanken-sammlungen/sitzungs-wortprotokolle.asp> accessed 31 March 2015, p. 106. Ibid. p. 100. South Tyrolean Parliament, “Das neue Programm der Südtiroler Volkspartei”, passed by the Provincial Assembly on 8 May 1993 <http://www.svp.eu/de/partei/grund satzprogramm/> accessed 31 March 2015. “La Mappa dei Pericoli”, Alto Adige (6 February 1991). South Tyrolean Parliament, “Wortprotokoll der 46. Sitzung vom 6. Februar 1995”, retrieved from the data bank of the South Tyrolean Parliament <http://www.landtag-bz.org/ 154 Sarah Oberbichler The challenge of providing alternative accommodations for those migrants living in the barracks settlements thus evolved into the greatest political issue of the times and became a prime example of the “zig-zag course” in migration politics, with its characteristic wavering of standpoints. When for the first time, in 1990, there was talk of clearing out the illegal settlements on the left bank of the Eisack River and vacating the park outside Bozen’s central train station,25 the community responsibles of Bozen proved to be reactionary and lacking in alternatives. Mayor Ferrari Marcello said there was neither enough building space nor financial means at hand to facilitate a clearing out of the camp.26 At the beginning of 1992, when the evacuation of the largest camp at the Rome Bridge was decided upon (it would be an entire year before this evacuation was finally concluded), the political discourse had already been transformed: accommodations were to be provided, but only for migrants who had jobs and possessed a residency permit. All others were to leave the country.27 But the reality of the situation proved to be completely different, since the situation was aggravated by the arrival of refugees from Yugoslavia and Kosovo, whose lodging arrangements were regulated according to the law. Furthermore, factors such as “seasonal unemployment” and illicit employment presented additional problems. In addition, a solution had to be found for the separate lodging of Roma and Sinti.28 For the purpose of conclusively resolving the housing question an emergency committee was founded in 1992. It consisted of representatives from the province of South Tyrol and the community of Bozen, as well as the police and the charity organization Caritas, and its task was to work out proposals and solutions to the “immigrant 25 26 27 28 de/datenbanken-sammlungen/sitzungs-wortprotokolle.asp> accessed 31 March 2015, p. 12. “Giostre e autoscontro in cerca di uno spazio”, Alto Adige (1 September 1990); “Protestaktion der Einwanderer”, Dolomiten (29 September 1990); “Extracomunitari a numero chuiso”, Alto Adige (20 September 1990). “Zelt für Einwanderer”, Dolomiten (23 June 1992). Karl Tragust, interview on 13 April 2015, interview and transcription in the author’s possession. “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke” 155 problem”.29 In 1992 an interim solution provided for a container camp in South Bozen. The construction of the pre-fabricated housing settlement on Pasquali Hill followed in 1993, replacing the container camp.30 Argumentation patterns in the “camp discourse” In order to investigate the thinking and argumentation patterns in the “barracks discourse” the author has examined all news coverage of the illegally built barracks settlements, as well as letters to the editor related to this topic, in the South Tyrolean dailies Dolomiten and Alto Adige from 1990 to 1993. In total, there were 368 articles in the Alto Adige and 170 articles in the Dolomiten. For the purpose of argumentation analysis, only those articles were considered in which there was a concrete argumentation basis, that is, they did not serve solely as sources of facts. This resulted in the selection of 157 articles from the Alto Adige and fifty-eight articles from the Dolomiten. One interesting aspect in these selections of articles was the fact that in both daily newspapers a total of 217 articles dealt with crime reports, but in only forty-eight articles were migrants themselves mentioned. As a result of analysing these newspaper articles, ten argumentation patterns (topoi) were detected, six of which will be discussed in depth. They predominate in newspaper discussions and/or point to significantly revealing subject matter. Among these topics are: • • • • The barracks camp as a burden The barracks camp as a danger Migrants as economic assets or liabilities The preferential treatment of South Tyroleans 29 30 Ibid. “Eine Lösung ist nicht so leicht”, Dolomiten (26 February 1992). Community of Bozen, Institut of Urban Affairs, works contract (14 September 1993), “Errichtung eines Einwandererlagers”, in: Il Villaggio, un nuovo quartiere di Bolzano, retrieved by Ada Magritta Banck. 156 • • Sarah Oberbichler Not being too generous Consequences for the language groups in South Tyrol In Figures 8.1 and 8.2 the patterns of argumentation are formulated in keywords and contrasted and compared, while illustrating the incidence and frequency of the topoi concerned. Understanding for the situation of the migrants; 5 % South Tyrol must not be too generous; 4 % Consequences for the language groups in South Tyrol; 1 % Preferential treatment of South Tyroleans; 5 % 14 Proze nt The barracks camp as a burden; 30 % Humanitarian treatment of migrants; 11% South Tyrol must accept responsibility; 14 % 18 Proze nt The barracks camp as a hotbed of crime; 16 % The barracks camp as a danger; 18 % Migrants as economic assets/liabilities; 18 % Figure 8.1: Argumentation patterns in Alto Adige (157 articles). “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke” Understanding for the situation of the migrants; 5 % Humanitarian treatment of migrants; 8 % South Tyrol must not be too generous; 8% 157 Consequences for the language groups in South Tyrol; 5 % The barracks camp as a burden; 36 % The barracks camp as a danger; 10 % Preferential treatment of South Tyroleans; 12 % The barracks camp as a hotbed of crime; South Tyrol 13 % must accept responsibility; 17 % Migrants as economic assets/liabilities; 34 % Figure 8.2: Argumentation patterns in Dolomiten (58 articles). Barracks camps as a burden In discussions about the illegally erected barracks settlements one argumentation pattern stands out: Since South Tyrol itself is heavily taxed by the problem of illegal migrant settlements, measures should be taken to reduce this burden.31 This topos occurs most frequently in both newspapers, 31 Wengeler, “Argumentation im Einwanderungsdiskurs. Ein Vergleich der Zeiträume 1970–1973 und 1980–1983”, in: Matthias Jung, Martin Wengeler and Karin Böke (eds), Die Sprache des Migrationsdiskurses. Das Reden über “Ausländer” in Medien, Politik und Alltag (Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1997), pp. 121–149, 135. 158 Sarah Oberbichler namely in 30 per cent of the articles in the Alto Adige and 36 per cent in the Dolomiten. In the early 1990s this pattern of argumentation relating to the onus of immigration referred primarily to the excessive economic and fiscal burdens on the city of Bozen, which was overtaxed in its efforts to provide migrants, as well as locals, with housing and jobs. In both major South Tyrolean daily newspapers these factors were used to argue for a limitation of immigration quotas as well as against a further increase in immigration. This reasoning was based on assumedly exhausted capacities, and the assumption that the limits of the state in absorbing and providing for further migrants had been reached: “According to the Mayor, the community has exhausted its capacities, the limits of courtesy and accommodation have been reached.” (Dolomiten)32 And the rationale of financial overburdening also occurs several times: “The community has its hands tied with respect to emergency accommodations because the necessary funds are lacking.” (Dolomiten)33 It is interesting to note that in 1990 only 5,099 immigrants lived in South Tyrol,34 which is merely 11 per cent of the number of foreign residents living in South Tyrol today (2015).35 And yet, it was not a matter of how many migrants lived in South Tyrol at that time; the “limits of the ability to cope” always seemed to have been reached. This pattern of argumentation thus served to provide a linguistic construction of reality which offered the political establishment the opportunity to justify its own “non-action” in the sense of a refusal to support migrants, although relief agencies such as Caritas or the Nelson Mandela Foundation increasingly provided financial funds, prefabricated houses, and even helped in the re-zoning of agricultural land.36 According to some media accounts, a further explanation of Bozen’s overburdened situation was to be found in the lack of proper 32 33 34 35 36 “Protestaktion der Einwanderer”, Dolomiten (29 September 1990). “Kalkutta liegt … an der Rombrücke”, Dolomiten (5 September 1990). Girardi, “Geschichtlicher Abriss”, in: Medda-Windischer et al. (eds), Migration in Südtirol und Tirol, p. 78. ASTAT No. 29/2015 (Autonomous Province of Bozen, 2015), p. 1. “Sgomberati i giardini”, Alto Adige (14 September 1990); “Wohncontainer sind keine Lösung”, Dolomiten (6 February 1992). “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke” 159 hygienic-sanitary conditions. As early as 1990 the Bozen councilman Silvano Baratta emphasized the intolerable situation in the city: […] the expansion of the barracks quarter at the Rome Bridge and the conditions in the Train Station Park are no longer acceptable; such conditions cannot be tolerated by the city. (Alto Adige)37 This was in reference to the mountains of trash and a general dirtiness of the cityscape, along with the lack of sanitary facilities. This type of argumentation was responsible for about 80 per cent of the “burden discourse” and was primarily propagated in political circles. This pattern of argumentation served politicians, especially from 1991 to 1992, to legitimize clearing and mopping-up operations which had been carried out, or were planned for the future. Barracks camps as a danger The fear of possible dangers from the barracks settlements is quite prominent in 18 per cent of the Alto Adige articles, but only in 10 per cent of those in the Dolomiten. The topic refers to the dangers to the citizens and to the province, and suggests why specific countermeasures should be taken. Using this “danger argument” in the “camp discourse” of 1991 and 1992, primarily members of political parties, along with experts in the area of sanitation, warned about possible epidemics which might arise due to the lack of proper hygiene, plagues of rats and the absence of sanitary facilities. In an urgent letter the sanitation inspector, Dr. Peter Mian, recently called upon the city administrators to take action, since “… rats, mice and the constant influx of guest workers have led to a danger of possible epidemics and to the first cases of scabies”. There can no longer be any doubt about clearing out the relevant areas […]. (Dolomiten)38 37 38 “Die Wohnungsfrage soll konkret angegangen werden”, Alto Adige/Deutsches Blatt (23 September 1990). “Eine Zeltstadt für die Einwanderer?”, Dolomiten (23 March 1991). 160 Sarah Oberbichler Because of this unfortunate situation a dangerous future was conjured up for the local resident population, if nothing were done about these problems.39 The purpose of this plea was to convince the populace of the absolute urgency about past and future measures to evacuate the barracks settlements, since this could only serve the well-being of the people themselves: We could no longer tolerate such a situation […] it is too dangerous, from a hygienicsanitary point of view, not only for them (the inhabitants of the barracks settlements) but also for all inhabitants of the city. (Alto Adige)40 However, the fact that neither the particular well-being of the populace as a whole nor that of the inhabitants of the barracks settlements was of primary interest was criticized by Thomas Benedikter, of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, in 1990. In an interview with “FF” he described the situation as an “expression of a general lack of ideas and concepts with which the administration is approaching the problem”.41 The precarious situation was being blown up into a generalized danger, according to Benedikter.42 But not only a fear of epidemics determined the “danger discourse” in the daily newspapers. Against the background of the outbreak of the Second Gulf War in 1991 there were also warnings in several articles in the Alto Adige about possible spies or terrorists: The situation is really highly charged and the people are afraid. Why should we help the Tunesians, the Moroccans and the immigrants in general […], if they might be potential terrorists in the future? (Alto Adige)43 39 40 41 42 43 Wengeler, “Argumentation im Einwanderungsdiskurs”, in: Jung et al. (eds), Die Sprache des Migrationsdiskurses, p. 134. “Via allo sgombero dei giardinetti”, Alto Adige (13 September 1990). “Einwanderer. Gartenputz in der Moschee”, FF-das Südtiroler Wochenmagazin 39/90 (1990), p. 39. Ibid. “Un ‘problema’ la solidarietà per chi vive in riva al fiume”, Alto Adige (9 February 1991). “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke” 161 This pattern of argumentation could be found exclusively in the forum of readers’ letters which would be censored by the paper’s editors. This argument was not publicly supported by the community of Bozen or the province of South Tyrol. The reason for the disparate perception of danger by the German and the Italian newspapers might lie in the fact that Alto Adige is oriented more towards the rest of Italy, where cities are confronted with similar issues.44 In addition, this manner of argumentation occurred especially in quotes by Bozen community representatives, who belonged primarily to the Italian language group. In contrast, the Dolomiten oriented itself more towards German-speaking representatives of the State, who had scarcely made use of this manner of argumentation. Why the community of Bozen constantly spoke about dangers was, according to a statement made by Government Commissioner Mario Urzi in 1991, due to the fact that the image of the institutions had to be improved: I must say that the situation was less serious than one could have imagined […]. The main purpose was to provide the citizens with a sense of security, to create the impression that the authorities were tackling the problem in a forthright manner, and to improve the image of the institutions. (Alto Adige)45 The criticisms voiced by Mario Urzi and Thomas Benedikter of the community of Bozen,46 as well as the differing perceptions in Alto Adige and Dolomiten of these dangers, give reason to believe that the community of Bozen purposefully used the media and “played around” with the fears of the populace in order to carry through its own political interests and to improve its public standing. 44 “È alto il rischio di epidemie”, Alto Adige (12 August 1991); “L’ultimo grido ‘Torneremo’”, Alto Adige (11 August 1991); “Abbiamo evitato un’ inutile strage”, Alto Adige (17 August 1991). 45 “Alleggerire Bolzano”, Alto Adige (25 July 1992). 46 Both of whom had artificially exaggerated the dangers of the barracks settlements. 162 Sarah Oberbichler Migrants as economic assets or liabilities Accommodations fit and worthy of human beings must be provided for those immigrants who work in the interests of the economy. (Dolomiten)47 And the fate of those who had not found any work: All others should be deported. (Dolomiten)48 In the “camp discourse” this pattern of argumentation is encountered in 18 per cent of the articles in the Alto Adige and in 34 per cent of those in the Dolomiten. If migrants are useful for a properly functioning economy, they should be supported; if they are liabilities to the economy, no assistance should be granted.49 In all of these arguments attention was concentrated around the presence or absence of employment. Only those who could prove that they had a job – and thus were of benefit for the domestic economy – should have the right to receive accommodations. Simultaneously, this argument was considered a moral requirement: The barracks camp at the Rome Bridge must be vacated, and those who have work, have a right to housing. In particular, it should not be forgotten that we need these workers, according to Serafini. (Alto Adige)50 Support and humane recognition were thus linked to the economic productivity of the migrants, as well as to the fact that the domestic economy was in need of, and also called for, immigrants in the 1990s. However, deportation and exclusion could be expected by those who were not fortunate enough to find employment. Accommodation for migrants, financed by public funds, presupposed a necessary mandate by the citizens. Above all, the German-speaking public 47 48 49 50 “Ausgrenzung wird zum Eigentor”, Dolomiten (16 March 1992). “Aus dem Bozner Stadtrat Platz für das Einwandererlager”, Dolomiten (7 May 1992). Wengeler, “Argumentation im Einwanderungsdiskurs”, in: Jung et al. (eds), Die Sprache des Migrationsdiskurses, p. 133. “Bozner Slum: Erstmals tun sich Stadt und Land zusammen”, Alto Adige/Deutsches Blatt (10 April 1992). “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke” 163 seemed to consider that proof of economic advantage, along with the rejection of idle migrants, were necessary to justify the building of accommodations. This is reflected in the almost twofold use of this pattern of argumentation. The SVP felt it was its duty to save the citizen population from artificially sponsored immigration.51 Carrying out the necessary measures such as the construction of housing for the immigrants was only really feasible if the economic benefits from the migrants could be proven and used as a premise. But, at the same time, this led to criticisms from the local citizenry: Questionable, even quite alarming, is the fact that by the use of shibboleths such as “the economy needs …!” the alibi situation of the former barracks camp and the present container camp can be justified or even considered by the state government to be worthy of support. (Dolomiten)52 Not being too generous, and the preferential treatment of South Tyroleans Not being too generous This pattern of argumentation emphasizes the belief that too much generosity towards migrants might bring about an increased influx of them. Thus actions which might make the state “attractive” for immigration should be refrained from. This argumentation pattern served to justify the omission of (political) actions and was preferentially used in political circles in the early 1990s. It constituted the reasoning behind the deprecating attitude towards providing housing for migrants: “Surely we will not look for any housing, since with each additional house the attractiveness of Bozen for these people will increase” – in the words of the provincial governor. (Dolomiten)53 51 52 53 South Tyrolean People’s Party (Südtiroler Volkspartei), “Das neue Programm der Südtiroler Volkspartei”, passed by the Provincial Assembly on 8 May 1993 <http:// www.svp.eu/de/partei/grundsatzprogramm/> accessed 31 March 2015. “Sind die Einwanderer unverzichtbar?”, Dolomiten (18 August 1992). “Eine Zeltstadt für Einwanderer?”, Dolomiten (23 March 1991). 164 Sarah Oberbichler In 1992 Deputy Mayor Herbert Mayr also voiced similar arguments, which were quoted in the “Deutsches Blatt” of Alto Adige: Setting up a container camp […] would at most be a partial solution. […] Won’t people be “invited” here […] who will hardly be able to find work later? (Alto Adige)54 In the newspaper articles which the author of this study evaluated this argumentation pattern occurs in 8 per cent of the Dolomiten texts and in 4 per cent of those from the Alto Adige – which is relatively infrequent, even if the Dolomiten had doubled the number. This pattern also disappears in early 1993, when the first housing complexes had to be built for the immigrants and the opinion became prevalent that an increase of immigration could not be changed by a politics of “looking the other way”. The preferential treatment of South Tyroleans Those speakers who make use of the argumentation pattern “preferential treatment for South Tyroleans” – that is, “South Tyroleans first” – assume that in all spheres of life the domestic population always has the prerogative over foreigners. As a consequence any actions taken or omitted must presuppose the preservation of this privileged position: With reference to the allocation of housing, care must be taken to give the local citizenry preference. No resident family can be expected to suffer eviction and be sent out onto the street […], while immigrants are promptly provided with lodgings. (Dolomiten)55 In the Dolomiten this manner of argumentation occurs in 12 per cent of the articles, more than double the frequency of the Alto Adige, where it occurs in only 5 per cent of the texts. In the early 1990s this argumentation topos was used to underpin the demand that local natives should always be treated preferentially in the 54 55 “Vorwürfe der Caritas beleidigen”, Alto Adige/Deutsches Blatt (6 February 1992). “Gastarbeiter”, Dolomiten (21/22 April 1990). “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke” 165 acquisition of housing. And the topic “work” continued to play a large role. Jobs should be given to native residents first or, as was stressed in a letter to the editor in the Dolomiten, if they were to be given to people from abroad, at least to German-speakers: It is certainly true that we can accept job seekers in South Tyrol […]. But then we should first help our brothers and sisters from the other side of the Brenner border who, even in modern times, have been knocked around because of fears that South Tyrol could be “Germanized”. (Dolomiten)56 And again, this was meant to protect South Tyrol from (renewed) foreign infiltration, by consistently offering German-speaking persons preferential treatment. The argumentation pattern “priority for South Tyroleans”, as well as the pattern “not being too generous”, can be considered significant topoi for the German language group. An essential aspect of both argumentation patterns was the fact that they were also used preferentially by German speakers in the Alto Adige. Arguments were presented almost exclusively by representatives of the community or the province. It is now quite obvious why both the argument for “generosity” and that for “preference” were hardly made use of by Italian speakers. However, with reference to the “preference” argument it is striking that, in the early 1990s, the identification of the Italian-speaking group with “South Tyrol” was scarcely present in the articles researched.57 They termed themselves more as “Bozeners”, but not as “South Tyroleans”. As to the “generosity” argument, an essential role was also played in part, on the German-speaking side, by the South Tyrolean People’s Party guideline that immigration should not be abetted by artificial measures.58 56 57 58 “Sind die Einwanderer unverzichtbar?”, Dolomiten (18 August 1992). Cf. also: Lucio Giudiceandrea, Spaesati. Italiani in Südtirol (Bozen: Raetia, 2006). South Tyrolean People’s Party (Südtiroler Volkspartei), “Das neue Programm der Südtiroler Volkspartei”, passed by the Provincial Assembly on 8 May 1993 <http:// www.svp.eu/de/partei/grundsatzprogramm/> accessed 31 March 2015. 166 Sarah Oberbichler Consequences for the language groups in South Tyrol The argumentation pattern “consequences for the language communities in South Tyrol” incorporates every type of argumentation in which the effects of immigration on language groups (and vice versa) are addressed. In this context the authors predict changes in the social cohabitation of both language groups, with the emergence of a “we feeling” or the further separation of autochthonous minorities. In the articles investigated such reports rarely occur: 5 per cent in the Dolomiten and 1 per cent in the Alto Adige. At the same time, in the barracks camp discourse of the 1990s all argumentations served to legitimize actions against further immigration or the justification of measures for solving the “barracks camp problem”, such as paying better attention to the other language group: They (the citizens of Bozen) should protest against the continuing drug traffic, against the dirt, which the barracks city causes. […] Those of us from the Italian ethnic group would be happy if we could transform ourselves into the German [ethnic group], if someone in this group had the power to change this situation. (Dolomiten)59 In this respect, every negative classification of what or who is “foreign” causes one’s own collective ethnic group to be highlighted, as Christoph Burtterwegge60 writes in his article. The dissociation from the “new” foreigners in South Tyrol made it possible for the “ethnic tensions” already present to recede into the background, if only in individual cases. Of significance was also the preservation of the status quo among the language groups. Thus, in 1991, a reader’s letter “praised” the restrictive immigration politics of the Italians, meant to keep a balance among the three language groups: Ultimately the credibility of SVP politics is at stake if the new immigration movement is condoned, or even encouraged, for purely economic reasons. The Italian 59 60 “Nicht nur die Einwanderer haben Probleme”, Dolomiten (28 February 1992). Butterwegge, “Massenmedien”, in: Butterwegge et al. (eds), Medien und Multikulturelle Gesellschaft, p. 73. “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke” 167 employers in our province need not have such compunctions as the German side has. Even more remarkable are the prudent voices among the Italians who advocate restrictive employment policies in the private economy, and who insist on preserving the equilibrium among the three language groups. (Dolomiten)61 In this article attention was paid to the disregard for the principles of SVP politics which, in accordance with their program, had determined to “protect [the domestic populace] from foreign infiltration resulting from artificially fostered and uncontrolled immigration”.62 In contrast, the Italian language group, which was not exposed to such fears, was commended for its restrictive politics. As a consequence, a new reality was created, in which “we” – the three language groups – together had priority over the “new enemy”. Summary The immigrants to South Tyrol who were housed in illegal settlements at the beginning of the 1990s were depicted as “problems” in the media; they were stereotyped and tagged with prejudices. The perception of the immigrants predominantly as a burden or liability based on their alleged incapabilities and/or lack of hygiene created within the native population an atmosphere of rejection and alienation. Especially those on the political stage, with the support of the media, propagated these thinking patterns and deliberately influenced the readers’ perception of reality. It also came partly to a stigmatization of migrants as criminals, and they were portrayed as a danger, as can be detected in a large share of the discourse arguments which were researched for this present study. At the same time there was 61 62 “Aufnahmestopp bei Land und Gemeinden”, Dolomiten (14 June 1991). South Tyrolean People’s Party (Südtiroler Volkspartei), “Das neue Programm der Südtiroler Volkspartei”, passed by the Provincial Assembly on 8 May 1993 <http:// www.svp.eu/de/partei/grundsatzprogramm/> accessed 31 March 2015. 168 Sarah Oberbichler a definite demand for foreign workers in the early 1990s, and immigration was actively supported by the agricultural and gastronomic sectors. The argumentation patterns relating to migrants as economic assets or liabilities thus also played a predominant role in the “camp discourse”. And so, on the one hand, there was an attempt to refute a general rejection of migrants; on the other hand, migrants were considered to be sources of productivity and seen merely as “jobbers”. Not to mention the fact that their dignity and humanity, and any kind of support, were denied if they became unemployed or were hired as temporary seasonal workers. Very little was done by the daily newspapers to promote an understanding for and humanitarian treatment of these immigrants. All this reflects the social mood prevailing in the 1990s with respect to (im)migration. A comparison of daily newspapers shows, in addition, that this “mood” frequently represents differing trends and tendencies in the two – German- and Italian-speaking – sub-societies. The topoi are employed by different language groups with differing frequencies and with varied connotations. This allows us to draw certain conclusions as to the different world outlooks of both language groups, since both daily newspapers present diverse realities and perspectives in their reporting. They observe daily events from two varying vantage points,63 and consequently their argumentations may diverge considerably. There are argumentation patterns which are characteristic for either the German- or the Italian-language group. These include the pattern of “the barracks as danger”, which was predominant in discussions on the Italian side, but was seized on significantly less by German-speakers. On the German-speaking side, in contrast, the argumentation patterns related to economic utility or liability were predominant. The “scaremongering” of the Alto Adige and the reduction of the migrants to their “productive capabilities or capacities” in the Dolomiten therefore had considerable significance for each of the language groups in justifying their political measures. Not predominant, but nonetheless important, for the German language group are the argumentation patterns “priority for the South 63 Georg Grote, The South Tyrol Question, 1866–2010. From National Rage to Regional State (Bern: Peter Lang, 2012), p. 168. “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke” 169 Tyroleans” and “not being too generous.” They reflect the defensive attitude of the South Tyrolean provincial government, as well as fears of a renewed “overpopulation”. These fears of “new foreigners” did, however, lead only in individual cases to a rapprochement with the already “known foreigners”, namely the Italian language group. In conclusion, an overall “we feeling” does not exist. Bibliography ASTAT no. 29/2015 (Autonomous Province of Bozen, 2015). Bucher, Priska, and Andrea Piga, “Medien und Migration – ein Überblick”, in: Urs Dahinden and Daniel Süss (eds), Medienrealitäten (Konstanz: UVK Verlagsgesellschaft GmbH, 2009), pp. 33–49. Busse, Dietrich, “Ist Diskurs ein sprachenwissenschaftliches Objekt? Zur Methodenfrage der historischen Semantik”, in: Dietrich Busse and Wofgang Teubert (eds), Linguistische Diskursanalyse: neue Perspektiven (Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag 2013), pp. 13–31. Butterwegge, Christoph, “Massenmedien, Migrant/innen und Rassismus”, in: Christoph Butterwegge, Gudrun Hentges and Fatma Sarigöz (eds), Medien und Multikulturelle Gesellschaft (Opladen: Leske und Budrich, 1999), pp. 64–89. Community of Bozen, Institut of Urban Affairs, works contract (14 September 1993), “Errichtung eines Einwandererlagers”, in: Il Villaggio, un nuovo quartiere di Bolzano, retrieved by Ada Magritta Banck. “Einwanderer. Gartenputz in der Moschee”, FF-das Südtiroler Wochenmagazin 39/90 (1990), p. 39. EURAC Research <http://www.eurac.edu/en/Pages/default.aspx> accessed 15 February 2015. Frimmel, Martin, “Schwarze gegen Schwarze. Zweitausend Farbige aus der Dritten Welt beunruhigen die Südtiroler. Sie wissen nicht, was sie mit ihnen anfangen sollen”, Profil: Das unabhängige Nachrichtenmagazin Österreichs (10 December 1990). Girardi, Rainer, “Geschichtlicher Abriss und demographische Daten zur Migration in Südtirol”, in: Roberta Medda-Windischer, Gerhard Hetfleisch and Maren Meyer (eds), Migration in Südtirol und Tirol. Analysen und multidisziplinäre Perspektiven (Bozen: EURAC Research, 2011), pp. 77–95. Giudiceandrea, Lucio, Spaesati. Italiani in Südtirol (Bozen: Raetia, 2006). 170 Sarah Oberbichler Grote, Georg, The South Tyrol Question, 1866–2010. From National Rage to Regional State (Bern: Peter Lang, 2012). Medda-Windischer, Roberta, and Andrea Carlà (eds), Migrationspolitik und Territoriale Autonomie. Neue Minderheiten, Identität und Staatsbürgerschaft in Südtirol und Katalonien (Bozen: EURAC Research, 2013). Medda-Windischer, Roberta, Gerhard Hetfleisch and Maren Meyer (eds), Migration in Südtirol und Tirol. Analysen und multidisziplinäre Perspektiven (Bozen: EURAC Research, 2011). Medda-Windischer, Roberta, Heidi Flarer, Francesco Grandi, Guido Cavalca and Rainer Girardi, Standbild und Integrationsaussichten der ausländischen Bevölkerung Südtirols. Gesellschaftsleben, Sprache, Religion und Wertehaltung (Bozen: EURAC Research, 2011). Niehr, Thomas, and Karin Böke, “Diskursanalyse unter linguistischer Perspektive – am Beispiel des Migrationsdiskurses”, in: Reiner Keller, Andreas Hirseland, Werner Schneider and Willy Viehöver (eds), Handbuch sozialwissenschaftliche Diskursanalyse (Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2008), pp. 359–383. Pallaver, Günther, “Die ethnische Berichterstattung der Südtiroler Medien”, in: Günther Pallaver (ed.), Die ethnisch halbierte Wirklichkeit. Medien, Öffentlichkeit und politische Legitimation in ethnisch fragmentierten Gesellschaften. Theoretische Überlegungen und Fallbeispiele aus Südtirol (Innsbruck: Studienverlag, 2006). South Tyrolean Parliament, “Bericht zum Landesgesetzentwurf Nr. 22/94-XI, Maßnahmen zugunsten der Einwanderer aus Nicht-EG-Ländern in der Provinz Bozen”, retrieved from the databank of the South Tyrolean Parliament <http://www2. landtagbz.org/de/datenbanken/akte/definition_suche_akt.asp> accessed 31 March 2015. South Tyrolean Parliament, “Wortprotokoll der 131. Sitzung vom 8. Jänner 1991”, retrieved from the databank of the South Tyrolean Parliament <http://www. landtag-bz.org/de/datenbanken-sammlungen/sitzungs-wortprotokolle.asp> accessed 31 March 2015. South Tyrolean Parliament, “Wortprotokoll der 132. Sitzung vom 6. Februar 1992”, retrieved from the databank of the South Tyrolean Parliament <http://www. landtag-bz.org/de/datenbanken-sammlungen/sitzungs-wortprotokolle.asp> accessed 31 March 2015. South Tyrolean Parliament, “Wortprotokoll der 46. Sitzung vom 6. Februar 1995”, retrieved from the databank of the South Tyrolean Parliament <http://www. landtag-bz.org/de/datenbanken-sammlungen/sitzungs-wortprotokolle.asp> accessed 31 March 2015. “Calcutta lies … near the Rombrücke” 171 South Tyrolean People’s Party (Südtiroler Volkspartei), “Das neue Programm der Südtiroler Volkspartei”, passed by the Provincial Assembly on 8 May 1993 <http:// www.svp.eu/de/partei/grundsatzprogramm> accessed 31 March 2015. Volgger, Peter, between & betwixt. Transurbane Lebenswelten in Bozen (Frankfurt am Main: Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, 2013). Wengeler, Martin, “Argumentation im Einwanderungsdiskurs. Ein Vergleich der Zeiträume 1970–1973 und 1980–1983”, in: Matthias Jung, Martin Wengeler and Karin Böke (eds), Die Sprache des Migrationsdiskurses. Das Reden über “Ausländer” in Medien, Politik und Alltag (Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1997), pp. 121–149. Wengeler, Martin, “Zur historischen Kontinuität von Argumentationsmustern im Migrationsdiskurs”, in: Christoph Butterwegge and Gudrun Hentges (eds), Massenmedien, Migration und Integration. Herausforderungen für Journalismus und politische Bildung (Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2013), pp. 13–36. Interview Tragust, Karl, interview on 13 April 2015, interview and transcription in the author’s possession. Print media Alto Adige, Corriere delle Alpi (1990–1993). Dolomiten, Tagblatt der Südtiroler (1990–1993). Julia Tapfer 9 Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen: Vereine und Vereinigungen von Migrant_innen in Südtirol. Eine Gegenüberstellung der Donne Nissà, der Associazione Panalbanese Arbëria und der Rumänischen Gemeinde abstract In this chapter, Julia Tapfer addresses the issue of migrant associations in South Tyrol. Three of these – the association Donne Nissà, the association Arbëria and the Romanian Community – are compared on multiple levels to illustrate their diversity in the region. Immigration in South Tyrol is a recent phenomenon – emigration was more important than immigration for a long time in the twentieth century – so only within the last few decades, from the late 1980s onwards, has it intensified, and this late starting process (in comparison with neighbouring countries like Austria) influenced the foundation of migrant associations in the 1990s. Zum Forschungsgegenstand: Eine Einleitung Will man die Migrationsgeschichte Südtirols erforschen, reicht es nicht, Archive zu durchstöbern und Bücher zu wälzen, zumal dieses Thema in beiden bisher weitgehend ignoriert wurde. Migrationsrelevante Themen schafften den Sprung in die Archive bisher nur selten. Dies ist nicht bloß ein südtirolspezifisches Problem, sondern lässt sich auch andernorts feststellen.1 1 In Österreich wird zum Beispiel ein Archiv der Migration gefordert, um Material zu sammeln und die Geschichte der Migration zu schreiben. Webseite des Archivs der 174 Julia Tapfer Die wissenschaftlichen Publikationen zur Migration sind ebenfalls rar, auch wenn in den letzten Jahren doch einiges an Literatur zur derzeitigen Situation entstanden ist.2 Die wenigen vorhandenen Quellen spiegeln dann vor allem die Außensicht – also den Blick der Ansässigen auf die Zuwandernden – wider, über die Selbstwahrnehmung der Migrant_innen gibt es kaum Zeugnisse. Diesem Manko kann z. B. eine Erforschung von Vereinen und Vereinigungen von Migrant_innen entgegenwirken. In diesem Beitrag sollen daher als Ansatz einer Typologisierung der migrantischen Vereinigungen Südtirols zunächst die Ziele, Schwerpunkte und Charakteristika dreier Vereinigungen in Südtirol verglichen werden: der Donne Nissà, der Associazione Panalbanese Arbëria und der Rumänischen Gemeinde. Durch das Herausarbeiten von Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschieden der drei Vereinigungen wird sich vor allem die Heterogenität dieser Zusammenschlüsse zeigen, was zur begründeten Annahme führt, dass eine allgemeine Charakterisierung der „typischen Südtiroler Migrant_ innen-Vereinigung“ nicht möglich ist oder – anders betrachtet – sich genau in dieser Vielfalt und Heterogenität manifestiert. Vereine und Vereinigungen von Migrant_innen in Südtirol Ein Untersuchungsschwerpunkt des Forschungsprojektes „Arbeitsmigration in Südtirol seit dem Zweiten Autonomiestatut“,3 gemeinsam mit Kurt Gritsch und in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Soziologen Fernando Biague am Institut für Zeitgeschichte der Universität Innsbruck, sind Vereine und Vereinigungen von Migrant_innen in Südtirol. Hier bedarf es bereits einer begrifflichen Klärung: Vereinigung wird in diesem Beitrag als 2 3 Migration, Projekt: <http://www.archivdermigration.at/de/projekt/intro> accessed 15 December 2015. Vgl. etwa die EURAC-Publikation: Roberta Medda-Windischer et al. (eds), Migration in Südtirol und Tirol. Analysen und multidisziplinäre Perspektiven (Bozen: Athesia, 2011). Projektbeschreibung online aufrufbar: <http://www.uibk.ac.at/zeitgeschichte/ aktuelles/suedtirol_abstract_dtit.pdf> accessed 15 December 2015. Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen 175 Überbegriff verwendet, der sowohl eingetragene Vereine einschließt, wie etwa die Associazione Panalbanese Arbëria oder die Donne Nissà, aber auch lose Zusammenschlüsse wie etwa die Rumänische Gemeinde. Bei der Auswahl der Migrant_innen-Vereinigungen stand nicht das Kriterium der Eintragung in das Gemeinde- oder Provinzregister im Vordergrund, da das Projekt versucht, jegliche Form des Zusammenschlusses von Migrant_ innen, welche über privaten Charakter hinaus eine bestimmte gesellschaftliche Bedeutung besitzt (z. B. indem die Vereinigung Integrationsarbeit leistet), in den Untersuchungskorpus aufzunehmen. Es galt hier also vielmehr das Kriterium der Selbstbeschreibung, also ob sich die Vereinigungen selbst als solche empfinden. Trifft dies für eine Vereinigung zu, ist sie für unsere Forschung relevant. Forschungsstand und Vorgehen Da Vereinigungen von Migrant_innen in Südtirol bis dato kaum wissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen unterzogen worden waren,4 galt es zunächst, einen Überblick über die vorhandenen Vereinigungen zu schaffen. Hierbei wurden einerseits die Vereinsregister einer Auswahl von Gemeinden durchsucht,5 andererseits konnte eine von der Koordinierungsstelle für 4 5 Einen Versuch, die Vereinigungen zu erfassen, unternahm die Landesbeobachtungsstelle zur Einwanderung im Jahr 2007 mit einer Studie: Landesbeobachtungsstelle zur Einwanderung, Das Vereinswesen der Einwanderer in Südtirol. Die Beteiligung ausländischer Einwanderer am sozialen und kulturellen Leben in einem Gebiet mit geschützten autochthonen Minderheiten (Autonome Provinz Bozen: 2007). Die Vereinsregister der Gemeinden Bozen, Meran und Brixen, der bevölkerungsstärksten Gemeinden Südtirols und zugleich auch jene mit dem höchsten Ausländeranteil, wurden angefragt und auf Vereinigungen für Migrant_innen durchsucht. Die Schwierigkeit dabei war es, aus der Liste von 400 bzw. 800 eingetragenen Vereinen festzustellen, welche für die Forschung relevant sind – die Vereine werden nämlich bloß den allgemeinen Kategorien Kultur, Umwelt, Familie und Zivilschutz zugeordnet und nicht genauer spezifiziert. Migrant_innen-Vereine konnten so nur anhand des Namens und einer weiteren Internetrecherche festgemacht werden. 176 Julia Tapfer Integration6 angelegte Liste von Zusammenschlüssen als Basis fungieren: Diese umfasst 53 Namen von Vereinigungen. Sie ist allerdings nicht vollständig – manche Vereinigungen gibt es mittlerweile nicht mehr, andere, lose Zusammenschlüsse hat man vermutlich noch nicht aufnehmen können. Dennoch sind die aufgelisteten ein wichtiger Anhaltspunkt und dienen zusammen mit der selbst erstellten Liste aus den Vereinsregistern der drei größten Gemeinden als Orientierung. Da darüber hinaus keine Ressourcen zur Bearbeitung vorhanden sind, war es nötig, einerseits Quellen zu sammeln (wie etwa Vereinsstatuten oder Fotografien), andererseits aber auch neue Quellen zu schaffen. Die naheliegende Wahl hierfür waren Interviews, die im Laufe des Jahres 2015 vorwiegend in Bozen geführt wurden, da der überwiegende Teil der Zusammenschlüsse nämlich den Vereinssitz in Bozen hat. Die Provinzhauptstadt zählt sicherlich auch deshalb am meisten migrantische Vereinigungen, da ungefähr ein Drittel der ausländischen Bevölkerung in Bozen lebt.7 Die Entscheidung, Interviews mit jeweils einem Repräsentanten/ einer Repräsentantin der Vereinigungen zu führen, fiel einerseits aus der bereits erwähnten Notwendigkeit heraus, neue Quellen generieren zu müssen, andererseits ermöglichen Interviews eine Innensicht, auf die sonst hätte verzichtet werden müssen. So kann sowohl die emische als auch etische Perspektive abgedeckt werden. Insbesondere kommt hier auch die Zusammenarbeit mit dem Soziologen Fernando Biague positiv zum Tragen, da er selbst eigene Migrationserfahrungen gemacht hat. Die Methode des offenen Leitfadeninterviews stellte sich als passende für das Vorhaben heraus, da sie einerseits eine Vergleichbarkeit zwischen den Vereinigungen ermöglicht, andererseits aber genügend Freiraum lässt, um auf jede Vereinigung individuell eingehen zu können und deren 6 7 Die Koordinierungsstelle für Integration neuer Mitbürgerinnen und Mitbürger wurde mit dem Landesgesetz Nr. 12/2011 in ihrer aktuellen Form eingerichtet. Ihre Aufgabenbereiche sind Informationsarbeit, Beratungstätigkeit, Netzwerkarbeit sowie Forschungsarbeit, wie auf der Webseite nachzulesen ist: <http://www.provinz.bz.it/ ressorts/deutsche-kultur/koordinierungsstelle.asp> accessed 15 December 2015. ASTAT No. 29/05/2015, Ausländische Wohnbevölkerung 2014 (Autonome Provinz Bozen: 2015), S. 4. Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen 177 Repräsentant_innen die Möglichkeit bietet, ihre Selbstwahrnehmung offenzulegen. Die Interviews werden audiovisuell festgehalten, um ein möglichst breit nutzbares Quellenmaterial zu generieren. Eines der Hauptziele der Erforschung der Vereinigungen für Migrant_innen ist es, das derzeit bestehende Netzwerk zu dokumentieren, dessen Geschichte möglichst umfassend zu rekonstruieren und so eine Basis für zukünftige Forschungen zu schaffen. Deutsch, Italienisch, Ladinisch: Eine Grundsatzentscheidung? Neue Minderheiten, wie Migrant_innen im Gegensatz zu den autochthonen Minderheiten bzw. Sprachgruppen in Südtirol genannt werden,8 finden sich bei ihrer Ankunft in einer besonderen Realität vor. Eine Provinz mit drei verschiedenen Sprachgruppen stellt auch bei der Integration eine besondere Herausforderung dar. Wenn es Sprache ist, die eine Annäherung der Kulturen ermöglicht und fördert, so bedeutet dies in Südtirol zunächst nur die Annäherung an eine der drei Sprachgruppen, da davon ausgegangen werden kann, dass zumindest in einem ersten Moment nur eine neue Sprache erlernt wird. In den meisten Fällen – das wurde bei der Erforschung der Zusammenschlüsse ersichtlich – ist dies zunächst die italienische. Gründe dafür sind, wie in den Interviews angesprochen, bereits länger andauernde Migrationsgeschichten, die vorhergehende Aufenthalte in anderen italienischen Ortschaften aufweisen. Migrant_innen aus Albanien, die mit 5.600 Personen zahlenmäßig größte Gruppe in Südtirol,9 waren in den 1990er-Jahren oft schon bei ihrer Ankunft des Italienischen mächtig, da italienisches Fernsehen an der Küste und in Tirana empfangen werden konnte, erzählt etwa Tritan Miftiu, Präsident der Associazione Panalbanese 8 9 Diese Begrifflichkeit ist zu finden unter: Forschungsthemen der EURAC, Nationale Minderheiten, Migration und kulturelle Vielfalt: <http://www.eurac.edu/de/research/autonomies/minrig/researchfields/Pages/National-Minorities-Migration-andCultural-Diversity.aspx.> accessed 15 December 2015. ASTAT No. 29/05/2015, Ausländische Wohnbevölkerung 2014 (Autonome Provinz Bozen: 2015), S. 10. 178 Julia Tapfer Arbëria.10 Er selbst habe von seinem in Turin arbeitenden Großvater Italienisch gelernt. Migrant_innen aus Rumänien fiele das Italienischlernen leichter, da es auch eine romanische Sprache sei, meint wiederum Marius Visovan von der Rumänischen Gemeinde. Er führt dazu an, dass sich beide Sprachen ähneln und er selbst keine Probleme gehabt habe, Italienisch zu lernen. Bei seiner Ausbildung im Priesterseminar habe er allerdings auch etwas Unterricht erhalten.11 Zu diesen individuellen Spracherwerbsgeschichten kommen aber auch noch andere Umstände, die Migrant_innen eher der italienischen Sprachgruppe näherbringen. Dass Italienisch die Staatssprache ist, mag hier auch eine Rolle spielen. Im schon erwähnten, meist gewählten Wohnort Bozen gehören 73,8 Prozent der Bevölkerung der italienischen Sprachgruppe an.12 Migrant_innen entscheiden sich in Bozen somit vorwiegend für die Sprache der Mehrheit und erhoffen sich dadurch etwa bessere Chancen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. Südtirolweit haben italienische Grundschulen mit 24,2 je 100 eingeschriebenen Schüler_innen einen höheren Migrant_innen-Anteil als deutsche mit 7,6 je 100 eingeschriebenen Schüler_innen.13 Diese verstärkte Zuwendung von Migrant_innen zur italienischen Sprachgruppe lässt sich auch umgekehrt in einer stärkeren Annäherung der italienischen Sprachgruppe an die Migrant_innen festmachen, die sich etwa in den Abteilungen für Kultur des Landes widerspiegelt: Projekte wie „Con nuove culture“14 [Mit neuen Kulturen], in dem es um eine Annäherung zwischen italienischer Kultur und jener der neuen Mitbürger_innen geht, findet man – zumindest auf der Homepage – eher in der italienischen als in der deutschen Kulturabteilung. 10 11 12 13 14 Interview mit Tritan Myftiu am 18. April 2015 in Bozen, archiviert Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Innsbruck, Bestand Migration Südtirol. Interview mit Marius Visovan am 18. April 2015 in Bozen, archiviert Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Innsbruck, Bestand Migration Südtirol. ASTAT No. 38/06/2012, Volkszählung 2011, Berechnung des Bestandes der der drei Sprachgruppen in den Autonomen Provinz Bozen-Südtirol (Autonome Provinz Bozen: 2012), S. 6. ASTAT No. 17/03/2015, Grundschulen, Schuljahr 2014/15 (Autonome Provinz Bozen: 2015), S. 2. Webseite der italienischen Kulturabteilung: <http://www.provincia.bz.it/cultura/ temi/2117.asp> accessed 15 December 2015. Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen 179 In einer Provinz, in der das Miteinander-Leben von drei Sprachgruppen nun zwar immer besser funktioniert, aber natürlich auch nicht problemlos verläuft,15 ist es eine nicht zu unterschätzende Aufgabe, Migrant_innen einzubinden. Die Initiative hierfür kam lange Zeit vor allem von italienischer Seite, langsam wächst nun auch das Interesse der deutschen Seite. Dies geschah in den letzten Jahren allerdings vor allem aus einem Konkurrenzdenken heraus, für das der ethnische Proporz verantwortlich ist. Deutsche Parteien wurden darauf aufmerksam, dass Migrant_innen durch ihre Zuwendung zur italienischen Sprache diese Sprachgruppe erstarken lassen.16 Die Zukunftsentwicklung in dieser Angelegenheit ist noch nicht absehbar, Fakt ist derzeit, dass Migrant_innen in Südtirol sich immer noch verstärkt der italienischen Sprachgruppe annähern. Donne Nissà, Associazione Panalbanese Arbëria und die Rumänische Gemeinde: Drei Vereinigungen, drei Ansätze? Die drei Interviews, die im Folgenden dargestellt werden, wurden alle auf Italienisch geführt, da die Interviewpartner_innen italienischsprachig sind. Sowohl bei der albanischen als auch rumänischen Community ist 15 16 Eine Interviewpartnerin, die selbst jahrzehntelang Deutsch- und Italienischkurse für Migrant_innen hielt, beschreibt das Verhältnis der deutschen und italienischen Sprachgruppe in Bozen so: „Es ist, als ob fast eine Mauer wäre zwischen Museumstraße und Don-Bosco-Platz. Ja warum können diese nicht […] wenigstens zusammen Brot und Speck essen bei einem Fest? Wenn Sie eine Italienerin sind und ich eine Deutsche, oder umgekehrt, können wir nicht einmal zusammensitzen und sagen: ‚Wie geht es dir?‘ Mir geht es gut, danke, und dir?“ Das passiert nie! In den Dörfern noch weniger.“ Interview mit Laura Bortolotti am 9. April 2015 in Bozen, archiviert Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Innsbruck, Bestand Migration Südtirol. Vgl. Hans Winkler, „Immigration und andere Überraschungen in Südtirol“, Die Presse (21 November 2011), online abrufbar: <http://diepresse.com/home/meinung/ dejavu/710165/Immigration-und-andere-Ueberraschungen-in-Sudtirol> accessed 15 December 2015. 180 Julia Tapfer das Italienische neben der eigenen Landessprache die Verkehrssprache, bei den Donne Nissà sind neben migrantischen Mitarbeiterinnen auch deutsche und italienische vertreten – auch die Webseite ist zweisprachig und so ist dieser Verein nicht vorwiegend einer Sprachgruppe zuzuordnen. Als Quellen für die Untersuchung der drei Vereinigungen von Migrant_innen werden drei Interviews herangezogen, die am 26. Februar 2015 (Donne Nissà) bzw. am 18. April 2015 (Arbëria und Rumänische Gemeinde) in Bozen geführt wurden, sowie die Inhalte von den Webseiten der Vereinigungen, sofern eine solche besteht. Aus der Webseite übernommene Inhalte werden eigens in den Fußnoten gekennzeichnet. Für die Donne Nissà stellte sich die Mitarbeiterin Barbara Bogoni für das Interview zur Verfügung, für Arbëria dessen Präsident Tritan Myftiu und für die Rumänische Gemeinde Marius Visovan, der Priester und somit auch Verantwortliche für die Gemeinde. Die drei Untersuchungsobjekte Die Donne Nissà sind der älteste, noch bestehende Verein, in dem sich Migrant_innen aber auch autochthone Südtiroler_innen aktiv betätigen. Als Leitmotto hat sich der 1994 gegründete Verein „Solidarität mit ausländischen Frauen“ auf die Fahnen geschrieben. Als Motiv für die Gründung gibt Barbara Bogoni, seit 2008 Mitarbeiterin, das Bedürfnis an, in den 1990er-Jahren in Bozen ankommende Migrantinnen kennenzulernen. Die bei der Reschenbrücke angesiedelten Migrantinnen seien vorwiegend Marokkanerinnen gewesen und so hätten sich die deutsch- und italienischsprachigen Südtirolerinnen entschieden, ihren Verein nach dem marrokkanischen Nissà für Frauen zu benennen. Schon bald seien zu den autochthonen Südtirolerinnen als Mitarbeiterinnen auch Migrantinnen dazugekommen, wodurch sich bei den Donne Nissà ein besonderes Bild ergibt: Eigentlich als Verein von der Mehrheitsgesellschaft zur Unterstützung von Migrantinnen gegründet, wandelte er sich schon bald zu einer hybriden Vereinigung, in der Frauen aller Sprachgruppen aktiv wurden. 2014 zählte die Organisation Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen 181 sieben Teilzeitbeschäftigte,17 22 freie Mitarbeiterinnen und 45 Freiwillige.18 192 eingeschriebene Mitglieder zeigen, wie stark die Mitgliederwerbung in den letzten Jahren gefruchtet hat, denn im Jahr 2011 waren es noch 37 Mitglieder gewesen.19 Die Reichweite der Donne Nissà ist aber noch viel größer als der eigene Mitgliederstamm, was sich beispielsweise an der Zahl der ratsuchenden Frauen am bis März 2015 bestehenden Beratungsschalter festmachen lässt (344 im Jahr 201420). Die Associazione Panalbanese Arbëria besteht seit dem Jahr 2003, Tritan Myftiu ist seitdem Präsident des Vereins. Zuvor habe es bereits einen anderen Zusammenschluss gegeben, der sich vor allem um eine Sensibilisierung für den Kosovo bemühte, erzählt der Präsident. Die Neugründung des Vereins Arbëria war zunächst als Rehabilitierung der bereits vorher bestehenden Vereinigung angedacht, Arbëria entwickelte sich aber dennoch zu einem neuen, eigenständigen Verein. Derzeit gibt es ungefähr 50 zahlende Mitglieder, allerdings sei die Reichweite bei weitem höher, erklärt Myftiu: Le persone che coinvolgiamo nelle nostre attività sono molto di più. […] Noi partecipiamo al torneo di calcio „Città di Bolzano“ ormai da dieci anni e lì come al minimo sono 200 o 300 persone che vengono a vedere le partite. [Die Anzahl der Personen, die wir bei unseren Aktivitäten miteinbeziehen, ist viel höher. […] Wir nehmen schon seit 10 Jahren am Fußballturnier „Stadt Bozen“ teil, und dort kommen mindestens 200 bis 300 Personen, um sich die Spiele anzusehen.] (meine Übersetzung) Die Mitglieder des Vereins seien vor allem Albaner_innen, auch wenn dies kein Aufnahmekriterium sei. Dennoch sieht sich der Verein in erster Linie zuständig für Migrant_innen aus dem „spazio albanese nei Balcani 17 18 19 20 Im Jahr 2015 musste zwei Beschäftigten gekündigt werden, da durch den Verlust des Betreuungsschalters die Finanzierung des Vereins neu bedacht werden musste. Donne Nissà Frauen, Tätigkeitsbericht 2014, S. 1. Donne Nissà Frauen, Jahresbericht 2012, S. 2. Donne Nissà Frauen, Tätigkeitsbericht 2014, S. 2. 182 Julia Tapfer (Albania, Kosova, Montenegro, Macedonia)“21 [albanischem Raum im Balkan (Albanien, Kosovo, Montenegro und Mazedonien)] (meine Übersetzung) und möchte eine Anlaufstelle, ein sogenannter „punto di riferimento“ [Bezugspunkt] für die albanische Community sein. Auch im Interview mit Marius Visovan, dem Ansprechpartner für die Rumänische Gemeinde, kommt die Sprache auf den „punto di riferimento“, den Bezugspunkt für die Community, den Visovan mit der Gründung eines Vereins noch weiter stärken will. Bislang ist seine „Comunità Rumena“ [Rumänische Gemeinde] nämlich noch kein eingetragener Verein, sondern eine – vor allem religiöse – Vereinigung, die es sich aber auch zum Ziel gesetzt hat, die Rumänen und Rumäninnen in Südtirol einander näher zu bringen, gemeinsam Zeit zu verbringen und aufzuzeigen, dass diese Gemeinde in Bozen besteht. Die Gemeinde gibt es schon seit dem Jahr 2003, sie zählt circa 200 Mitglieder. Es werden vor allem kulturelle und religiöse Treffen organisiert, was auch damit zu erklären ist, dass Visovan selbst Priester seiner katholischen Gemeinde (Ostkirche) mit byzantinischem Ritus ist.22 Bezug zum Herkunftsland Während die Donne Nissà nationalitätenübergreifend arbeiten und dabei ihren Schwerpunkt auf Frauen gelegt haben, sind die beiden anderen Vereinigungen eng an ihr jeweiliges Herkunftsland bzw. ein Herkunftsgebiet gebunden. Auch wenn Arbëria und die Rumänische Gemeinde als Aufnahmekriterium in ihre Vereinigung keine Staatsbürgerschaft bzw. Verbindung zu einem Herkunftsland verlangen, so zeigt die Praxis, dass vorwiegend Albaner_innen (bzw. Migrant_innen aus dem „spazio albanese“) bzw. Rumän_innen Mitglieder sind. Diese Vereinigungen können somit auch als „Verein der Albaner_innen“ und „Verein der Rumän_innen“ 21 22 Webseite der Associazione Panalbanese Arbëria: <http://www.associazionearberia. mrw.it/> accessed 15 December 2015. Eine Besonderheit dieser Form des Katholizismus ist der fehlende Zölibat. Visovan ist selbst verheiratet und hat zwei Kinder. Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen 183 bezeichnet werden, in denen mit wenigen Ausnahmen Migrant_innen aus diesen Ländern zusammenkommen. Die Herkunftsländer haben somit entscheidende Bedeutung, allerdings unterscheidet sich diese bei den zwei Vereinigungen doch erheblich. Die Verbindung zu Rumänien ist bei der Comunità Rumena besonders groß. Als eines der Hauptziele verfolgt die Gemeinde die soziale Hilfe in ihrem Heimatland. Dabei werden etwa Projekte für Jugendliche in armen Provinzen unterstützt, aber auch Möbel und Kleidungsstücke gesammelt, die nach Rumänien geschickt werden. Solche Sammlungen finden mehrmals im Jahr statt. Neben dem Bestreben, der rumänischen Bevölkerung in Südtirol in jeglichen Belangen zu helfen, ist somit auch ein Solidaritätsgedanke mit dem Heimatland vorherrschend. Einen solchen verneint hingegen Tritan Mytiu für seine Vereinigung: Noi non abbiamo contatti con l’Albania nel senso che ci sia qualche progetto, che ci sia qualche lega – no. […] Nelle mie attività non ho mai avvisato neanche l’ambasciata, il consolato. […] È più creare un ambiente, cioè migliorare la situazione nostra qua. [Wir haben keine Kontakte zu Albanien in dem Sinn, dass es ein Projekt oder eine Beziehung gäbe. […] Im Zuge meiner Aktivitäten habe nie die Botschaft oder das Konsulat kontaktiert. […] Unser Ziel ist es, unsere Situation hier in Südtirol zu verbessern.] (meine Übersetzung) Die Distanz zum Herkunftsland betont Myftiu sehr vehement – die Gründe dafür könnte man etwa in seiner persönlichen Geschichte, der Flucht aus Tirana nach den Studentenaufständen 1991 und seinem Bruch mit dem Staat, vermuten. Objektiv lässt sich ein solcher Beweggrund allerdings nicht aus dem Interview erschließen. Dasselbe gilt für die Solidarität der Rumän_innen in Südtirol mit ihrer Heimat – ein Motiv dafür könnten auch der christliche Gedanke der Nächstenliebe und Hilfe in der Not, oder schlicht Solidarität sein, explizit ausgesprochen wurde dieser Gedanke jedoch nicht. Dennoch kann in der hier festgestellten Beziehung zum Herkunftsland ein ganz signifikanter Unterschied zwischen dem Verein Arbëria und der Rumänischen Gemeinde festgemacht werden. 184 Julia Tapfer Ziele und Aktivitäten Orientierungshilfe Wenn auch in unterschiedlichem Maße, so ist allen drei Vereinigungen ein gewisser Ansatz zur Orientierungshilfe gemein. Schon in den Anfangsjahren der Donne Nissà etwa ging es besonders darum, den neuen Mitbürgerinnen in Südtirol zu helfen, sich zurechtzufinden. Oft handelte es sich dabei um die Unterstützung bei der Arbeitssuche, was auch heute noch häufig der Grund für die erste Kontaktaufnahme von Frauen mit dem Verein ist. Barbara Bogoni betont aber, dass es dann wichtig sei, weiterzufragen, Frauen als Menschen Würde zu geben und ihnen zu ermöglichen, auch das, was sie vor ihren Migrationsentscheidungen erlebt haben, in die Gegenwart mitzunehmen: È come una chiusura, un ponte levatoio che si è chiuso tra quello che era prima, che non esiste più, e si parla solo di quello che è qui. Come se quello che [le donne] si portano dietro non importasse. […] Il lavoro che cerchiamo di fare invece è dare dignità a chi sei tu, tu sei anche tutto quello che sei stata.23 [Es ist wie ein Abschluss, eine Zugbrücke, die sich geschlossen hat zwischen dem, was vorher war und nicht mehr existiert, und dem, was heute ist. So, als ob das, was die Frauen mitbringen und erlebt haben, nicht wichtig wäre. […] Wir versuchen, dir Würde zu geben, du bist auch all das, was du gewesen bist.] (meine Übersetzung) Durch diese Erklärung wird deutlich, wie breit der Ansatz der Orientierungshilfe bei den Donne Nissà gesehen werden kann. Hier wird auch psychologische Arbeit geleistet, die zum Beispiel den Umgang mit Gewalterfahrungen miteinschließt. Um dieses Ziel der umfassenden Beratung von migrantischen Frauen zu ermöglichen, haben die Donne Nissà schon bald nach der Vereinsgründung einen „sportello“ [Beratungsschalter] eröffnet. Bogoni bezeichnet ihn als „cuore dell’associazione“ [Herz des Vereins]. Von 2009 bis 2015 war der Beratungsschalter 23 Interview mit Barbara Bogoni am 26. Februar 2015 in Bozen, archiviert Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Innsbruck, Bestand Migration Südtirol. Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen 185 ein konventionierter Dienst24 des Betriebs für Sozialdienste Bozen und damit auch die Hauptfinanzierungsquelle des gesamten Vereins. Derzeit befindet sich der Verein in einer Neuorientierungsphase, da die Donne Nissà den Wettbewerb für den konventionierten Dienst nicht gewinnen konnten. Die zukünftige Ausrichtung des Vereins ist demnach noch in der Schwebe, allerdings soll die Beratungstätigkeit nicht eingestellt werden. Den Ansatz zur Orientierungshilfe kann man auch der Associazione Panalbanese Arbëria zusprechen, wobei hier vor allem pragmatische Aspekte zum Tragen kommen: Im Vereinssitz kann man sich zum Beispiel Reisetickets nach Albanien besorgen, indem man sich eine Kreditkarte teilt und so die Bearbeitungskosten in einem Reisebüro einspart. Auch Hilfe bei der Steuererklärung findet man im Vereinssitz, und Myftiu selbst begleitet seine Vereinsmitglieder bei Bedarf zur Erstaufnahmestelle für Einwanderer. Die Orientierungshilfe in diesem Verein richtet sich somit nach der unmittelbaren Nachfrage und ist nicht so klar und zielgerichtet organisiert wie etwa die der Donne Nissà. Die Orientierungshilfe in der Rumänischen Community ähnelt eher einem freundschaftlichen Netz als einem klar strukturierten Dienst: Wenn jemand Hilfe braucht, wird ihm geholfen. Wichtiger scheint in der Rumänischen Community der Zusammenhalt als Gemeinschaft, der seine Wurzeln auch in der christlichen Tradition haben kann. Visovan berichtet etwa, dass er am Weihnachtsabend ein Fest für die „badanti“ [Pflegerinnen] organisiert habe, damit diese, die oft ohne Familien in Südtirol leben, an einem so hohen Festtag nicht alleine feiern mussten. Eine solche Veranstaltung festigt das Gemeinschaftsgefühl und dient wenn nicht zur Orientierung, so doch zur Integration in eine bestimmte Gruppe. 24 Der Begriff „konventionierter Dienst“ ist ein Südtirolismus, der aus der direkten Übersetzung des italienischen „servizio convenzionato“ hervorgeht. Es handelt sich hierbei um einen Dienst, der weder öffentlich noch privat ist, sondern eine Art Zwischenform darstellt. Dabei schreibt das Land Südtirol eine Stelle bzw. einen Auftrag zur Übernahme eines Dienstes aus, für die sich private Körperschaften bewerben können. Wer diesen „Wettbewerb“ gewinnt, erhält die Zusage für den nach Landesgesetz der Autonomen Provinz Bozen-Südtirol geregelten Dienst. Der Auftraggeber bleibt dabei das Land Südtirol. 186 Julia Tapfer Informationen nach außen Die Vereinigungen haben sich in der Informationsvermittlung unterschiedliche Ziele gesetzt. „Informationen nach außen“ umfasst hier all jene Aktivitäten, die mit der Bevölkerung außerhalb des Vereins zu tun haben und etwa auf Aufklärung abzielen. Besonders hervorzuheben ist hierbei die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der Donne Nissà, die zur Information und Aufklärung der Südtiroler_innen bereits mehrere Projekte und auch Publikationen umfasst. Ohne detailreich in die 20-jährigen Vereinsaktivitäten vorzudringen, seien hier nur einige Beispiele genannt: „da-zwischen. Ausländerinnen in Südtirol und im Trentino“ (hrsg. von Luisa Gnecchi), eine Publikation mit Lebensgeschichten von ausländischen Frauen, woraus auch eine Theaterproduktion resultierte; „Ausgang/Uscita“, eine Dokumentaion von Vincenzo Mancuso über minderjährige albanische Migrant_innen in Südtirol; die Forschungsarbeit „Bildung – Arbeit. Ausländerin sein in Südtirol“. Der Verein Donne Nissà hat an mehreren Forschungsprojekten mitgearbeitet und auch selbst Projekte beim Europäischen Sozialfonds eingereicht, aus Zeitgründen hätte man davon aber nun absehen müssen, so Bogoni im Interview. Bereits an diesem Auszug an Publikationen und Projekten wird ersichtlich, dass die Donne Nissà im Vergleich zu den anderen beiden Vereinigungen einen viel größeren Wert auf diese „Informationen nach außen“, auf Aufklärungsarbeit in der Südtiroler Bevölkerung legen. Nicht außer Acht gelassen werden darf in diesem Vergleich der Aktivitäten natürlich auch der Altersunterschied der drei Vereinigungen. Beim Verein Arbëria lassen sich auch erste Bemühungen um Aufklärungsarbeit in der Südtiroler Bevölkerung erkennen, so wurde zum Beispiel eine Filmvorführung in Zusammenarbeit mit der Italienischen Landesbibliothek Claudia Augusta zum Thema „Rescue in Albania“ organisiert. Mit dem Film, der nachzeichnet, wie Juden und Jüdinnen während des Zweiten Weltkrieges Schutz in Albanien fanden, wollte man dem laut Myftiu gängigen Tenor über Albanien („di albanesi si parla di solito sempre male“ [man spricht meist nur schlecht über Albaner] (meine Übersetzung)) entgegenwirken. Die rumänische Community trägt vor allem ihre kulturellen Traditionen, wie etwa ihre Tänze, nach außen. Außerdem öffnet sie ihre Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen 187 Kirche, um Interessierten die Ikonostasen zu zeigen, auf die Visovan sehr stolz ist. Diese hätten sie obendrein bei anderen Ausstellungen zeigen können. Andere Informationsveranstaltungen für die autochthonen Südtiroler_innen wurden noch nicht veranstaltet, der Wunsch, solche zu organisieren, kam im Interview nicht zur Sprache. Informationen nach innen Die „Informationen nach innen“, also jene für die eigene Community, sind besonders beim Verein Arbëria ausgeprägt und sollen hier vorgestellt werden. Der Verein der Albaner_innen sticht durch eine besondere Aktivität hervor: L’Eco Albanese [Das albanische Echo], das wöchentliche Programm bei Radio Tandem, einem Südtiroler Radiosender. L’Eco Albanese besteht schon seit beinahe 20 Jahren. „Il programma è stato precedente all’associazione, oggi è un po’ la voce dell’associazione“. [Das Programm gab es schon vor unserem Verein, heute ist es ein bisschen die Stimme des Vereins] (meine Übersetzung), erzählt Myftiu, der selbst zuständig für das Programm ist. L’Eco Albanese ist klar an die albanische Community gerichtet, da im eineinhalbstündigen Programm nur albanisch gesprochen wird. Die Grundausrichtung – Musik und Nachrichten – ist seit 20 Jahren dieselbe, allerdings hat sich ein inhaltlicher Wandel vollzogen. Waren es in den Anfängen vor allem Nachrichten aus Albanien, die verbreitet wurden, hat sich der Fokus nun auf Nachrichten aus Südtirol und Italien gerichtet. Hier lässt sich ein Wandel der Informationsbeschaffung des Einzelnen nachzeichnen – „Le notizie erano freschissime, nessuno aveva altre possibilità di avere altre notizie prima“ [Die Nachrichten waren höchst aktuell, niemand hatte die Möglichkeit, sich andere Nachrichten früher zu besorgen] (meine Übersetzung), erzählt Myftiu aus der Zeit, als er für sein Radioprogramm eine albanische Zeitung abonniert hatte, die erst mit mehreren Tagen Verspätung in Südtirol ankam. Heute habe das keinen Sinn mehr, die Leute schauten albanisches Fernsehen, suchten sich selbst im Internet die neuesten Nachrichten, erklärt Myftiu den Grund für den Wandel seines Programms hin zu Informationen über die Politik in Südtirol in albanischer Sprache – diese würden die Hörer sonst nirgends finden. Das Angebot des Radioprogramms in albanischer Sprache folgte so 188 Julia Tapfer der Nachfrage und konnte sich als Nischenmedium mit einer besonderen inhaltlichen Ausrichtung etablieren. Interkulturalität Die drei hier behandelten Vereinigungen fördern mit unterschiedlichen Aktivitäten Interkulturalität. Die Rumänische Gemeinde geht in diesem Vergleich als eher zögerlich hervor, interkulturelle Aktivitäten stehen – abseits der Teilnahme beim später eigens angeführten Völkerfestival in Bozen – kaum auf dem Programm. Da sich die Tätigkeiten der rumänischen Vereinigung vor allem auf das religiöse Feld konzentrieren, findet vorwiegend dort Begegnung mit der Mehrheitsbevölkerung und deren Kultur statt – wenn auch in geringem Ausmaß. Treffen beziehen sich also meist auf den kirchlichen Rahmen, wie die Teilnahme von autochthonen Südtiroler_innen aus der Pfarrei bei der „festa della comunità“ [Fest der Gemeinde] am Festtag Peter und Paul. Andere Aktivitäten, wie die Teilnahme am Faschingsumzug oder Bozner Radtag mit dem Vorführen von traditionellen rumänischen Kleidern und Tänzen zeigen zwar, dass die Community von der Provinz und Gemeinde Bozen wahrgenommen werden will, allerdings steht der interkulturelle Austausch dabei noch an seinen Anfängen, da die Communitys bei den Veranstaltungen ihr Programm eher isoliert und für sich bestreiten. Auch bei der albanischen Vereinigung findet der interkulturelle Austausch nicht forciert und geplant statt, sondern ist eher eine positive Nebenerscheinung gemeinsamer Aktivitäten. Arbëria hat zum Beispiel eine albanische Fußballmannschaft (zu deren Mitglieder aber auch autochthone Südtiroler oder andere Migranten zählen), mit der der Verein an Turnieren teilnimmt. Bis 2010 organisierte Arbëria zudem jährlich ein Fest, bei dem gemeinsam mit deutsch- und italienischsprachigen Bozner_innen gefeiert wurde. Interkultureller Austausch mag hier zwar auch stattfinden, ist allerdings nicht durch ein Konzept geplant wie etwa bei den Donne Nissà. Diese legen nämlich besonderen Wert auf spezifische, interkulturelle Aktivitäten, die auch Teil ihrer Zielsetzungen sind. Mit den Interkulturellen Gemeinschaftsgärten läuft seit dem Jahr 2010 ein Paradeprojekt zum interkulturellen Austausch. Auf der Webseite heißt es: Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen 189 Unser Garten muss vorwiegend Platz für Menschen bieten, die aus anderen Ländern zu uns kommen und sie gleichzeitig mit Menschen vor Ort in Verbindung bringen, sowie alle zu gemeinsamem Tun und gegenseitigem Lernen anregen. […] Wir beschränken uns beim Kulturbegriff nicht auf die Kultur von Völkern, sondern berücksichtigen, dass jeder Mensch von anderen Umständen geprägt wird. Es geht deshalb um Begegnungen mit dem ANDEREN schlechthin. Wir schaffen deshalb auch Voraussetzungen, dass Menschen mit besonderen Bedürfnissen im Garten aktiv werden.25 Das Konzept der mittlerweile drei Gemeinschaftsgärten ist klar ausgearbeitet und wird von der Gemeinde Bozen und der Autonomen Provinz Bozen unterstützt. Neben interkulturellen Workshops, die der Verein Donne Nissà darüber hinaus für Schulklassen anbietet, steht Interkulturalität schon seit dem Jahr 2001 im Zentrum Mafalda im Mittelpunkt. Das Interkulturelle Zentrum für Kinder zwischen einem und sechs Jahren „ist ein Treffpunkt, wo Kinder und deren Eltern willkommen sind, ausländische genau so wie inländische“.26 Die Pädagoginnen haben entweder selbst Migrationserfahrung oder sprechen mehrere Sprachen, Elterntreffen werden organisiert und Erziehungsfragen besprochen.27 Der große Zuspruch, den Mafalda und die Gemeinschaftsgärten erhalten, zeuge von der Notwendigkeit dieser Einrichtungen, so Barbara Bogini, die eine Stärke der Projekte auch darin festmacht, dass sie wandelbar sind und die Organisatorinnen kontinuierlich zur Weiterentwicklung der Projekte und Nutzung von Synergien anregen. Interkulturelle Projekte können somit als zentrale Anliegen der Donne Nissà gesehen werden. 25 26 27 Donne Nissà, Interkultureller Gemeinschaftsgarten. Eine Definition der Donne Nissà Frauen. Online aufrufbar: <http://www.nissa.bz.it/images/downloads/def_ interk-gemeinschaftsgarten.pdf> accessed 15 December 2015. Webseite des Vereins Donne Nissà, Mafalda: <http://www.nissa.bz.it/index.php/ de/was-wir-machen/mafalda> accessed 15 December 2015. Webseite des Vereins Donne Nissà, Mafalda: <http://www.nissa.bz.it/index.php/ de/was-wir-machen/mafalda> accessed 15 December 2015. 190 Julia Tapfer Finanzierung der Vereinstätigkeiten Um Projekte und Aktivitäten wie die oben genannten zu finanzieren, haben die Vereinigungen verschiedene Möglichkeiten, die sie auch unterschiedlich nutzen. In diesem Punkt sind große Unterschiede zwischen den drei hier behandelten migrantischen Vereinigungen festzustellen. Da die Rumänische Gemeinde noch kein eingetragener Verein ist, sind ihre Finanzierungsmöglichkeiten beschränkt, denn ein Ansuchen um öffentliche Beiträge ist nicht möglich. Die rumänische Vereinigung baut somit vor allem auf das Volontariat auf und finanziert sich durch private Beiträge selbst. Der christliche Gedanke der Unterstützung der eigenen Pfarrgemeinde und des Mitwirkens mag hier auch zum Tragen kommen. Konkret funktioniert die Abrechnung einer Aktion, wie etwa eines Festes, laut Visovan so: „Si mettono gli scontrini davanti a dieci persone – che siamo poi gli organizzatori – si fa il conto, diciamo il numero che siamo e si divide per quel numero.“ [Man legt alle Kassenbelege auf den Tisch, rechnet sie zusammen und teilt den Betrag auf die anwesenden Personen auf.] (meine Übersetzung) Dadurch, dass die Pfarre St. Pius X der Rumänischen Gemeinde die Kirche und den Saal für Versammlungen unentgeltlich zur Verfügung stellt, können Mietkosten eingespart werden, wodurch die durch den Verein aufzubringende Summe deutlich geringer ist als etwa beim Verein Arbëria. Die Mietkosten für den Vereinssitz sind nämlich die größte Ausgabe der albanischen Vereinigung und würden die finanzielle Situation erschweren, berichtet der Vereinspräsident Myftiu. Aus diesem Grund wird von den Mitgliedern ein monatlicher Beitrag von fünf Euro kassiert.28 Zu dieser Einnahme kommt der ordentliche Beitrag der Gemeinde Bozen, den der Verein erhält, weil er im Register der Gemeinde eingetragen ist und darum ansucht. Weitere kleine Einnahmen verzeichnet der Verein etwa durch Spenden der Mitglieder beim Konsum von Getränken, wie zum Beispiel 28 In früheren Jahren war der Mitgliedsbeitrag bei zehn Euro im Monat festgesetzt, was man aber als zu hoch einstufte. Anzumerken ist, dass der Mitgliedsbeitrag bei Arbëria insgesamt zu den höchsten der in den Interviews erfragten zählt. Mehrere Vereinigungen nennen zum Beispiel 10 bis 15 Euro im Jahr. Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen 191 bei Übertragungen von Fußballspielen der albanischen Nationalmannschaft im Fernsehen. Durch die vielfältigen Projekte der Donne Nissà und der Zusammenarbeit mit Gemeinde und Provinz zeigt sich ein vielschichtiges Finanzierungsnetz des Vereins, das auf der Webseite29 nachzulesen ist. Beiträge erhält der Verein sowohl von der Region (Amt für europäische Integration und humanitäre Hilfe) als auch von der Provinz (verschiedene Ämter, darunter die Ämter für Familie, italienische, deutsche und ladinische Kultur und Schulfürsorge) und den Gemeinden Bozen und Leifers. Da die Konvention für den Beratungsschalter im Jahr 2015 nicht verlängert wurde, entfällt nun der größte Beitrag für den Verein. Neue Finanzierungsmöglichkeiten werden angedacht, von zwei Mitarbeiterinnen – darunter auch Bogoni selbst – musste sich der Verein im Jahr 2015 aber trennen. Vernetzungen und Zusammenarbeit Auch wenn die Vereinigungen alle ihre eigenen Aktivitäten, Zielsetzungen und Besonderheiten haben, fällt auf, dass eine gewisse Vernetzung und Kooperation besteht. Die Zusammenarbeit findet auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen statt, es können dabei Institutionen wie etwa die Universität Bozen, das Ökoinstitut oder die Caritas Partner sein, wie im Fall der Donne Nissà. Arbëria arbeitete etwa bereits mit der Landesbibliothek Claudia Augusta zusammen, wie vorhin erwähnt. Die Kooperation kann aber auch mit anderen (migrantischen) Vereinigungen stattfinden: So sind viele Rumän_innen zusätzlich in anderen Vereinen eingeschrieben, die sich um Hilfsaktionen in Rumänien bemühen und ihrerseits in engem Kontakt zur Rumänischen Gemeinde in Bozen stehen. Der Verein Arbëria hat z. B. Anknüpfungspunkte mit der Vereinigung der Kosovaren – nicht nur, weil sie denselben Vereinssitz haben. 29 Webseite des Vereins Donne Nissà, Finanzierung: <http://www.nissa.bz.it/index. php/de/wir-werden-finanziert-von> accessed 15 December 2015. 192 Julia Tapfer Eine in beinahe allen Interviews mit Bozner Vereinigungen genannte Form der Zusammenarbeit ist das Völkerfestival. Aus diesem Grund soll es an dieser Stelle kurz beschrieben werden. Das Völkerfestival ist aus den Festivals zum „Welttag der Migranten und Flüchtlinge“ entstanden, die in den Jahren 2007 bis 2010 jeweils im Jänner stattfanden. Es wurden eine mehrsprachige Heilige Messe gefeiert und im Anschluss von einigen Gruppen traditionelle Tänze vorgeführt. Durch den Erfolg dieser Veranstaltungen und die Zusammenarbeit einiger Migrant_innen-Vereinigungen wurde das Fest in den Jahren 2008 und 2009 auf dem Bozner Gerichtsplatz veranstaltet – Unterstützung erhielten die Vereinigungen von der Gemeinde Bozen und der Caritas. 2011 schließlich fand das Völkerfestival, das Pendants in Verona und Trient als Vorbild hatte, zum ersten Mal auf der Bozner Talferwiese statt und wurde in den Frühsommer verlegt. Im Jahr 2015 feierte es bereits seine fünfte Auflage, aus den anfangs 15 mitwirkenden Nationen wurden 26.30 Auch die Vereine Arbëria und die rumänische Community nehmen am Völkerfestival teil. Sie leisten dort mit traditionellen Speisen und Tänzen ihren Beitrag. Auch andere Vereinigungen nannten in den Interviews diese Veranstaltung als wichtigen Punkt der Zusammenarbeit unter den Vereinigungen. Dem Völkerfestival kommt vor allem als Treffpunkt und Ort zum Kennenlernen eine wichtige Bedeutung zu – Vereinigungen stehen in der Planungsphase miteinander in Kontakt und können beim Fest selbst Kontakte knüpfen. Interkulturelle Begegnung wird auf dem Fest ermöglicht, allerdings erscheint in der Praxis das Auftreten eher als ein Nebeneinander, weniger als ein Zusammenspiel der Migrant_ innen verschiedener Nationalitäten. Dieser Anschein wird auch durch die streng nach Vereinigung und Nationen abgetrennten Verkaufs- bzw. Informationsstände und Darbietungen auf der Bühne verstärkt. Der erste Schritt – ein gemeinsames Fest für alle zu veranstalten – wurde mit dem Völkerfestival gelegt und soll hier in seiner Bedeutung auch nicht geschmälert werden. Allerdings bedarf es nun einer Weiterentwicklung hin zum Miteinander – auch der gemeinsame Einzug, nach Nationalitäten getrennt 30 Webseite des Völkerfestivals: <http://www.festapopolivoelkerfestivalbz.com/> accessed 15 December 2015. Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen 193 und mit Fahnen ausgestattet, mag zwar ein imposanter Programmauftakt sein, ist mit dem zugrundeliegenden nationalstaatlichem Denken aber heute nicht mehr zeitgemäß. Fazit: Gemeinsamkeiten und Vielfalt migrantischer Vereinigungen Durch den auf mehreren Ebenen stattgefundenen Vergleich dreier Vereinigungen von Migrant_innen in Südtirol konnte aufgezeigt werden, dass diese sich zwar in einigen Punkten ähneln, es aber dennoch sehr verschiedene Ausrichtungen gibt: Der Vergleich zeigt somit vielmehr die Heterogenität Südtiroler Migrant_innen-Vereinigungen auf, als deren Gemeinsamkeiten. Konkret konnte beim obigen Vergleich festgestellt werden, dass der älteste Verein, die Donne Nissà, ein am besten definiertes und ausgearbeitetes Konzept zur Erreichung der eigenen Zielsetzungen hat – was auch durch zahlreiche Projekteinreichungen und –durchführungen vorangetrieben wurde. Der Verein Arbëria folgt hingegen keiner so ausführlichen Jahresplanung, unterstützt seine Mitglieder aber dennoch auf vielfältige Weise und bietet im Vereinssitz einen Lebensraum – für viele ist der Vereinssitz „la piccola Albania“ [das kleine Albanien], so Myftiu. Die Rumänische Gemeinde ist im Gegensatz zu den beiden anderen Vereinigungen stark religiös geprägt, sieht ihren Aufgabenbereich aber auch ausgeweitet auf das Weitertragen der rumänischen Kultur (z. B. durch das Aufführen von traditionellen Tänzen). Wie im Beitrag verdeutlicht werden konnte, kann man einen Migrant_innen-Verein nicht ohne Weiteres einem Herkunftsland zuordnen und Beziehungen zu diesem annehmen – unter den Südtiroler Migrant_innen-Vereinigungen finden sich sowohl Gruppen mit ethnonationalem Charakter, die zu ihrem Herkunftsland keine aktive Verbindung pflegen, als auch Vereine, die gar keinen Bezug zu einer Nationalität haben. Gemeinsamkeiten der Vereinigungen ließen sich vor allem in den Punkten Orientierungshilfe, Informationen nach außen und Interkulturalität festmachen, wobei hier auch bloß die Zielrichtung dieselbe ist. In der Umsetzung dieser Ziele unterscheiden sich die Aktivitäten der Vereinigungen doch in Form und Ausführung. 194 Julia Tapfer So fällt auch das Fazit dieses ersten Vergleichs dreier Migrant_innen-Vereinigungen in Südtirol aus: Gemeinsamkeiten lassen sich vor allem in der Zielsetzung erkennen, die Orientierungshilfe für Migrant_innen und Unterstützung in vielen Belangen umfasst. Unterschiede lassen sich in der Organisation, der Orientierung, der Ausführung von Aktivitäten und dem Maß an Interkulturalität festmachen. Wie im letzten Kapitel ausgeführt, nimmt die Vernetzung und Zusammenarbeit der Vereinigungen – wenn auch in unterschiedlichem Maße – zu. Mehrmals wurde in den Interviews der Wunsch nach einer gemeinsamen Bleibe in Bozen laut, in der mehrere Vereinigungen ihren Vereinssitz einrichten und so auch noch besser kooperieren könnten. Migrationsnetzwerke in Südtirol lassen sich so auf individueller Ebene von Einzelpersonen ausmachen, die in Vereinigungen Anschluss und Gemeinschaft erleben, sowie in größerem Kontext als Konnex zwischen zwei oder mehreren Vereinigungen, die durch gemeinsame Aktionen voneinander profitieren und ein Netzwerk gestalten. Allgemein kann festgehalten werden, dass dieses noch unerforschte Netzwerk der Vereinigungen für die Forscher_innen erst langsam Gestalt annimmt: Erst langsam kristallisieren sich die Charakteristika des Forschungskorpus heraus. Ging das Team zu Beginn des Projektes 2014 etwa von einer einfachen Trennung in Vereinigungen von der Mehrheitsgesellschaft und (ethnonationalen) Selbstvereinigungen von Migrant_innen aus, zeigt sich mittlerweile, dass unterschiedliche hybride Formen (wie die hier beschriebenen Donne Nissà) bzw. thematische Ausrichtungen von Vereinen wie etwa der Gender-Aspekt oder eine bestimmte Religion und natürlich Nationalität für eine Kategorisierung entscheidender sind. Die Reaktionen der Vereinspräsident_innen und für die Vereinigung Verantwortlichen bei den Interviews sind als durchwegs positiv zu beschreiben: Die meisten Interviewpartner_innen freuten sich über das Interesse der Wissenschaftler_innen für die Geschichte ihrer Vereinigung und interpretierten es auch als positives Zeichen, das die Autonome Provinz Bozen-Südtirol mit der Förderung eines solchen Projektes setzt. Die Notwendigkeit einer Geschichtsschreibung der Migrant_innen in Südtirol ist somit greifbar. Ankommen, verbinden, vernetzen 195 Literatur Arbeitsmigration in Südtirol seit dem Zweiten Autonomiestatut, Projektbeschreibung: <http://www.uibk.ac.at/zeitgeschichte/aktuelles/suedtirol_abstract_dtit.pdf>. ASTAT No. 17/03/2015, Grundschulen, Schuljahr 2014/15 (Autonome Provinz Bozen: 2015). ASTAT No. 29/05/2015, Ausländische Wohnbevölkerung 2014 (Autonome Provinz Bozen: 2015). ASTAT No. 38/06/2012, Volkszählung 2011, Berechnung des Bestandes der der drei Sprachgruppen in den Autonomen Provinz Bozen-Südtirol (Autonome Provinz Bozen: 2012). Donne Nissà, Interkultureller Gemeinschaftsgarten. Eine Definition der Donne Nissà Frauen. Online aufrufbar: <http://www.nissa.bz.it/images/downloads/def_ interk-gemeinschaftsgarten.pdf> accessed 15 December 2015. Donne Nissà Frauen, Jahresbericht 2012. Donne Nissà Frauen, Tätigkeitsbericht 2014. Landesbeobachtungsstelle zur Einwanderung, Das Vereinswesen der Einwanderer in Südtirol. Die Beteiligung ausländischer Einwanderer am sozialen und kulturellen Leben in einem Gebiet mit geschützten autochthonen Minderheiten (Autonome Provinz Bozen: 2007). Medda-Windischer, Roberta, et al. (eds), Migration in Südtirol und Tirol. Analysen und multidisziplinäre Perspektiven (Bozen: Athesia, 2011). Winkler, Hans, „Immigration und andere Überraschungen in Südtirol“, Die Presse (21 November 2011) <http://diepresse.com/home/meinung/dejavu/710165/ Immigration-und-andere-Ueberraschungen-in-Sudtirol>. Interviews Interview mit Barbara Bogoni am 26. Februar 2015 in Bozen, archiviert Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Innsbruck, Bestand Migration Südtirol. Interview mit Laura Bortolotti am 9. April 2015 in Bozen, archiviert Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Innsbruck, Bestand Migration Südtirol. Interview mit Marius Visovan am 18. April 2015 in Bozen, archiviert Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Innsbruck, Bestand Migration Südtirol. Interview mit Tritan Myftiu am 18. April 2015 in Bozen, archiviert Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Innsbruck, Bestand Migration Südtirol. 196 Julia Tapfer Webseiten Archiv der Migration, Projekt: <http://www.archivdermigration.at/de/projekt/ intro>. Associazione Panalbanese Arbëria: <http://www.associazionearberia.mrw.it/>. EURAC, Forschungsthemen der EURAC, Nationale Minderheiten, Migration und kulturelle Vielfalt: <http://www.eurac.edu/de/research/autonomies/minrig/researchfields/Pages/National-Minorities-Migration-and-Cultural-Diversity.aspx>. Koordinierungsstelle für Integration: <http://www.provinz.bz.it/ressorts/deutsche-kultur/koordinierungsstelle.asp>. Vereins Donne Nissà, Finanzierung: <http://www.nissa.bz.it/index.php/de/ wir-werden-finanziert-von>. Webseite des Vereins Donne Nissà, Mafalda: <http://www.nissa.bz.it/index.php/ de/was-wir-machen/mafalda>. Webseite des Völkerfestivals: <http://www.festapopolivoelkerfestivalbz.com/>. Friederike Haupt 10 Beobachtungen aus musiksoziologischer Sicht abstract Friederike Haupt poses the question “What constitutes multiculturality?” and employs the example of ethnic or traditional folk music, which may have been regarded as “authentic music”. What then, she continues, is authentic music in South Tyrol, a land that bears numerous cultural influences? Can a region which has been exposed to various cultures display an authochthonous music culture? Does intercultural segregation feature or is transculturalism a major feature of South Tyrol’s music scene today? Haupt investigates the concept of “musical Heimat”, particularly in the context of German-language rock bands and juxtaposes South Tyrol’s developments with the “typical Argentinian” Tango and Jewish Klezmer music, both examples of an open music culture which adopts elements of other styles and still remains “authentic”. Haupt concludes by arguing that all traditional music is, in fact, transcultural and that authenticity means blends of styles and cultural influences. Vergleichende Musikologie, Musiksoziologie, Musikethnologie – wir befinden uns mit diesen sich überschneidenden Forschungsansätzen auf einem Feld, welches Aufschluss gibt über kulturelle Zusammenhänge, die anderweitig so vielleicht nicht erkennbar, beziehungsweise nachweisbar sind. Durch die Migrationsbewegungen gewinnt dieses Feld an Dringlichkeit und Aktualität. Auch bei uns in Südtirol Bei uns, wo ist das? Ist das geografisch gemeint, oder gesellschaftlich? Viele Anregungen kamen von Leuten, die „bei uns“ leben und spannende Musikkulturen mitgebracht haben. Die „Insrigen“ in Südtirol 198 Friederike Haupt kennzeichnen eine Volksgruppe, es ist ein Abgrenzungsbegriff, wie auch in anderen Gruppen. Als Tochter einst geflüchteter Musiker-Eltern, die in der neuen Umgebung mit ihrer Definition evangelischer Kirchenmusik für Jugendliche ein Beheimatungsangebot geschaffen haben, erlebte ich selbst, was „Inclusion“ und „Exclusion“ bedeutet. Der Begriff „Heimat“ ist für mich selbst geografisch immer noch nicht festgelegt, aber kulturell. So habe ich selbst an einer organischen Jugendbewegung, die sich mit Musik definiert, nicht rechtzeitig teilhaben können, um die „Eigenen“ nicht zu verraten. Was das mit Südtirol zu tun hat? In der Region „Südtirol – Alto Adige“ stellt sich die Spannweite interkultureller Prozesse aufgrund ihres besonderen geschichtlichen Verlaufs anders dar, als etwa in Deutschland, Italien oder Österreich und anders als in Metropol-Regionen, wo interkulturelle Erfahrungen über die Jahrhunderte durch natürlich fluktuierende Migrations-Prozesse gekennzeichnet sind. Aber was ist das eigentlich, interkulturell? Versuchen wir anhand des Kugelmodells zu unterscheiden: „Multikulti“ wäre dann zunächst das Vorhandensein von mehreren Kulturen, die liegen wie Eiskugeln mit verschiedenen Geschmacksrichtungen getrennt in einer Schale nebeneinander. „Interkulturalität“ kennzeichnet die Akzeptanz der Verschiedenheit und die Bereitschaft zum Austausch bestimmter Eigenschaften. Was bedeutet dann „Transkulturalität“, gar ein kultureller Transit durch uns selbst?1 Das wäre dann vergleichbar mit gemischter Eistorte in mehreren Lagen, bereits jenseits des Kugelmodells, das kulturelle Gruppen in Gesellschaften charakterisiert. Ein Begriff, der im Zusammenhang mit Musikkulturen auch oft fällt und von mir ungern benützt wird ist „authentisch“. Ist denn nicht alles authentisch, was jemand musikalisch tut, Ausdruck des gewollten „Hier und Jetzt“ oder des gewollten „Damals“. Auch wenn es künstlich, adaptiert, kommerzialisiert oder sonst wie „unecht“ klingt, kann jede kulturelle Äußerung authentisch sein, wenn sie denn als „so seiende“ intendiert ist. Konservierende Musiktraditionen, sind sie authentischer? Ist Re-Invention 1 Wolfang Welsch, „Die Transkulturelle Gesellschaft“ (1997). Beobachtungen aus musiksoziologischer Sicht 199 einer Tradition un-authentisch? Es gibt eine Menge Beispiele für kreativen musikalischen Transfer, aus einer Zeit oder Region in eine andere. Ist nicht jede lebendige Äußerung eigentlich transkulturell? Hat nicht schon Ötzi, der Mann aus dem Eis in Südtirol vor über fünftausend Jahren möglicherweise im Eisacktal anders gesungen und geklungen als im Vinschgau, wohin er gewandert sein könnte? Vielleicht wurde er deswegen sogar umgebracht, weil er Kulturgut von einer Region in eine andere transferierte. Man weiß es nicht. Immerhin wurde am Schlern eines der steinzeitlichen Instrumente der Menschheit gefunden, eine über fünftausend Jahre alte Knochenflöte, ein noch älteres Knochen-Blasinstrument übrigens im Trentino. Die Archäologie weist Wanderbewegungen schon in sehr frühen Phasen der Menschheit nach. Möchte man den heutigen Stand der Interkulturalität feststellen, stellt sich die Frage: Welche Musikszenen treffen wir in Alto Adige – Südtirol an und was bedeuten sie? Gibt es eher Eistorte oder haben wir nebeneinander existierende, gruppenabhängige Musikszenen, also einzelne Eiskugeln mit unterschiedlichen Geschmäckern? Was bedeutet hier interkulturelle Abgrenzung und Re-Invention von Tradition und im Gegenzug Transkulturalität? Gibt es in der Volksmusik regionale, noch autochtone Musik so, wie es autochtone Rebsorten gibt? Die Lieder der zimbrischen Sprachinseln im Trentino etwa? Andererseits: Wenn schon Ötzi gewandert sein könnte, möglicherweise vom Eisacktal bis ins Vinschgau, und wenn wir annehmen, dass Musik ein kulturelles Grundbedürfnis ist, kam es auch schon damals zu musikalischen Begegnungen. Vielleicht wurde Ötzi ermordet, weil er das falsche Lied gesungen hatte und das möglicherweise im schamanischen Zusammenhang? Allerdings fand man bei ihm keine rituellen Gegenstände.2 „Rituale, Kulte und Musik verändern sich mit der Gesellschaft“, wie Kurt Blaukopf, der Vater der Musiksoziologe 1982, lange vor der aufbrandenden Diskussion um „Transkulturalität“, aufzeigte.3 2 3 Angelika Fleckinger, Ötzi, der Mann aus dem Eis (Wien: Folio, 2012). Kurt Blaukopf, Musik im Wandel der Gesellschaft, Grundzüge der Musiksoziologie (München: Piper Verlag, 1982). 200 Friederike Haupt Musikalische Heimat? „Klang-Ton-Musik – Theorien und Modelle (national) kultureller Identitätsstiftung“ nannte sich 2012 ein Symposium an der Sorbonne in Paris, andere Wissenschaftler sprechen von „akustischen Beheimatungsangeboten“,4 die in Gesellschaften existieren. Ein nicht unstrittiger erster Begriff ist dabei der „Deutschrock“ mit seiner südtiroler Ausprägung: Beheimatungsangebot, weil die Musik von einer Gruppe als die ihre erachtet und gegen ein Außen verteidigt wird, so wie das mit, wie auch immer gearteten, traditionellen Musikkulturen überall auf der Erde der Fall ist: Man ist stolz auf seine Lieder und Tradition, identifiziert sich und seine Gemeinschaft damit, nützt sie als geistiges Eigentum und Transportmittel für die Vermittlung von Lebensweise, Werten und Lebensweisheit. Meistens exklusiv. Strittig wird der Wert südtiroler Deutschrockmusik, wenn sie mit hymnischen Melodien ein Heimatbild beschwört, das mit einer gewachsenen heimischen Musikkultur gar nicht wirklich zu tun hat. Ein unsichtbarer, nicht identifizierter Feind wird in fast jedem Lied angesprochen, die „Exklusion“ steht hier bereits im Text. Der Feind, das erfahren wir, das sind die anderen. Wer genau das sein soll, wird aber nicht vermittelt. Und das macht die Sache gefährlich, denn es wirkt wie ein subcutaner Sprengstoff der Gefühle. Musik wird hier geschickt angewendet unter Umständen einmal mehr als Transportmittel von Ideologien missbraucht. Dazu später mehr. Wir fragen jetzt zuerst nach der transkulturellen Eistorte, also nach den Eigenschaften, die ein „melting pot“, so ein richtiger Schmelztiegel haben müsste: Was ist ein „melting pot“, ein Topf, in dem die Einflüsse gerührt und geschüttelt werden und in der Mischung mit anderen einen ganz neuen Eigen-Geschmack ergeben? In der Musikgeschichte hat der Jazz zum Beispiel solche Schmelztiegel-Eigenschaften, aber auch sogenannte Volkstraditionen, wie der der argentinische Tango: Er ist entstanden aus 4 Peter Sloterdijk und Siegfried Mauser, „Fremde und Heimat“, Konzert u. Kolloquiumsreihe Heimat (Zyklus 2007/2008). Beobachtungen aus musiksoziologischer Sicht 201 dem Zusammentreffen mehrerer europäischer und südamerikanischer Kulturen, besonders in Buenos Aires. Italienische, jüdische, polnische Einflüsse und mehr trafen im Hafen von Buenos Aires aufeinander und später auf die Gauchotänze der Landbewohner. Transkulturell entstanden ist so also dieser Tango, und wurde ein neuer „common sense“, sowohl des Tanzes als auch der Einwanderer. Vor Ort ausgebildet und in Pariser Salons weiterentwickelt, was dann wiederum legendenbildend rückwirkte auf seine Erfinder, eingewanderte Argentinier, die den Tanz einst aus Mangel an Frauen vor Ort erfanden. Bis heute wird der Tango weiterentwickelt und weltweit getanzt. Gesungen wird er fast nur von Argentiniern. In der Lunfardo-Dialekt-Sprache und in diesem speziellen „feeling“, das an einen Ort gebunden ist, kann der kulturelle Austausch eben doch nur begrenzt stattfinden, im Lunfardo liegt eine lebendige Wurzel dieser so schönen Gesangs- Musizier- und Tanz-Kunst, die weltweit bekannt wurde. „Tango Argentino“ ist heute ein wichtiger kultureller Exportartikel für Argentinien. Die transkulturelle Entwicklung des Klezmer der jüdischen Musik dagegen wurzelt in ihrem Melos, in der Jahrtausende alten Synagogalmusik. Klezmermusik hat sich über die Jahrhunderte immer wieder verändert und ist doch sich selbst geblieben, immer erkennbar. Die Klezmermusik und das yiddische Lied fußen in der Tradition, im Tanz und Gesang der osteuropäischen Chassidim und im Synagogalgesang. Viele Klezmermelodien aber sind international mit eingeflossen ins Repertoire, wurden „geklezmert“: Die Art, w i e es gespielt wird, die Phrasierung, die Artikulation, die Verzierung, das Umfeld, die Musiker selbst und ihre Geschichte und das Repertoire, das sind die entscheidenden Komponenten, der „common sense“ des Klezmer. Die Klezmorim Osteuropas spielten bis zu Beginn des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts für die Hochzeiten und Beerdigungen nicht nur der eigenen, sondern als Berufsmusiker eben auch der rumliegenden nichtjüdischen Gemeinden auf und nahmen dort deren Lieder und Tänze, wie z.B. „Doinas“, „Bulgars“ oder „türkisch“, als Tänze, Melodien und Stile mit in ihr Repertoire auf, sie wurden, wenn man so will, „geklezmert“, im 202 Friederike Haupt typischen Klezmerstil und wurden typische Ausprägungen der „Klezmerai“. Die „New Yiddish Music“ seit den neunziger mixt weltweit völlig neue Stile und Techniken dazu. So zeigt sich eine jahrelang vergrabene aber tief verwurzelte lebendige Musikkultur wieder neu, eine die mit dem Leben und der Zeit mitwächst. Was vielleicht weniger bekannt ist, auch die kurdische Musik schmilzt die umliegenden Musikeinflüsse, türkische, syrische, irakische und iranische jeweils in der Kontaktregion mit ein. Wichtig für unseren Umgang mit Menschen aus dem islamischen Kulturraum dürfte auch die Information sein, dass Musizieren, weltliches und zu weitesten Teilen auch spirituelles, bis auf die Rufe der Muezzin, nicht erlaubt ist in den fundamentalistischen islamischen Ausprägungen. Wer musiziert und musikalische Kenntnisse und Vorlieben hat, –dies ist ein Indikator –, zählt damit vermutlich zur liberalen Masse dieser Kultur. Dies nur ein Beispiel, wie Musik mit gesellschaftlichen Entwicklungen verknüpft ist. Über die tiefergehende Kenntnis der Musik können wir Erkenntnisse zu Gesellschaften bekommen, die uns sonst womöglich verborgen bleiben. Zwischenruf: Forschungsgelder wären hier in Zeiten der Migration angebracht. Noch ein weiteres Beispiel für unterschiedliche Entwicklungen transkultureller Musik: Die Musik der Roma und Sinti, so called Gypsies, wiederum ist wie wahrer Pfeffer und wirkt wie ein Katalysator auf die umliegenden Musikkulturen. Auch wenn die Kulturgruppen selbst strikt getrennt bleiben, die Musiker greifen alles auf und spielen damit, viele tun dies zum Broterwerb. Der typisch spanische Flamenco entwickelte sich so, aus arabischer, jüdischer, gypsy und andalusischer Musik auf spanischem Boden im Wechsel der Jahrhunderte. Hat jemand Sorge, der Flamenco könnte nicht andalusischer Herkunft sein? Klezmer nicht yiddisch? Oder der Tango nicht argentinisch? Transkulturelle Musikformen also, „hybride“ Erscheinungen erringen Kultstatus und nationale Bedeutung. Starke Musikkulturen von Randgruppen einer Gesellschaft wurden hier gezeigt, die gelernt haben, umliegende Einflüsse zu adaptieren, sich mit ihnen zu verändern aber in der Fusion, in ihrer Beweglichkeit, im Kern, sie selbst bleiben. Transkulturelle, hybride Musik entsteht in multikulturell bewohnten Regionen, damit einhergehend nicht aber unbedingt Beobachtungen aus musiksoziologischer Sicht 203 die transkulturelle Gesellschaft. Musiker, die zum Broterwerb spielen und nicht privat, sind seit jeher nicht Teil der „community“. Dennoch ist dies per se eine interkulturelle Aktivität. Die Musik, wie auch oft das Essen, man denke an Canederli, genannt sei an dieser Stelle endlich auch der geniale palästinensische Bäcker in Jaffa, der bei jüdischen Bürgern so sehr beliebt ist, also Essen und Musik bilden oft einen Beginn (oder ein Ende) der interkulturellen Aktivitäten, selbst in Gesellschaftsgruppen, die sich bekriegen. Warum sind diese hybriden Musikformen so stark, dass sie sich entwickeln und doch sie selbst bleiben? Weil einige wichtige typische Parameter, rhythmische oder melodische bestehen bleiben und aufs Neue immer wiederkehren? Ein Beispiel aus der Klezmerszene Es gab, ausgehend von New York, ab den siebziger Jahren ein großes KlezmerRevival, weltweit. Man sang erstmals wieder auf Yiddish, und spielte, so wie man meinte, dass es die Klezmorim in den Shtetl Osteuropas taten, die es nicht mehr gibt. In den beiden Deutschlands der siebziger Jahre war das jeweils es eine rührende Bemühung, jüdische Kultur wieder aufleben, wieder anwesend sein zu lassen, gelernt und aufgeführt meist von Deutschen, mit Ausnahmen, Lin Jaltadi etwa in der DDR. In diesen Jahrzehnten konnte man beobachten, dass in USA eine große yiddische „Back-to-the-Roots“Bewegung entstand, die sich ernsthaft mit den eigenen, den osteuropäischen Wurzeln der Yiddischen – und der Klezmer-Musik beschäftigte.5 Dazu kamen mit den neunziger Jahren die Anthologien alter Aufnahmen der ersten Klezmorim in New York, die erste Generation der Ausgewanderten, meist noch aus chassidischen Familien, die posthum so zu den musikalischen Lehrmeistern der heutigen Generation wurden. Woran erkennt man 5 Joel Rubin, Oytsres-Treasures (Mainz: 1999). 204 Friederike Haupt nun Klezmorim, die in ihren Familien oder im Umfeld mit dieser Musik aufgewachsen sind? Wo diese Musik Wurzeln hat? Diejenigen, die zunächst von außen in die jüdische Musik kamen, entwickelten sie nicht weiter, sie konservierten einen Status quo, der immer auch „Erinnerungskultur“ war, des Holocaust und der Shoah-Opfer gedachte. Die Gojim-Klezmorim, die die klaffende Lücke jüdischer Präsenz in Deutschland bewusst machten, reklamierten nicht für sich, die nächste jüdisch-deutsche Generation zu sein. Die eben fehlte. Sie kommt jetzt erst, aus Israel und aus den Ländern der ehemaligen Sowjetunion. Frische Formen, Stile, etwas Neues entwickeln kann nun diese drauf folgende junge Klezmer-Generation, viele davon mit jüdischen Wurzeln, die sie damit, in dem sie Klezmorim werden, zum Teil sogar erst wiederentdecken. Die heutigen jungen Klezmorim bauen auf die erste Stufe des Revival, der Re-Invention der Klezmerkultur ab den siebziger Jahren auf und können nun kreativ Neues gestalten. Auch aufgrund der ausgiebigen Anthologien, Aufnahmen der Klezmer-Originale aus New York oder Lemberg zu Beispiel, die inzwischen herausgekommen sind und musikalisch als Referenzpunkte dienen. Da wird historisch informiert, z.B. die Marimba von Gusikow als typisches Klezmer-Instrument wiederentdeckt, oder brandneuer Technoklezmer entsteht in der Welle der New Yiddish Music und vieles mehr. Das zeigt: Das, was kulturelle Wurzeln hat, kann sich verändern, kann sich entwickeln und dabei die Identität bewahren. In Europa oder Amerika in relativer Freiheit und Sicherheit kann der Klezmer sich jetzt weiterentwickeln. Junge Israelis dagegen fragen sich angesichts ihrer bedrängten Sicherheit: Wie viel Wandel braucht Tradition, um sie selbst zu bleiben? Wie viel Wandel können wir uns erlauben? Denn Tradition bietet Sicherheit. In den jungen konservistischen Gegenbewegungen zeigt sich: Es macht auch Sinn, wenn Musikkulturen konserviert werden. Es gibt oft gute Gründe dafür. Denn Musikformen sind identitätsstiftend. Nun zu Südtirol – Alto Adige: Beobachtungen aus musiksoziologischer Sicht 205 Existieren Musikkulturen des Miteinander, des Nebeneinander oder auch des Gegeneinander in Südtirol: Alto Adige? Wirklich beeindruckend ist die Chorkultur in Südtirol im deutschsprachigen und ladinischen Raum. Es gibt viele deutsche, traditionelle Chöre, es gibt Kirchenchöre und Brauchtums-Chöre, aber auch italienische Arbeiterliedchöre und alpine Chöre, Stichwort „La Montanara“ im Trentino und die Bergsteigerchöre. Multikulturell, also getrennt nebeneinander existierende Chorkulturen. Auch die ladinische Chorkultur ist beeindruckend und wird in den verschiedenen Tälern gepflegt. Zu den erhaltenen Brauchtums-Liedern auf Ladinisch gesellen sich Neukompositionen im traditionellen Stil. Der Südtiroler Chorverband allein zählt etwa 300 deutschsprachige Chöre. Es gibt Chöre unterschiedlichster Stilrichtungen. Wie traditionsgebunden die Szene ist, zeigt die Geschichte, als der Haslacher Singkreis 2014 nach gelungenem Konzert mit Brahms und Schubert auf Schloss Prösels beim Gläschen danach für sich selbst noch einige südtiroler Lieder sang: Da blühte der Chorklang in allen Stimmen plötzlich fühlbar auf, und alle spürten, „that‘s homely“. Ein halbes Jahr lang hatte ich mich als Stimmbildnerin dieses Chores vergeblich um genau diesen Klang bemüht. Mit der seelischen Bewegung, mit dem Heimatgefühl im Singen, da blühte er plötzlich auf. Ein Beispiel für Re-Invention von Südtiroler Tradition Josef Egger, bekannter Chor und Blaskapellenleiter aus Nals, erklärt, wie in den siebziger Jahren zuerst südtiroler Tanzmusik und Folklore wieder zum Leben erweckt wurde, um für die Touristen etwas zum Vorführen zu haben. Im Zuge dessen entdeckte die Gemeinschaft ihre Folklore erstmals 206 Friederike Haupt wieder selbst und fand damit die eigene Tradition und somit ein Stück Identität wieder neu. Eine Identität, die zwanzig Jahre lang bis Mitte der vierziger Jahre unterdrückt war. Blaskapelle, Volkstanz und Chor, als Touristenattraktionen wieder ausgegraben, sind heute feste Bestandteile des Dorflebens, werden wöchentlich gepflegt und sind Brauchtum bei allen traditionellen Festen und Feiern. Jedes Dorf hat seine funktionierende, identitätsstärkende Blaskapelle, es gibt keine Nachwuchssorgen und ein hohes Niveau, das in Landeswettbewerben verglichen wird. Die Musiker sind weitgehend exklusiv Deutsch- bzw. Dialektsprechende, aber die Musik selbst ist eigentlich nicht exklusiv, sie ist transkulturell. Man denke nur an die „Böhmischen“, die kleinen Kapellen, da hören wir die Herkunft schon im Namen. In jüngerer Zeit sehr beliebt sind übrigens holländische Kompositionen. Interessanterweise geschah auch diese Re-Invention südtiroler Tradition zeitgleich mit vielen anderen weltweit, in den siebziger Jahren, dieses „Back-to-the-Roots“ fand zeitgleich statt mit vielen anderen „Revivals“ der von einer Gruppe als originär betrachteten, von ihr wieder-erfundenen eigenen Musikkultur. Ob das die Indianerkulturen Nordamerikas sind, oder die der Klezmorim, beginnend mit den Siebzigern suchen erstmals großflächig viele Gruppen ihre kulturellen Wurzeln auf. Das sind oft Wurzeln, die bereits keine Tradition mehr hatten, diese muss erst wiedergefunden oder erfunden werden in einem Akt der Re-Invention. „Back-to-the-Roots“-Bewegungen sind seither auf der ganzen Welt zu beobachten, brachten viel Kreativität mit sich und dauern bis heute an. Die Re-Invention von Traditionen birgt die Re-Invention einer Identität, die sich vom „anything goes“ des postmodernen, familiär ungebundenen Stadtmenschen absetzt, und eine neue Selbstwertschätzung ausruft, die mit Musik vermittelt wird. Feststellen lässt sich: Musikformen sind identitätsverstärkend und die südtiroler Identität versichert sich ihrer selbst gern mit qualitätsvollen musikalischen Leistungen. Wer um seine Identität ringt aber, kann nicht spielerisch mit traditionellen Musikformen oder auch Kleidungsformen umgehen, sondern konserviert sie. Beobachtungen aus musiksoziologischer Sicht 207 Wo ist hier die Alpen-Avantgarde? Noch herrscht das Gefühl vor, kulturell mit dem Rücken zur Wand zu stehen, was die wiedergefundene Identität betrifft, und sich verteidigen zu müssen. So wird eine spielerische musikalische eigene Weiterentwicklung unter jungen Südtirolern erschwert oder unmöglich, weil die konservierende Musik-Tradition Schutz verspricht. Umso schwerer hat es in Südtirol daher die sogenannte engagierte Volksmusik. Eine nennenswerte Alpenavantgarde findet man bisher in der Architektur, im neuen südtiroler Design, in der Art, Häuser zu bauen, die Traditionelles und Neues verbinden. In der Musik ist es noch so schwierig. Warum? Weil die durch den Italianisierungs-Versuch vor hundert Jahren immer noch angefressene, immer noch verletzte Identität mit der BrauchtumsMusik eine Re-Invention, eine Selbstversicherung findet? Und sie daher konservierend schützt? In der sonst so konservativen Schweiz wird dagegen brillant, kreativ, witzig mit Tradition gespielt, eine musikalische Alpen-Avantgarde kreiert, – auch dies in Folge der seit Jahrzehnten zu beobachtenden „Back-to-theRoots“-Bewegung. Hier entsteht inzwischen Neues und eine neue alpine Identität mit Wurzeln.6 Welche Bedeutung haben die Konservations- und ExclusionsTendenzen für Südtirol? Und wo ist eigentlich das italienische Pendant zur traditionellen Südtiroler Volksmusik? Volksmusik im angrenzenden Trentino, mit ihren „wandering tunes“ wurde von Musiksoziologen Marcello Sorce Keller7 erforscht. Dort also gibt es ansässige italienische Volks-Traditionen. Aber in Südtirol? Ich habe versucht zuzuhören – mein Eindruck am 25. April war, alle italienischen Chorsänger sind Partisanen, singen Widerstandslieder oder Alpini-Lieder und die heimliche Nationalhymne ist das Partisanenlied „Bella Ciao“. Das 6 7 Siehe, Musiques Suisses <http://www.musiques-suisses.ch>. Marcello Sorce Keller, Tradizione orale e canto corale: Ricerca Musicologica in Trentino (Forni, 1991). 208 Friederike Haupt stimmt ganz so nicht, erklärte mir die Bozener Stadträtin für Kultur und aktives Zusammenleben, Patrizia Tricanato. „Natürlich gibt es Partisanen-Chöre, aber die unterschiedliche Herkunft der Italiener in Südtirol ist der Grund, warum sie keine gemeinsame italienische Brauchtums-Kultur hier entwickeln konnten. Das bleibt in den Familien aus Apulien, Kalabrien, Sizilien, Venezien und woher sie alle kamen. Sie unterscheiden sich in ihrem Brauchtum. Es gab da viele Vereine, die sich lange noch ihrem jeweiligen Brauchtum und ihren Liedern gewidmet haben. Aber jetzt, nach drei Generationen ist das zum Glück nicht mehr so, es vermischt sich viel mehr in den Städten, und das ist gut.“ Interessant wäre zu fragen wie viele südtiroler Blasmusikkapellen am 25.4.15 und 26.4.15 den Feiern zum 70. Jahrestag der Befreiung Norditaliens, die ausführlich gefeiert wurde, Konkurrenz machten. Also finden wir die jeweilige Tradition hier „re-invented“, sei es südtiroler Volksmusiktradition, sei es die italienische Alpini- und Partisanenliedkultur, die die Folklore der jeweiligen Herkunftsregionen bei den Italienern bestens ersetzt. Auf deutschsprachiger Seite exklusiv für die jeweils andere Sprachgruppe, auf italienischsprachiger Seite wäre dies noch genauer zu untersuchen, da die Nationalität ja damit als Ganzes angesprochen wird (aber bitte wenn es geht nicht unbedingt im Dirndl?), bei den Ladinern dagegen bestimmt die Sprache selbst wer mitsingen kann oder nicht. Ein kurzer Blick in die jeweilige Historie Der amerikanische Musikologe Alan Lomax nahm in den fünfziger Jahren in italienischen Dörfern die traditionellen Lieder von Frauen, Männer und Kindern auf. Diese Aufnahmen dokumentieren, wie unterschiedlich zwischen der Lombardei und Sizilien gesungen und musiziert wurde. Alan Lomax ist unter italienischen Musikkennern gut bekannt, er rettete einiges italienische Volksliedgut bevor es sich in der Verstädterung verlor. Umgekehrt: Im Zuge der Option glaubten die deutschen Besatzer in den Beobachtungen aus musiksoziologischer Sicht 209 vierziger Jahren, dass mit der Umsiedlung der deutschsprachigen Südtiroler auch deren alpine Brauchtums-Lieder verloren gehen könnten. Noch im Krieg nahmen sie davon so viel wie möglich auf und schleppten, teils sogar auf Schlitten, Tonbänder in die Siedlungen. So entstand das sogenannte, sehr wertvolle Quellmalz-Archiv. Das ist, wie die ganze politische Situation damals, ein Sonderfall, dass eine Besatzungsmacht die Volkslieder der Einheimischen aufnimmt, bevor sie die umsiedelt. Daher aber hat man aber Zugriff auf Material von damals, das ebenso, wie das Material von Alan Lomax, heute verlorengegangene Lieder und Bräuche, die Schätze der Volksmusik, gut dokumentiert und verfügbar macht. Gareth Kennedy, Künstler aus Dublin und Traditionsforscher schildert, dass, laut Auskunft des Archivars leider das Interesse der sogenannten „Rechten Szene“ an den Dokumenten des Quellmalz-Archivs massiv ist. In diesen Tondokumenten finden sie Stoff für ihre Art der Re-Invention. Unsere Frage muss sein: Welche Bedürfnisse werden hier befriedigt, was fehlt der Gesellschaft, dass extreme rechte Gruppen derart Zulauf haben? Bevor wir den Blick auf zwei extreme Gruppen lenken, möchte ich die hervorragende Arbeit der südtiroler Musikschaffenden im klassischen und Jazzbereich erwähnen. Eine italienische Gründung ist das HaydnOrchester, das rasch beide Sprachgruppen vereinte, –bereits in den sechziger Jahren – und bis heute sein gemischtes Publikum pflegt. Ebenso die Oper, sie ist gemischtsprachig, ob „Don Giovanni“ auf Italienisch, „Hänsel und Gretel“ auf Deutsch oder „Foresta“, neues Musiktheater aus Trient. Das Publikum ist gemischt. Große Anerkennung verdienen auch die Jazzfestivals allen voran das „Südtirol Alto Adige – Jazzfestival“ das sich um Interkulturalität bemüht und eine junge internationale Szene auf die Bühne holt. „MeranO`Jazz“ dagegen bietet hochkarätige Jazzpädagogik für ansässige Musiker, italienische und deutschsprachige. 210 Friederike Haupt Musik ist eine Sprache, um Sprachbarrieren zu überwinden. Transkulturalität aber ist mit gebrochenen Identitäten schwierig, weil sie sich rückversichern müssen, statt spielen zu können Ein Bozener italienischer Kulturschaffender erinnert sich, wie er als Jugendlicher die hiesige Musikszene erlebt hat und sagt: Man war eigentlich immer in Verteidigungshaltung, italienische Musik gegen deutsche Musik. Allerdings sind Jugendmusikkulturen ja sowieso immer und per se Abgrenzungskulturen, das verdoppelte sich hier. Das 2015 erschienene Werk „Alta Fedeltà“ zeigt die Jugendmusikkultur Bozens seit den späten fünfziger Jahren von italienischer Seite. Zwei Journalisten haben sechzig Jahre Bozener Musikszene aus alten Zeitungen recherchiert, haben Plakate, Schallplatten, Kritiken gesammelt und zeigen, auch hier gab es die Zeit der „Funghi“ der Pilzköpfe, der Rock‘n‘roller, der Cantautori und ihrer Lokalitäten, wo die siebziger Jahre Unerhörtes bewirkten. Die Stadt andererseits damals war immer noch tief getrennt. Und diese bunte Szene war eher eine italienisch geprägte. Andererseits: An den Texten der Lieder, die damals entstanden, die damals die gesellschaftliche Situation thematisieren, sieht man, um wie vieles weiter wir gemeinsam heute in „Südtirol, Amore mio“ sind.“Südtirol, Amore mio“, das ist ein Zitat aus Beobachtungen aus musiksoziologischer Sicht 211 Sprachgruppen aufteilt. Das Kulturleben unterliegt einem dreiarmigen System, für jede der Sprachgruppen gibt es eigene Einrichtungen. Eine transkulturelle neuformulierte Identität kann auch hybrid in sich sein, wie ich an transkulturellen Musikformen zu zeigen versuchte. Das heißt, man kann das Eigene mit dem anderen einen zu einem Neuen Ganzen und dennoch per se weiterpflegen. Das aber entsteht nicht von selbst, es möchte kreiert werden. Und das gibt es bereits in Südtirol – Alto Adige, der Wille zum Wachsen einer Identität über die Sprachgruppen hinaus, ist vielerorts spürbar. Neu gefundene Orte, Inspiration und einen Willen zum Unkonventionellen bringen hier auch eine junge Kunstszene, die sich jenseits des Museion formiert, sowie „Transart“ und vor allem Festivals wie „Alps Move“ mit ein. Viel Wind macht die Szene der sogenannten „Südtiroler Patrioten“. Im Original sind sie eigentlich heimatgebunden, sprachgruppenorientiert, traditionsorientiert aus den Familien heraus. Die ein positives südtiroler Selbstbild pflegende konservierende Chor- und Kapellen-Kultur reicht Jugendlichen eher nicht aus. Hier gibt es ein Loch, eine Leerstelle. Warum? Weil sich in der traditionellen Musik so wenig bewegt, weil nicht jugendlich hinterfragt, gebrochen, verändert werden darf. Dies aus den oben dargelegten Gründen. Durch geschicktes Marketing und Imagepflege wird diese Leerstelle Gegenstand eines narzistischen Tons, etwa bei der Band „Frei.Wild“. Deren Musik zeichnet sich durch hymnischen Charakter aus: Einfache Harmonien, saftige Beats und die starke Stimme des Leadsängers hämmern einem ein südtiroler Opferimage und „Blut und Boden – Gefühle“ in den Kopf. Eigentlich ist es unvorstellbar, dass diese Bewegung ihre Identität aus dem heutigen Südtirol bezieht. Manipuliert mit einfachsten musikalischen Mitteln entstehen machtvolle „Wir gegen die Anderen“-Gefühle, die so ausgenutzt werden können für einen Rechtsruck der Jugend, der in den letzten Jahren nicht nur in Südtirol stattgefunden hat. Leider ist die Aufmachung, das Marketing, die Symbolik perfekt. Altväterliche, ungelöste Patriotismus-Fragen werden ausgenützt, um sich selbst zu heroisieren. Aggressiv-narzistische Sätze wie: „Wir brechen Eure Seelen“ oder „Allein nach vorne“ sprechen leider nicht nur gekränkte Mitglieder einer Gesellschaft an. Welche Bedürfnisse in Musik, Text und Aufmachung, 212 Friederike Haupt also werden hier angesprochen? Vergleicht man musikalische Parameter etwa mit der Metal-Szene, dann handelt es sich bei Frei.Wild um sehr gut gemachten Kindergarten-Softrock. Rhythmisch einfach, melodisch eingängig, harmonisch, hymnisch. Die musikalischen Parameter werden hier ganz einfach genützt, wie in anderen politisch gefärbten Musikstilen auch. Sie sind einfach gemacht, sie gehen unter die Haut. Leider auch bei mir. Unreflektiert würde ich auf diese einfache Musik ansprechen, die die oft blasse, überpräsente Südtiroler Volksmusik in meinem Autoradio mit ihren saftigen Beats ersetzen könnte. Dazu die eingängigen Texte und Melodien, harmonisch gut unterfüttert, das Gefühl, das ich besser bin als andere, etwas besseres verdient habe, gemeinsam mit der Band, die auch so schlecht behandelt wird, und dazu noch das wilde, naturnahe Image mit Geweih, das auch in mir archaische Lebenslust auslöst. Das Stammhaus dieser Band ist in guter Autobahnnähe in Brixen, dass es so auch deutsche Touristen anspricht, ist Teil des Marketings. Ebenso das nebulöse, zwiegesichtige Image, ihr Spiel mit dem Verbotenen, mit dem Tabu: „Sind sie rechts oder gerade doch nicht? Naja, und eigentlich haben sie ja doch Recht mit ihren Texten, oder doch nicht?“ Und schon hat eine aufbauschende Harmonik diese Gedanken verscheucht und wir können uns dem Rausch des „Frei.Wild“- Sounds hingeben. Wenige Kilometer weiter, auch in Brixen ist das sogenannte „Getto Milland“. Ein riesiger Sozialbaukomplex der eigentlich kein Getto ist. Im Internet findet man „Getto Milland“ auf YouTube. Es ist ein Musikvideo, selbst gemacht, selbst getextet, selbst gesungen, selbst produziert. Es thematisiert die Ausgrenzung der Roma- und Sinti-Jugendlichen und ihre Wut darüber. Der Junge, der, wie mir erzählt wurde, im Alleingang mit etwas Hilfe aus dem Jugendzentrum und vom eigenen Vater „Getto Milland“ produziert hat, formuliert hier mit Rap sich und seinesgleichen als ausgegrenzte Jugendliche. Rappt über die Angriffe, die seine Gruppe, seine Identität täglich aushalten muss und reflektiert als Jugendlicher vom „Getto Milland“ so seine Situation und die seiner Sippe und Freunde. Holen sich so mit Musik ihre Würde zurück? Erzählt wurde mir von seiner Familie, der Sänger wurde für das Video auf der Straße noch angegriffen. Das Argument war, er mache die anderen schlecht … also die „Insrigen.“ Beobachtungen aus musiksoziologischer Sicht 213 Diese Brixener Familie der Sintis sind Musiker, sie spielten auch bei Hochzeiten auf, es sind also teilweise Berufsmusiker, sie verdienen damit Geld. So wie die Klezmorim einst in Osteuropa. Ihre Situation aber ist so schlimm, dass sie ihre Herkunft, vor Arbeitgebern zum Beispiel, vertuschen. Der Großvater, genannt Neves, war sogar ein bekannter Musiker, hatte Fernsehaufnahmen und einen Namen. Geld verdienen würde er gern wieder mit Musikauftritten, wenn möglich, aber meist bleibt es beim Alteisenhandel. Im „Getto Milland“ ist die Angst vor Übergriffen so groß, dass nur die Menschen, die man kennt und dort wirklich vertrauenswürdig findet Einlass finden. Würden, umgekehrt, Südtiroler eine Sinti-Band bei ihrer Hochzeit spielen lassen? Auf die Frage, was gut wäre, antworten die Jungen, gut ist: Mehr Jugendzentren, offen auch für sie. Aber es gibt nur zwei in der Nähe. Das spricht immerhin für die Brixener Sozialarbeit! Der Großvater zeigte mir beim letzten Besuch einen kleinen Zigeunerwagen und sagte, so hätten sie früher gelebt. Es geht längst nicht mehr, weil alles verboten ist inzwischen. Das Freicampen, Pferde auf der Straße, musizieren ohne Genehmigung ist im Europa von heute nicht mehr so möglich wie früher. Sinti und Roma lebten damals wirklich frei und wild. Aber jetzt gibt es: „Frei.Wild“ Unter diesem Image wird die Blut-und Boden Rechtsrockband gefeatured. Wenn die Jungendlichen von „Getto Milland“ ein ähnlich gutes Marketing wie „Frei.Wild“ hätten, wären sie wahrscheinlich genauso weit oben in den Charts wie diese bekannte subversiv rechtswerbende Deutschrockband aus Brixen. Es sind die Jungs von nebenan. Die Thematik der Randgruppe aber lässt sich nicht so leicht vermarkten und kommerziell nutzen wie die Re-Invention der Blut-und-Boden-Thematik. Es gibt übrigens im Bereich von Heavy Metall auch Gruppen, deutsche, wie einige italienische, die sich ganz bewusst vom derzeitigen Rechtsruck der Jugend abgrenzen, aber dennoch Elemente wie Runen, Symbole und Merkmale der Wikinger, Germanen und Kelten in ihr Image integrieren. Es ist ein Grenzgang. Sie sind auf der Suche „Back-to-the-Roots“, so, wie viele Jugendmusikkulturen weltweit ihre alten Volks-Identitäten suchen, ob australische Aborigines oder amerikanische Indianer. Da aber, sowohl in Deutschland als auch in Südtirol ein Teil der Volkskultur re-invented, wieder erfunden werden 214 Friederike Haupt musste, und somit nicht aus gewachsenen Roots, also aus den Wurzeln genährt werden kann, und daher nicht hinterfragt und lebendig verändert werden kann, ist die Situation gefährdet für Tendenzen aus dem rechtsradikalen Lager. Die sogenannte „Rechte Szene“ bedient sich offensichtlich, siehe Quellmalzarchiv, der Wieder-Erfindung, indem sie tiefe, historisch aber gebrochene, Bedürfnisse nach Zugehörigkeit, Klarheit und Identitätsverstärkung befriedigt. Kommerziell ist dies ergiebig und politisch ist es rechts. Diese Strukturen zu erkennen zu benennen und sie zu befragen, ihre Vertreter anzusprechen macht Sinn. Hier gibt es schnell eine Menge Arbeit zu tun: Vielfältige interkulturelle Dialoge und transkulturelles Musikleben zu fördern in einer Phase der Re-Invention, die immer noch stattfindet, Spielerei und Dekonstruktion zuzulassen, oder vorzuführen. Denn nur wer sich seiner Tradition sicher ist kann sie dekonstruieren. Und sie dadurch auch weiterentwickeln. Nachschlag Die eifrigsten Hüter von Traditionen sind oft diejenigen, die sich ihrer nicht ganz sicher sind oder sie sind überhaupt „Konvertiten“. Aber um welche Tradition geht es? Sind wir hier nicht alle transkulturelle Wesen? Ist in Europa mit seinen Wanderungen und Geschichten nicht jeder transkulturell und bedeutet dieser Begriff nicht, in sich hinein zu hören, immer wieder zu ahnen, wie bunt und vielfältig wir sind? Zugehörigkeiten zu einer bestimmten Musikszene zu genießen, heißt das nicht, diese dialektisch auch zu befragen und spielerisch zu dekonstruieren, wenn es uns Spaß macht? Das gilt übrigens auch für die hochheilige klassische Musik und für den teils inzwischen sehr festgefahrenen Jazz. Beobachtungen aus musiksoziologischer Sicht 215 Ist denn die Authentizität nicht eben gerade „Bricolage“, „Bastelei“, wie Claude Levi-Strauß kulturelle Prozesse und Identitäten beschreibt?9 Und sind kreative Identitäten, der „flexible Mensch“ nach Richard Sennett, nicht die Kennzeichen der globalen „Zweiten Moderne“ nach Ulrich Beck, oder müssen wir bereits eine dritte befürchten, die wieder nach einfachen Formeln, Ritualen, Antworten und Zugehörigkeiten ruft? Wenn Künstler, Wissenschaftler, Gesellschaftspolitiker und Medienleute verstehend und gestaltend eingreifen, wie es in Südtirol – Alto Adige aufgrund seiner Geschichte oft der Fall ist, –im Gegensatz zu Regionen Europas, die dem kapitalistischen Wildwuchs ausgesetzt sind–, wird man mit musikalischen Angeboten Jugendkulturen transkulturell anregen können. Das zumindest ist meine Hoffnung. 9 Claude Lévi Strauss, Mythologiques I. Le cru et le cuit (1964), dt. v. Eva Moldenhauer, Mythologica I. Das Rohe und das Gekochte (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1971). Bettina Schlorhaufer 11 Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style”: South Tyrol’s Successful Special Path abstract The Tyrolean House is internationally known as a particular form of regional architecture. Identified with alpine landscapes, it represents not only a certain lifestyle but what is also considered to be the original architecture of Tyrol/Austria and South Tyrol/Italy. Various approaches in architectural research have been developed to describe the Tyrolean House or phenomena of regionalization of architecture; some of them assume that regionalism relies on authentic models (traditions) while others, like Bettina Schlorhaufer in this chapter, put the spotlight on invented mental connections and, in turn, the image of regionalism as a fictitious construction. But how is regionalism manifested in architecture? Musch & Lun: Architects, Entrepreneurs and Politicians of the Gründerzeit in South Tyrol In the archive of the architects and engineers Musch & Lun,1 documents were found and helped us to show the process of regionalization of architecture in detail. Especially two architectural projects located in Merano, the Villa Ultenhof and the conversion of Ansitz/manor house Reichenbach into Schloss Reichenbach, provide evidence that the regionalization of architecture has to be seen more as an invention than based on an idea of 1 The Musch & Lun archive is still private property (Merano), it includes approximately 8,600 plans of partly excellent quality, most of them realized between 1881, when the company was founded, and 1914. This archive was the point of departure of the Musch & Lun research programme. 218 Bettina Schlorhaufer authentic local building traditions – even if this research result is somehow “uncommon” in alpine regions where views on traditions are often – and too literally – connected to very old, “investigated” historical roots. The full title of the Musch & Lun programme is “Musch & Lun. Architects, Entrepreneurs, and Politicians of the Gründerzeit in South Tyrol”. The interdisciplinary analyses aim to bridge the gap between the history of architecture and culture in South Tyrol. Founded in 1881, Musch & Lun, an architectural and civil engineering bureau in Merano, was led by the architect Josef Musch (1852–1928) and the engineer Carl Lun (1853– 1925).2 Between approximately 1881 and 1930, the contracting company dominated the building industry in South Tyrol, both culturally and technologically. Aside from being dedicated to his business, Carl Lun was also involved in numerous associations and in politics – two areas in which he worked tirelessly on assignments related to city planning and on projects intended to foster the economic and social development of Merano as well as of South Tyrol. Thus, Musch & Lun were not just contractors, but influential entrepreneurs with close connections to international networks, from which they drew valuable stimuli for the realization of sustainable economic and social initiatives for the regional development of South Tyrol in the threshold time from 1881 to 1914. Musch & Lun was involved in several innovations in the region, for example: • the introduction of electricity in South Tyrol3 and probably in the construction of the first electricity interconnection worldwide (between 2 The family and firm structure of Musch & Lun is complicated: several members of the families of Josef Musch and Carl Lun were involved in entrepreneurships of the company Musch & Lun. In addition, Josef Musch married a sister of Carl Lun. Josef Musch left the company, then in 1913 he and his own architectural firm went into bankruptcy. Carl Lun and his relatives, including relatives of Josef Musch, led the company – which somehow exists – until today. Bettina Schlorhaufer, “Wie der Strom zur Steckdose kam”, in: Gemeindegut, 2014, issues 12 and 13, Seefeld in Tirol 2014 (online: <http://txt.architekturtheorie. eu/?p=1886>) 3 Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style” • • • 219 Töll/Lagundo, Merano and Bolzano, distance: approximately 30 kilometres)4 in collaboration with, among others, the famous Bavarian engineer Oskar von Miller; the installation of a modern medical service in the city of Merano; the “invention” of the mountain hotel to give impetus to the development of tourism in alpine areas of South Tyrol, Trentino (and North Tyrol), such as Sulden and Karersee; the regionalization of architecture. The regionalization of architecture Various approaches in the architectural research have been developed to describe phenomena of regionalization of architecture. Some of them assume that regionalism relies on authentic models (traditions) while others put the spotlight on invented mental connections and thus the image of regionalism as a fictitious construction. But how does regionalism manifest in architecture in detail? So far only few general surveys treated the complex phenomena of regionalization of architecture. In Austria most of them were written by Friedrich Achleitner, a renowned architect, publicist and writer, and in particular he also deals with the theme regionalism (among others as an effect of the intensification of tourism in the alps) since the 1970s. He published books like: 4 The electricity interconnection between Niagara and Buffalo (distance: approximately 30 kilometres), invented by Nicola Tesla, was constructed at the same time (1895–1898). Also Tesla had to use knowledge of Oskar von Miller to realize his electricity interconnection systems. 220 • • • Bettina Schlorhaufer Die Ware Landschaft – eine kritische Analyse des Landschaftsbegriffs (Salzburg: Residenz Verlag, 1977); “Gibt es überhaupt einen Regionalismus?” (in: Achleitner, Friedrich, Aufforderung zum Vertrauen, Aufsätze zur Architektur (SalzburgVienna: Residenz Verlag, 1987) S. 145–154); and Region, ein Konstrukt? Regionalismus eine Pleite? (Birkhäuser, BaselBoston-Berlin 1997). Achleitners’ excellent written books that are appreciated until today represent the major works in the field of architecture and regionalism in Austria (and South Tyrol) and they affect any discourse, for example architecture and tourism, tourism development. This is an interesting fact because it strongly influences the perspective on how regionalism is considered and evaluated in Austria and other German speaking countries: regionalism in architecture is mainly seen as a result or product of tradition and not as an invention – even though Achleitner explains in detail that there exist three different approaches to describe phenomena of regionalization of architecture. The first approach assumes that there exist authentic building traditions that refer principally to the building for living and working in the agricultural sector and also are found in places that are grouped under the ambiguous word “periphery”. In the best case, regional building is directly related on the conditions of a region and of their real traditions. “Das heißt”, says Friedrich Achleitner, “es ergibt sich aus den tradierten Erfahrungen dieser Lebenswelt, es artikuliert sich in erprobten Haustypen in Zusammenhang mit einer oft über Jahrhunderte entwickelten Arbeits-, Produktions- und Wirtschaftsform […].”5 Regional or “vernacular” construction is not tied to expertise. It is, as the word “vernaculus” already conveys practices by locals using available building materials and existing building traditions. These further Achleitner: “Wer in einer Region lebte und arbeitete – und 5 Friedrich Achleitner, “Region, ein Konstrukt? Regionalismus eine Erfindung?”, in: Friedrich Achleitner, Region, ein Konstrukt? Regionalismus eine Pleite? (Basel-BostonBerlin: 1997), p. 104. Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style” 221 sie nie verließ – hatte nur die Möglichkeit, ganz bestimmte Erfahrungen zu machen und Kenntnisse zu erwerben, wer mehrere Regionen oder gar Länder, Lebensformen und Kulturen zu vergleichen vermochte, war zu einer wie auch immer fragwürdigen, Wertung fähig.”6 Under this condition, the second and third approach emerged to describe phenomena of regionalization of architecture. The second relates to the distanced view of the city dweller on the “periphery” according to the concept of regionalization of architecture. As it emerged as new ways of looking at “the region”, it brought about the consequence that the place of authentic models or regional building traditions were shifted onto sorts of “freer” associations. “Die Region tritt als eine zwar schlecht definierte, aber immerhin als überschaubare Größe auf, in der es ganz bestimmte Qualitäten – so glaubt man jedenfalls – nicht nur für die Bewohner zu erhalten gilt”,7 summarizes Achleitner. The third approach about phenomena of regionalization comes from the international schools of architecture, for example those in Vienna and Munich. They dealt with the regionalization of architecture as an independent theme and included (alleged) characteristic elements of regional architectures in their artistic programmes. “Der Regionalismus ist also ein Phänomen des Historismus, der Verfügbarkeit über eine begrenzte Formenwelt signalisiert”, writes Achleitner, and says that regionalism cannot considered as style but a repertoire of forms which served objectives of cultural colonialism.8 Finally he pointed out critically: “Vergessen wir den Regionalismus, er ist eine Facette des historischen Denkens des vorigen Jahrhunderts vielleicht amüsant, sicher verwertbar in der Werbung, also in einer auf das Bild reduzierten Wirklichkeit.”9 6 7 8 9 Ibid. p. 103. Ibid. Ibid. p. 107. Ibid. p. 111. 222 Bettina Schlorhaufer The invention of tradition In relation to Friedrich Achleitner and his assessment of the regionalization of architecture, it is noteworthy that he never referred in his analyses to The Invention of Tradition written by Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger (Cambridge, 1983), although he is explicitly suggesting at one point that Hobsbawm’s publication Nationen und Nationalismen, Mythos und Realität seit 178010 (Campus, Berlin-New York, 2005) is a readable reading.11 In The Invention of Tradition describe Eric Hobsbawm, Terence Ranger and their co-authors that many, even today known traditions are not nearly as old as believed and that they appeared in large numbers in the last quarter of the nineteenth century – sometimes they were “invented” by people whose names are known. Eric Hobsbawm comments: Inventing traditions, it is assumed here, is essentially a process of formalization and ritualization, characterized by reference to the past, if only by imposing repetition. The actual process of creating such ritual and symbolic complexes has not been adequately studied by historians. Much of it is still rather obscure.12 Above all, the profound socio-cultural and economic changes in the late nineteenth century led to a weakening of the traditional forms of political hierarchy and paved the way for the invention of new traditions to develop new ways of binding the loyalty of the citizens.13 Hobsbawm says in connection with the preparation of references to the history, that sometimes the procedure of “invention” was literally so outrageous 10 11 12 13 English issue: Eric Hobsbawm, Nations and Nationalism since 1780: Programme, Myth, Reality (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edn, 2012). Friedrich Achleitner, “Das ‘Europäische Haus’ – Traum oder Alptraum?”, in: Friedrich Achleitner, Region, ein Konstrukt? Regionalismus eine Pleite? (Basel-Boston-Berlin: 1997), p. 56. Eric Hobsbawm, “Introduction: Inventing Traditions”, in: Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983), p. 4. Eric Hobsbawm, Mass-Producing Traditions, in: Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983), p. 263. Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style” 223 that even the historical continuity was co-invented, “for example by creating an ancient past beyond effective historical continuity, either by semi-fiction (Boadicea, Vercingetorix, Arminius the Cheruscan) or by forgery (Ossian, the Czech medieval manuscripts).”14 History, he says further, was often utilized in combination with invented traditions to “use history as a legitimator of action and cement of group cohesion”.15 “In short, [‘invented’ traditions] are responses to novel situations which take the form of reference to old situations, or which establish their own past by quasi-obligatory repetition.”16 Musch & Lun and the so-called “Überetscher Stil”: The special path to “regionalize” architecture successfully Musch & Lun uses a revival of the so-called “Überetscher Stil” to allow the owner or builder of a house to have a contemporary and regional adapted housing at the same time. The “Überetscher Stil” is a regional style name. It originated in the late nineteenth century and was characterized by art historians and architects working in heritage conservation (for example an architect named Anton Weber, who is rather unknown), because they rejected the term Renaissance for the architecture of the Early Modern History in South 14 15 16 Eric Hobsbawm, “Introduction: Inventing Traditions”, S. 7: “It is also clear that entirely new symbols and devices came into existence as part of national movements and states, such as the national anthem (of which the British in 1740 seems to be the earliest), the national flag (still largely a Variation on the French revolutionary tricolour, evolved from 1790 to 1794), or the personification of ‘the nation’ in symbol or image, either official, as with Marianne and Germania, or unofficial, as in the cartoon stereotypes of John Bull, the lean Yankee Uncle Sam and the ‘German Michel’.” Ibid. p. 12. Eric Hobsbawm, “Introduction: Inventing Traditions”, p. 2. 224 Bettina Schlorhaufer Tyrol. The “Überetscher Stil” is still underexplored. A good overview of the state of research and the development of ongoing investigations were offered at a meeting in October 2014 in Appiano or can be found in the book “Ansitz – Freihaus – Corte Franca” (Wagner, Innsbruck 2013), edited by Gustav Pfeiffer and Kurt Andermann. The “Überetscher Stil” was formed about 1550 to 1650/1680, inter alia, practised by builders and stonemasons from the south in the geographically narrow area in South Tyrol between Ora and Bressanone, but mainly in the so-called “Überetsch” (which refers to the landscape of Caldaro, Appiano and Bolzano) in secular building. Those builders and stonemasons who brought the “Überetscher Stil” to South Tyrol were called “Comasken”, because many of them originated in the area around Lake Como. It is noteworthy that the “Überetscher Stil” itself already represents a form of regionalism, but is in contrast to the more refined forms of “special Gothic” style (Sondergotik) as the Flamboyant or the Perpendicular style, which in the sacred architecture barely found its way. Moreover, it should be emphasized that the term “Überetscher Stil” has been frequently used for renovation and expansion of agricultural property or manor houses at a time when a particularly large number of ennoblements (Briefadel/”letter aristocracy” in contrast to the old nobility) took place. So, the “Überetscher Stil” is to be considered as a special architectural development along with a social restructuring process in South Tyrol. The art historian Leo Andergassen defines a derivation of the stately secular Early Modern architecture in South Tyrol from Burgenbau (the medieval castle). A hybrid between a particularly time-delayed late Gothic and Renaissance elements from northern Italy was developed. This is why in Überetsch, the so-called “Überetscher Stil” concerns mostly reconstructions or construction works of medieval residential towers.17 17 Leo Andergassen, “Der Tiroler Ansitz in der Frühen Neuzeit. Überlegungen zur Bautypologie adligen Wohnens”, in: Ansitz – Freihaus – corte franca. Bauliche und rechtsgeschichtliche Aspekte adligen Wohnens in der Vormoderne, ed. Gustav Pfeiffer and Kurt Andermann, Veröffentlichungen des Südtiroler Landesarchivs 36 (Bozen: 2013), p. 86, 113. Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style” 225 Andergassen mentions the following characteristic elements: “late Gothic” feeling, pursuit of grand-feudal overall impact, emphasis on the vertical, preference for corner bays and corner towers with private roof completion, stairways, open loggias, crenellated gables, regular room arrangement, vaults and flat ceilings and the central corridor or central hall. Furthermore, regular rows of windows are often placed on the exterior of the buildings; on the facades, twin windows are employed to indicate the position of the central halls (with side seats inside) that lay behind the walls. But, as the “architects” had mostly been directed to older conditions, remained the regular space settlement and the facade rhythm ideal solutions (see below: Ansitz Reichenbach). The so-called “Briefadel” (“letter aristocracy”/new aristocracy) of the Early Modern period was to some degree similar to the “Geldadel” (“money aristocracy”/new nobility) of the nineteenth century, which was crucial for the production of other special architectural developments. This includes in particular the Villa and the Grand Hotel. At the same time, the changing social conditions were the reason why in South Tyrol the “Überetscher Stil” towards the end of the nineteenth century once again acquired a special appreciation from architects and builders – but at that time the architects somehow adapted their works according to the concept of the Anglo–American “Picturesque”. The determining elements of this development in regional architecture were: four very different facades, which together form a particularly irregular ground plan – which corresponded to the major demands of the Anglo–American “Picturesque”: irregularity, which evokes “historicity” (historical significance), structures which look like “grown” – simply to appear picturesquely. 226 Bettina Schlorhaufer Two examples Villa Ultenhof for Armand Freiherr Dumreicher von Österreicher (1899/1900), Winkelweg 71, I-39012 Merano Health aspects probably motivated Armand Freiherr von Dumreicher (1845–1908)18 to relocate from Vienna to Merano and to build there a representative villa which was designed by Musch & Lun. Dumreicher is known as an Austrian educational reformer. He retired in 1886 as “SektionsChef ” (Council) of the Ministry of Education in Vienna, later he was politician in the Reichsrat in the ranks of the United German Left for a short time. In terms of space the realization of the allocation and appearance, most stately Villa Ultenhof in Merano-Maia Alta, is most probably due to the fact that he was married with Adele von Schoeller (1854–1918), daughter of the industrialist Gustav Adolph von Schoeller. The Villa Ultenhof should satisfy the highest representation needs (see Figure 11.1): from the main entrance through a corridor directly a large hall was reached. A second entrance from the garden was created over a staircase, an open loggia and a porch. The ground floor consists of six large rooms, cloakroom and toilets. The staircase to the upper floor was Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style” 227 Figure 11.1: Villa Ultenhof after completion, around 1900. The representative estate and its historical garden still exist today. Photo: Archivio civico di Merano, sign. 16881. Architectural firms such as Musch & Lun designed buildings, marked by painterly style-syncretism and deliberately induce guided asymmetry, with the aim to create a stylish artistic-picturesque overall effect. What has not been said yet is that the Ultenhof is not a singular case, Musch & Lun worked in the nearly same manner on the second villa, Villa Hübel (1896/1897, see Figure 11.3) which no longer exists today.19 In fact, the villa for Rudolph Hübel20 was created first, second the Villa Ultenhof für Armand Dumreicher. Both villas – this is astonishing today – were designed one after another with using the same model. This proves that from the very 19 20 Villa Hübel (also: St Georgen) for Rudolf Hübel (built from 1896 to 1897, demolished), Ifingerstraße 7, I-39012 Merano. Rudolf Hübel, the owner of the villa, was industrial who came from Tischenreuth, not far from Munich. Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style” 229 “Châteauesque”21) as well as those of seemingly local building traditions as the “Überetscher Stil” (see Figures 11.4, 11.5 and 11.6). Figure 11.3: Villa Hübel was published by Musch & Lun already in 1899, illustrated with a perspective which was created by the reknown local artist Tony Grubhofer (1854–1935). In: Der Architekt, Wiener Monatshefte für Bauwesen und decorative Kunst, 5th year (Vienna: 1899), p. 3 and table 5. 21 The discussions about the designation of “styles” are confusing and not yet sufficiently discussed from a scientific point. That is the reason why in this article only the term Anglo–American Picturesque is mentioned, although also influences from France and from Eugène Viollet-le-Duc can probably made responsible for the development in South Tyrol. But this important discussion needs more time and will hopefully be part of further research. 230 Bettina Schlorhaufer Figure 11.4 Figure 11.5 Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style” 231 Figure 11.6 Figures 11.4, 11.5 and 11.6: Villa Ultenhof, ground floor plan. The floor plan of the Villa Ultenhof corresponds to a main-requirement of the Anglo–American Picturesque. The American architect Samuel Sloan (1815–1884, Philadelphia) wrote about the Picturesque that an “irregular outline” can be created by the architect if he uses different rectangles as the dominant figure of the floor plans, which shall be arranged in order to overlap each other. Floor plan: Musch & Lun Archive, Thomas Kinkelin, Merano. Graphic design: Olaf Grawert. Conversion of Ansitz Reichenbach into Schloss Reichenbach for Dr Hermann von Tappeiner (1903), Reichenbachgasse 2–4, I-39012 Merano The manor house Reichenbach in Merano-Maia Alta was constructed around 1380 and often changed its owner. For example in 1420, when it came into possession of Jakob von Reichenbach from Swabia, after whom the estate was named. A later owner was the family von Knillenberg. Their last heir sold the estate to a local farmer who resold the property to Dr Franz 232 Bettina Schlorhaufer Tappeiner (1816–1902).22 Dr Tappeiner was an extremely well established medical doctor and spa physician in Merano at the time who went rich by his wealthy patients. Immediately after his death his son, the pharmacologist Professor Hermann von Tappeiner (1847–1927),23 entrusted Musch & Lun to convert the former manor house into a castle-like estate, surrounded by a big garden (see Figure 11.7).24 On a historic photo the original state of Ansitz Reichenbach before the conversion from 1903 can be seen: a simple, via an angled floor plan erected property, plastered, with plain window openings and upper degree in the form of a hipped gable roof. On the ground floor, several doors have led into the garden; in two places they were equipped with kinds of pergolas. Some rooms on the ground floor were vaulted. The development of internal spaces unfolded through the central hall. On the north side of the hall was also the main entrance of the building. On the first floor a trapezoidal balcony (wooden structure) was west facing terraced. On the second floor the building had small windows, which were provided in contrast to those on the first floor with no shops. It seems that this level of the building was not expanded until 1902 (see Figure 11.8). The most noticeable difference in terms of the pre-post condition of Ansitz Reichenbach is that the former plastered facades were turned into apparently “raw”, untreated ones. The rubble masonry was consciously used to contain reminiscences of a customary castle. Furthermore it was important, to convert the building into one which shows a “grown” appearance. Therefore an orthogonal tower with its own pyramidal roof was fitted over the former main entrance and a second round tower with a conical roof was placed on the east side (see Figures 11.9 and 11.10). 22 23 24 <http://www.tecneum.eu/index.php?option=com_tecneum&task=object&id= 644> accessed 27 August 2015. <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_von_Tappeiner> accessed 27 August 2015. Bernhard Mazegger, Chronik von Mais, seiner Edelsitze, Schlösser und Kirchen (published by Arbeitskreis Chronik von Mais as new edition of Chronik von Mais (1905), Lana: 1985), p. 238 f. Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style” 233 Figure 11.7: The original Ansitz Reichenbach was an elongated building in the narrow, sloping Reichenbachgasse (Reichenbach alley). It is obvious that in earlier times the building was in agricultural use and not a sort of noble home of aristocrats. Photo: Archivio civico di Merano, sign. 17431. 234 Bettina Schlorhaufer Figure 11.8: Schloss Reichenbach after conversion. Photo: F. Peter, 1905, Archivio civico di Merano, sign. 8207. The extension with the round tower was necessary to generate new accesses to the second floor of the building. As can be seen in the section, the roof of the former Ansitz was raised to establish a space for the second floor, which is composed of the third prestigious apartment and a tower, which provided a separated entrance. Noteworthy are also the other architectural details that transformed the former Ansitz into a little castle: bays in different forms and degrees, partly designed as rectangular buttresses, partly as round bays, different window shapes in irregular arrangement, including windows with twin and triple arches and entrance portals with stone surrounds. Also the south side of the building received its romantic, castle-like appearance at this stage. Garden side, the “castle” was also equipped with a walk-in, glass-walled veranda (see Figures 11.11 and 11.12). Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style” 235 Figure 11.9 Figure 11.10 Figures 11.9 and 11.10: Musch & Lun, conversion of Ansitz Reichenbach into Schloss Reichenbach. Plans: Musch & Lun, Archivio civico di Merano, sign. 17435d and 17435d, undated. 236 Bettina Schlorhaufer Figure 11.11 Figure 11.12 Figures 11.11 and 11.12: Unfortunately a plan of Schloss Reichenbach’s south façade doesn’t exist. A reconstruction was made after a photomontage, 2015. Graphic design and photomontage: Olaf Grawert. Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style” 237 Conclusion Musch & Lun was one of the inventors of a specific regionalism in architecture of South Tyrol. This sort of “Südtirolism” leans on associative models of the so-called “Überetscher Stil” between 1550 and 1650/1680. This had far-reaching consequences in terms of the ethnocentric identity of the country, its inhabitants and its visitors not last until today. Because the image of the – metaphorically – sweet-mild romantic and historic South Tyrol was and is largely mediated by images – illustrations, which in many cases include since the late nineteenth century regionalized architecture as integral part to constitute what makes the South Tyrolean landscape typical. Such images – because usually generated by good artists as “architects” of clichés – are very durable. So, these “constructed” images “survived” the First World War, the political affiliation of the country to Italy, the era of Italian fascism and the Second World War. It continues to represent one of the main incentives to tour the country. Still today these images represent an important incentive to visit South Tyrol as “Sehnsuchtsland”. The scientific research about the archive, entitled “Musch & Lun. Architects, Entrepreneurs, and Politicians of the Gründerzeit in South Tyrol” (project management: Priv.-Doz. Dr phil. Bettina Schlorhaufer, project members: Dipl.Ing. Verena Haid/research, Olaf Grawert/graphic design/plan reconstruction/architectural photography and Günther Richard Wett/architectural photography) is based at the Institute of Architectural Theory, Building History and Heritage Preservation, Department of Architectural Theory, at the University of Innsbruck (head: Univ.-Prof. Ir. Bart Lootsma). The research programme is funded by: Tiroler Wissenschaftsförderung/TWF and Autonomous Province of Bolzano-South Tyrol, Department Education, University und Scientific Research. Gareth Kennedy 12  Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft (The Uncomfortable Science) abstract This chapter is an outline of a practice-based research project by Irish visual artist Gareth Kennedy. Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft (The Uncomfortable Science) investigates the SS Ahnenerbe Kulturkommission to South Tyrol between 1940 and 1943 and the resonance of this material in the region today. The Ahnenerbe assignment was to investigate and process the entire material and intellectual goods of the ethnic German population following the Option of 1939 – an agreement between the Axis powers that planned the systematic division of the ethnic German population and their relocation to the Third Reich. The Ahnenerbe were charged with orchestrating their research to create ideologically pure ethnographic outcomes, in other words, salvage ethnography through an ideologically tainted political diktat. Kennedy worked with wood carvers from across the region to produce a series of masks of problematic Kulturkommission anthropologists, and this contemporary material culture was then paired with rare archival material from the period and presented to a Bolzano audience at ar/ge Kunst Gallery for the first time in Autumn 2014. The central aim of this project was to generate timely dialogue around the invention of tradition, the instrumentalization of folk cultures for ideological ends and issues surrounding the staging and performance of cultural taboo. In April 2013 Emanuele Guidi, the newly appointed director of ar/ge Kunst Gallerie Museum1 in Bozen/Bolzano invited me to undertake a “one-year research project” in the South Tyrol. This would culminate in a resolved 1 Ar/ge Kunst was founded as an exhibition and project space in 1985. Ar/ge Kunst is an abbreviation of the German word “Arbeitsgemeinschaft” [working group], which was chosen to promote the idea of collective work on the language of contemporary art and on its relationship with disciplines such as architecture, design, performance and cinema. See <http://www.argekunst.it>. 240 Gareth Kennedy solo exhibition at the space on Museum Strasse. Emanuele had been familiar with my work over the last few years and had taken an interest in a recent body of work, the touring exhibition Folk Fiction: Translations in Material Culture.2 I, in turn was generically familiar with the South Tyrol. As a nineteen-year old passing through Bozen/Bolzano on the way to the Alps I was surprised to find some use for my school German on the Italian side of the border. Curiosity, led me to read further on the South Tyrol question at the time, a brief introduction which I would need to refresh and deepen greatly upon Emanuele’s invitation. My background is in sculpture, however the actual social function and impacts of sculptural production have always motivated me more than purely aesthetic or intellectual concerns. My working definition of contemporary art is it is a powerful mode of generating meaningful new associations within contexts as well as producing new knowledge through its processes. My practice is invested in what it means to “make” in an early twenty-first-century context, especially the socio-cultural potential embedded in small-scale modes of manufacture. I am interested in exploring the “biography of objects”3 in our world, but not only within conventional modes of art production and display. I am motivated by the conception of an artist as an agent of culture with something meaningful and substantial to offer social contexts in and beyond established frameworks of the art world. Of late my practice has focused on interdisciplinary interactions and the development of a socially engaged anthropological aesthetic. This has entailed working with such diverse professionals as archaeologists, anthropologists, film archivists, museum curators as well as craftspeople, fishermen, boat builders and woodsmen amongst others. In exploring the social 2 3 Folk Fiction: Translations in Material Culture toured national, city and regional museums of Ireland over the course of 2013. See <http://www.museum.ie/en/exhibi tion/folk-fiction.aspx> for details on the National Museum of Ireland iteration. “Biography of the Object” – a term initially applied by avant-garde Russian Constructivists in 1920s’ revolutionary Soviet Union in which they sought the utopic idea of the “artist engineer” making material productions free from the exploitations and excesses of capitalist production. See Kiaer (2005). Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft 241 agency of the handcrafted in the twenty-first century, the work generates “communities of interest”4 around the production and performance of new material cultures. As such my research in South Tyrol would inevitably be wide ranging for the first couple of visits, but all the time searching for the right questions to ask and who to ask them of, followed by a process of refining and redefining these research questions. Back to Südtirol / Alto Adige Given my recent explorations of “folk fictions” in two very different contexts, and the rich and extremely well documented history of folk traditions and material culture in South Tyrol, the research trajectory quickly took off. Two contacts immediately orientated me in my research. The comprehensive website of South Tyrolean visual anthropologist Franz J. Haller was a lucky and early find thanks to the google algorithm.5 Here, dozens of films relating to South Tyrolean customs and socio-cultural history are featured, including material relating to mask making and also the Nikolausspiel plays which immediately resonated with me.6 Many of these are by Franz himself, shot over the course of his prolific forty year career. The second point of orientation was the recently published Tyrol or Not Tyrol: Theatre as History in Südtirol/Alto Adige by Irish scholar Nora De Buitléir.7 This was an auspicious find as it was published only in 2013, and in being in English it went a long way towards overcoming the deficit of in depth critical material relating to South Tyrol and its complex history available to me. In tracing a history of political 4 5 6 7 “Communities of Interest” – composed of people who share a common interest or passion as opposed to spatially delineated communities. See <http://www.tirolerland.tv>. “Nikolausspiel” – a traditional folk theatre in the Alps of Austria, Bavaria and South Tyrolean. Performed during Advent it features a fixed cast of characters at the centre of which is St Nicholas. See De Buitléir (2013). 242 Gareth Kennedy theatre within the region since World War II, De Buitléir’s enquiry broaches issues surrounding what is or isn’t performable within a specific culture with a fractious history, a history which is still held very much within living memory and continues to resonate. Chapter three on Staging the National Trauma: Dramatic Representations of the 1939 Option was especially illuminating particularly with respect to South Tyrolese Vergangenheitsbewältigung [coming to terms with the past] and Josef Raffeiner’s Kampf um die Heimat from 1941 which was written seemingly in the knowledge it was unstageable, only for it to be finally performed in 1984.8 Irrevocably, and given my preoccupation with expressions of “folk” in my practice there was no possibility for me to circumvent the pertinence of this troubled period in South Tyrolean history which saw the systematic division of a population between fascist Italy and the ascendant Third Reich. In a break with nationalist socialist ideology, in 1939 the cultural and ethnic German population was given an “Option” between Blut oder Boden [blood or soil], that is, a choice between relocating and retaining their Germanic culture and identity, or becoming entirely Italianized. Additional research quickly led me to the 1940–1943 SS Ahnenerbe9 Kulturkommission to South Tyrol whose primary assignment was in the words of Wolfram Sievers, head of the Ahnenerbe “the investigation and processing of the entire material and intellectual goods of … ethnic Germans”.10 This was to be undertaken in tandem with the relocation of so called Optants to the newly “acquired” lands to the East of the Reich. The vision was through exhaustive documentation of the material, linguistic, folk and musical customs of this Alpine people, that their culture might be preserved, and made available for them to re-establish in the Tatra Mountains, Burgundy, Moravia or perhaps even the Crimea. For Himmler 8 9 10 Ibid. pp. 49–103. “SS Ahnenerbe” – founded on 1 July, 1935, by Heinrich Himmler amongst others, the Ahnenerbe (ancestral inheritance) was the Third Reich’s institute charged with researching and “uncovering” the archaeological and cultural history of the Aryan race. They conducted experiments and launched expeditions attempting to prove that mythological Nordic peoples has once founded a superior ancient civilization. See Dow and Bockhorn (2004). Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft 243 and in the Ahnenerbe canon the German South Tyrolean’s were a very important ancient Germanic culture with roots in the area that is roughly Western Ukraine today. Much of the material though professing a scientific veracity doesn’t escape contamination by the ideological gaze of the anthropologist behind the lens. In documenting the entire folk culture of this Alpine people before the planned relocation, the Kulturkommission was effectively salvage ethnography motivated by political diktat.11 James Dow, Professor Emeritus of German Folklore and Linguistics at Iowa State University suggests the Kulturkommission to be arguably the largest folklore/linguistic field investigation in history, with fourteen distinct research teams deployed, the elements of which were scattered widely as the war turned sour for the Nazi’s after 1943. The magnitude of this seems scarcely appreciated, especially outside of German-speaking scholarship.12 What is pertinent regarding much of this material and its ideologically tainted agenda masquerading as objective anthropological science is again the historical context. Under Italian Fascism the Germanic culture was already under considerable duress due to the cultural, social, economic and legal strictures laid out in the Provvedimenti per l’Alto Adige (Measures for the Alto Adige), Senator Ettore Tolomei’s manifesto for the Italianization of the South Tyrol from 1923 onwards.13 Many of the thirty-two points contained in the plan would surely resonate with anyone familiar with 11 12 13 “Salvage ethnography” – the recording of the practices and folklore of cultures threatened with extinction. It is generally associated with the German-American anthropologist Franz Boaz on account of work recording vanishing Native American cultures. From Dow, 2014, p. 329: According to Franz Huter of the State Archives in Vienna … there were 27,000 handwritten documents, mostly questionnaires, 2,900 audio recordings and several thousand microfilm and photographs of folk music, 2,000 written recordings and fifty audio recordings of folk tales, 5,000 photographs and films and more than 500 descriptions of pre- and early history locations, several thousand metres of documentary films on agricultural, commercial and artistic working methods, and on customs, folk music, costumes and folk art. There were also 15,000 excerpts, more than 50,000 Leica photographs, and 588,000 film reproductions made by the Reich Kinship Office. For a list of the thirty-two points, see <http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Italianization_of_South_Tyrol>. 244 Gareth Kennedy seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Irish history and the systematic destruction of Gaelic culture under the Penal Laws.14 As such, because many of the traditions had been banned or harassed under Italian Fascism in the preceding years, the Kulturkommission had to re-enact or in Dow’s words to “reinvent the present”.15 Soon to be transplanted South Tyrolean Optants were made perform facets of their culture for the Nazi lens or microphone. My previous work where I am the one behind the camera and investigating the agency and ethics of “invented traditions” couldn’t be more salient here. What is important to note is much of the material gathered is extraordinary and it is sometimes difficult to delineate the effects of the Nazi lens on the represented facets of culture. Aspects of this are elsewhere all too explicit. With respect to the contemporary moment issues arise through the process of framing, contextualization and crediting (or not) the providence of this material.16 My research into this complex time and how this visual anthropological representation of the past is still present in the postcards and other material of today doesn’t pretend or attempt to be comprehensive. The scale is simply too vast and the grey areas yet undefined. Much of my research was primary in nature. It led me to meeting Professor Olaf Bockhorn of the Institut für Europäische Ethnologie and to go to the Österreichischen Mediathek17 in Vienna to find full colour films shot in 1941 by the Kulturkommission (see Figure 12.1). 14 15 16 17 The Penal Laws were a series of laws imposed in Ireland by the English power in an attempt to force Irish Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters (such as Presbyterians) to accept the Anglican Church styled Church of Ireland as the only legitimate church in Ireland throughout the eighteenth and first part of the nineteenth centuries. This discriminated also against the use of the Irish language in legal and economic affairs. See Dow and Bockhorn (2004), p. 149. For example, see Helmut Stampfer’s Bauernhöfe in Südtirol: Bestandsaufnahmen 1940– 1943 (Bozen: Athesia, 1990). These volumes presenting the photographs and drawings of the architectural wing of the Kulturkommission fail to adequately contextualize (or caption) this material in the political, cultural and social context of this period. See <http://www.euroethnologie.univie.ac.at/en/department-of-european-ethnology/history> and <http://www.mediathek.at>. Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft 245 Figure 12.1: Mediathek. Production image at the Österreichische Mediathek, Vienna, featuring the Richard Wolfram film Egetmann in Tramin, colour 16mm film transferred to digital. 3.23 min. Courtesy of Gareth Kennedy. I met with Thomas Nußbaumer of the University of Innsbruck whose exemplary scholarship led to the digitization and examination of over 3,000 Magnetotron tape field recordings by the lead ethnomusicologist of the Kulturkommission, Alfred Quellmalz which were “rediscovered” by Nußbaumer in the basement of the University of Regensburg in the late 1990s.18 This material, along with extensive photographic records has since become the Alfred Quellmalz Archive which was only given into the public trust of the Volksmusik Referat on Museum Strasse in Bozen/Bolzano in July 2013.19 I also met with Hannes Obermair of the Stadtarchiv in Bozen/ 18 19 See Nußbaumer (2008). See <http://www.musikschule.it/de/referat_volksmusik.html>. Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft 247 established the Participant Observation method22 of Anthropology and is recognized as one of the most significant anthropologists of the twentieth century. Malinowski who used to vacation in the South Tyrol during his summer breaks from the London School of Economics, maintained a long correspondence with his convalescent wife who resided all year in Oberbozen. In addition he was sharply critical of Europeans making anthropology on other Europeans as he saw it to be irrevocably compromised by issues of nationalism and proximity. As the Kulturkommission undertook their work in the South Tyrol, Malinowski conducted his lecture tour addressing Nazism as Modern Magic in the United States. This critical “outsider” perspective was an essential dynamic in the ensemble of masks. A 16mm film was made of the Holzschnitzern at work on these commissioned masks. Locations for this work were charged: the Krippenmuseum in Luttach/Lutago where ecclesiastical wooden sculptures are hand sculpted to this day;23 The Volkskundemuseum in Dietenheim, which is an exemplary outdoor folk museum in the tradition of Skansen in Sweden and features vernacular architectural styles from across the region;24 and a workshop in Tramin/Termeno, a German majority village to the south of Bozen/ Bolzano, a land an der Grenze (on the border) as the village museum explains. It was here that the centuries-old Egetmann Hansel Procession was carefully orchestrated, supposedly to be performed for the very last time for the Nazi cameras in 1941.25 22 23 24 25 “Participant Observation” – an immersive anthropological method which relies on the cultivation of personal relationships with local informants as a way of learning about a culture, involving both observing and participating in the social life of a group. By living with the cultures they studied, researchers are enabled to formulate first-hand accounts of their lives and gain deeper understanding. See <http://www.krippenmuseum.com>. See <http://www.volkskundemuseum.it>. Egetmann Hansl Procession is a perhaps centuries-old folk tradition which takes place February every two years in the village of Tramin to this day. It celebrates the wedding of Hansl Egetmann and features a large processional pageant which moves through the village. The tradition, which occurs around Shrovetide is tied in with the retreat of winter and snow from the mountains and the greening or rebirth of the landscape. Official website: <http://www.egetmann.com/en>. 248 Gareth Kennedy Figure 12.2: Maskenschnitzer. Production image featuring woodcarver Lukas Troi with the mask of Alfred Quellmalz, ethnomusicologist with the SS Ahnenerbe Kulturkommission to South Tyrol. Courtesy of Gareth Kennedy. Performance and archive Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft 249 Figure 12.3: Stuben-Forum. Contemporary hanging stube for housing Maskenschnitzer, 16mm film transferred to HD digital. 13.15 min. Design by Harry Thaler. Fabrication by Kofler with Deplau and Rothoblas. Gareth Kennedy, Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft (2014). Image by Serena Osti. This referenced the rich tradition of Volkskunde or folk theatre which were traditionally performed in Tyrolean wooden stube, the centre of traditional domestic life and a place of warmth and domestic sanctuary during dark winter months in the mountains. Within this hanging stube, fragrant with the aromatic smell of Zirbe27 wood from which it was made, the film of the 27 “Zirbe” – Pinus cembra, also known as Swiss pine, Swiss stone pine or Austrian stone pine or just Stone pine, is a species of pine tree that grows in the Alps, Carpathian and Tatra mountains of Europe typically between 1,200 metres and 2,300 metres. It is famous for its very aromatic wood, and as a material for woodwork and wood-carving. 250 Gareth Kennedy Holzschnitzer at work was projected (see Figure 12.3). A long table and benches ran the length of the stube projecting outwards to facilitate a space of discussion. The masks themselves would become the props for this discussion, hung on the wall, latent with performative potential (see Figure 12.4). Figure 12.4: Installation view of Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft at ar/ge Kunst, Bozen/Bolzano, South Tyrol. Showing the contemporary hanging stube and the mask of Bronislaw Malinowski carved by Robert Griessmair. Gareth Kennedy, Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft (2014). Image by Serena Osti. If this was a space activated by the smell and feel of fresh contemporary woodwork, the adjacent room of ar/ge hosted a selection of photographic and film material from the several archives and collections I visited through my research. This process was extremely selective rather than an exhaustive quantative transplant of the archive to the exhibition. Again, images were carefully selected to illuminate the instrumentalization of South Tyrolean folk culture for the Nazi lens. Indeed the exhibition objective was to break and expose the “fourth wall” of the Ahnenerbe’s field operatives. Images from the various archives were composed in series and captioned to this end: for Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft 251 example Framing Volkskunde which shows an apparently authentic scene of a women’s singing group sitting in a stube, a cosy nostalgic scene complicated by the alien probing presence of Alfred Quellmalz’s magnetron microphone (see Figure 12.5). Or the series Ahnenerbe Production Stills which shows Wolfram, Quellmalz and their assistants, behind the cameras, composing, instructing, directing and capturing their South Tyrolean folk subjects on film and tape. Figure 12.5: Framing Volkskunde. Unsere Frau/Schnals. Original photographs from the Alfred Quellmalz Archive framed for Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft. Note the staged lighting and Quellmalz’s probing microphone. Courtesy of the Referat Volksmusik, Bozen/Bolzano. Much of this material has never been shown in a public context before. A unique find for exhibition purposes and also as a problematic social document is the series of images The Axis at the Egetmann procession in Tramin for its “final” performance for the Ahnenerbe lens. Presented to us in an envelope in a garage in Tramin / Termeno, the images show very high ranking Nazi and Italian Fascist officers standing together, in good cheer with the Egetmann Hansl himself in the background (see Figure 12.6). 252 Gareth Kennedy Figure 12.6: Axis at the Egetmann. The Axis at the Egetmann procession in Tramin for its “final” performance for the Ahnenerbe lens. Wolfram Sievers, Prefetto of Trento Italo Foschi and SS Obersturmbannführer Dr Wilhelm Luig of ADERSt enjoying the performance of the Egetmann procession at Walch Kellerei, Tramin, South Tyrol, February 1941. Courtesy of the private collection of Nicholas Kasel. Research into identifying these figures include the possibility of these being no less than the Head of the SS Ahnenerbe Wolfram Sievers himself (official correspondence researched by James Dow confirms he was indeed there that day), the Prefetto of Trento Italo Foschi and SS Obersturmbannführer Dr Wilhelm Luig of ADERST.28 All three are enjoying the culmination of the Egetmann procession performance at the Walch Kellerei, Tramin, 28 ADERST – Amtliche deutsche Ein- und Ruckwandererstelle (Official German Immigration and Remigration Bureau) was set up to relocate Optants to the Third Reich. Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft 253 South Tyrol, in February 1941. No singular image could better capture the political insidiousness of the Option. The articulation of all this material for exhibition was a great privilege and in equal measure, a considerable responsibility. Stuben forum These exhibition materials, contemporary and historical, became the contextual props from which to host a public moment. The hanging stube was activated as a “Stuben Forum” on 20 September 2014 (see Figure 12.7). This public Forum at ar/ge Kunst invited guest speakers to introduce the masks to a public for the first time, including biographical information and their relationship to South Tyrol and the Kulturkommission in particular.29 A series of round table panels then explored issues around the invention of tradition, instrumentalization of folk culture, identity, territory, archives, and “performing the unperformable”. Speakers included historians, archivists, ethnographers, journalists and theatre producers who speculated on the masks and the value of their contemporary performance. This was an energized and spirited session, with considerable audience interaction and interjection. Over the course of the exhibition other groups convened in the stube to discuss issues centred around the arrangement, most notably EVAA30 (the Anthropological Association of the South Tyrol), where director Emanuel 29 30 Speakers at the inaugural Stuben Forum were: scholar Georg Grote, University College Dublin; visual anthropologist Franz Haller, Meran; ethnomusicologist Thomas Nußbaumer, University of Innsbruck; historian Hannes Obermair, Bozen Stadtarchiv; theatre producers Ina Tartler and Elisabeth Thaler, Vereinigte Bühnen Bozen. With a keynote speech and moderation by South Tyrolean journalist and author Hans Karl Peterlini. EVAA – Anthropological Association of the South Tyrol. See <http://www.ev-aa. org>. 254 Gareth Kennedy Valentin extrapolated on Malinowski’s series of lectures delivered in the United States interrogating Nazism as Modern Magic.31 Figure 12.7: Stuben-Forum. Stuben-Forum held at ar/ge Kunst on 20 September 2014. Speakers (from left): Franz Haller, visual anthropologist; Hannes Obermair, historian; Elizabeth Thaler and Ina Tartler, Bozen Stadttheater; Hans Karl Peterlini, journalist and author; Thomas Nußbaumer, ethnomusicologist, University of Innsbruck; Georg Grote, Professor of German Studies, University College Dublin. Courtesy of Gareth Kennedy. This material is to be properly transposed, translated and collated. Meanwhile in 2015 the project features in Les Mondes Inversés (The Worlds Turned Upside Down), a significant group exhibition at BPS22 Space,32 Charleroi, Belgium as part of the Mons European City of Culture 31 32 See Stone (2003). BPS22 Space, Charleroi, Belgium. See <http://www.bps22.be>. Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft 255 celebrations. While this exhibition situates the project effectively within a context of contemporary artists who use or explore phenomenon related to folk culture and expression, the projects potential as an active discursive engine and generator continues. In 2016 Die Unbequeme Wissenschaft (The Uncomfortable Science) will visit the Tiroler Volkskunstmuseum in Innsbruck, Austria.33 Here it will expand further to address the North Tyrolean context through a unique residency exploring the museum archives. The exhibition will be expanded and another Stuben Forum will be held, this time activating the museum’s collection of antique stube. Further institutions in Salzburg, Vienna and Munich have also been approached to continue the growth and dissemination of this work within cultural contexts that offer a strong resonance. A project publication will be developed from the extensive material and dialogue generated by the project. And perhaps ultimately, some day, one or all of these masks will find their way onto a South Tyrolean stage. Acknowledgements With special thanks to Emanuele Guidi, Josef Rainer, Verena ube, Harry Thaler, Kofler Deplau, Lukas Troi, Jakob Oberholzoller, Walter Maffei, Robert Griessmair, Nikolas Kasal, Franz J. Haller, Nora De Buitléir, Georg Grote, Thomas Nußbaumer, Hannes Obermair, Ina Tartler and Elisabeth Thaler, Hans Karl Peterlini, Bridgette Mantiger, Peter Ploteny, James R. Dow, Olaf Bockhorn, Ulrike Kammerhofer, Karl Burger, Helena Perena, Andrei Sicoldi and many more who helped in the research and production of this project. 33 See <http://www.tiroler-landesmuseen.at>. 256 Gareth Kennedy Bibliography Buitléir, Nora de, Tyrol or Not Tyrol: Theatre as History in Südtirol / Alto Adige (Bern: Peter Lang AG, 2013). Dow, James R., “In Search of All Things Nordic, in South Tyrol (Italy): The SS Ancestral Inheritance’s Cultural Commission 1940–1943”, in: Journal of American Folklore 127: 365–399 (Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2014). Dow, James R., and Olaf Bockhorn, The Study of European Ethnology in Austria (Bodmin: MPG Books Ltd, 2004). Henley, Paul, The Adventure of the Real: Jean Rouch and the Craft of Ethnographic Cinema (Chicago-London: University of Chicago Press, 2009). Hobsbawm, Eric, The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992). Kiaer, Christina, Imagine No Possessions: The Socialist Objects of Russian Constructivism (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005). Nußbaumer, Thomas, Bäuerliche Volksmusik aus Südtirol 1940–1942. Originalaufnahmen zwischen NS-Ideologie und Heimatkultur (Innsbruck-Vienna: Studienverlag, 2008). Stone, Dan, “Nazism as Modern Magic: Bronislaw Malinowski’s Political Anthropology”, in: History and Anthropology 14/3 (2003), pp. 203–218. Wayne, Helena (ed.), The Story of a Marriage: The letters of Bronislaw Malinowski and Elsie Masson. Vol II 1920–35 (London: Routledge). part iv Border Stories Johanna Mitterhofer 13 Border Stories: Negotiating Life on the Austrian–Italian border abstract The establishment of the Austrian–Italian border between today’s South and East Tyrol in 1920 came as a shock to the people living in the villages surrounding the border. Perceived as an imposition “from above”, the border altered the local landscape, economy and politics in ways not always transparent to those whose lives were changed. But the border did not simply transform what surrounded it; the border was also transformed by its surroundings. The river flowing across the border without changing shape or the German language spoken on either side were visual and auditory evidence that the border, although present, did not have the dividing power the political elites assigned to it. Stories told about the border’s genesis placed it squarely in village politics, relocating agency from external forces to local actors, who could be blamed and shamed. By retelling some of the stories and memories of elderly people living on either side of the Austrian–Italian border, Johanna Mitterhofer seeks to highlight, however, that borderlanders are not passive victims of border regimes imposed on them. Instead, their narratives give insight into how they actively explain, manage, cope with and challenge the undesired and difficult consequences of borders on their lives. The end of World War I saw the emergence of new borders across Europe. First drawn on paper by politicians and bureaucrats in the centres of power of the Western world, then built onto the mountains, hills and plains of the European landscape, these borders gradually became integral parts of the of the people living in their vicinity. Alien, yet increasingly familiar, the new borders were constantly negotiated by those living and working in the borderlands: they were discussed, contested, ignored, visited and crossed. Borders – the physical and symbolic expression of the nation-state and 260 Johanna Mitterhofer central elements of international order – thus became significant elements of local politics, economics, narratives and daily life. To explore the life of the border and the lives of the people on the border, I talked to elderly people whose biographies were closely aligned to the biography of the Austrian–Italian border, which since 1919 divides the Puster Valley in eastern South Tyrol (Italy) and western East Tyrol (Austria).1 Born around the time the border was established, all of them had lived in close proximity to the border for most of their lives, either in South Tyrol or East Tyrol. Through their parents’ stories or through personal experience, they had thus experienced intimately the various stages of the border’s existence, from its creation in 1919 to its opening in 1998 through the Schengen Agreement and its current post-Schengen existence. Anthropologist Daphne Berdahl argues that despite daily contact with the border, most of the border remains a mystery even to people living near it. As such, it has to be deciphered, interpreted, negotiated. Border stories are a means of doing that. By recounting people’s stories, memories and experiences of, and on, the border at the key stages of its existence (its creation, its closure, its opening), I seek to show how “borderlanders” – the people living on either side of the border – seek to make sense of the new, alien element of their landscape. They do so by actively and creatively embedding the border in local space and daily life without ever detaching it from national and international politics. They deconstruct the nearmythical aura borders are often assigned to by those seeking to uphold the idea of nation and state as an indivisible unit. They transform the foreign and unnatural into something that, as one elderly man told me, “most days it is just there and that’s it, really”. 1 Fieldwork for this article was conducted as part of the author’s undergraduate degree at the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge, summer 2008, and used for the undergraduate dissertation “Border Lives: Memory and Space on the Austrian–Italian Border” (submitted in May 2009). Border Stories: Negotiating Life on the Austrian–Italian border 261 Figure 13.1: The location of the places referred to in this chapter. Making the border When South Tyrol was separated from the rest of Tyrol in 1919 by becoming part of the Italian state, Tyroleans were stunned. A newspaper article titled “Mourning ceremony in North Tyrol for the lost South Brothers in the South!” expresses the emotions felt by many over the division of “one cultural whole” (Pelkmans 2006: 12): Brothers in the South! We shall never forget you. You shall keep holy your Tyroleanness and your German language, your German costumes, your traditions and customs […]. The land can be divided, the people remains one.2 When asked to describe the event, the people I talked to used metaphors of violence: Tyrol was torn apart violently (ausanondogirissn), South Tyrol was divided, disconnected from “its fatherland”. The border divided people 2 Pustertaler Bote, 15 October 1920, my translation. 262 Johanna Mitterhofer “that were the same”; suddenly, “our brothers, sisters and friends lived on the other side of the border. It caused big economic, cultural and general damage (Schaden) for the region. It simply tore apart Tyrol”, so Ms J., one of my informants. For the villagers I talked to, the decision to divide South Tyrol from the rest of Tyrol was an utterly irrational decision. Why would a border be drawn between people who spoke the same dialect, who went to the same church on Sundays, who owned adjacent fields and woods? How could they suddenly be Italians when there was nothing that connected them to Italy? A border’s function is, according to them, to demarcate actual, visible or audible boundaries, which in the case of the border between Italy and Austria, simply did not exist. Between the geopolitical reasoning of the world powers which suddenly established the border, and the local reality where dialects, architecture and rivers literally flowed across it, there appeared to be a great gap that just did not make any sense. Ms L., one of the people I talked to, expressed her confusion and outrage with the following words: What does London know about our Tyrol? This Churchill, he confused Bucharest with Budapest. And he didn’t even know where Tyrol was. And “sold” it to Italy. And later he said how sorry he was. That he didn’t know what he was causing here! Ms L.’s comment undermines the border-making project by portraying it as accidental – a mistake by the politicians “up there” which resulted in grave consequences for the people on the ground. Ms L. seeks to make sense of what she considers the nonsensical division of Tyrol, by considering it not as something caused by infallible political forces, but as a result of a mistake by actual (famous) people she can criticize and ridicule. This approach to making sense of the border by assigning responsibility to people with names and faces emerges even more clearly in conversations about the current location of the Austrian–Italian border in the Puster Valley (Pustertal/ Val Pusteria). For those living in the village of Innichen, located just a few kilometres from the Austrian–Italian border on Italian territory, the final location of the border was particularly perplexing. Initial plans had located the border at the watershed of Rienz and Drau two kilometres west of the village. Italian territory, so it had been established, was Border Stories: Negotiating Life on the Austrian–Italian border 263 to comprise all rivers that would eventually flow into the Mediterranean Sea. Since the Drau flows into the Danube and then into the Black Sea, it was a “logical” decision to establish the border between Innichen and Toblach.3 According to these plans, Innichen would have remained within Austrian territory. Yet, because of reasons still debated today, the border was eventually established about ten kilometres east of the initial location, thus situating Innichen in Italy. In her book Notes from the Balkans, anthropologist Sarah Green argues that for the people living on the Greek–Albanian border, “the process of locating the border (how it ended up there, ways in which it was negotiated and fought over), as well as its closure and reopening did not appear to have a great deal to do with them, even though that ongoing process obviously affected their daily lives” (Green 2005: 7, original emphasis). In contrast, the people living in the immediate vicinity of the newly established Austrian–Italian border, sought to explain the inexplicable by situating the decisions made by those “up there” deeply in the village context, referring to local actors as those enabling or even provoking the decisions of the international decision makers. Thus, they sought to make tangible what seemed abstract, to translate the distant into familiar and established terms and to make sense of the political decisions of the time that were perceived as completely random and irrational. When talking about the creation of the border from 1919 to 1920, I was generally told the following story: 3 The London Treaty with Italy, April 26 1915, Article 4. “By the future Treaty of Peace Italy is to receive the district of Trentino; the entire Southern Tyrol up to its natural geographical frontier, which is the Brenner Pass […]. Note I (to Article 4). In carrying out what is said in Article 4 the frontier line shall be drawn along the following points: – From the summit of Umbrile northwards to the Stelvio, then along the watershed of the Rhoetian Alps as far as the sources of the rivers Adige and Eisack, then across the Mounts Reschen and Brenner and the Etz and Ziller peaks. The frontier then turns southwards, touching Mount Toblach, in order to reach the present frontier of Carniola, which is near the Alps […]” (The Secret Treaties and Understandings). 264 Johanna Mitterhofer Italian officials were sent around to discuss the border issue and convince towns to join Italy. In Innichen, they found people who were in favour of this idea. We know their names … They sold us for a railway wagon full of rice. One wagon of rice, in 1918 or 1919. Before 1920, the official border was supposed to be in the fields between Innichen and Toblach. I had a map that showed it, but I lost it. Those who sold us received a lot of money, for sure. They sold us off (voschachot homse ins). I know this exactly because one of them admitted that the story was true. Because his greatgrandfather was one of them. Don’t tell him that. (Ms L.) In this narrative, not Churchill but other locals from Innichen are the ones who “made the border”. The power to make an international geopolitical decision is transferred from “politicians up there” to entrepreneurial locals known to everybody. Ms L.’s story relocates the process of border creation within the village community, embedding it in local space and discourse. The geographical and experiential immediacy of the border allows to make tangible what seems abstract and random, and translates the distant into familiar and established terms. Mr K., a local historian and linguist, challenges this “little story”, as he calls it, by providing a counter-narrative that brings together, once again, local and non-local people and events: Initially, the border was planned between Innichen and Toblach. In September 1919 it was moved eastwards. The locals are talking a lot of nonsense … They like to tell the following story: that local business people went to the Italian king and offered to move the border to the east. Obviously that is not true. The moving of the border had already been decided on 29 May 1919 by Wilson in the Peace Treaties. Italy wanted access to the Kreuzberg Pass [a pass about 10 km south-east of Innichen]. Otherwise the valley would have been a dead-end one. It is pure nonsense what the people are telling. The people from Innichen were not against being part of Italy; they thought it would be a transitory situation, that Innichen wouldn’t stay there. Initially after the war, people simply wanted to eat, everything else didn’t matter, for example to which state one belonged. The establishment of the border didn’t constitute – as far as I know – a problem for the people then. They said they didn’t mind the border to be moved – one simply wanted to eat. It’s understandable. And Italy sent trains full of rice and food to Innichen. Neither one of the border narrative is accepted as the official one, nor are they the only two stories of the border’s origin that people of the area tell. Both are composed of facts, half-truths, personal and collective memories, Border Stories: Negotiating Life on the Austrian–Italian border 265 which contribute to making the border what it is: a fact of life, on the one hand, but also “the stuff of stories and legends” (Berdahl 1999: 152) that are authenticated by the “solid materiality and sequentiality” of the place (Bruner 1984 cited in Berdahl 1999: 154). As such, both stories allow the borderlanders to voice their critique of the decisions taken by high-level politicians they are unable to criticize directly by assigning responsibility of what happened to the local elite (who may or may not have been involved in negotiating the border). Thus, while the stories carry sentiments of powerlessness, hopelessness and victimhood, they are also instances of actively negotiating the seemingly non-negotiable. Border stories such as the two presented above have explanatory power; they fill the gaps between what is known and understood, and what is not. Those who tell them use them as links between the abstract nature of borders and the faceless geopolitical forces who created it, and the physical and highly tangible nature of the border as a nearby feature of the local landscape. By telling “their” border stories, rather than those told in textbooks or official documents, they generate new meaning for the historical and political events that resulted in the presence of Italian and Austrian border guards, flags and check points in what previously was an ordinary stretch of road between a river that continues to flow unhindered, and hills that show no trace of the presence of a new line on the map. The border stories contribute to normalizing the border and prepare people for life on, and with, the border. Living with the border Borders are dividing lines, that “define the places that are safe and unsafe, to distinguish us from them” (Anzaldua 1987: 3, original emphasis). Their basic function is to divide and define, clearly and neatly. Rarely does this division reflect the situation on the ground, the landscape on which they are inscribed, the people they are meant to divide. As noted by the people I talked to, “reality is far more messy”. This makes the borderland – the 266 Johanna Mitterhofer area straddling the two sides of the borders – a paradox. It is, simultaneously, “a place of intense clarity as well as complicated ambiguity” (Berdahl 1999: 141). The borderland is “a place of incommensurable contradictions” that “does not indicate a fixed topographical site between two other fixed locales (nations, societies, cultures), but an interstitial zone of displacement and deterritorialization that shapes the identity of the hybridized subject” (Gupta and Ferguson 1997: 48). Green, paraphrasing Boon (1999), defines this identity as being “in between rather than on the peripheries: it is to be neither one thing nor another, or possibly too much both one thing and another” (Green 2005: 4). The people growing up and living on the Austrian–Italian border negotiated this paradox of the intense clarity of the border, on the one hand, and the complicated ambiguity of the borderland, on the other, on a daily basis. Ms L. remembers how she used to cycle from her village in fascist Italy to the border, “just to see the Tyrolean flag and the signs in German down at the Austrian side. Just to look. Because I felt such longing. Because everything here [in South Tyrol] was walsch [Italian].” The German language, now forbidden by the fascist regime, the meadows on which the cows of her family used to graze, the church they used to attend, were in walking distance, yet (almost) inaccessible. But while the border stopped her from crossing over physically, it could not stop her from seeing, observing and thus experiencing the “other side”. Although Ms L. knew she wouldn’t be able to cross the dividing line of the border, standing at the border allowed her to feel connected to the other side of the borderland. The border was a “gaping wound” that highlighted the differences between both sides of the border: the flags, police in uniforms, the Italian language spoken at the border, were embodiments of the two states meeting at the border. Simultaneously, however, the border occupied only a narrow strip in the wider landscape of the Austrian–Italian borderland. Surrounding the border were mountains, meadows, forests and villages that that looked identical on either side of the border. If one, like Ms L. could look beyond the Italian guards, one could (almost) ignore the border and focus on the Austrian side of the borderland that was, essentially, the same. Ms L. used the border as a vantage point, a place from where to find visual confirmation that the rest of Tyrol continued immediately after the Border Stories: Negotiating Life on the Austrian–Italian border 267 border. Seen from nearby, the state border was a mere blip that through its aesthetic and auditory difference highlighted the similarities of the two sides of the borderland more than their differences. But the border was used as a vantage point also for other reasons, as Ms L.’s memories of a school trip describe: The walsche [Italian] teacher sometimes took us to the border. She used to say, pointing at the Austrian side: “Look, down there, only fog and darkness. They will all go to hell. And look, up here, everything is beautiful and sunny. The Italians will go to heaven.” We went home and cried. Because we thought we were Austrians after all, and therefore we too would go to hell. Can you imagine? For the Italian teacher, the border served as a place where her pupils could experience the difference between Italy and Austria “through their own eyes”. She used the border as the physical manifestation of the nation-state to which the pupils now belonged, and where the difference between “us” and “them” – even the weather – was visible and tangible. Standing at the border raised questions that challenged or confirmed “the most powerful mental construction of the present-day world, the nation-state” (Szmagalska-Follis 2008: 242). Both for Ms L. who cycled to the border and the teacher who took her students there, the physical border was needed to prove the legitimacy or illegitimacy of the border, by emphasizing either the sameness or the difference between the two sides of the borderland. Ms L.’s experiences of cycling to the border and being taken to it by her teacher are examples of the many ways people living in the borderland negotiate the presence of the border by actively “using” it as part of their daily life or work. In the same way the narratives about the establishment of the border presented above drew on people and places that were part of my informants’ quotidian worlds, the narratives about life on and with the border were also embedded in accounts of daily routines and activities. Indeed, while to an “outsider” borders may be primarily signifiers of geo- and identity politics, for many of the borderlanders I talked to the border was, above all, “a fact of life” and remembered through the “banal” occurrences that were part, rather than interruptions, of ordinary life. 268 Johanna Mitterhofer Asked about the border and the significance it had in his life, Mr P. had to think hard before answering: I can tell you things about the village. But about the border? There was the border and that’s it … The people liked the practical aspects of the border. They went to Austria to go shopping. It was convenient to go to Sillian. You save money going to a different country. The border had a great economic significance. The trains had to stop for 24 hours for customs. There was a lot of work. Mainly import. Little export. Since the opening of the border, the shipping companies have had to close. For many it was a fregatura [let-down] in this respect. But generally it’s better now. When reflecting on the significance borders may have for people living close by, it is tempting to presume that it is of central significance to their lives, both on a symbolic and practical level. Yet, Mr P.’s comment shows that the border is neither primarily an embodiment of the Italian (or Austrian) nation, nor an object of abstract geopolitics. Rather, the border is an integral part of their world and, like other aspects of life, “relatively normal”. According to Mr P., the border existed, but one simply lived with it. Daphne Berdahl’s account of how people on the border between East and West Germany saw the border mirrors this sentiment. For them, “the border was completely normal” (Berdahl 1999: 149); “over time, the presence of the border was routinized; it was an irritating, mysterious and potentially dangerous fact of daily life. […] in daily life the border and its restrictive regulations were usually regarded more as nuisance than as the sources of pain and suffering that the border came to symbolize after the Wende” (ibid.: 151). For Mr P., the border was an important element of his life and the local environment because of its relevance to the local economy. Ms L.’s memories of the time she first could cross the border legally, too, point toward the economic impact of the border: “I don’t remember when I went to Austria for the first time after the war. It was already cheaper, much cheaper in Austria.” In her work on the Benin–Nigeria border, Donna Flynn discusses borders as “corridors of opportunity” (Flynn 1997: 313) that borderlanders frequently use to their own advantage. The Austrian–Italian border was (and continues to be) also a place that people crossed regularly to legally and illegally exchange goods. Although its establishment did indeed force Border Stories: Negotiating Life on the Austrian–Italian border 269 many local businesses to find new clients since old ones were now based on the wrong side of the border, over time many found ways to make money not despite, but because of the border, transforming it from a dividing barrier exactly into such a “corridor of opportunity”. From people smuggling sugar and wine, to companies importing and exporting goods from Italy to Austria, to people working at the customs’ offices – for many borderlanders the existence of the border eventually turned out to be lucrative. The border certainly did disrupt the life world of the borderlanders. But while the main function of “a boundary is to mark the limits of sovereignty” (Prescott 1987: 80), the border did not define the limits of people’s life worlds. The border did not cause the complete division between the borderlands on either sides as people initially feared. Life continued at, with and across the border, transforming it from a mere line on the map to a vantage point, an economic opportunity, a normal(ized) fact of daily life. After the border? Over the years, the border has become firmly embedded in the daily life of the borderlanders. In 1998, border controls were lifted bilaterally as a result of the Schengen Agreement, and the border lost effectively its main function of controlling the entry and exit of people and goods.4 Yet, informants’ comments show that after almost a hundred years of its establishment, the border continues to be there. Michel-Rolph Trouillot writes that “what happened leaves traces, some of which are quite concrete” (Trouillot 1995: 4 It would be wrong to state, however, that the Schengen Agreement has “eliminated” borders. In certain situations, for certain categories of people, and at the EU’s external frontiers, borders are still very much alive. Also, under the Schengen Borders Code, “Member States have the possibility to exceptionally reintroduce border controls, where there is a serious threat to public order or internal security (Article 23)” (<http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-11-606_en.htm?locale=en> accessed 29 June 2015). 270 Johanna Mitterhofer 29). Indeed, the border continues to be physically present today: driving through it, one sees a straight strip of road framed by a long row of onestorey houses, most of which are empty and abandoned (particularly on the Italian side), their windows covered with newspapers from the 1990s. Next to the offices, the flagpole and the toll bars, are the Pizzeria Tempele, the shop Strasser, the closed Ristorante al Confine, a petrol station, a caravan site. Architecturally and aesthetically, the border does not fit its surroundings. Even without border guards in uniforms, it feel alien and unnatural in the alpine landscape. What is left of the border are, however, not only empty buildings. The border also left an “emotional residue” (Anzaldua 1987: 3). The physical remnants of the border trigger memories and emotions. Asked what he feels when he thinks about the border, Mr H. answers: I have bad memories when I think about the border, this “border of disgrace”. It is disgraceful to divide people that are the same. To simply draw a border, through this field … Just like that. It’s good [the border] is not there anymore. But the bad memories remain. People can be together again. But they have been broken apart … Now even though the border is gone, bad memories remain. Although Mr H. knows that the border is open and has lost its “boundaryness” (“seine grenzwirkende Funktion”), he says: “You can’t say the border is not there anymore. There are still the memories. The memories of the “border-that-has-been”. Because the houses are still here. Look at this house, and that other one over there!” Mr H. would like to forget the border. But the daily sight of the physical manifestations of the border act as mnemonic sites that continue to evoke emotions and memories and make forgetting (and forgiving) difficult. Ms J., too, is aware that the border continues to exist even though she is no longer stopped to have her passport checked. Both Ms J. and Mr K. insist that the border has created a “wall in our heads” (see also Berdahl 1999: 167): Because of the impenetrable border, contact was difficult during fascist times. That contributed to us having our own [separate] history. Now, even though the border isn’t there anymore, it is still in people’s heads. (Ms J.) Border Stories: Negotiating Life on the Austrian–Italian border 271 [The border] still exists in people’s heads. People from Innichen don’t say they go to Sillian or Lienz, but to Austria. And people from Sillian say “we go to Italy”. It’s still in the heads. (Mr K.) In his ethnography on the Georgian borderland, Mathijs Pelkmans describes borderlanders’ disappointment after the opening of the border between Soviet Georgia and Turkey as they discover, after “50 years of longing for contact with ethnic kin across the border” the many “unexpected differences between themselves and the Laz in Turkey” (Pelkmans 2006: 21), as a result of which “long separated relatives had become strangers” (ibid.: 58). Contact between South and North or East Tyroleans continued even during the border’s most fortified phase. Yet, small, but significant differences between the borderlanders did emerge over time. From distinctive accents to different hair and dress styles, the border left visible and audible traces on the people living in its vicinity. And yet, Ms J. disagrees with the idea that the border might have created strangers: South Tyroleans did not become different people. We are the same people, we have the same roots. We just need to move closer again. We need more contact. And now, within the framework of the EU, we can implement that which I and many others from this region are desiring: that the historically, culturally and naturally created unity of Tyrol will become again the reality in our hearts and actions, and not just externally through the disappearance of the borders. The belief that the European Union will facilitate the gradual abolishment of “the wall in our head” and be a key agent in supporting and promoting the idea of a united Tyrol is shared by many of the people I talked to. Mr H., who was reminded of the continuing division of Tyrol into two states by the physical relics of the border he saw each time he looked outside his windows, expressed his hopes as follows: The ideal situation is that South Tyrol becomes Tyrol again. That Tyrol becomes one again. But if that’s not possible – and apparently it isn’t – then we have at least the opportunity [in the EU] to cooperate and grow together, to be Tyrolean. Maybe it won’t remain a utopia. Unlike the border guards and passport controls that disappeared – and, if Ms J. and Mr H.’s dreams come true, the actual state border –, the memories 272 Johanna Mitterhofer about them will not go away. My informants were aware of this. Unable to forget, they retold their memories as “heavily moral stories whose purpose was to educate, explain, prescribe, and proscribe” (Malkki 1995: 53–54). They reminded the younger generations of “what once was” and “what had really happened”, and thus sought to ensure that at some point in the not too distant future, the border would indeed be abolished and Tyrol would become one again. By keeping memories about the border alive, my elderly informants hope to eventually get rid of it. Conclusion Borders are, simultaneously, highly abstract and deeply embedded in daily life. They are lines drawn on a map by the political elite to demarcate where one state’s territory ends and another one’s begins; a symbolic and ritualized embodiment of the nation-state. They are also places inhabited, experienced and negotiated by ordinary people. The establishment of the border between South and East Tyrol came as a shock to the people living in the villages surrounding the border. Perceived as an imposition “from above”, the border altered the local landscape, economy and politics in ways not always transparent to those whose life world was changed. But the border did not simply transform what surrounded it; the border was also transformed by its surroundings. The river flowing across the border without changing shape or the German language spoken on either side were visual and auditory evidence that the border, although present, did not have the dividing power the political elites assigned to it. Stories told about the border’s genesis placed it squarely in village politics, relocating agency from external forces to local actors, who could be blamed and shamed. Multifaceted economic activities, from smuggling to shopping trips across the border, allowed borderlanders to use the inequalities of different taxation and pricing regimes demarcated by the border to their own advantage. Negative memories of the border, although painful, were strategically transmitted to younger generations “lest they remember” and Border Stories: Negotiating Life on the Austrian–Italian border 273 continue striving for a united Tyrol. Perhaps most importantly, daily life continued despite of, on, across and with the border, gradually normalizing it to the point that for some people, “the border just was, and that’s it”. This does not mean that borders are unproblematic features of a landscape. Borders divide and cause pain, they often create or reinforce inequality; sometimes they kill (Albahari 2015). By retelling some of the stories and memories of elderly people living on either side of the Austrian–Italian border, I sought to highlight, however, that borderlanders are not passive victims of border regimes imposed on them. Instead, their narratives give insight into how they actively explain, manage, cope with, and challenge the undesired and difficult consequences of borders on their lives. Bibliography Albahari, Maurizio, Crimes of Peace: Mediterranean Migrations at the World’s Deadliest Border (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015). Anzaldua, Gloria, Borderlands/La Frontera: the new Mestiza (San Francisco: Spinsters/Aunt Lute, 1987). Ballinger, Pamela, History in Exile: Memory and Identity at the Borders of the Balkans (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002). Berdahl, Daphne, Where the World Ended: Re-Unification and Identity in the German Borderland (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999). Flynn, Donna K., “‘We Are the Border’: Identity, Exchange, and the State along the Bénin–Nigeria Border”, American Ethnologist 24/2 (1997), pp. 311–330. Green, Sarah, Notes from the Balkans: Locating Marginality and Ambiguity on the Greek-Albanian Border (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005). Gupta, Akhil, and James Ferguson (eds), Culture, Power, Place: Explorations in Critical Anthropology (Durham: Duke University Press, 1997). Malkki, Liisa H., Purity and Exile: Violence, Memory, and National Cosmology among Hutu Refugees in Tanzania (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995). Pelkmans, Mathijs, Defending the Border: Identity, Religion, and Modernity in the Republic of Georgia (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006). Prescott, John R. V., Political boundaries and frontiers (London: Allen and Unwin, 1987). 274 Johanna Mitterhofer The Secret Treaties and Understandings <http://www.gwpda.org/comment/ secrettreaties.html> accessed 30 June 2015. Szmagalska-Follis, Karolina, “Repossession: Notes on Restoration and Redemption in Ukraine’s Western Borderland”, Cultural Anthropology 23 (2008), pp. 329–360. Trouillot, Michel-Rolph, Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1995). Paolo Bill Valente 14 Sulla soglia. Leggende meranesi, storie di confine abstract Traditional lore is well suited to investigate the handing down of archaic knowledge. The myths of the Meran area reflect, in their original way, the position on the threshold between the north and south of Europe. The Tyrol region has always been a zone of encounter of various cultural, linguistic and economic factors, and these overlaps are well reflected in traditional stories. In fact, the border area can be traced in the formal disappearance of settlements in some of them. Struggles between ethnic groups are also featured, and often binary oppositions such as bright and dark, good and evil, individual and group, life and death, symbolize the uncertainty inherent within them. Si può parlare della soglia, del confine, della frontiera da un punto di vista particolare. Quello della letteratura. Di quella letteratura popolare, un tempo orale, che nei secoli passati si è espressa in racconti, miti e leggende. C’è una leggenda che ancora nessuno ha raccontato. Meglio: molti l’hanno raccontata, ma non in forma di leggenda. È la leggenda di Ötzi, l’uomo che voleva varcare il confine. La leggenda, se ci fosse, dovrebbe narrarci come mai quest’uomo abbastanza in là con gli anni, per i suoi tempi, volesse passare al di là. Era in fuga da qualcuno o qualcosa oppure la sua era un’esplorazione? Ebbe la percezione di varcare una frontiera, oppure era, il suo, un viaggio normale, ordinario, compiuto tante altre volte? La leggenda dovrebbe raccontarci poi perché Ötzi, una volta arrivato sullo spartiacque, fu brutalmente fermato. Ötzi rimane l’emblema della necessità e al tempo stesso della difficoltà di varcare la frontiera. Ötzi muore sulla soglia. Il confine di Ötzi è reale ed è immaginario. È la stessa linea – lo spartiacque alpino – che il nazionalismo italiano rivendicava come “termini 276 Paolo Bill Valente sacri” della patria, segnati da Dio stesso (o dalla natura). Secondo Ettore Tolomei: “È la natura che ha segnato i limiti d’Italia. I cuori non si volgono al nord, perché i fiumi corrono al sud. Tutto ha il suo centro di attrazione verso il mezzogiorno. È la natura che vince … ”.1 Eppure quel giorno il cuore di Ötzi volgeva a nord. Una poesia di Gabriele D’Annunzio del dicembre 1916 porta il titolo “Dio segnò i confini d’Italia” e precisamente a partire “dalle fonti dell’Adige”. Secondo il poeta “l’amor di Cristo, con la man che avvampa, rivendica in eterno il nostro suolo”.2 Ötzi nel settembre del 1991 fu preso in consegna dalla gendarmeria austriaca, prima che dagli archeologi. I suoi discendenti forse non siamo noi, ma, almeno in questo momento, i ragazzi eritrei o somali che affollano la stazione di Bolzano e che, in prossimità di confini che non dovrebbero più esistere, vengono riportati indietro dalle cosiddette “scorte trilaterali” composte da agenti della gendarmeria austriaca e delle polizie italiana e tedesca. Il primo confine “naturale” che questi ragazzi hanno varcato è quello del deserto, il secondo quello del mare. Oggi al Brennero e alla stazione di Bolzano corre una stessa frontiera, resa paradossalmente evidente da quel mondo globalizzato che si vorrebbe senza confini, e che invece approfondisce le distanze tra ricchezza e miseria. Torniamo nel mondo della fantasia. Le leggende di un Paese, il modo di tramandarle o di raccoglierle, rappresentano elementi attraverso i quali può essere letta l’esperienza del confine. Quel confine che si crea (nel contesto della costruzione dell’identità) e quel confine che si supera, quando si prende atto della compresenza, in qualsiasi realtà, di aspetti provenienti dalle culture che si sovrappongono l’una all’altra, si incontrano, si contaminano. In una terra di frontiera come l’Alto Adige a maggior ragione anche le leggende sono “storie di confine”. Nel leggere i racconti delle valli altoatesine e, nello specifico, del Meranese, emerge il fatto che l’incontro culturale di cui il Tirolo è stato ed è teatro va ben al di là del semplice aspetto linguistico. A quanti parlano tedesco, italiano o ladino, tra i personaggi 1 2 Ettore Tolomei, L’Alto Adige (Torino: L’Ora presente, 1915), p. 12. Gabriele D’Annunzio, Dio segnò i confini d’Italia (dicembre 1916). Sulla soglia. Leggende meranesi, storie di confine 277 della saga sudtirolese, vanno aggiunti (anzi predominano) lo stregone e la fattucchiera, il monaco e il santo, il fantasma e lo spirito, il nano, il gigante e l’orchetto. Tutti rappresentanti dell’alterità. Le leggende meranesi3 sono dunque “storie di confine”. Parlano di città sparite nel nulla, di strane genti che ora ci sono e poi, all’improvviso, scompaiono. Di popoli che si incontrano, entrano in relazione, si combattono, si fondono l’uno nell’altro. Sono vicende che tracciano e poi attraversano la frontiera tra i gruppi, le persone, i territori, segnano e poi superano il limite tra bene e male, tra giorno e notte, tra luce e buio, tra vita e morte. Quelle cui farò cenno derivano principalmente da quelle raccolte capillari di racconti compiute nel corso dell’800 da personaggi come il meranese Ignaz Vinzenz Zingerle (Merano 1825 – Innsbruck 1892), come Johann Nepomuk von Alpenburg, nato in Alta Austria (Grünburg 1806 – Innsbruck 1873), e come il brissinese Johann Adolf Heyl (Bressanone 1849 – Innsbruck 1927). La soglia tra civiltà Una prima soglia di cui ci narrano i racconti popolari è quella, avvenuta nella nostra storia, tra una civiltà cosiddetta “pagana” ad una ispirata al cristianesimo. In questo modo si possono interpretare le leggende che hanno per protagonisti nani e giganti. Si dice che i giganti fossero … … figli degli antichi dèi pagani. Per questo motivo, nei primi secoli dell’era cristiana, mal sopportavano la vista di un qualsiasi oggetto a forma di croce. C’erano diversi giganti nel Meranese e molti di loro vivevano arroccati sul colle, dove in seguito i conti di Venosta eressero castel Tirolo. Si dice che la chiesa di San Pietro a Quarazze sia la più antica di tutta la zona. Essa fu edificata non appena nei dintorni si poterono contare almeno sette cristiani. Furono i nani a costruirla. Tuttavia non fu un compito facile. Quando alla chiesetta mancava 3 Paolo Valente, Leggende Meranesi (Merano: alphabeta, 2014). 278 Paolo Bill Valente solo il tetto, i giganti, che seguivano spocchiosi l’andamento del cantiere dalla collina di castel Tirolo, movendo semplicemente un dito facevano a pezzi tutto il lavoro. I nani si rimettevano all’opera e i giganti spaccavano nuovamente ogni cosa. I piccoli costruttori si chiesero allora fino a che punto ne valesse davvero la pena. Per sette cristiani? Alla fine si fecero coraggio e decisero che sì, avrebbero tirato su la chiesa, dai muri al tetto. Lo avrebbero fatto in una sola notte. Mentre i giganti dormivano, essi avrebbero completato l’opera tutta intera. Così fecero. Quando i giganti il giorno dopo aprirono gli occhi, trovarono la chiesa bell’e finita.4 Si racconta ancora che … … dopo secoli passati ad angustiare i cristiani, i giganti si ravvidero e cambiarono indole. Cercarono il modo di riparare ai torti inflitti e di farsi perdonare. Due di loro erano impegnati contemporaneamente nella costruzione di due chiesette, quella sulla collina presso il giogo di San Vigilio e quella di Santa Caterina alla forcella di Avelengo. I giganti avevano un unico martello, molto grande e pesante. Facevano così: quello di Avelengo lavorava tutta la giornata e la sera, prima del riposo, scagliava l’attrezzo al di là della conca di Merano. Quell’altro lo raccoglieva al giogo di San Vigilio e lo usava l’indomani. Potevano procedere un giorno per uno, per questo le attività andarono un po’ a rilento. Alla fine però le chiesette furono meravigliosamente completate.5 Il passaggio è compiuto anche se il transito completo da una forma religiosa all’altra ci pone di fronte ad una soglia che si sposta costantemente, anziché essere superata una volta per tutte. 4 5 Valente, Leggende Meranesi, p. 24. Cfr. anche Hans Matscher, Der Burggräfler in Glaube und Sage (Bolzano: 1931), p. 9; Karl Paulin, Die schönsten Sagen aus Südtirol (Innsbruck: 1937), p. 167; Ignaz Vinzenz Zingerle, Sagen aus Tirol (Innsbruck: 1850, 1891), p. 89; Ignaz Vinzenz Zingerle, Sitten, Bräuche und Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes (Innsbruck: 1857), p. 67s. Valente, Leggende Meranesi, p. 26. Cfr. anche Johann Nepomuk Ritter von Alpenburg, Mythen und Sagen Tirols (Zurigo: 1857), p. 42; Alois Menghin, Aus dem deutschen Südtirol (Merano: 1884), p. 16; Otto Reinsberg-Düringfeld, Culturhistorische Studien aus Meran (Lipsia: 1874), p. 32s.; Zingerle, Sagen aus Tirol (1891), p. 125; Ignaz Vinzenz Zingerle, Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Tirol (Innsbruck: 1859), p. 87, 94. Sulla soglia. Leggende meranesi, storie di confine 279 La soglia tra mito e realtà Si può dire molto ed è stato detto molto sui miti fondanti di una comunità, di un clan, di un regime. Per il fascismo italiano il mito delle origini dell’antica Roma fu di fondamentale importanza. È curioso constatare come per i meranesi, anzi per i maiensi del XVIII e XIX secolo, allo stesso modo l’impero dei Cesari rappresentò un’origine storico-leggendaria di cui andare fieri. Secondo la leggenda, creduta però a lungo storia vera, Maia fu una città romana assai prospera.6 Poi all’improvviso scomparve. Tra l’VIII e il IX secolo fu travolta da una frana rovinosa, capace di cambiare il corso del Passirio e di cancellare ogni traccia degli splendori di un tempo. L’antica Maia giacque sepolta sotto metri di detriti. Per questo in seguito fu definita la “Ercolano tirolese” o la “Pompei retica”. Padre Cassian Primisser, il redattore degli Annali di Maia, tramanda una versione un po’ diversa. Il suo racconto risale alla seconda metà del Settecento. Dice che Merania era quella porzione della città di Maia che sfuggì al cataclisma verificatosi verso la fine dell’VIII secolo. Accadde che il rio di Nova, che allora si buttava a precipizio nel Passirio, straripò, in seguito alla pioggia persistente, Riempì il letto dello stesso Passirio e la gran parte della città fu inondata e poi sepolta. Secondo altri racconti, della città restarono soltanto un brandello del muro di cinta nei pressi di San Valentino e la torre di Maia Bassa. Si dice pure che nel giorno della catastrofe i maiensi avessero organizzato una processione a Lana. Dei cittadini della mitica Maia ebbero salva la vita solamente loro, quelli che al momento della catastrofe non si trovavano in città, perché avevano preso parte al pellegrinaggio.7 Quest’ultima nota – i pellegrini che si salvano – ci riporta forse al passaggio della soglia tra paganesimo e cristianesimo. 6 7 Alla cosiddetta “leggenda di Maia” credettero perfino alcuni bravi studiosi, fino ad Ottocento inoltrato. Valente, Leggende Meranesi, p. 16. Cfr. anche Johann Adolf Heyl, Volkssagen, Bräuche und Meinungen aus Tirol (Bressanone: 1897), p. 499; Paulin, Die schönsten Sagen, p. 152; Kasimir Schnitzer, Die Annalen von Mais, entnommen den Annalen von Stams des P. Kassian Primisser und ergänzt durch Notizen aus Tagebüchern, Aufzeichnungen und 280 Paolo Bill Valente Il grande confine: terra-mare Torniamo col pensiero alle persone che in questi giorni fuggono dall’Africa attraversando il Mare Nostrum. Ecco che questo mare ci si presenta non solo come una soglia, ma davvero come una frontiera difficile, a volte tragicamente impossibile da valicare. Il mare, nella tradizione biblica, è addirittura simbolo del nulla, della morte e del male. Tanto è vero che nel penultimo capitolo dell’ultimo libro del Nuovo Testamento, l’Apocalisse, leggiamo, a proposito della nuova e definitiva creazione, questa visione di Giovanni: “E vidi un cielo nuovo e una terra nuova: il cielo e la terra di prima infatti erano scomparsi e il mare non c’era più” (Ap 21,1). La leggenda meranese narra quanto segue: In un’epoca assai remota la conca di Merano era interamente sommersa dal mare. La chiesetta, sopra Quarazze, dedicata a san Pietro, il pescatore si affacciava sulla riva. Là vicino furono trovati i grossi anelli di ferro ai quali i marinai, in quei tempi lontani, avevano legato le loro barche. Attorno alla Muta qualcuno è certo di avere rinvenuto i fossili di pesci preistorici. È proprio dalla parola “mare” (“Meer” in tedesco) che deriva il nome di Merano.8 Anche in italiano, secoli fa, la città era chiamata “Marano” anziché “Merano”.9 8 9 Briefen von Äbten und Mitbrüdern, Mais 1808 (Merano: 2003), p. 11; Zingerle, Sagen aus Tirol (1891), p. 539; Zingerle, Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche, p. 387. Merano deriverebbe il suo nome da “terra mairana”, ovvero terra appartenente ad una fattoria padronale retica altomedievale (maioria, localizzata tra l’attuale Merano e Lagundo) (cfr. Karl Finsterwalder, “Der Name Meran”, in Der Schlern (1974), pp. 31–33), probabilmente un vasto campo che si estendeva ad ovest della futura città (detta quindi an der Meran). Altre interpretazioni, meno quotate, fanno derivare il nome di Merano da “Mario” (Marianum, proprietà di Mario, cfr. Carlo Battisti, “I nomi prediali in -anum”, in Archivio per l’Alto Adige (1952), p. 94) o da “mara” (zona di detriti, morena, cfr. Cölestin Stampfer, Geschichte von Meran (1889), p. 24). Valente, Leggende Meranesi, p. 15. Cfr. anche Josef Garber, Die Reisen des Felix Faber durch Tirol in den Jahren 1483 und 1484 (Schlern-Schriften 3, Innsbruck-Monaco: 1923), p. 15s.; Matscher, Der Burggräfler, p. 23; Menghin, Aus dem deutschen Südtirol, p. 14s.; Zingerle, Sagen aus Tirol (1891), p. 539; Zingerle, Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche, p. 387. Sulla soglia. Leggende meranesi, storie di confine 281 È difficile dire se questa storiella sia stata inventata per spiegare il nome della città o se il nome serva solamente a dimostrare la tesi iniziale, ovvero che il mare lambiva le pendici di castel Tirolo. Al di là di quanto detto sopra a proposito della concezione biblica del mare, chi conosce la zona di Merano può facilmente immaginarsi lo stridente contrasto insito nell’immagine delle alte cime del gruppo del Tessa che si specchiano nelle acque di un antico mare. La soglia tra terra e cielo Chi supera la soglia tra la dimensione terrestre e altre dimensioni, come quella celeste, sono senza dubbio gli orchetti. Gli orchetti vivono nei boschi oppure in luoghi isolati. Li si incontra di notte, negli angoli della cucina o nella stalla. Sono famosi per i loro dispetti. Stuzzicano le cuoche imbrattando di fuliggine i piatti del cibo o gettando fango e cenere nei candorli del latte. Appaiono dopo il tramonto e spesso se la prendono con i tiratardi. Se vogliono, sono amici preziosi. Danno buoni consigli ai contadini e qualche piccolo aiuto. Alcuni macinano il grano durante la notte, altri suggeriscono al padrone del maso quando è l’ora di arare o di seminare, per avere un raccolto abbondante. Loro lo sanno, perché conoscono le dinamiche del tempo. In cambio prendono per sé un po’ di cereali e di lana scura. Per il resto, quello che fanno, lo fanno gratis e mai possono né vogliono essere ricompensati. Si vestono normalmente di grigio, cioè un misto, come è il loro carattere, di bianco e di nero. Si dice che gli orchetti siano gli angeli che a suo tempo avevano partecipato alla ribellione di Lucifero, senza però esserne troppo convinti. Si erano lasciati trascinare dalla sua retorica, ma nel loro intimo non avevano mai pensato di voltare le spalle al Creatore. Così mentre Lucifero e i suoi caddero dal cielo e finirono nelle fiamme, quegli angeli un po’ farfalloni restarono appesi alle rocce e ai rami degli alberi. Divennero orchetti, costretti a vivere nelle caverne del sottosuolo fino al giorno del Giudizio.10 10 Valente, Leggende Meranesi, p. 35. Cfr. anche Alpenburg, Mythen und Sagen, p. 86ss.; Matscher, Der Burggräfler, p. 46ss.; Martin Meyer, Sagen-Kränzlein aus Tirol (PestVienna-Lipsia: 1856), p. 316ss.; Paulin, Die schönsten Sagen, p. 156; Zingerle, Sagen aus Tirol (1891), p. 55, 588; Zingerle, Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche, p. 39. 282 Paolo Bill Valente Condannati a vivere nelle caverne del sottosuolo. Un richiamo, in qualche modo, al regno sotterraneo – benché di cristallo – di re Laurino. Secondo il ciclo delle leggende del Meranese il famoso giardino delle rose (Rosengarten) si sarebbe trovato, anzi sarebbe ancora ai piedi delle montagne che circondano l’antica conca di Maia.11 La soglia tra visibile e invisibile Restiamo nel mondo dell’invisibile che si rende visibile. È il caso delle numerose storie di tesori che appaiono a scompaiono, di cui è piena la narrazione leggendaria alpina. Si narra ad esempio dell’esistenza di un misterioso tesoro nel castel Sanzeno, luogo che un tempo fece parte del cosiddetto Castrum Maiense, embrione tardoantico e medievale della città di Merano. A castel Sanzeno, dove un tempo risedettero i principi, è sepolto un tesoro. Si raccontano molte storie in proposito. Una volta il figlio del guardiano notturno, che aveva appena sei anni, vide davanti a sé sei sacchi pieni di denaro. Corse come un pazzo al campo dove lavorava il padre per chiamarlo. Ma quando i due arrivarono nel cortile del castello, i sacchi erano spariti. Un’altra volta un vecchio signore che verso sera tornava dai suoi campi, passò di là e gettò lo sguardo al castello. Vide una giovane donna alla finestra della torre. Lo guardava amichevolmente e gli faceva cenno con la mano. Era vestita come santa Notburga e impugnava un mazzo di grosse chiavi. Il vecchio non si curò minimamente della donna né del suo richiamo e tirò dritto. Allora si sentì un sospiro e poi qualcosa che rotolava giù nelle viscere della terra. Il tesoro per lui era perduto. Quello stesso uomo, in un’altra occasione, incontrò sulla via che porta al castello un cospicuo gruppo di musicanti che suonavano allegramente. Anche quella volta proseguì per la sua strada. Ma la curiosità fu più forte di lui. Dopo pochi metri si voltò per osservare meglio di che cosa si trattasse. Quando si girò, tutto era già sparito. Successe ancora che due pie donne andassero verso Rifiano. Era molto presto, ancor prima che suonassero le campane del mattino. Come raggiunsero la collina del castello, vicino al muro di cinta videro due grossi sacchi sorvegliati da un cane nero dagli 11 Valente, Leggende Meranesi, p. 27. Sulla soglia. Leggende meranesi, storie di confine 283 occhi di fuoco. Terrorizzate scapparono via. Avevano fatto solo pochi passi quando si sentì distintamente il tintinnio di pezzi d’argento che precipitavano inghiottiti dalle profondità della terra.12 Si narra anche la breve storia che segue: Un acquaiolo passava verso mezzanotte davanti a ad una casa della città. Sulla panca accanto alla porta stava seduta una donna anziana, che gli fece cenno di avvicinarsi e gli porse tre noci d’oro. L’uomo non prese le noci e tirò dritto. Se le avesse raccolte dalle mani della donna, sarebbe diventato assai ricco.13 Colpiscono le leggende che raccontano dell’effimera fioritura dei tesori. Eccone un esempio: Si raggiunge il maso Ottmann uscendo dalla porta Venosta. In quel luogo tanto tempo fa fu sepolto un tesoro. Perciò nella casa succedevano cose piuttosto bizzarre. In pieno giorno si sentiva qualcuno girare per le stanze e masticare pane secco, ma nessuno era in grado di vedere di chi si trattasse. Tra il maso Ottmann e il maso Winkler si estendeva un vigneto. Sarà stato ai primi dell’Ottocento ed era tempo di vendemmia. I vignaioli raccoglievano i grappoli quando si udì un insolito rumore. Guardarono verso la casa Ottmann da dove proveniva quel chiasso e furono spettatori di un’ineffabile meraviglia: il tesoro stava fiorendo. Si dice che questi tesori fioriscano ogni cento anni. I rustici restarono immobili, a bocca aperta: fiori d’oro e d’argento, simili a quelli dell’acacia, volteggiavano in aria sfolgoranti, per poi posarsi a terra come faville spente e sparire. Dopo il primo momento di incantato sconcerto, gli uomini della vigna corsero in fretta e furia alla casa, ma quando vi giunsero il tesoro era già completamente sfiorito.14 Ci sono porte che si aprono, ma solo per breve tempo. Chi ha il coraggio di entrare – o di uscire – non deve esitare, altrimenti l’occasione è persa. È magari anche una presa in giro del nostro mito della sicurezza, attuale 12 13 14 Valente, Leggende Meranesi, p. 113. Cfr. anche Zingerle, Sagen aus Tirol (1891), p. 349; Zingerle, Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche, p. 211s. Valente, Leggende Meranesi, p. 114. Cfr. anche Zingerle, Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche, p. 212. Valente, Leggende Meranesi, p. 116. Cfr. anche Zingerle, Sagen aus Tirol (1891), p. 329; Zingerle, Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche, p. 235. 284 Paolo Bill Valente soprattutto in tempo di elezioni. Tutti i personaggi di queste leggende guadagnano la loro sicurezza ma perdono grandi tesori. Il miraggio dell’incontro Mi avvio alla conclusione tornando al discorso dell’incontro tra popoli e culture. La saggezza popolare ha sovente messo in guardia rispetto al superamento dei confini tra clan, etnie, tradizioni. “Moglie e buoi dei paesi tuoi”, si dice in molte zone d’Italia. Non così a Merano. Mentre altrove le donne nubili invocavano sant’Andrea perché facesse loro capire quale fosse l’uomo destinato a prenderle con sé, nel Burgraviato le ragazze si rivolgevano in preghiera a sant’Antonio da Padova. Cantavano così: Sant’Antonio da Padova, mandami un uomo da Mantova, che non mangi o beva tutto quel che c’è, che non corra dietro ad altre, ma solo a me.15 Confini insuperabili Ho cominciato parlando di confini naturali, quelli rappresentati dalle montagne. Insuperabili, agli occhi delle persone comuni, e insuperati persino dall’impavido Ötzi. Le alte montagne che separano il Tirolo del Sud da quello del Nord si possono scavalcare solo a costo di molto tempo e molta fatica. Oppure con la magia. 15 Valente, Leggende Meranesi, p. 91. Nell’originale: “Heil’ger Anton von Padova,/ Schick mir nen Mand von Mantova,/ Der niets verfrisst und niets versauft,/ Und zu koan ander Menscher lauft”, Reinsberg-Düringfeld, Culturhistorische Studien aus Meran, p. 57. Sulla soglia. Leggende meranesi, storie di confine 285 È il caso dello Studente di Maia. Era seduto al tavolo dell’osteria di Maia, lo Studente, e le campane stavano per annunciare il mezzogiorno. All’improvviso si erse in piedi e disse all’oste: – Devo andare subito a Innsbruck. Non posso perdermi il pranzo con i signori del Consiglio. Detto, fatto. Si mise a cavalcioni di un caprone che trovò nella stalla e lo videro volare via tra monti e valli. Davvero arrivò a Innsbruck puntuale per il pranzo. Si intrufolò in Municipio, dove nessuno lo aveva invitato, e si mise alla tavola dei consiglieri come se niente fosse. Poi fece dietrofront a cavallo del caprone e all’una era di nuovo a Maia, nell’osteria, a fare il gradasso.16 Lo Studente di Maia, detto per inciso, è realmente esistito, ma non fu uno stregone.17 Si chiamava Johann Philipp Widmayr, visse nel XVIII secolo e fu condannato per furto e vagabondaggio. Allora come oggi c’è una connessione tra le situazioni di marginalità sociale ed i parti abnormi della fantasia popolare. Streghe e stregoni abitano in modo consistente le leggende alpine e non si tratta solo di racconti fantastici. Anche in questo stesso castello (castel Presule, luogo del convegno, nda.), nel ’500, si svolsero alcuni famosi processi per stregoneria. Chiudo con tre immagini: Ötzi che vuole passare oltre i monti, ma viene tragicamente fermato, lo Studente di Maia che attraversa quegli stessi monti in pochi minuti da sud a nord e da nord a sud, la famiglia africana che ha passato il deserto, ha attraversato il mare e ora vorrebbe varcare il Brennero, questo nostro confine “non più confine”. Lascio a tutti noi rispondere alla domanda rispetto a quale delle tre storie sia la più reale, la più vera, quella che ci riguarda più da vicino. 16 17 Valente, Leggende Meranesi, p. 61. Cfr. Anche Heyl, Volkssagen, p. 537ss.; Matscher, Der Burggräfler, p. 150ss.; Menghin, Aus dem deutschen Südtirol, p. 61ss.; Paulin, Die schönsten Sagen, p. 159s.; Karl Felix Wolff, Vom Wein im Etschland (Bolzano: 1926), p. 37ss.; Zingerle, Sagen aus Tirol (1891), p. 459s.; Zingerle, Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche, p. 330s. Hansjörg Rabanser, ‚Sagenhafte Hexer und ihre historische Fassbarkeit’, Tiroler Heimat, p. 69 (2005), p. 194s. 286 Paolo Bill Valente Bibliografia Alpenburg, Johann Nepomuk Ritter von, Mythen und Sagen Tirols (Zurigo: Meyer und Zeller, 1857). Garber, Josef, Die Reisen des Felix Faber durch Tirol in den Jahren 1483 und 1484 (Schlern-Schriften 3, Innsbruck-Monaco: 1923). Heyl, Johann Adolf, Volkssagen, Bräuche und Meinungen aus Tirol (Bressanone: Kath.-polit. Pressverein, 1897). Matscher, Hans, Der Burggräfler in Glaube und Sage (Bolzano: Vogelweider, 1931). Menghin, Alois, Aus dem deutschen Südtirol (Merano: Plant, 1884). Meyer, Martin, Sagen-Kränzlein aus Tirol (Pest-Vienna-Lipsia: Hartleben, 1856). Paulin, Karl, Die schönsten Sagen aus Südtirol (Innsbruck: Wagner, 1937). Rabanser, Hansjörg, “Sagenhafte Hexer und ihre historische Fassbarkeit”, Tiroler Heimat 69 (2005). Reinsberg-Düringfeld, Otto, Culturhistorische Studien aus Meran (Lipsia: List/Francke, 1874). Schnitzer, Kasimir, Die Annalen von Mais, entnommen den Annalen von Stams des P. Kassian Primisser und ergänzt durch Notizen aus Tagebüchern, Aufzeichnungen und Briefen von Äbten und Mitbrüdern, Mais 1808 (Merano: Heimatpflegeverein Untermais, 2003). Stampfer, Cölestin, Geschichte von Meran (Innsbruck: Wagner, 1889). Tolomei, Ettore, L’Alto Adige (Torino: L’Ora presente, 1915). Valente, Paolo, Leggende Meranesi (Merano: alphabeta, 2014). Wolff, Karl Felix, Vom Wein im Etschland (Bolzano: Ferrari, 1926). Zingerle, Ignaz Vinzenz, Sagen aus Tirol (Innsbruck: Wagner, 1850, 1891). Zingerle, Ignaz Vinzenz, Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Tirol (Innsbruck: Wagner, 1859). Zingerle, Ignaz Vinzenz, Sitten, Bräuche und Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes (Innsbruck: Wagner, 1857). Marta Villa 15 Identità e riconoscimento attraverso i culti della fertilità e il paesaggio agricolo nel Tirolo del Sud. Il case study della popolazione giovane maschile di Stilfs in Vinschgau abstract Every year, during the winter season, the small community of Stilfs in Vinschgau celebrates a lively tradition, the so-called “Klosn”. This tradition is closely related to the agrarian life cycle and comprises wild, male and strictly ritualized gender-specific characteristics. Although it has undergone several transformations over time, scenarios of threat and exorcist struggles remain, with the juxtaposition of good and evil representing the ever-present threat of rural survival in the pre-modern period. Tradition, as Marta Villa explores, is thus a cultural expression of material labour and an important reflection of alpine life. La mia ricerca di dottorato ha indagato la realtà rituale di Stilfs (Stelvio), località della Vinschgau (Val Venosta), che presenta un ciclo annuale festivo, agito prevalentemente in epoca invernale dai soli giovani maschi, molto interessante sia dal punto di vista dell’attività performativa sia dal punto di vista sociologico, poiché correlato con le strategie del riconoscimento e dell’affermazione dell’identità collettiva. Gli eventi rituali, strettamente legati al paesaggio agricolo circostante, sono praticati al fine di ottenere abbondanza e benessere per i prodotti dei campi e per gli animali domestici, nonostante molta parte della comunità non sia più vincolata per la propria sopravvivenza al lavoro agricolo. Tutti i personaggi dei riti sono collegati al mondo del maso e quindi alla dimensione della vita sedentaria del contadino. Queste manifestazioni che paiono ancora carnevalesche, possono essere ascritte alla sfera della fertilità e molto probabilmente si sono 288 Marta Villa originate anticamente provenendo da culti precristiani di stampo agrario. Alcuni rituali simili sono stati osservati e descritti anche in altre regioni europee in relazione al passaggio dalla stagione fredda a quella primaverile.1 Il calendario festivo dell’Europa tradizionale è scandito da una vasta e complessa cerimonialità. Un tempo contadino i cui caratteri costitutivi sono i ritmi biologici e stagionali, naturali, ciclici, quantitativi, sacri, oppositivi al tempo complesso del presente. Nel mondo della tradizione uno specifico e particolare arco di questo tempo segna il passaggio dall’inverno alla primavera. Un frammento di tempo folklorico che più di ogni altro ancora oggi conserva caratteri più arcaici, di alterità, che meno è stato scompaginato dalla cristianizzazione del calendario. Questo tempo festivo che scandisce il ritorno della luce dopo il buio dell’inverno e il risveglio della natura è caratterizzato dalla presenza di maschere particolari che danno vita a tante e diverse feste dell’Europa contadina Le maschere che hanno trascorso magicamente il lungo inverno sottoterra in un altro mondo sono gli spiriti tellurici, i morti, i revenants, i demoni che ritornano e operano in uno spazio e in un tempo protetti. Un profondo magismo è connesso a tale ritualità di inizio anno. (Grimaldi 2003, pp. 11–12) La zona, estremamente ricca anche dal punto di vista archeologico preistorico (vi sono ritrovamenti risalenti a diverse epoche: dal Mesolitico antico fino all’Età del Bronzo e del Ferro), vede la presenza di piccole comunità presso cui la tradizione viene ancora conservata e coltivata con molta intensità da parte delle giovani generazioni, sotto la vigile tutela degli anziani. A tal proposito trovo molto utili le parole di Valentina Porcellana in riferimento al Piemonte, ma che anche in questo contesto risultano molto efficaci: Tuttavia l’investimento affettivo sembra maggiore nelle realtà geograficamente marginali, nelle campagne e nelle aree montane, nei paesi e nelle borgate dove si ritorna per la festa o si soggiorna per le vacanze o dove, per scelta, si ritorna quotidianamente 1 290 Marta Villa Le Alpi sono certamente una barriera geografica, ma possono divenire anche delle ottime vie di comunicazione e nel caso del complesso territoriale della Vinschgau, che culmina con il Reschenpass (Passo Resia) e con i numerosi valichi minori delle sue valli limitrofe (non da ultimo lo Stilfserjoch [Passo dello Stelvio] che venne percorso dal Medioevo in poi), assistiamo ad un crogiolo di assi viari che sicuramente favorivano l’incontro, lo scambio e il transito. La popolazione stanziale assisteva a tutto questo traffico di uomini e merci e, a seconda del periodo (più o meno pacifico), mostrava segni di accoglienza favorevole o di chiusura indifferente. Lo stesso territorio su cui insiste il comune presenta alcune caratteristiche geomorfologiche peculiari che servono anch’essi per comprendere i rituali e la dimensione sociale e aggregativa degli stessi: ambiente montano, abitato distribuito lungo l’asse viario principale, frazioni e masi isolati, coltivazioni agricole (meleti, vigneti). Il paese di Stilfs si trova su una strada secondaria che si immette sulla statale dello Stilfserjoch dopo l’abitato di Gomagoi, adagiato su di un balcone naturale in semi pendenza che guarda la Vinschgau. L’abitato principale si colloca a quota 1300 mt. e il territorio comunale ha una superficie di circa 140 kmq. La maggior parte della popolazione del paese proviene da famiglie di contadini possessori di maso; fino al 1970 la comunità contava 1.600 abitanti, oggi ve ne sono circa 1200, in netta prevalenza di madrelingua tedesca. Molti si sono allontanati dal paese in cerca di lavoro stabile come operai nella zona industriale di Merano e Bolzano. I giovani (14–30 anni) della comunità sono circa 230 (maschi e femmine), tutti frequentano la scuola superiore a Merano. Dopo il diploma, molti intraprendono la carriera dell’artigiano o del manovale (maschi) e della carriera professionale – impiegate, segretarie, commesse – (femmine), una bassa percentuale va all’Università (solitamente a Innsbruck). Il lavoro agricolo e la cura del maso nelle ultime generazioni è un secondo lavoro. I masi sono ancora gestiti dai capifamiglia (nati intorno al 1930/40). Il paese non è una località turistica molto sviluppata, ci sono solo due alberghi e qualche casa in affitto per l’estate.4 4 Cfr. da Gorfer 1973; dati comunali di Stilfs 2009. Identità e riconoscimento attraverso i culti della fertilità 291 Durante il periodo invernale (dicembre e febbraio-marzo) vengono celebrate delle manifestazioni, ascrivibili solo nominalmente al carnevale:5 questi eventi appartengono alla ritualità concernente la dimensione aggregativa maschile6 e presentano elementi tipici anche della sfera sacra; non prevedono il coinvolgimento attivo delle donne, anche se tutti i gesti delle rappresentazioni ruotano attorno alla loro fertilità e a quella della terra. Il legame con l’ambiente antropizzato circostante è notevole: in Vinschgau ancora oggi vige la regola del maso chiuso e il paesaggio rispecchia e racconta la vocazione agricola che questa terra ha avuto nei secoli scorsi. Sia la storia di questa provincia italiana sia l’esperienza percettiva che è possibile qui vivere, rivela questo tipo di pratica familiare. In questa zona 5 6 Interessante a proposito della mitologia attorno ai culti agrari e alle mascherate agite in relazione al passaggio stagionale risulta citare un passo di Lévi-Strauss: “E finalmente mentre le maschere swaihwé non compaiono mai nel corso dei riti sacri d’inverno, le maschere dzonokwa vi prendono parte di pieno diritto. Ricordiamo a questo proposito che i Kwakiutl dividevano l’anno in due parti. Nella prima detta bajus che comprendeva la primavera e l’estate, prevaleva il sistema dei clan. Dopo un carnevale di quattro giorni detto klasila, durante il quale venivano esibite le maschere ancestrali, iniziava il periodo tsetseka, che comprendeva l’autunno e l’inverno. Da un periodo all’altro cambiavano i nomi di persona, i canti e perfino il loro stile musicale. In questo periodo invernale, tutto consacrato ai riti, ogni confraternita procedeva all’iniziazione di coloro che per nascita e rango erano qualificati a farne richiesta” (Lévi-Strauss 1985, p. 43). A proposito della dimensione solo maschile di questi riti è interessante riportare lo scritto di Scarduelli: “È nei centri totemici che i giovani apprendono, attraverso prove dolorose il sapere segreto e vengono ammessi nella società dei maschi adulti; l’iniziazione si protrae per anni, durante i quali il patrimonio mitico del gruppo di discendenza e la topografia dei centri totemici vengono svelati per gradi agli iniziandi. Proprio perché associati ad eventi importanti svoltisi nel tempo mitico e a cerimonie segrete, i centri totemici sono considerati dagli aborigeni come sedi di poteri ambivalenti e potenzialmente pericolosi; solo gli anziani conoscono la loro esatta dislocazione e la natura e l’intensità del potere che da essi si irradia; donne e giovani non ancora iniziati sanno solo che questi luoghi sono pericolosi e che devono tenersene lontani. Le proibizioni riguardanti le donne sono particolarmente rigorose: i centri totemici sono assolutamente vietati alle persone di sesso femminile e un’eventuale profanazione può essere punita con la morte” (Remotti, Scarduelli e Fabietti 1989, pp. 60–61). 292 Marta Villa il contadino, come sosteneva lo storico Emilio Sereni, è un vero e proprio architetto del paesaggio, da sempre sensibile all’armonia stessa dell’ambiente circostante e ben cosciente del proprio intervento regolarizzatore e ordinatore. Il paesaggio agricolo in Sudtirolo è simile ad un giardino e il Bauer, che non dimentichiamo indossa sempre la divisa del contadino Identità e riconoscimento attraverso i culti della fertilità 293 Il rito dei Klosen apre la ritualità stagionale legata alla fertilità e vede due azioni rituali distinte: il rito d’iniziazione notturno (venerdì sera) per i ragazzi di 14 anni, che permette loro di accedere all’associazione giovanile, e la cerimonia rituale diurna (sabato pomeriggio) per tutta la comunità. Il rito notturno iniziatico9 si svolge alle 20 sul piazzale della chiesa. Le maschere dei Klaubauf compiono il rituale sui giovani iniziandi: appaiono dalle vie laterali urlando gravosamente all’interno delle maschere e facendo tintinnare le catene con le quali compiranno l’azione rituale. I ragazzi fuggono, ma non possono uscire dal recinto del sagrato (spazio sacro dell’azione rituale) e i Klaubauf li inseguono, li catturano con le catene e li fanno roteare vorticosamente urlando. Tutto il rito dura circa un’ora e si consuma sempre nello stesso spazio, al termine tutti i ragazzi si recano in un altro luogo al coperto dove si festeggia con musica, cibo e birra fino a notte inoltrata l’ingresso nell’associazione dei neofiti. La seconda parte del rito si svolge il giorno seguente. La celebrazione tradizionale vede tre diverse azioni, che vengono sempre messe in atto ad orari precisi. Tre, inoltre, sono i tipi di personaggi che si muovono e animano le vie del paese: i Klaubauf, demoni che hanno partecipato anche al rito iniziatici, gli Esel, gli asini, e i Weissen, il santo Nicola con gli accoliti. Ogni personaggio compie dei gesti specifici e, a detta dei ragazzi che organizzano l’evento, tramandati tradizionalmente: non vi sono testimonianze scritte di questa pratica. A differenza del rito di iniziazione, che viene agito alla presenza di pochissime persone e tutte interne alla comunità (padri dei ragazzi), sono presenti centinaia di spettatori (famiglie e giovani adolescenti, soprattutto di sesso femminile provenienti dai territori vicini). 9 “Essa rassomiglia molto alla cerimonia del passaggio della porta, salvo che questa sia più solenne e teatrale. L’idea è che a 16 anni il ragazzo esce dall’infanzia per entrare nell’adolescenza e che la ragazza diventa donna. Una volta eseguita la cerimonia, la divinità dei bambini, la Madre cioè, cessa di esercitare la sua protezione su di essi e l’individuo cade sotto l’autorità delle divinità in generale. È per questo che la cerimonia si chiama spesso “Ringraziamento alla Madre”. Doolittle insiste ancora sul fatto che proprio l’età dei 16 anni segna l’inizio dell’età della maturità; d’altra parte la cerimonia può essere anticipata nel caso che il ragazzo debba sposarsi presto, o ritardata per condizioni di indigenza” (Van Gennep 1981, p. 52). 294 Marta Villa I personaggi formano un corteo che attraversa le vie del paese da ovest ad est. Alle 14.00 calano per primi gli Esel lungo un sentiero che proviene da un bosco proprio sopra la parte più occidentale del paese, nei loro costumi colorati, che si differenziano in due gruppi: quelli che scandiscono il movimento del corteo con l’accompagnamento sonoro di numerosi campanacci legati alla cintura e quelli più agili, che irrompendo nella folla con capriole e corse, mettono in atto la vera azione scaramantica. Questi ultimi infatti cercano le ragazze e le pizzicano sulle braccia e sul sedere, emettendo urla e schiamazzi. Sul ponte incontrano i Klaubauf che indossano la tipica maschera in legno dai tratti esagerati, con corna e vello di caprone, che con fare minaccioso vorticano le loro catene cercando di intrappolare qualche spettatore, facendolo poi roteare agganciato alla maglia metallica. Il corteo percorre le strade fino a raggiungere alle 17.00 il sagrato della chiesa dove si svolge la seconda azione rituale importante. I Weissen recitano la preghiera dell’Ave Maria in latino e in tedesco e San Nicola ad alta voce improvvisa un sermone educativo. Tutti i personaggi sono inginocchiati sul piazzale a volto scoperto (unico momento di tutto il rituale dove avviene lo smascheramento) in atteggiamento di ascolto. Quando il santo pronuncia l’amen si scatena l’inferno sonoro: Klaubauf ed Esel si rimettono la maschera e inscenano un parossismo acustico che termina solo quando l’ultimo figurante stramazza al suolo esausto. Il rumore provocato dai campanelli e campanacci, dalle catene e dalle urla amplificate dalle maschere è di buon auspicio per la stagione primaverile che dovrà ancora arrivare. È un monito per gli spiriti negativi a non disturbare la comunità e serve a richiamare i semi che dormono nella terra coperta di neve, come spiegano tutti gli informatori intervistati. Sonorità simili si ritroveranno solo in febbraio, in comunità poco distanti, anch’esse alle prese con riti di fertilità legati all’elemento acustico (Prad am Stilfserjoch/Prato allo Stelvio10). Alle 20 tutte le maschere si riuniscono in piccoli gruppi e fanno visita a diverse case: questo pellegrinaggio, dominato dagli scherzi, dura tutta 10 Si rimanda al testo Villa 2011, agli articoli Villa 2012 “Le pratiche del Sacro nella ritualità invernale della fertilità in due comunità della Vinschgau: Prad am Stilfserjoch e Stilfs” e “I carnevali di Prad am Stilfserjoch e Stilfs in Vinschgau”, e al saggio Villa 2014. Identità e riconoscimento attraverso i culti della fertilità 295 la notte; solo le prime luci dell’alba ricacciano nelle proprie abitazioni i diversi personaggi. Procedendo nella cronologia legata alla ritualità troviamo in febbraio, l’evento spettacolare inscenato solo negli anni pari il sabato grasso, e che non possiede affatto il significato che attribuiamo al carnevale contemporaneo: non vi sono processi di mascheramento per ricoprire ruoli di sdoppiamento o di contrasto (poveri che diventano ricchi, brutti/belli o viceversa) e i personaggi principali non si mascherano nemmeno. Il rito del Pflugziehen (“tirare l’aratro”) viene organizzato dalla stessa associazione informale di giovani maschi del paese che ha partecipato al rito dei Klosen. Alle 11.30 i personaggi si radunano nella parte più alta e orientale di Stilfs, lungo la strada principale che attraversa l’abitato. Anche se i personaggi rappresentati sono sia maschi sia femmine, tutte le parti vengono interpretate solo da uomini. La cerimonia viene preceduta dalla recita dell’Angelus intonato dal Bauer (padrone del maso) allo scoccare del mezzogiorno. Dietro la maschera dell’asino, sei buoi, impersonati da bambini di diversa età, trascinano un aratro di legno, usato da almeno cento anni esclusivamente per questo rito. Guida l’aratro la coppia di contadini del maso, attorniati da diversi aiutanti, tutti in abiti tradizionali e con attrezzi agricoli in mano. Chiudono il corteo personaggi dall’abbigliamento stravagante e dai volti completamente neri: alcuni rappresentano mestieri estranei alla vita agricola, altri sono abbigliati con stracci vecchi e portano ombrelli rotti. Terminata la preghiera, con un urlo il contadino dà il via all’aratura per le strade del paese: dietro l’aratro, gli aiutanti seminano e battono la strada con dei bastoni muniti di sacchi di paglia compressa, utilizzati abitualmente per battere i semi del grano dopo la mietitura. Intanto due contadini conducono una carriola con gabbie e galline e distribuiscono uova sode, segno di augurio e di prosperità, in particolare per le donne nubili. I personaggi contrapposti con le facce nere, emettendo urla senza senso, cercano di impedire aratura e semina e vengono picchiati e scacciati dagli aiutanti del contadino. Svolgono un ruolo negativo anche i rappresentanti degli altri mestieri moderni:11 calzolaio, orologiaio, stagnino, 11 Questa è la definizione che tutti gli informatori da me intervistati hanno dato di questi personaggi. Uno degli organizzatori del rituale spiega che i girovaghi che 296 Marta Villa spazzacamino, venditore ambulante di cartoline e poster. Le streghe con il volto nero cercano di importunare anche gli spettatori, urlando loro nelle orecchie, baciando gli uomini, facendo sgambetti: vengono subito intercettate dai personaggi che rappresentano il bene e cacciate malamente. Intanto la famiglia contadina (moglie e marito) discute come far procedere l’aratura e quale percorso intraprendere per visitare tutte le strade del paese; le discussioni sono interpretate ad alta voce in dialetto venostano. Vengono sempre messe in scena la sottrazione e la successiva riacquisizione dell’aratro e dei buoi attraverso una lotta molto rumorosa e violenta fra il contadino e i suoi aiutanti e le streghe. Prima della conclusione nella piazza della Chiesa la cerimonia prevede la tradizionale azione rituale detta “furto dei canederli”: l’anno sarà tanto più prospero quante più polpette il contadino avrà conservato.12 Il pubblico presente a questo evento è prevalentemente composto da abitanti non mascherati e da un gruppo molto sparuto di turisti (fotografi professionisti, qualche abitante di paesi della vallata, alcuni studiosi). Interessante risulta allora una breve digressione a proposito di questi rappresentanti del male, in particolare quei venditori girovaghi che tanto hanno popolato la fantasia dei contadini venostani come imago di malefici e pericoli. Durante l’arco di diversi secoli tutto il territorio alpino orientale è stato percorso da numerosi viandanti girovaghi e venditori ambulanti. Non di rado si è assistito ad azioni di discriminazione, anche violenta, da parte degli abitanti autoctoni, protagonisti di una dinamica psicologica e culturale complessa, una mescolanza conflittuale di repulsione e attrazione verso degli estranei che mettevano in discussione, con il loro passaggio, quella metaforica protezione messa in atto dalla consuetudine dei confini. 12 praticavano questi mestieri moderni erano invisi agli abitanti del maso perché spesso erano stranieri. Anche se gli stessi erano i pochi che potevano recare le notizie di altri luoghi soprattutto ai masi più sperduti e che non avevano molti contatti con il resto della società. Il furto e la difesa dei canederli avviene a mani nude attorno al grosso calderone di rame fumante dove queste semplici polpette di carne e pane sono immerse nel brodo. A proposito, inoltre, della relazione tra cibo e riti della fertilità nelle Alpi orientali, si veda l’articolo: Villa, “A carnevale … ogni cibo vale!” (2010). Identità e riconoscimento attraverso i culti della fertilità 297 La relazione con questi personaggi era dunque ambivalente, da un lato v’era attrattiva per i loro prodotti, dall’altro una certa diffidenza poiché erano pur sempre degli stranieri. In particolare questi ultimi vengono descritti, anche nella memoria degli informatori più anziani, come persone strane, ambigue, riconducibili al diavolo e alla stregoneria, in perenne viaggio lungo le strade del Sudtirolo. La popolazione locale vedeva in modo molto negativo queste figure, le associava molto spesso al male: venivano letti come portatori di scompiglio all’interno della quiete domestica, in particolare i padroni del maso, maschi, non si fidavano di questi altri maschi senza una dimora fissa che entravano in contatto con le loro donne di casa. Ecco perché a Stilfs, sono proprio questi i personaggi che tradizionalmente rappresentano l’aspetto negativo del rituale e sono associati in modo indissolubile alle streghe, donne lascive e pericolose, nubili, dai comportamenti sregolati e dalla sessualità libertina e provocante. Durante la ritualità questi personaggi esprimono in modo esagerato la propria natura: i venditori si avvicinano al pubblico e intavolano con loro dialoghi importuni cercando di vendere i loro servigi o le loro merci, fanno scherzi e dileggiano gli spettatori ed entrano in conflitto aperto con i rappresentanti del bene.13 Tentano, infatti, continuamente di impedire il procedere dell’aratura, di rubare i buoi e l’asino o il sacco con le sementi: vengono tuttavia sempre intercettati dagli aiutanti del contadino 298 Marta Villa su delle croci di legno, inscritte in uno o più rombi concentrici e infisse nel terreno.14 Al centro del sentiero è posta una grande catasta di legna accesa attorno alla quale si raccoglierà tutta la comunità per dare vita ad un rito che vede il fuoco come elemento unificante e cardine.15 La zona è panoramica, la curva della strada segue la pendenza e si trova così a tagliare la costa della montagna: verso est si vede la valle e più in là la Vinschgau, il sole sta tramontando. Il rito si svolge in silenzio: ciascun abitante ha in mano un lungo bastone fatto di nocciolo e una collana di spago con numerosi blocchi di legno, i Karsunntaschaib, dischi o meglio sezioni di piramide con un foro al centro, fatti con legno di cirmolo. L’azione rituale si svolge in questo modo: il disco posizionato sulla punta del bastone viene fatto arroventare sul fuoco. Quando diventa rosso e si accende, ci si avvicina ad una pedana in legno posta al margine del sentiero e muovendo il bastone avanti e indietro seguendo il ritmo di un’antica cantilena,16 si fa prendere forza al disco che al momento giusto tocca la pedana e saetta nella notte verso la vallata, 14 15 16 “Lo scheletro di un uccello rapace è crocifisso su un palo dell’orto. Lo spaventapasseri propone una allucinante allegoria medievale dei capestri, stagliato, come è, nel cielo da ogni parte pizzicato dalle drammatiche cime dei monti. O ancora la figura di una di quelle Lebensrunen che il primo giorno di quaresima i contadini della Venosta piantano sulle colline per recitarvi il misterioso rito dello Scheibenschlagen” (Gorfer 1973, p. 52). “Da tempo immemorabile i contadini di ogni parte d’Europa hanno usato accendere dei falò, i cosiddetti fuochi di gioia, in certi giorni dell’anno, e ballarvi intorno e saltarvi sopra. Vi sono testimonianze storiche del Medioevo sull’esistenza di questi usi e forti prove intrinseche dimostrano che la loro origine si deve cercare in un periodo molto anteriore alla diffusione del cristianesimo. Non è raro che in questi fuochi si ardano dei fantocci o che si finga di ardervi una persona viva; e c’è ragione di credere che anticamente vi fossero davvero bruciati degli esseri umani” (Frazer 1965, p. 712). “Oh Reim Reim,/ Fiu wein soll diaschai so sein,/ Dia Scheib und mei/ Knia scheib soll firein,/ Hofer tone sein,/ geat sichs guat,/ hol siohs guat,/ Kourer in du Kischf,/ Geld in der tasch,/ Wein in du flasch,/ Pfluag vertut Eart./ Oh Reim, Reim/ Schaug schaug wier/ Di scheib ause geart!” La filastrocca invoca il disco di fuoco affinché le sue scintille siano lunghe e il lancio buono così da poter avere fortuna, le tasche piene di soldi, il vino nelle botti, l’aratro ben funzionante nella terra, i frutti pronti per il raccolto. Identità e riconoscimento attraverso i culti della fertilità 299 descrivendo una straordinaria e ipnotica scia luminosa nell’aria. Il lancio è molto importante perché, a seconda di come curva la saetta, è possibile prevedere il proprio futuro: prosperità e campi pieni di raccolto oppure carestia o problemi legati al clima. Ognuno, infatti, è molto attento a guardare le proprie saette e cerca di interpretarle. Quando quasi tutti hanno finito di lanciare i loro dischi vengono incendiati i manichini. La comunità rimane a guadare il falò che brucia nella notte, bisbigliando formule antiche per scacciare tutti diavoli dell’inverno e per chiamare definitivamente il caldo e la stagione nuova, così da permettere ai campi di risvegliarsi. Possiamo con certezza dichiarare che gli eventi agiti a Stilfs sono connessi alla dimensione della pratica sacra, forse anche di origine preistorica, e presentano alcune differenze sostanziali se paragonate a momenti rituali simili agiti nel resto delle Alpi orientali nel periodo invernale-primaverile. In via generale sono legati alla stagionalità e alle pratiche messe in atto per esorcizzare un tempo liminale e di passaggio che non sempre era stabile, ma che il più delle volte era accolto dal mondo rurale con ansie e timori legati ai diversi tentativi di addomesticamento della natura, che tuttavia non sempre portavano i risultati auspicati. La ciclicità della coltivazione della terra era poi strettamente correlata alla fertilità della donna: anche in questo caso ci troviamo di fronte ad un legame archetipico che la maggior parte degli archeologi riferiscono nascere in epoca paleolitica (natura-donna) e soprattutto neolitica (terra fertile-donna). Possiamo sicuramente porre a confronto questi eventi particolari con altre manifestazioni presenti in Europa e in territori extraeuropei, perseguendo le indicazioni date da Poppi in un suo saggio. Scrive lo studioso, in un interessante ma controverso contributo, inaugurando una prospettiva transculturale tra le maschere africane e quelle alpine e riscoprendo il lavoro di Frazer, a lungo dimenticato: In the context of European folklore, to say that masks are about propitiating the food season and the harvest might appear as stating the obvious. But it is sufficient to ask on which evidence this statement is predicated that things start getting awkward. As far as I know, very few – if any – anthropologists have been able to come up with a clear, uncontroversial statement concerning the relationship between masks and fertility in a European context. (Poppi 1998, p. 238–239) 300 Marta Villa Ad eccezione della mia ricerca di dottorato e di alcuni miei recentissimi articoli, non esistono saggi che si siano occupati di questi specifici riti sia in lingua italiana sia in lingua tedesca. Accanto a questa lettura legata più strettamente alla interpretazione dell’evento in sé, vogliamo percorrere anche un ulteriore sentiero di indagine. Non bisogna infatti dimenticare che nelle comunità montane della Vinschgau è sentita vivamente la questione identitaria e la ritualità risponde spesso a questa esigenza o viene impiegata strumentalmente in questa direzione. In questa regione alpina il tema del riconoscimento e le strategie messe in atto per l’affermazione ossessiva dell’identità collettiva generano dei conflitti, che fino a qualche decennio fa erano palesi e cruenti, tra la comunità di lingua e cultura tedesca e quella italiana.17 I giovani protagonisti di questi eventi legano attraverso tale modalità l’appartenenza al proprio 17 Ritengo necessario, attraverso le parole di Cole e Wolf, ripercorrere brevissimamente la storia recente della nascita della provincia altoatesina, in particolare rievocando i dati storici relativi al periodo successivo alla Prima guerra mondiale: “Il sud Tirolo era divenuto italiano con il trattato di pace di Saint-Germain del 1919 che pure non era stato sottoscritto dai delegati tirolesi presenti. Abbandonati dall’Austria i sudtirolesi si prepararono ad un accomodamento iniziale con l’Italia attraverso l’organizzazione di una lega popolare tedesca. […] Il 1 ottobre 1922 i fascisti presero il controllo di Bolzano e imposero le dimissioni del sindaco tedesco, l’introduzione dell’italiano nelle scuole e negli uffici pubblici, e il bilinguismo su tutte le insegne. Il 3 e 4 ottobre assunsero anche il controllo di Trento. […] La zona da Sudtirolo divenne Alto-Adige. […] Al tradizionale sistema elettivo tirolese si sostituì un prefetto provinciale di nomina centrale, che nominava o rimuoveva dall’incarico, a sua sola discrezione, sindaci e segretari comunali. Molte antiche comunità, considerate troppo piccole per sostenere il peso del nuovo apparato burocratico, furono incorporate in unità amministrative più grandi. L’italiano divenne la lingua ufficiale. I funzionari dovevano essere di lingua italiana, aver frequentato scuole italiane o aver lavorato per almeno tre anni nella burocrazia italiana. A tutti i paesi vennero dati nomi italiani, e tutte le iscrizioni pubbliche dovevano essere in italiano, comprese le epigrafi sulle tombe. I nomi di famiglia dovettero essere 302 Identità e riconoscimento attraverso i culti della fertilità 303 Gorfer, A., Gli eredi della solitudine. Viaggio nei masi di montagna del Tirolo del sud (Verona: Cierre Edizioni, 1973). Grimaldi, P., Bestie, santi, divinità. Maschere animali dell’Europa tradizionale (Milano: Franco Angeli, 2003). Lévi-Strauss, C., La via delle maschere (Torino: Einaudi, 1985). Nisi, D., e M. Villa, “Il passo del transumante. Per una archeo-antropologia in cammino”, in: P. C. Begotti e E. Magoni, Dolomites (2009) Udine: Società filologica Friulana, pp. 129–142. Poppi, C., “Was Frazer Right? Cultural Ecology, Knowledge and Masks in West African and Alpine Cross-cultural Perspective”, Annali di S. Michele all’Adige 11 (1998), pp. 231–246. Porcellana, V., “Carnevale e sua madre Quaresima. Una lettura antropologica del Piemonte orientale”, Annali di S. Michele all’Adige 24 (2011), pp. 191–204. Remotti, F., L’ossessione identitaria (Bari: Laterza, 2010). Remotti, F., P. Scarduelli e U. Fabietti, Centri, ritualità, potere. Significati antropologici dello spazio (Bologna: Il Mulino, 1989). Turner, V., Simboli e momenti della comunità: saggio di antropologia culturale (Brescia: Morcelliana, 1977). Van Gennep, A., I riti di passaggio (Torino: Bollati Boringhieri, 1981). Villa, M., “Un’autostrada del paleolitico”, AltreStorie 32 (2010), pp. 5–7. Villa, M., “A carnevale … ogni cibo vale!”, AltreStorie 33 (2010), pp. 25–27. Villa, M., “I carnevali di Prad am Stilfserjoch e Stilfs in Vinschgau”, in: L. Girelli (ed.), Carnevali e folclore delle Alpi. Riti, suoni e tradizioni popolari delle vallate europee (Brescia: ISTA, 2012). Villa, M., “Il paesaggio agricolo alto-atesino e i culti della fertilità: il case study di Stilfs in Vinschgau”, in: G. Bonini (ed.), Paesaggi in trasformazione. Teorie e pratiche della ricera a cinquant’anni dalla Storia del paesaggio agrario italiano di Emilio Sereni (Bologna: Editrice Compositori, 2014), pp. 161–166 e 882–883. Villa, M., “Le pratiche del Sacro nella ritualità invernale della fertilità in due comunità della Vinschgau: Prad am Stilfserjoch e Stilfs”, in: V. Nizzo e L. La Rocca (eds), Antropologia e archeologia a confronto: rappresentazioni e pratiche del Sacro, Atti del II Incontro Internazionale di Studi: Roma (2012), pp. 667–678. Villa, M., “Quel mestiere difficile. Ambulanti e venditori girovaghi nel mondo alpino orientale: discriminazioni, identificazioni, repulsione e attrazione”, Zapruder 30 (2013), pp. 35–42. Villa, M., “I riti di carnevale in due piccole comunità della Vinschgau: Prad am Silfserjoch e Stilfs”, I Quaderni del Ramo d’Oro Online 4 (2011), pp. 60–77. Villa, M., “Uomo, animali e montagna: relazione millenaria”, in: U. Scortegagna (ed.), Il respiro della montagna (Castelfranco Veneto: Duck Edizioni, 2010) pp. 28–33. part v Renegotiating Belonging Antonio Elorza 16 Alsace, South Tyrol, Basque Country (Euskadi): Denationalization and Identity abstract Antonio Elorza presents a comparative analysis of three processes of denationalization in Alsace, South Tyrol and the Basque Country. In all of these cases, the policies of French, German, Italian and Spanish governments tried to suppress the identities of the aforementioned border regions through hard measures of political and cultural repression, in order 308 Antonio Elorza did the rest. Administrative and cultural exclusions, absence of elites and the economic differential between both countries caused the success of denationalization. Denationalization was much more complicated in Alsace, South Tyrol or the Basque Country. All of them, like Catalonia or Slovenia, were border regions, and their political situation depended on war results. The victory of General Franco over the Basque Army in June 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, resulted in the suppression of its autonomy, recovered only forty years later. South Tyrol was included in the Kingdom of Italy in 1920. Almost Alsace, South Tyrol, Basque Country (Euskadi) 315 316 Antonio Elorza an elective assembly, the Landtag, similar to other legislative bodies in the Reich. Political parties in the Alsace-Lorraine reproduced the German pattern: Liberals, Social Democrats and Zentrum [catholics]. Autonomists, this time pro-French, were a minority. The region attained the highest degree of autonomy in its history. Many Alsatian Francophiles had left by their own will, and German immigration filled the gap: in 1914 Strasburg had 40 per cent of German inhabitants. The positive traces in urbanism are yet to be seen (University and theatre in the capital, train stations, splendid municipal swimming pools). At the same time the planning conception of the German administrative town in Strasburg, presided by the Imperial palace in the “Kaiserplatz” (today Place de la République) reflected the splitting from the ancient town, offering an image of alienation. The use of French language was not prosecuted, but the linguistic pressure through the exclusivity of German in administrative acts and public life became the main instrument of Germanization. However to speak in French was authorized in public meetings.14 Denationalization was under way; nevertheless its intensity was not comparable with what happened later. The balance was ambiguous: German rule provoked a coincident rejection by the French elite and by Alsatian regionalism. As Jean Giraudoux wrote once, Alsatian dialect had been “the veil under which, invisible to the Germans, they could keep their independence and their memory”. Never before nor afterwards was the Alsatian identity so strongly stressed, with the dialect becoming the literary instrument of opposition to the German cultural hegemony, visible at all the levels of learning and crowned by the brilliant University. Political goals did not match, but the fact was that “across the political spectrum, Alsatians began to concern themselves with the region’s traditions, customs, and history”.15 During the European War, a military regime was imposed to Alsace and Alsatian soldiers treated with open distrust; they were sent to the 14 15 Bernard Vogler, Histoire culturelle de l’Alsace (Strasbourg: La Nuée Bleue, 1994), pp. 315–372. Christopher J. Fischer, Alsace to the Alsatians? (New York-Oxford: Berghahn, 2010), pp. 52–64. Alsace, South Tyrol, Basque Country (Euskadi) 317 Eastern front. In 1913 the Alsatian public opinion had violently reacted against an incident in which a German officer showed his disdain towards Alsatians calling them wackes, a term judged as an unbearable affront (the pejorative epithet for German was and is yet boches, Schwöb or Schwobe, from Swabia, in dialect; for French people, Welsche, the same word used by German-speaking South Tyroleans for the people in the province of Trento). The war destroyed all the efforts made since 1871 by Germany to integrate Alsace and Lorraine. In November 1918, the Landtag became Nationalrat, and under the leadership of Eugen Ricklin (Zentrum) tried unsuccessfully to survive. Nobody took care of its existence when the French Army occupied AlsaceLorraine, receiving enthusiastic demonstrations from Alsatian people. Self-determination was not at all necessary, president Poincaré pointed. The “lost daughter” had come back to her mother’s lap. The reality was just a little bit different: the “daughter” did not speak French, there were lot of Germans inhabitants and even if she was not happy under the German rule, social laws and saving banks were popular. In 1926, only 13.2 per cent of Alsatians spoke French on a daily basis, yet 81.5 per cent were German or Alsatian-speaking people, mostly in dialect. French sovereignty came accompanied by a wave of germanophobia, not by human rights. Quite immediately, once the French Army had occupied the region, a policy of ethnic cleansing was put into action against Germans (Altdeutschen) and their Alsatian offsprings. A long-term residence in Alsace did not change anything in their being considered as unerwünschte Ausländer, “undesirable foreigners”. To be born in Germany meant to receive a deportation order to be obeyed within twenty-four hours, losing all properties. 110,000 Germans were deported among insults coming from the populace. The “commissions of selection” classified inhabitants into four categories, and if someone of D class could stay, sometimes after an exile, he had to bear permanent harassments and humiliations: workers lost their jobs, children were expelled from public schools as fils de Boches, and for years they were under suspicion of being German spies.16 16 Pascal Hugues, Marthe et Mathilde (Paris : Éditions J’Ai Lu, 2011), pp. 51–77, 101–103; Bernard Vogler (dir.), Nouvelle Histoire de l’Alsace (Toulouse: Privat, 2003), pp. 245–247. 318 Antonio Elorza Re-nationalization in administration and education followed a similar pattern. Mistrust of the French government led to exclude Alsatian experts and to bring administrators from the French interior, from “Inner France”, to implement assimilation policies. Every remainder of regional administration was substituted by centralization from Paris. French language was imposed in administration and judicial systems. Less than 5 per cent of Alsatians had French as primary language; as it was very costly for students to deal with lessons delivered by French teachers. The full-immersion model was a technical failure and a source of mass unrest. The economic difficulties, due to the problems of adjustment to French economy, and the Church refusal to the French secularization politics in the mid-twenties, complete the list of complaints which composed the so-called “Alsatian unrest” (malaise). It was time for an autonomist revival, reproducing the pattern of 1911, that is, defence of Alsatian (and German) against the French goal of suppressing the regional specificity in education, prosecution of any sign of criticism, seen as vehicle for separatism. The complementary goal was the “protection of our religious particularities” against the threat of secularism after radical-socialists reached the government in 1924. Not without internal debates, the big conservative party, the Republican Popular Union (UPR), heir to the ancient Zentrum, joined the malaise front. Eugen Ricklin was one more at the head of the movement for “an autonomous Alsace”, now “within the framework of France”. In 1926 he published an autonomist manifesto, in Die Heimat, “regionalist review of Alsace and Lorraine”. It was followed by the foundation of the Heitmatbund, in defence of linguistic and cultural particularity and against French “fanatical assimilation”. Its political goal was to fight “as a national minority for complete autonomy in the framework of France”.17 After French ultra-nationalists assaulted a demonstration of autonomists in Colmar, on 22 August 1926, the Alsatian “bloody Sunday” occurred, during which Ricklin was wounded, the government imprisoned 100 autonomists on Christmas Eve 1927 and condemned their leaders in a trial celebrated in May 1928 (“The Colmar trial”). According to the French 17 Fischer, Alsace to the Alsatians?, pp. 180–188; Jean et André Meyer, Le livre de mon père ou une suite européenn (Mexico: 2014), pp. 111–118. Alsace, South Tyrol, Basque Country (Euskadi) 319 prosecutor, they were plotting to prepare an armed upheaval in order to destroy the unity of France. There was only one truth in the accusation: they received economic aid from Germany, but evidence of it only emerged after 1945.The main consequence was a vast movement of opinion in favour of them. In 1929 two autonomists, one of them the heterodox communist Peter Hueber, were elected as mayors of Strasburg and Colmar under the Volksfront label.18 However the alliance of the autonomists, Catholic regionalists and communists – die Herz-Jesu Kommunisten – was too heterogeneous and in 1935 autonomists lost their strongholds. Politics in the 1930s did not favour pluralism in alliances and in the same way as South Tirol the rise to power of Hitler served as an incentive to see in Nazi Germany the political solution for the deep end in which Alsatian autonomists/nationalists were caught. Their motto was born before 1914: “Alsace for the Alsatians”. But the unbridgeable refusal of French authorities to accept even the discussion of autonomy led them to failure and favoured the slide of some relevant autonomist leaders to Nazism. In 1927, three of the politicians later condemned in Colmar, Charles Roos, Paul Schall and René Hauss founded the Regional Independent Party of Alsace-Lorraine, for a while within the Volksfront, later organized in a strictly Nazi style. Once Roos was executed, Paul Stall and René Hauss became first range collaborators of the Nazi occupation, so as the ancient mayor of 1929 and ancient revolutionary too, Charles Hueber. With much more intensity than in South Tirol, the brutal repression against Francophile Alsatians and against all democrats, associated forever after autonomy to national-socialism. Under Hitler, Alsace-Lorraine was once again Germanized, in school, public language and names of individuals and places. New displacements of Alsatians took place. With Alsace and Lorraine included in the Oberrhein district, there was no space for Alsatian identity. The war was also in the origins of new waves of demographic transfer. Once the populations close to the Maginot line were sent to inner France (600,000 to be resettled elsewhere, Flüchtlinge, “fuyards”; 18 Fischer, Alsace to the Alsatians?, pp. 188–200. 320 Antonio Elorza the majority would come back after June 1940) the Nazi ordered a new wave of deportations. Moreover since 26 August 1942 the recruitment in the German Army was compulsory. Many of the survivors endured harsh difficulties at the end of the war, being considered traitors, even if they insisted that were recruited against their will (“malgré nous”), because escaping from conscription meant unavoidable retaliation against their families.19 Enthusiasm and unrest reappeared after 1945 like after 1918. But this time there was no question, neither of nostalgia towards Germany, nor of accepting limits to the task of a French definitive re-nationalization of Alsace. French monopoly in education found a complement in social prestige. Excluded from schools until 1982, German language disappeared progressively from the newspapers, songs and theatre, even from the feasts in the villages.20 Alsatian dialect was also degraded. French is spoken too in the private life. In 1946, 90 per cent of Alsatians spoke the dialect and 62 per cent German. Francization is now complete. “French monolingualism may provoke a disintegration of the Alsatian people’s personality, who having being cut from the old linguistic community loses their roots and ignores its own past, because only French history is taught at the school … [Consequently] many Alsatians live in a cultural no man’s land”. (B. Vogler). Only sparse family biographies, like The Alsatians, or the two Mathilde (1996), by François Ducher and Henri de Turenne, and Marthe and Mathilde (2009) by Pascal Hughes, bringing to light the collective tragedy of people which found themselves enclosed between two States in recurrent war, tried to fill the vacuum caused by absence of Alsatian history. Alsatians are fond of writing about their families, such as the historian Jean Meyer in Le livre de mon père ou une suite européenne (2014). At the same time there is an official caution concerning their past, something which happens in South Tyrol too. 19 20 Vogler, Histoire culturelle de l’Alsace, pp. 429–437. Vogler, Histoire culturelle de l’Alsace, p. 521. Alsace, South Tyrol, Basque Country (Euskadi) 321 The puzzle To sum up, it would be useful to add some remarks: The first one is almost a truism. Processes of denationalization during the first half of the twentieth century are closely linked to war. It was an immediate consequence of the fact that the main military conflicts were caused by imperialism and by nationalist ambitions. Once victory was obtained, the nation-State tried always to assure a maximum degree of integration in the conquered lands, and to reach that goal meant very often deporting the defeated population or compelling them to accept the values, the culture or even the language of the victor. That was the case for South Tyrol and for Alsace. Though the Basque case is different, in the sense that the Basque defeat took place in the framework of a civil war, the outcome was similar. In our examples, the search for homogeneity by the nation-State leads to an authoritarian integration (Alsace by Germany, 1871) or, more frequently to an attempt for assimilation (Alsace by France, 1918–1940, 1945–; South Tyrol by Italy, 1918–1943; Euskadi by Spain, 1937–1977). The level of tolerance towards education in the harassed language indicates the dividing line between integration and assimilation tactics. Extreme assimilative politics, like in South Tyrol or in Alsace, by French State after 1945 and by Germany during the Nazi occupation, had as a goal the destruction of regional identity –not only the enemy’s identity, German or French. Paradoxically, with constriction, but not prohibition, regional identity became a powerful instrument for opposing politics of denationalization implemented by the nation-state. Language and cultural symbols are always the two main battlefields, closely linked to each other. In all the three cases, the State points out at the school system and particularly at the educational system in general, as the master key to pave the way for the denationalization/renationalization process and to the change of identity. Every change of sovereignty in Alsace and in South Tyrol, this time accomplished after the triumph of fascism, resulted in the substitution of previous language of instruction: thus for Alsace from French to German in 1871, from German to French in 1919, from French to German in 1940 and finally back to French in 1945. In the 322 Antonio Elorza Basque Country the exclusion of the Basque language in education was the rule from 1937, until the relative opening of the 1960s which gave birth to the movement of the ikastolak, Basque private schools. Replacement of symbols followed a convergent path. With the help of Tolomei’s pattern, the Italian State did everything to destroy German/ Tyrolean identity through the procedure of erasing every sign of it and creating an Alto Adige identity everywhere and for everything (toponymy, street names, first names and surnames, and so on). The Monument to Victory is the emblem of this turning around of Tyrolean identity, linked to Italian war victory. Street names and first names, a rededication of national and regional monuments, were the most important changes in Alsace/Elsass. The big challenge was the German “new city” of 1880–1914: Strasburg. Even if the Kaiserplatz became the “Place de la République”, buildings and urbanism spoke by themselves on their “Wilhelm II” provenance. Only the moving “Memorial to our dead” of 1935, the antipode of Bolzano’s “Monument to Victory”, offers reconciliation and fraternity under the maternal sorrow of the Region. Autonomist feeling was still alive. In Euskadi the Basque first names were prohibited, street names changed, according to the new political system, and toponymy survived. Nationalist cultural symbols, such as the stick and jacket of the mountaineers, the Basque flag (ikurriña) and war’s anthem (Eusko gudariak), and of course the name Euskadi, were forbidden up to Franco’s death. So was Tyrol after 1923. Since the Revolution, Alsace did not exist, replaced by the two Departments of High and Low Rhine. Outcomes of a totalitarian rule did not always coincide. Fascist aggressions of the Blutsonntag in Bozen, on 24 April, and the assault and fire which destroyed the Narodni Dom, the Slovene National House in Trieste, on 13 July 1920, provoked an immediate shock on German and Slovene minorities, which gave fascism a de facto superiority, an empowerment favoured by the benevolence of Italian authorities. Both attacks served as detonators of a short term process which began with the violent conquest of political power and very soon led to implement the denationalization process from above, both in South Tyrol and in Slovenia. Fascist violence was then a useful instrument for the nation-State homogenization goals. Alsace, South Tyrol, Basque Country (Euskadi) 323 With the second wave of Italianization, fostered by economic progress and immigration in the Bolzano area, fascism reached the best possible achievement once it was clear that the 1939 Ciano-Goering agreement did not work as expected. National-socialism did not obtain the same results, even if its denationalization politics was much harsher. Germanization was now associated with the pervasive dictatorship of Hitler and the denial of any possibility of survival for individual decisions. Nazi occupation was a deadly blow for autonomist and Germanic identity in Alsace. Occupation of the Alpenvorland by Nazi Germany was shorter and so was denationalization pressure against Italians. The consequences for the nationalist purpose of returning to Austria were negative. In a very different landscape, Franco’s totalitarian purpose of denationalization in the Basque Country had a result similar to what happened in Alsace: without an alternative mass of population aligned with the destructive strategy of the nation-State, totalitarianism leads to a boomerang effect, reinforcing in the medium term the threatened regional/national identity. In all the three cases, the Church became the main obstacle for denationalization politics decided by the State. Alsace, South Tyrol and the Basque Country were deeply conservative regions and the Church played a crucial role in the formation of the believers’ mind and on the public opinion. It was possible for confessional schools and seminars to develop an education in which catholic patterns and national language and identity could be spread surpassing the authorities’ prohibitions and controls. The Katakomben Schule movement in South Tyrol was its best evidence. Nationalism and working class organizations in the Basque Country found their best clandestine meeting places in churches, sacristies and catholic cultural associations. This protective trend was pursued even when after the 1970s a nationalist wing adapted the terrorist strategy of ETA. And ultimately the Church contributed to the political organization of nationalism through an open political activism of priests, like in Alsace and in Tyrol. Democracy was a necessary but by no means a sufficient condition for the affirmation of regional identity and to stop a denationalization process. Extremely centralized politics in a democracy such as France provoked 324 Antonio Elorza an intensive stream of denationalization, where regional identity and linguistic particularities ended up disappearing. South Tyrol and the Basque Country prove that only political autonomy is able to reverse the trend to the disappearance of national/regional characteristics and identity. And last but not least there is the psycho-social dimension of these cultural, economic and political changes, which are the by-product of denationalization and loss of identity. Customarily the purpose of historiography on these subjects is to establish a precise chronicle of facts, laws and the feedback coming from public opinion within the society and from political organizations. But as we have seen in the Alsatian case, under this surface, the plural and deep effects on individual, groups and collectives can be found. We must take into account those thousands upon thousands of Alsatians, evacuated for military reasons in 1939, assigning to themselves the disdainful epithet of Flüchtlinge, those who have fled. For the issues about which we are dealing here would be necessary to give birth to a history of suffering. The mayor of Bozen, Julius Perathoner stressed this feeling when in September 1919 he commented the transfer of sovereignty to Italy: “I have no words to express the deep sorrow which overcomes all the people of South Tyrol, without any difference of class and profession, shared by our compatriots at the north of Brenner”.21 It was the beginning of a harder suffering. History has been overtaken in this field by literary expression. That is not enough to take only into account the big magnitudes, such as the rate of people that speak one language or same years afterwards is unable to use it fluently. Once they are suddenly or progressively denied of their language or of their cultural symbols and customs, that is, the world of signs which enveloped their daily and professional life, individual and social groups become alienated from their own milieu. And it is not all. They can be degraded in their professional life, and even lose their jobs, while their former collective is sinking. Too often there is a real danger of trying to keep and exhibit the excluded identity. 21 Der Tiroler, 18 September 1919, cit. apud Bolzano-scomparsa.it (1919). Alsace, South Tyrol, Basque Country (Euskadi) 325 Frustration is a logical consequence of this prolonged situation of inferiority and humiliation, and so is hate against the dominant group. The field of research is to be found in private communications and familiar documents, and also in the study of nets of sociability. It is what the Basque philosopher Miguel de Unamuno called “intra-history”. Only upon this base complex phenomena, such as the Dableiber and Optanten in South Tyrol, or the swinging adscription to autonomy in Alsace before the Second World War, can be understood. Bibliography Beoldi, A., and H. Obermair (eds), Tra Roma e Bolzano/Zwischen Rom und Bozen (Bozen/Bolzano: Città di Bolzano/Stadt Bozen, 2006). Elorza, Antonio, Tras las huellas de Sabino Arana (Madrid: Temas de Hoy, 2005). Fischer, Christopher J., Alsace to the Alsatians? Visions and Divisions of Alsatian Regionalism, 1870–1939 (Oxford-New York: Berghahn, 2010). Grote, Georg, The South Tyrol Question (1866–2010) (Bern: Peter Lang, 2012). Mees, Ludger, Nationalism, Violence and Democracy. The Basque Clash of Identities (London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2003). Montero, Manuel, Historia general del País Vasco (St Sebastian: Txertoa, 2008). Steininger, Rolf, Südtirol. Vom Ersten Weltkrieg bis zur Gegenwart (Innsbruck: Studien Verlag, 1999). Vogler, Bernard, Histoire culturelle de l’Alsace (Strasburg: La Nuée Bleue, 1994). Lucio Giudiceandrea and Aldo Mazza 17 Living Together is an Art abstract What individual skills and what political conditions are necessary to overcome the dichotomy of altoatesini versus Südtiroler? Lucio Giudiceandrea and Aldo Mazza gave their response to this question in the book Stare insieme è un’arte – Vivere in Alto Adige/Südtirol [Being together is an art – Living in Alto Adige/South Tyrol] (Bolzano, 2012). In this chapter the two authors attempt to take a step forward: what individual skills and what political conditions are necessary to overcome the new dichotomy of “residents” versus “foreigners”? The perspective widens: the art of living together, as considered from reasoning on the local situation, is now re-examined in relation to the global situation. We can therefore highlight the differences and the similarities between the two different perspectives. The conclusion is that being together in a globalized world is indeed an art, one even more complex and necessary than what we are experiencing in Alto Adige/Südtirol. Premise In this statement we will not be making Alto Adige/Südtirol the central theme of our reasoning. We have already done that in our book Stare insieme è un’arte – Vivere in Alto Adige/Südtirol and frankly it seems that there is not much to add to what is already written. Our focus then was on the relationship between sudtirolesi, altoatesini and ladini,1 who we can define as the historic community of this land, or more simply the residents, given that their presence here dates back about a century. In this contribution we 1 Translator’s note: sudtirolesi refers to German speakers in South Tyrol; altoatesini refers to Italian speakers in South Tyrol; ladini refers to the speakers of Ladin in South Tyrol. 328 Lucio Giudiceandrea and Aldo Mazza want, instead, to widen the perspective: our attention is no longer dedicated to the relationship between the historic communities, but rather to the relationship of the historic community with the new community of “foreigners”, as they are commonly called, even if they are more and more an integrated part of our society. Our focus is on the relationship with the new travellers, as we have called them, borrowing a metaphor from the German sociologist H. M. Enzensberger, who have boarded the train on which we old travellers have finally settled after much bickering. How do we approach this encounter? It is on this that we must reflect, if we wish to avoid conflicts far more dangerous and devastating than those already experienced and, though only partially, overcome. In other words, we propose to add a specification here to the subtitle of our book: Vivere in Alto Adige/Südtirol globalizzato. The local reality thus becomes an opportunity to verify how much the particular experience acquired in Alto Adige/Südtirol can or could serve to deal with the global reality which our little world is now a part of. Individual and collective The contemporary history of Alto Adige/Südtirol is strongly characterized by collective identity. Beyond the individual diversity, the majority of altoatesini, sudtirolesi and ladini recognize themselves, to date, in collective subjects, that is, in a “we” (we altoatesini, or we sudtirolesi) defined in large part by opposition to “them” (them, the sudtirolesi; them, the altoatesini or, more precisely, the italiani). Now new travellers are boarding the train, carrying with them their own luggage. It seems, therefore, that a triad of “we”, “them” and “the others” is taking shape. On closer inspection, however, one can see another possible issue. When encountering the new travelers, the old travellers tend to compact, just like those who are seated in a compartment and do not want to make room for others tend to do. Is it this that is happening? The historical communities of this land will also end up forming a new “we”, defined largely by opposition to the “others”, Living Together is an Art 329 the new “them”. Adopting a Hegelian language, but resisting suggestions of idealism, we could say the following: the thesis “we” (altoatesini or sudtirolesi) has met the antithesis “them” (sudtirolesi or altoatesini/italiani) and has given birth as synthesis a new “we” (altoatesina + sudtirolesi). Today this new “we” becomes thesis and encounters the new antithesis “them” (them, the new communities). According to certain signs, it appears that something like this is happening. The proof is given by the fact that major political parties are shifting the focus of their policy, aiming to broaden their consensus. At a national level La Lega does this, accentuating campaigns against immigration and immigrants and softening those against the “terroni” [southern Italians], evidently with an eye to the electorate of the south; at the local level, for example, there is the Südtiroler Freiheitlichen, who proclaim themselves defenders of those who are “einheimisch” or “di qui” (from here), and no longer only the “Südtiroler”. This tendency is also apparent in other countries. Nationalism is once again becoming common currency in the old continent. We think of the phenomenon of Front National in France, to a movement like Pegida in East Germany, to the Allianz für Deutschland, or to the UK independence party UKIP which aims to emphasize the distance between Her Majesty’s subjects, inhabitants of the United Kingdom, and “them” – where “them” consists of, this time, not only non-EU inhabitants but also the inhabitants of continental Europe. Collective identities are not simplistically a trap, as we seem to understand from Amartya Sen’s essay Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny. Collective identities are artificial and often arbitrary constructions, in that they remove the differences between individuals and subsume them into a collective. However, if a significant number of individuals recognize themselves as part of a more or less stable and artificial heritage of behaviour, ideas and values, then that sentiment of belonging effectively creates a new collective subject, a “we” as opposed to a “them”, ready to play its own part in history – at least until its artificiality is uncritically accepted by most. It will circulate like counterfeit money, with the not slight difference that counterfeit notes can be much more easily recognized and exposed than false identities, supported by the force of simple and simplifying ideas. 330 Lucio Giudiceandrea and Aldo Mazza Against, alongside, without, with: Four modalities The system of autonomy in Südtirol/Alto Adige is is often referred to as the model for the protection of minorities. This judgement is clearly too generous just as the opposite one, which denounces it as the system of ethnic cages, is too severe. As should be clear, each situation has its specific features: there are no formulas valid for all cases. On the other hand, the obligation of belonging to a linguistic group, provided by the Second Statute of Autonomy for the province of Bolzano/Bozen, does not necessarily lead to apartheid. A reasonable judgement, in this case too, must differentiate and distinguish. One of the theses of our essay is that the system of ethnic separation, based on collective identities, has played a positive role to the extent that it has contained and regulated the conflict between the historic communities in Alto Adige/ Südtirol. The “condominium model” as we have defined it, where each group lives in its own apartment, whereas for the communal areas and facilities there is a regulation (the Second Statute of Autonomy) which defines the quotas, powers and limits of each group. In this sense we sustain that the system of ethnic separation has had the merit of making the Gegeneinander [one against the other] a Nebeneinander [one alongside the other]. The Gegeneinander was the condition inherited from history, which saw two rival and competing communities in the field: the sudtirolesi who feel robbed of their belonging and the altoatesini/italiani who feel that they are the conquerors of this territory. It is quite evident that the Gegeneinander presents a greater degree of conflict than the Nebeneinander. This latter, however, also has its pitfalls. The greatest is that this condition is transformed into a Ohneeinander [one without the other], that is in doing without the other, in living as if the other were not there. Again, we can boast a certain experience, us old travellers, since there really is no shortage of sudtirolesi and altoatesini who have cultivated and continue to cultivate the illusion of being able to live without the other. With regard to the Ohneeinander, it should be noted that it may hold sway for a time, but it is highly doubtful that it can do so in the long run. If the need arises to carry out important work in the Living Together is an Art 331 condominium building, it is good for the tenants to know and understand what it is, because only then can they find a certain amount of mediation between the different interests and the different proposals. The alternative means condominium disputes and, beyond the metaphor, ethnic conflicts. In our book, therefore, we conclude that the Alto Adige/Südtirol of today cannot settle for a, even if non-conflictual, Nebeneinander which can very easily slide into the Ohneeinander, but is ready to face a further step: the one towards the Miteinander [one with the other]. The Miteinander is the only condition which can guarantee a medium and long-term peaceful and productive coexistence. What remains valid of this reasoning, and what not, if we move our attention to the encounter of “we” with the new “them”? We believe we do not err too much by asserting that at this stage the dominant feeling between “residents” and “foreigners” is the Gegeneinander. At least from our side, “foreigners” are widely perceived as a threat, a danger to the safety, well-being and culture of us residents. If this is the situation, perhaps it is not mistaken to indicate the Nebeneinander as a primary objective, which can at least limit the subject matters and opportunities for conflict. Just as happened in Alto Adige/Südtirol, the Nebeneinander can be guaranteed by a system which guarantees what is due to the different groups: specific spaces, powers, social benefits, representative organs and more. This is not the place to specify on which basis this system can rest and how it should be designed. On the other hand, frankly, we do not have the skills to do it. It is politics which must take responsibility for defining this system, if it wants to fulfill its role of guiding the development of society. That something like this is necessary to avoid ethnic conflicts is, it seems to us, at the very least to be recommended. Certainly, it is easier to say that living together is accomplished by itself if we only accept that “we are all brothers and sisters”; but we here in Alto Adige/Südtirol have a lot of evidence that a general statement of intent actually leaves many opportunities open for conflict. We therefore maintain the view that the pragmatic approach is more productive than the ideological one. 332 Lucio Giudiceandrea and Aldo Mazza Willingness to discuss The Nebeneinander seems the first objective to be achieved in the relationship with the new travellers; while in the medium and long term that will be the Miteinander, which is reached gradually and, it must be added, painstakingly. The most recent history of Alto Adige/Südtirol, with its forward steps and its relapses, demonstrates this unequivocally. The Miteinander is not realized unless certain economic, social, political and, in the case of the new challenge that is before us, even geopolitical preconditions are in place; a general detente in relations between the “first” and “third” worlds, as well as between the great monotheistic religions. Among the preconditions of a cultural nature concerning the scope of individual behaviour, the most important seems to be this: the willingness to discuss. As we have mentioned, the separation between the groups can be a step forward when compared to open conflict. However, even separation is not without its dangers. Insofar as it emphasizes and cements collective identities, the Nebeneinander ends up, in a certain way, keeping the ethnic conflict alive. If we want the Miteinander, the only condition that can guarantee the absence of conflict, we must then leave our apartment, or we must open it to the others. The aim is not, of course, a Wohngemeinschaft, a commune (that we can construct with those we choose, residents or foreigners), but an enlargement of communal areas: a yard for the condominium children, a vegetable garden to cultivate together, a tea room to meet each other; and, if necessary, also a project to renovate the building and adapt it to new needs. The antidote to prejudice and enmity, the viaticum of the Miteinander, is the knowledge of the history of the other. Here in Alto Adige/Südtirol we are getting there. The conflict between us old travellers is lessening, the more we learn to know the other’s history. We believe we can say that we have made important steps, lately, in this direction. One such is the socalled “musealization” of the Monument to Victory in Bolzano: an intelligent and brave policy, combined with the work of a group of historians, which removed the monument’s conflictual potential and made it into an opportunity for knowledge and cultural growth for the city and for those Living Together is an Art 333 who visit it. A similar task now lies ahead in the meeting with the new travellers. Who are they? What histories do they bring with them? Although this is not the place to deal with it at length, we must remember here the role and the importance of information, and more generally of public discourse, on the phenomenon of migrants. How do we talk about them? What words, definitions and images do we use? Thinking of this even for just a few seconds, it becomes evident that the new travellers are quite clearly not a group, a community. As regards language, culture, religion and much more, they often have, in fact, much less in common than do a South Tyrolean farmer from the Passeier Valley and an Alto Adige shopkeeper from a Calabrian family. It is we who make a group of them, using words like “foreigners”, “immigrants”, “migrants”, “refugees”, “nonEuropeans” (and others we will not mention) and neglecting once again their unique histories and their individual identities. From the point of view of sorting, it may have sense to identify them in a group. But this must never prejudice the possibility of establishing personal and direct relationships. So not only do we have to be careful how we talk about them, we also have to be ready to talk to them. Willingness to discuss, exactly that. Willingness to change If we want the being together (stare insieme) between the historic communities in Alto Adige/Südtirol to rest on solid foundations, another of our theses says, we have to acquire a decent (decent; not necessarily perfect) knowledge of the language and culture of the other. Here, too, we ask ourselves the question: Is this recommendation transferrable to the relationship with “foreigners”? In part yes, in part no. To “foreigners” one can and must ask knowledge of our languages, because only in this way can they find their place in the new environment in which they have come to live. This process, moreover, is already in place; it often produces positive and, in many cases, surprising results. The reason is plain: “foreigners” are well aware that their native language is not enough to guarantee them 334 Lucio Giudiceandrea and Aldo Mazza the position to which they aspire. They therefore have a strong motivation, unlike many Italians and South Tyroleans who are content with the Ohneeinander, convinced that just one language (their own) is enough to live in Alto Adige/South Tyrol. For obvious reasons, you cannot expect residents to know the foreigners’ languages. It would be absurd and unrealistic to ask us to learn, for example, Arabic, whereas it is not absurd and unrealistic to ask those coming to live here to learn Italian and the local dialect. This asymmetry should not be overlooked because it creates a sort of inequality – this time to the advantage of the “new travellers”; “they” speak our languages (as well as their own) while “we” do not speak theirs. And perhaps the prediction is not wrong that, in view of the global village, “they” will have more cards to play than “us”. If not knowledge of the new languages, one can and must, however, ask of the “residents” an intellectual performance of no minor commitment. We have already said that a solid Miteinander presupposes the willingness to discuss; here we add that another willingness is needed: the willingness to change. Individual experience teaches us that to live (well) with others we must be willing to change. Said in abstracts terms: we must move from a static conception to a dynamic conception of identity. “Die eigene Identität pflegen”/“Curare la propria identità” [Maintain your own identity], says one of the guidelines of public discourse in Alto Adige/ Südtirol; acceptable, but only if the pflegen, curare, maintain, also allows a modification of its own identity. That means we must agree to actively participate in a process, at the end of which “we” will no longer be those we were before meeting “them”. Culture, in the anthropological sense, is not only books, works of art, the values in which we recognize ourselves, the certainties we believe to have, but also the way in which we eat, dress, organize social relations, work, free time and much more. The meeting with the new travellers brings all these factors into play and necessarily starts the transformation in all those involved in this process. The meeting with the other changes us, whether we like it our not; in the global village no one can retreat to an unconditional defence of themselves. What we can do, however, is choose where to direct the change. If we base it on collective and static identities we will move towards ethnic antagonism. If instead Living Together is an Art 335 we give weight to individual identities and if we are able to accept changes in identity, we will foster a common perspective. Willingness to renounce Conditioning due to history is quite evident in the relationships between us old travellers. This is all the more so in the relationships with the new travellers. When we speak about history in this context, we mean, more precisely, the account of history, which is that body of knowledge more or less suited to the reality of facts, which by tradition, conviction and conditioning is shared by a community determining the common feeling. In our book we recounted how, for the sudtirolese side, the memory of historical injustice (historisches Unrecht) incurred with the break-up of Tyrol after the Great War – a memory which was really very gepflegt [maintained] – has conditioned the political, social and cultural life up to the present day. For the altoatesina side a similar consideration can be made remembering the myth of victory, this too very much curato [maintained], thanks to which Italy annexed the new provinces. These different accounts of history are the result of enmities, the legacy of which endures to the present day conditioning relationships between the old travellers. Are there hereditary enmities which could also prejudice relationships with the new travellers? Broadly speaking, this was the hypothesis made in Samuel P. Huntington’s Clash of Civilisations. We can each evaluate how much of that scenario is true and how much is not. For our discussion it is of interest to make this point: if not a rivalry there does exist a glaring disparity in the conditions of the different travellers. A social and economic disparity (and not only this) whose effects are not slow to be felt in the global village. In Alto Adige/Südtirol the availability of resources was considerable throughout all the phases of the construction and development of autonomy. Put in cruder terms: money contributed in a decisive way to pacify the situation. As is noted, the resources are now decreasing while the new travellers on board the train are in need 336 Lucio Giudiceandrea and Aldo Mazza of everything: shelter, food, work, relationships. By no description is their condition comparable to ours, which, moreover, in these years of economic crisis is revealing all its fragility. The scenario is not at all reassuring. For what little it is worth, we also believe that in this case a rule, or at least an indication, cited in our Stare insieme may be reconsidered. The indication is this: the minorities, the weak, have a certain right to ask, the majorities, the strong, have a certain duty to give. Here then, is another great willingness that we must be ready to implement after the willingness to discuss and the willingness to change: the willingness to renounce, to give something of our material wealth. We are attempting a cultural discourse here, even an ethical one. We are attempting to answer the question: How should we behave to avoid antagonism between the old and new travellers and promote a non-confrontational existence? But it must also be remembered that a great cultural awareness by itself can do little. The socio-economic conditions in which this meeting takes place appear to be decisive. If that which we call our model is able to be rearranged to give an appreciable degree of freedom and prosperity to all the travellers, then there will be the possibility that the culture of the Miteinander grows and asserts itself. If it is not able to remedy the inequalities, then feelings of hostility will grow and there will certainly be no shortage of “culture” politics to give them a voice. Above and below We are attempting, as mentioned, an ethical discourse. More than how things are, we have spoken so far about how things must or, in our opinion, should be. This discourse is addressed above all to the individual. The attitudes, positive or negative, which we have tried to describe, refer to us as people. But the actions of individuals do not cover all areas of social relations. It is evident, in short, that this involves acting on at least two Living Together is an Art 337 levels if we really want the Miteinander. It is necessary to act from below, on a personal level, putting in place the willingness we mentioned; and it is necessary to act from above, creating the appropriate political conditions because this willingness may manifest and assert itself. The issue strikes us as individuals and as a society and on both levels we must be prepared to make it possible, to grasp and boost opportunities for coexistence. In this case, too, our history can teach us something. As mentioned, the Second Statute of Autonomy made a Nebeneinander without conflict possible, but also without reciprical approaches. The push in this direction essentially came from below, that is, from movements which have not ceased pointing out the Miteinander as the ultimate goal of our sudtirolese/altoatesina issue. Initially, let’s say during the Magnago era, the political government of the province opposed these attempts; we only have to remember the unresponsiveness to requests coming from schools. Later, during the Durnwalder era, they were tolerated but without touching the institutional system. Today this too is ready for change, so much so that the need for a reform of the autonomy is shared by the very party, the SVP, which won, constructed and administered it. At this time the provincial law which defines the procedures for such reform, provides for significant civil society involvement. The relationship between above and below is not deterministic, but rather dialectical. It is true that all of us are conditioned by the “system” in which we live and in which we were shaped. However, unless you have an apocalyptic view, this condition is not total. Contrary to the title of a celebrated book covering the period of the 1960s and 1970s, man is not one-dimensional. At least in our part of the world, the “system” leaves considerable space to individual liberties. It is a matter, then, of making a conscious and directed use of it to the end that we choose. That which we call “system” is not an entity sent to earth with the attribute of immutability, but the fruit of a development. Each “system” can be modified: what we do with it largely depends on us. 338 Lucio Giudiceandrea and Aldo Mazza Reciprocity Specification: We are not do-gooders. Good but not fools All of our reasoning is for us old travellers. How should we behave now that the new travellers are boarding the train? Do we say that the whole compartment is full? Or do we take our feet off the seat opposite and make room? Forgive us the trite example: it is only to make clear, if there were any need, that in our opinion the second response is far more preferable to the first – and not only, as we will see, for general humanism. We wish to avoid, however, a criticism that may be levelled against what we have written. We do not, in fact, want to run the risk of being accused of do-goodism. If we have so far talked about what “we” old travellers can do, it will also be necessary to define what “the others”, the new travellers can do. To put it in no uncertain terms: the Miteinander requires, among other things, reciprocity. As common sense says, it takes two to get along, while to argue it is enough for only one of the two to want to. Everyone who wants the Miteinander as an end must therefore be open to what we have stated. And that is to confront, to change and to yield. We mention this openness or willingness without specifically indicating what we need to change or what we need to yield. We deliberately remain vague because in this case we are more interested in the attitude than the contents. These will be discussed and agreed on from time to time, depending on the circumstances; but our attitude can be defined with sufficient clarity from now on. The same attitude is to be asked of the new travellers. “They” too, like “us” should be willing to discuss, to change; while the third willingness, that to renounce, remains asymmetric: what wealth should be renounced by those who have nothing but the clothes on their back – and often not even that? Living Together is an Art 339 The art of living together To conclude these considerations we want to return to the title of our book Stare insieme è un’arte [Being together is an art]. It seemed a suggestive title to us. Different reactions provoked by the book, however, made us think that the meaning of that phrase was not understood in all its implications. What we want to say is that the famous peaceful coexistence is not a natural event, it does not come about by itself just by the “system” not being closed in “ethnic cages”. Living together must be learned, just like a trade is learned. It is a kind of craft, even if a craft whose workshop is in our heads and whose tools of the trade are the thoughts and behaviour which follow. During a presentation of the book we felt ourselves raising a question which was more or less: “But why do I have to do this apprenticeship? Why do I have to learn this trade, why do I have to “be together” with others if the circle of relationships in which I live is enough and satisfies me?” Part of the answer is contained in the book and also what we have said here: because the encounter with “them” is taking on dimensions that sic et simpliciter cannot be ignored But we have not spelled out another part of the answer clearly. “Being together” takes effort. It takes effort to listen to the reasoning of the other and understand his or her sensitivity; it takes effort to abandon habits and ways of thinking that have given us stability and safety up to now; it takes effort, above all, to renounce something that you believe to be deserved and believe to have the right to keep. But it is an effort much less than the one we will face if the relationship between the old and new travellers turns into an open conflict. Bibliography Baur, Siegfried, Die Tücken der Nähe – Kommunikation und Kooperation in Mehrheits-/ Minderheitssituationen (Bozen: 2000). 340 Lucio Giudiceandrea and Aldo Mazza Di Luca, Gabriele, Südtirol e “fine della storia”. Una fiaba sulla rappresentazione del contrasto etnico, in: Politika09 (Bozen: 2009), S. 331 u. f. Enzenberger, Hans Magnus, Die Große Wanderung (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkampverlag, 1992). Faso, Giuseppe, Lessico del razzismo democratico – Le parole che escludono (Roma: 2008). Gatterer, Claus, Erbfeindschaft Italien–Österreich (Zürich: 1972). Gatterer, Claus, Über die Schwierigkeit, heute Südtiroler zu sein, Rede anlässlich der Verleihung des Südtiroler Pressepreises, gehalten am 31. Januar 1981, Hg. Südtiroler Hochschülerschaft (Bozen: 1981), p. 22. Giudiceandrea, Lucio, Spaesati – Italiani in Südtirol (Bolzano: 2006). Giudiceandrea, Lucio, and Mazza, Aldo, Stare insieme è un’arte – Vivere in Alto Adige/ Südtirol (Bolzano: 2012). Huntington, Samuel P., The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996). Langer, Alexander, Aufsätze zu Südtirol 1978–1995 Scritti sul Sudtirolo, a c. di: Riccardo Dello Sbarba e Siegfried Baur (Bolzano: 1996) Lanthaler, Franz, Dialekt und Mehrsprachigkeit – dialetto e plurilinguismo, Beiträge eines internationalen Symposiums | Atti di un simposio internationale (Bozen: 1994). Melandri, Francesca, Eva dorme (Milano: 2010). Peterlini, Hans Karl, Wir Kinder der Autonomie (Bozen: 2002). Romeo, Carlo, Alto Adige/Südtirol XX secolo. Cent’anni e più in parole e immagini (Bolzano: 2003). Sen, Amartya, Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny (New York: W. W. Norton, 2006). Steurer, Leopold, Südtirol zwischen Rom und Berlin 1919–1939 (Berlin-MünchenWien, 1980). Hans Karl Peterlini 18 Between Stigma and Self-Assertion: Difference and Belonging in the Contested Area of Migration and Ethnicity abstract Hans Karl Peterlini looks at migration from the perspective of ethnic majority–minority issues by focusing on South Tyrol, which was a part of the old Austrian monarchy and annexed by Italy after the World War I. The mono-national and monolingual construction characteristic of national states is disturbed by the presence of two protected language minorities. In the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano, nearly 70 per cent of the population is German-speaking and about 4 per cent speaks the old Rhaeto-Romanic (here called “Ladin”). The tension between equality and difference or homogeneity and heterogeneity in such areas asks for a special theoretical and methodological approach. The focus cannot be limited, in a dichotomous way, to the particularity of migrants or their so-called host society, but has to consider the “in between” as a pedagogical space. The intertwined complexity of ethnic defensive reactions, forms of integration, pressure for assimilation and attempts of self-assertion has to be taken into account. This will complicate simple answers, but hopefully thereby also amplify and deepen insight into societies distinguished by migration and ethnification. Within the discourse of threat: Minority versus migration “Are we becoming a minority in our own country?” asks the South Tyrolean party Die Freiheitlichen in a media broadcast from 18 June 2015, with reference to the “strongly” increasing “proportion of foreigners in South Tyrol’s kindergartens and primary schools” (Blaas 2015): “Not only this rapid increase poses major new challenges to our students and teachers, but is also dangerous on an ‘ethnic political’ (volkstumspolitisch) level. If the present 342 Hans Karl Peterlini trends continue, the decades-long decline in births and the non-European mass immigration could cause us, in a near future, to become a minority in our own country.” (ibid.) This “alarming development” (ibid.) is supported by data, which was delivered by Die Freiheitlichen as the outcome of a parliament request from the South Tyrolean provincial government. According to their findings, in the academic year 2014 to 2015, the “proportion of foreigners” in the German-speaking kindergartens in South Tyrol was 10.1 per cent. While from 2011 to 2012, 959 children from migrant families attended German kindergartens, it is now 1,204 children who, according to the Freiheitlichen Party, are a threat to the German-speaking South Tyrolean minority in Italy on an ethno-political basis. During the same period, the “proportion of foreigners” in the primary schools had passed from 6.5 to 7.7 per cent. What is interesting for the political interpretation of these numbers – yet unexciting in comparison with many European countries – is the situation in the educational institutions for the Italian-language group reported in the same media broadcast. Kindergartens and primary schools show a much higher concentration of children from foreign families, with about 25 per cent of the children falling in this category. In relation to the German-speaking population in South Tyrol, about which the Freiheitlichen Party is concerned, this fact should put the alarm signal into perspective. At first glance it appears that the German-speaking minority – specially protected in the South Tyrol – is far less affected by migration than the Italian-speaking population. This (alleged) disproportion nurtures an equally existential allegation, albeit completely different ethno-political concern, namely that the majority of immigrant new citizens orientate themselves towards the Italian language, since initially they have the notion that they came to Italy. Usually, migrants only gradually become aware that in the territory of the Autonomous Province South Tyrol there are three officially recognized ethnic groups and that two of these, the German- and the Ladin-language groups, are constitutionally protected. Moreover, while the German-speaking population constitutes the majority in South Tyrol, with around 70 per cent, this population ratio is inverted in the city of Bolzano (Astat 2012: 4, 5). Migrants who settle in Bolzano and do not explore the largely Germanspeaking valleys initially miss out on the multilingual South Tyrol. Thus, Between Stigma and Self-Assertion 343 they are not immediately conscious of the importance of mastering the German language, on the ground of its equality with the Italian language and of its economic utility in many work areas, for instance, tourism. The ethno-political concerns of the separatist movement Südtiroler Freiheit, which stand opposite to the Freiheitlichen’s concerns, connect to this principle. The idea is: when children from migrant families are socialized within the Italian-language world through the preferred enrolment in Italian educational institutions, they strengthen the Italianlanguage group at the expense of the German-speaking minority in South Tyrol. “Immigrants of today shall not be tomorrow’s Italians”, warned the Südtiroler Freiheit at the regional debate about the discussed 2011 Integration Act (Knoll 2011). The fact that the Italian State required foreigners applying for a residence permit in South Tyrol to pass an Italian examination, but did not allow an additional German examination, was interpreted as a deliberate strategy to “make the immigrants in South Tyrol Italians in the long term.” (Knoll / Klotz 2011) That would make the “integration and adaptation of immigration to the German language group […] difficult” (ibid.). Such a simple logic of assimilation expresses blatant hope that the integration of the “immigrants of today”, so to speak, into the German-language community would make them the tomorrow’s German-speaking South Tyrolean. Consequently, the German schools should – quite contrarily to the warnings of ethnic alienation – attract as much immigrant children as possible in order to foster their “integration and adaptation”. This, of course, comes in direct contradiction with those dominant, albeit totally unfounded everyday discourses implying that the presence of children from migrant families in kindergartens and schools jeopardizes the German “mother tongue” (compare affirmative <http:// www.suedtirolnews.it>, 11 December 2013, and contrasting AllemannGhionda 2006; 2013: 245). The exemplified strategic assessment of risks and opportunities that represents migration narrows the perception of migration in South Tyrol, considering it almost exclusively on its compatibility with the South Tyrolean minority protection. The two national patriotic parties namely agree on the fact that migration – if not prevented or ethnopolitically absorbed – threatens the very existence of the German-speaking minority. A projection of the statistics institute Istat, according to which 344 Hans Karl Peterlini the proportion of immigrants in Italy, due on the one hand to migration and on the other hand to the weak birth rate of the country’s population, will increase of 24 per cent by 2065 (in South Tyrol of 22.97 per cent). This was commented upon by both parties in dramatic language: “changing of the people is taking place”, pointed the Freiheitlichen parliamentarian Pius Leitner; a “serious threat to our survival”, pinpointed Sven Knoll from the Südtiroler Freiheit (Istat, 2011). Within the discourse of ambivalence: Minority meets migration The clash of the most recent migration process with the protection of autochthonous minorities is undoubtedly both a minority right (cf. MeddaWindischer/Carlá 2015) and a social peculiarity. In the interaction of migration and ethnicity, categories such as difference and equality, heterogeneity and homogeneity are given in clear and absolute terms, but they appear in an ambivalent tension. Nevertheless, there is hope that strategies for the coexistence of different linguistic and cultural groups, tested in such areas for decades, even centuries to some extent, could now be useful for the migration experience. This applies even more to regions where after often heavy fighting and conflicts, peace was made and a resolution that satisfied big part of the population was agreed upon, just like South Tyrol with the Second Statute of Autonomy of 1972. Still, migration, as a profoundly mobilizing phenomenon per se, radically changes rules and forms of society (see Mecheril 2006, Mecheril and al 2013) and puts the areas with ethnic protection systems most especially to test. A similar concern about the outvoting of legally protected and recognized linguistic and ethnic minority in Canadian Quebec resulted in migrant families having to send their children to French schools (Taylor 1993: 52; Gouvernment du Québec 2012) in order to ensure the protection of the French-language community despite migration. In this case, the – ethno-culturally legitimized – special rights for the autochthonous linguistic minority are placed Between Stigma and Self-Assertion 345 before the freedom of choice of the non-legitimized ethnic groups who have come to Quebec through recent migration. On a theoretical level, this reflects how different ethnic, linguistic and cultural differences can be welcomed and thus also co-constructed through recognition or ostracized, denied and suppressed through forced adaptation and assimilation (see Otto / Schrödter 2006). Hence, difference (as in otherness and strangeness opposed to the adoption of national homogeneity) appears in the same area once as a legally protected subjective and collective good, then as stigmatizing anomaly (cf. Waldenfels 2012, pp. 109–132, and Lippitz 2003). While the ethnic self-assertion of a protected autochthonous minority allows it to make claims and possibly achieve equality through the recognition of their difference, the difference of migrants is perceived as a disturbing phenomenon, as an anomaly that can be smoothed and ultimately as a stigma in a nationality of peers imagined as homogenous. In South Tyrol, migrants are not forced fitted into one or the other official language group. They can, regardless of their ethnicity and origin, freely decide whether to send their children to German- or to Italian-language educational institutions. In these institutions, the respective second language is taught on the basis of a limited number of lessons; in the two Ladin valleys, there are uniform educational institutions with an equal amount of German and Italian lessons and the additional use of Ladin as the language of play and utility. The “parental right” (H. K. Peterlini 2003: 97) of free ethnically bonded school choice was an important requirement in the negotiations on the South Tyrolean Autonomy. It had to ensure that in multilingual areas the families with Italian ancestors, parents, or even just with Italian surnames, could declare themselves as belonging to the German minority. Thus, the ethnicity was not defined as naturalized culture, but raised to the question of confession. This opens up a large free room, since in principle also Italian citizens could “confess” into the German-speaking minority and enrol their children in the German educational institutions (and vice versa). On the other hand, the question of belonging to one group or another through the confession right to culture and language policy questions is charged with fundamental values. The concerns and counter-strategies of the national patriotic parties in South Tyrol are ultimately nourished precisely by this freedom of choice for 346 Hans Karl Peterlini immigrants to turn towards either of the language groups. With this comes an interesting development: is it true that by percentages the proportion of migrant children in the Italian educational institutions, with around 25 per cent, is much higher than in the German kindergartens and schools, but this does not mean a disproportionate orientation of migrant families towards the Italian-language group. In absolute terms, the repartition of migration children that takes place in primary schools is almost 50:50 (approximately 1,500 children) and in kindergartens 60:40 “in favour” of the German facilities. In the ethno-logic of the two German patriotic parties, this would even respect the ethnic balance between Germans and Italians in South Tyrol. The only difference is that the – far weaker in number – Italian institutions are characterized by a much stronger migrant percentage. This can also be explained by the fact that the Italian population is concentrated in the city of Bolzano, where the migration percentage is the highest. Within the discourse of ethnic proportional representation: Outvoting as trauma and motive for defence The suspicious ethnic monitoring of migration is undoubtedly a consequence of the fact that the provincial autonomy is structured according to language-group strength. This had – in the first launch in 1948 and expanded model in 1972 – as a causal and central purpose the protection of the German language and of the – far less substantial and thus less rigid – Ladin minority. While in the post-war period, State outvoting was maintained beyond fascism as a policy against the German and Ladin populations through forced migration from Italian regions after a long and sometimes-violent independence struggle (see H. K. Peterlini 2007; 2013), it led to a protection system that is now acclaimed as exemplary throughout Europe. The South Tyrolean autonomy has – according to Palermo 1999 – a two-fold dimension: the Province of South Tyrol, a territorial configuration with potent self-management skills that ultimately benefits all language groups and ethnicities, but also a segregating structure Between Stigma and Self-Assertion 347 with specific protection provisions for the two ethnic minorities. The most effective, but also the most incisive instrument is – in addition to the ethnically separate school systems for securing and strengthening the German-language education – the allocation of public funds, positions of power, careers in the public sector and social housing by language-group strength, the so-called “ethnic proportional representation” (O. Peterlini 1980; 1997). This partition and hence division strategy has proven to be the one pacifying instrument between State and minorities; the sources of conflict calmed down and it created an almost mathematical distributive justice after decades of unequal treatment. At the same time, the concept of ethnic protection through isolation and division has made its way so deeply in the collective consciousness and in the political culture of South Tyrol, that the logic of proportional strength is superior to all other considerations. From this angle, back to that we that is, according to the ethno-patriotic parties, threatened by migration – (“that we will become a minority in our own country in the medium term”, Blaas 2014) – was back. This we is – in contrast to regions and states imagined as nationally homogeneous – not the host society, but a segregated part of it, only a privileged minority group who defines itself by its difference from the “national people”. The way migration affects the whole society and the way European States can cope with the almost daily refugee tragedies is – cynically speaking – almost negligible from such a perspective. What is relevant for the discourse is whether the rights of the minority are secured or whether migration messes up the laboriously stabilized power relations between majority and minority, to the detriment of the latter. From the perspective of the indigenous minorities, migration is connected with the additional fear that the representatives of new difference could estrange the long-established protected minorities and, sooner or later, push them into that impotent offside against which they had asserted themselves successfully against State outvoting attempts. Such ethno-centric discourse defeats Universalist aspirations, as acknowledges Habermas for culturalized Communities, when he speaks of a “normative core” in which “the individual members ‘know of being one’” and find “forms of collective identity” (Habermas 1976: 25). Accordingly, the members of such communities or groups would see “any destruction or violation of this normative 348 Hans Karl Peterlini core as a threat to their sense of identity” (ibid.). From the viewpoint of an ethnic minority that feels threatened, newly arriving citizens are not considered on the basis of the challenge and/or enrichment they can bring to the host society. For the same reason, the question of how the coexistence with them could be designed is not raised. They are reduced to how they – under disclosure of their difference – can be classified into the existing ethnic order, without endangering them. This amounts to assimilation into the minority group: “belonging” is offered under the condition to abandon your own difference, or at least put it aside in favour of a commitment to the locally available differentiation. The success story of the South Tyrolean minority apparently does not lead to increased sensitivity towards other minorities and minorities in the minority, but to the hierarchizing of minorities between ancestral and recognized minorities and those who have immigrated and therefore have to adapt. This especially manifests itself in the application of ethnic proportional representation and the related declaration of language-group membership. The South Tyrolean minority protection is practically based on the right to confession of difference. People can, in fact must, declare themselves either German or Italian or Ladin, therewith proportional political offices, public authorities, social resources and social housing are divided. Now this protection system oriented on the confession right compels other ethnic groups such as Chinese, Moroccans, Serbs, Albanians, Pakistanis, Kurds, of course, to find their place in this system in which all persons residing in South Tyrol can first declare himself as “other”, but then must be assigned to one of the three language groups, for the purpose of ethnic proportional representation. This choice of different groups instead of a forced association with the minority is good by comparison to Quebec, but requires officially the denial of one’s own ethnic difference. Wherever migrants come from, in South Tyrol they are officially either German or Italian or Ladin. A pretty curious result is that in South Tyrol, because this classification system, there are two groups of Chinese or Moroccans or Indians or Albanians for example: those who (must) associate themselves with the German-language group, and those who associate themselves to the Italian-language group. Between Stigma and Self-Assertion 349 Within the discourse of difference: The own, the other, the in-between At the clash of minority protection and migration the otherwise rather diffuse ambivalence of a belonging determined by difference becomes visible. The perception, visualization, habitual and legal-juridical emphasis on ethnic difference can – as in the case of protected indigenous minorities – on the one hand allow social and political positioning, provided that the difference is recognized and/or is at least legitimized through recognition struggles, as it is the case for the German-speaking population in Italy. On the other hand, this privileged recognition of difference tends to cover other differences or the “differences within the differences” (Krüger-Potratz, 2005: 152). This applies in particular to social differences, which in ethnicized regions often have only weak political influence (H. K. Peterlini, 2011: 31f ). The unification constraints also reach private lifestyles and individual identity formation, where people simply do not fit into the either-Germanor-Italian-grid because they have parents from different language groups. The multilingual families in South Tyrol were long vilified as representing threatening “mixed cultures”, but at the same time – and it is still – made invisible in the statistics (Chisholm / H. K. Peterlini 2012: 54ff ). This way the experience’s potential remains hidden. Without an official place (see de Certeau 1988), the understanding/learning of positioning in the cultural “in-between” (Bhabha 2000: 4) can be rather difficult. It is only through the recognition of bridges and intermediate identities that their social role as “pioneers of interculturalism” (Chisholm / H. K. Peterlini 2012: 132), or – in the case of migrants – as “pioneers of a transnationalization” (Yildiz 2014: 22) can be appreciated. Instead, the richness of their experience (see Cennamo 2013) is forced into the anonymity of private retreat worlds or drawn through foreign ethnicization in the wake of two strong populations. Indeed, a first crack in the “monolingual habitus” (Gogolin 1994) appeared in South Tyrol with the recognition of the autochthonous minorities. The fact that Italy is visibly not homogeneously Italian, has not overcome the monolingual habitus, but rather doubled it in a monolingual habitus of the minority and a monolingual habitus of the majority. This 350 Hans Karl Peterlini leaves all the others left out or forced into the Procrustean bed of ethnic confession to declare themselves as German or Italian Chinese – or for the one with parents of different language to decide whether he love “his father or his mother” (from an interview with Pier Paolo Pasqualoni, see also Pasqualoni 2007). For migrants majority–minority areas thus represent an additional challenge of seeking residence in the diffuse, counter-rotating, historically overloaded and often taboo narrative spot. As an Iraqis working and living in Bolzano, Adel Jabbar called the new beginning of migrants at the place of arrival (if it is a permanent arrival at all) as a “second birth” (personal speech note), connected to a new learning a new language, a new way to walk, in many cases also with a conviction to the marginalization, the devaluation of the self, for the withdrawal of minimum humanitarian standards (see Jabbar 2015). They oscillate between the need for adaption for survival reasons and the need for recognition of their otherness (see Jabbar / Lonardi 1999: 25). The difference itself could be that something unique, which confers status, creates self-esteem and self-efficacy. Yet, it frequently encounters ostracism and rejection and creates a “social distance” between the migrants and the receiving society that is hard to overcome (cf. Jabbar / Lonardi 2000). What is for the one an identity that is worth protecting, is in regular discourses considered by the others with suspicion, rejection, and in the worst cases with disgust. If now however juridical belonging is denied to demos by origin, if emotional affiliation is installed through the being different or only at the price of self-abandon and integration is understood as assimilation, if social exclusion and economic deprivation, including any formal affiliation over generations is scorned and scoffed at because “migration background” (see Hamburger 2010: 17f ) sticks to one – then the difference become the stigma that burns on the forehead and at the same time restricts one’s perception of himself. Ultimately, migrants are confronted to a similar (not same) dilemma as autochthonous minorities; to external ethnicization by the nation state, the only option remaining is self-ethnicization, which at least allows to acquire a status, precisely the one of ethnicized minority (see Butler / Spivak 2011 : 24ff ). Between Stigma and Self-Assertion 351 Within the discourse of the national state: Minority and migration policy as transnational phenomena Thus, migration challenges both the State, imagined as nationally homogenous, and the special protection for ethnic minorities. While the difference of autochthonous minorities is to some extent reconciled with the claim of absoluteness of the national state by ethnic recognition and protection systems in which it accepts to restrict national homogeneity by demarcated areas, the same recognition of what is brought by migration difference would literally crumble any national homogeneity claim, due to the exponentially increased and all social spaces penetrating difference. A minority protection as the one enjoyed by the (by international standards) privileged indigenous South Tyrolean minority, even in its most basic form, is unthinkable for the many ethnic groups of migrants. The most convenient, politically seductive and implicitly predominant way out is that of assimilation – either to the State majority or to the minority. What is a sacred right for the one, is of course, denied to the other. This unequal valuation of difference ultimately finds legitimacy in the fact that the ones have always been there, while the others have only arrived recently. Such an argument ignores the fact that the ones came from somewhere too and that migration is not a current anomaly, but is to be understood as a fundamental experience and a “proper form of human existence” (Hoffmann – Nowotny 1994: 388). Whether the right to be different and to participate in society by respecting this difference alone permanently with the reference can be justified on earlier rights, can be put into question in a political and ethical way, but first and foremost from the point of view of minority protection. For example, if in the Tyrolean municipality of Franzensfeste (near the Brenner frontier), with its high migration density in both the German and the Italian primary school classes, reaches a 100 per cent of children from migrant families, this would also put the separate school system in South Tyrol into question. If the previously so successful South Tyrolean minority protection policy is not overrun by a development that can be rejected, but not stopped, a reflection would be required as to how the South Tyrolean school should align itself in the future, in a 352 Hans Karl Peterlini way that it would be even moderately fair to the country’s new diversity. And this applies to many other issues of minority protection, which could come under pressure in a purely defensive posture. If the other’s the right to their otherness, to their difference, was to be revoked, this could easily lead to the delegitimization of otherness in general and thus also that of autochthonous minorities. Of course, globalized and globalizing migration conditions also keep the claims of ethnicity from becoming obsolete. The indications about opening and hybridizing identity variations in global and glocal societies are confronted to indications about the growing importance of ethnicity (see H. K. Peterlini 2011). This way Wenning’s early forecasts shall continue to be valid: “In the future, migration dynamics will not fade away and ethnicity will not become meaningless” (Wenning 1993: 98). The transnationality and transculturality experienced around the world stand in a tense relationship with the mono-national discourses that are still established. For the production and approval of a national we, these rely on the ethnicization of others (see H. K. Peterlini 2011), which also leads them to situations of marginalization and discrimination (see Broden / Mecheril 2010, Hamburg 2010, Terkessidis 2010). Integration as a unilateral adjustment effort is required but not granted in a reliable way. This ambivalence between equality and equalization claims on the one hand, and between difference claims and stigmatization on the other hand, demands, according to Wenning, an awareness of and a working with the “tension between equal and different” (2004: 579). The protection of autochthonous linguistic minorities is based on the insight that social disregard for cultural communities and identities can lead to the subalternity, the marginalization and the internalized inferiority of the members of these communities and must therefore be repealed by positive discrimination (Taylor 1993: 14ff ). Accordingly, literacy in the mother tongue at the level of language formation is not only a foundation for further language learning (Cummins 1984), but also for reaching higher-education language and thus for equal political and social articulation above all. If this is denied or ignored, the concern for the protection of autochthonous minorities, entangled in an ethno-centricity founded on historical rights (“to have always been there”), would lead to a simultaneous Between Stigma and Self-Assertion 353 deprivation of rights for the allochthonous minorities, ethnic communities and diaspora communities. The key questions of migration societies thus are: How can the interand trans-cultural diversity, partially generated and partially only made visible by migration, be compatible with mono-national and mono-ethnic concepts of state law and political practice at all? How can national frontier drawing- and discriminating practices be justified, when social spaces can only be described as transnational? In majority–minority areas these questions of high complexity can make one clueless at first, but on the other hand they help revealing resources hitherto little perceived and therefore underestimated. Can a system which has itself established ethnically special rights for some communities, just ignore all other ethno-cultural needs and, consequently, make growing segments of the population virtually “speechless”? Conversely, is it conceivable to attribute those recognitions even to the languages of migrant families, without which their speakers are deprived of the most elementary possibility of social participation? And if this is not possible, then how can the special protection for certain ethnic groups be maintained? The questions are not looking for answers, but rather to irritate the usually unquestioned (because presupposed as naturally given) paradigms of national and ethnic identity as a justification for social equality and participation. As long as state laws and boundaries practices are nationally justified, inevitably national and ethnic identity will be established as the privileged, if not the only way for one to socially and politically position himself and demand rights. It is nothing less than the conception of the national state that is on trial, a conception that leads not only its majority, but also its minorities to ethnification as the (almost) only possible way of fighting social equality (see Butler / Spivak, 2011: 24ff ). Given the recent migration flows, this can simply not be maintained by constantly creating new ethnic group rights, but demands an overcoming of national and ethnic legitimation of political participation. This is hardly imaginable “in the enclosure of belonging” (Bienfait 2006) as an ethnically and nationally defined condition for existence and for participation rights, since in European democracies in the first place, the idea of a unified nation – as a fictitious unity of demos and ethnos – has produced democratic citizens. In a globalized world, in which all major survival and 354 Hans Karl Peterlini security issues, as well as questions of economic distribution and justice, are no longer manageable on the national level, but only in the sense of the “global governance” of Carl-Friedrich von Weizsäcker (see Bartosch 2007), the national state reaches to its limit in the equalization of demos and ethnos. In a transnational world, whose economy, cultural production, sports and entertainment industry is globalized, neither migration nor the protection of minorities can be portrayed as a disturbance. It is rather the national State that unmasks itself as the expression of some phantasms of unity and purity that does not meet real life. Within the discourse of diversity: Foreignness experiences as potential In the light of these considerations, migration policy in majority–minority areas such as South Tyrol – but also as Carinthia, Istria, the Trieste area, and other overlapping areas in Europe – faces very special duties and opportunities. Here we find an often-unrecognized wealth of experience, which can also be useful f​​ or migration discourse far beyond these regions. On the one hand, collective foreignness- and experiences of submission were made, which are sedimented in the cultural memory (see J. Assmann 2002), but on the other hand further development was made ​​available – in some case better, in others worse. At least to a certain extent, political practice and social negotiation also facilitate the reformulation of traditional narratives – in the sense of a social memory (see A. Assmann 2006). These experiences in majority–minority areas represent a breach in the normality construct of national homogeneity. At the same time they make the potential of difference visible (see Gombos 2007), for instance if the model of South Tirol is seriously examined in order to determine whether it would be suitable for Tibet, for Ukraine, for Sandžak between Serbia and Montenegro or for Kashmir. Or if a bilingual school as the VS24 in Klagenfurt pretends that the Slovenian minority language – without being a language of prestige – can also awaken the interest of German families Between Stigma and Self-Assertion 355 (see Wakounig 2008). In successful examples the monolingual habitus, which relegates broad sections of the population beyond language inferiority and disadvantage, experiences politically fought and real-life proofs that the learning of a minority language is not only reasonable, but also represents a source of joy and richness for the children of the majority culture. To some extent, a possible answer to the migration areas central and mostly avoided question – how diversity in monolingual institutions and schools find space and can be expressed in practice (Gombos 2010) – can be found here. This could be the pearls which can be retrieved in majority–minority areas as regional transnational spaces (see Pilch / Schröttner 2012, Scott 2003). They lay in the middle of everything (between the linguistic groups, cultural groups, nationalities, ethnic groups) which relates to Homi Bhabha’s in-between as well as to Terkessidis’ Interkultur (2010), as the living, albeit publicly often tabooed expression of transnationality (see Pries 1996; 1998; Glick-Schiller and al. 1992) and transculturality (see Welsch 1995; 2004). The in-between – also as a space for educational thinking and action – refers to negotiations between cultural, linguistic, ethnic, social, gender, sexual and other differences as productive force. Equality is a democratic principle that aims to prevent the stigmatization of difference. Without looking at the difference (in terms of a difference-sensitive inclusion, see Habermas 1996) assumptions of equality disguise real inequalities, bore and settled through power relations, behind the homogeneity claim. The experience that State, demos and ethnos do not necessarily have to cover each other, that cultures are not demarcated closed formations but always permeable in a transcultural sense (Welsch 1995; 2004), could be a resource for a difference-conscious, but not difference-fixing attitude towards cultural, intercultural and transcultural positioning of people. These are not counted into ethnic group rights, although these rights – as experienced by the South Tyrolean minority – may be important for political, social and economic participation. The Italian immigration of the 1950s sparked bombings on building shells for the new settlers (H. K. Peterlini 2010; 2011). This occurred in a – not unjustified – feeling that there was a governmental preference and even in certain historical phases a targeted government regulation of immigration aiming to outvote the 356 Hans Karl Peterlini minorities. The present-day migration is not directed by the state, it springs no conspiracy and no plan of higher powers, it is a movement of people, as it always existed – in higher and lower concentrations – and which cannot be stopped by shifting boundaries nor barricades (see Mezzadra 2004). Moreover, the motives for migration are existentially too mandatory, regardless of whether it is fleeing from tyranny and terror or because of poverty and lack of perspective on the place of origins. The implied strategy of national states to adhere to their mononational conceptions, leads to severe marginalization, discrimination and thus also social dangers for broad new populations. Like many other areas of Europe, South Tyrol has the uneasy task of dealing with a fact that is all the more perceived as a problem, the more identity alone is defined ethnic- linguistic. Such we is too narrow for the already set and further setting diversity. The dilemma is to not overlook everything else which makes us humans, in the process of fixing ethnic identity concepts. Their social and economic needs and concerns, their social and economic benefits, their cultural, intercultural and transcultural talents, their social, political values and their values as human beings within or beyond ethnicized identification and religiosity, cannot simply be split with the ethnical axe. South Tyrol is therefore not much than many European regions, but it has collected some experience about what flows into hostility and destruction, and what on the other hand can lead to coexistence, peace and collective well-being. Bibliography Allemann-Ghionda, Cristina, “Interkulturelle Bildung, Diversität, Mehrsprachigkeit in der universitären Bildungsarbeit – Fast im Sinne einer Bilanz”, in: Doris Kofler, Hans Karl Peterlini and Gerda Videsott (eds), Brückenbau(e)r. 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Bhabha, Homi K., Die Verortung der Kultur (Tübingen: Stauffenburg, 2000). Bienfait, Agathe, Im Gehäuse der Zugehörigkeit. Eine kritische Bestandsaufnahme des Mainstream-Multikulturalismus (Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag, 2006). Blaas, Walter, “Werden wir eine Minderheit im eigenen Land. Ausländeranteil an Südtirols Kindergärten steigt stark an”, press release, 18 June 2015 <http://www.diefreiheitlichen.com/index.php/unsere-arbeit/pressemitteilungen/8034-werdenwir-eine-minderheit-im-eigenen-land> accessed 20 July 2015. Broden, Anne, and Paul Mecheril (eds), Rassismus bildet. Bildungswissenschaftliche Beiträge zu Normalisierung und Subjektivierung in der Migrationsgesellschaft (Bielefeld: transcript, 2010). Butler, Judith, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Sprache, Politik, Zugehörigkeit (Zürich: diaphanes, 2011, 2nd edn). Cennamo, Irene, Doing Difference im Schulalltag. Orientierungs- und Handlungsformen lebensweltlich mehrsprachiger 12- 14 jähriger Schüler und Schülerinnen an Südtirols einsprachigen Schulen. Erfahrungsberichte über den Balanceakt zwischen sozial-plurilokaler, mehrsprachiger Subjektpositionierung und monolingualer Habitualisierung (Bozen-Brixen: Freie Universität Bozen, Fakultät für Bildungswissenschaften, 2013). Certeau, Michel de, Kunst des Handelns (Berlin: Merve, 1988). Chisholm, Lynne, and Hans Karl Peterlini, Aschenputtels Schuh. Jugend und interkulturelle Kompetenz in Südtirol/Alto Adige. Forschungsbericht über einen verkannten Reichtum (Meran: Edizioni Alpha Beta Verlag, 2012). Glick Schiller, Nina, Linda Basch and Cristina Blanc Szanton, Towards a Transnational Perspective on Migration: Race, Class, Ethnicity and Nationalism Reconsidered (New York: New York Academy of Science, 1992). Gogolin, Ingrid, Der monolinguale Habitus der multilingualen Schule (Münster-New York: Waxmann, 1994). 358 Hans Karl Peterlini Gombos, Georg, “Bildungschancen für alle? Sprachlich-kulturelle Diversität als Herausforderung im Bildungswese”, in: Josef Broukal and Erwind Niederwieser (eds), Bildung in der Krise (Wien: Kremayr & Scheriau, 2010), pp. 93–103. Gombos, Georg, Mit Babylon leben lernen. Aspekte einer interkulturellen Mehrsprachigkeit (Klagenfurt: Drava, 2007). Habermas, Jürgen, Die Einbeziehung des Anderen – Studien zur politischen Theorie (Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1996). Habermas, Jürgen, “Einleitung: Historischer Materialismus und die Entwicklung normativer Strukturen”, in: Jürgen Habermas, Zur Rekonstruktion des Historischen Materialismus (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1976), pp. 9–48. Habermas, Jürgen, Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns (I: Handlungsrationalität und gesellschaftliche Rationalisierung; II: Zur Kritik der funktionalistischen Vernunft) (Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1981). Hamburger, Franz, “Über die Unmöglichkeit Pädagogik durch Politik zu ersetzen”, in: Marianne Krüger-Potratz, Ursula Neumann and Hans H. Reich (eds), Bei Vielfalt Chancengleichheit (Münster-New York-München-Berlin: Waxmann, 2010), pp. 16–23. Hoffmann-Nowotny, Hans-Joachim, “Migrationssoziologie”, in: Harald Kerber and Arnold Schmieder (eds), Spezielle Soziologien. Problemfelder, Forschungsbereiche & Anwendungsorientierungen (Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt, 1994), pp. 388–406. “Istat: Im Jahr 2065 Ausländeranteil bei 24 Prozent”, Stol, 29 December 2011 <http:// www.stol.it/Artikel/Chronik-im-Ueberblick/Lokal/Istat-Im-Jahr-2065-Auslaen deranteil-bei-24-Prozent> accessed 23 July 2015. Jabbar, Adel, “Migrazione: identità, mediazione e convivenza. L’attualità delle intuizioni di Alexander Langer”, in: Massimiliano Boschi, Adel Jabbar and Hans Karl Peterlini (eds), Jenseits von Kain und Abel. Zehn Punkte fürs Zusammenleben – neu gelesen und kommentiert (Meran-Klagenfurt/Celovec: Alpha Beta and Drava, 2015), pp. 143–160. Jabbar, Adel, and Nora Lonardi, Immigrati e partecipazione in un contesto multietnico. Il caso del Trentino – Alto Adige. Kommission für Integration der Abteilung Soziale Angelegenheit der italienischen Regierung, Dokument Nr. 2 (Roma: Presidenza del Consiglio, 1999). Jabbar, Adel, and Nora Lonardi, Inserimento comunitario dei cittadini immigrati e delle loro famiglie in Alto Adige, rapporto di ricerca (Bozen: Cedocs, 2000). Knoll, Sven, and Eva Klotz, “Rom verbietet Deutschprüfung von Ausländern: Einwanderer sollen zu Italienern werden”, press release, 13 July 2011 <http://www. suedtiroler-freiheit.com/rom-verbietet-deutschprufung-von-auslandern-ein wanderer-sollen-zu-italienern-werden/> accessed 23 July 2015. Between Stigma and Self-Assertion 359 Krüger-Potratz, Marianne, Interkulturelle Bildung: Eine Einführung (Münster-New York-München-Berlin: Waxmann, 2005). Krüger-Potratz, Marianne, “Präsent, aber ‚vergessen‘ – Zur Geschichte des Umgangs mit Heterogenität im Bildungswesen”, in: Michael Göhlich, Hans Walter Leonhard, Eckart Liebau and Jörg Zirfas (eds), Transkulturalität und Pädagogik. Interdisziplinäre Annäherungen an ein kulturwissenschaftliches Konzept und seine pädagogische Relevanz (Weinheim-München: Juventa, 2006), pp. 121–137. Lippitz, Wilfried, Differenz und Fremdheit. Phänomenologische Studien in der Erziehungswissenschaft (Frankfurt a.M.: Peter Lang, 2003). Mecheril, Paul, “Die Unumgänglichkeit und Unmöglichkeit der Angleichung. Herrschaftskritische Anmerkungen zur Assimilationsdebatte”, in: Hans Uwe Otto and Mark Schrödter (eds), Soziale Arbeit in der Migrationsgesellschaft. Neue Praxis, Sonderheft 8 (Lahnstein: Verlag Neue Praxis, 2006), pp. 124–140. Mecheril, Paul, Oscar Thomas Olalde, Claus Melter, Susanne Arens and Elisabeth Romaner (eds), Migrationsforschung als Kritik? Konturen einer Forschungsperspektive (Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 2013). Medda-Windischer, Roberta, and Andrea Carlá (eds), Migration and Autonomous Territories: The Case of South Tyrol and Catalonia (Leiden: Brill Nijhoff, 2015). Mezzadra, Sandro, “Confini, migrazioni, cittadinanza”, Scienza & Politica 3 (2004), pp. 83–93. Palermo, Francesco, “Die zwei Dimensionen des Zusammenlebens in Südtirol”, Europa ethnica 56/1–2 (1999), pp. 9–21. Pasqualoni, Pier Paolo, “Identifikationsangebote für Bürgerinnen und Bürger zweier Welten. Bilder von der ‚Heimat’ im Wahlkampf zum österreichischen Nationalrat”, in: Alexander Eberharter and Andreas Exenberger (eds), Globalisierung oder Gerechtigkeit. Eine transdisziplinäre Annäherung (Innsbruck: University Press, 2007), pp. 183–209. Peterlini, Hans Karl, 100 Jahre Südtirol. Geschichte eines jungen Landes (Innsbruck: Haymon, 2013). Peterlini, Hans Karl, Feuernacht. Südtirols Bombenjahre. Hintergründe – Schicksale – Bewertungen (Bozen: Raetia, 2011). Peterlini, Hans Karl, Freiheitskämpfer auf der Couch. Psychoanalyse der Tiroler Verteidigungskultur 1809 bis zum Südtirol-Konflikt (Innsbruck: Studienverlag, 2010). Peterlini, Hans Karl, “Lehrjahre einer Minderheit. Die Südtiroler Autonomie zwischen Wachstumsschmerzen und Chancen”, in: Giuseppe Ferrandi and Günther Pallaver (eds), Die Region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol im 20. Jahrhundert. I. Politik und Institutionen (Trient: Museo Storico in Trento, 2007), pp. 281–315. Peterlini, Hans Karl, Wir Kinder der Südtirol-Autonomie. Ein Land zwischen ethnischer Verwirrung und verordnetem Aufbruch (Bozen-Wien: Folio, 2003). 360 Hans Karl Peterlini Peterlini, Oskar, Autonomy and the Protection of Ethnic Minorities in Trentino–South Tyrol (Wien: Braumüller, 1997). Peterlini, Oskar, Der ethnische Proporz in Südtirol (Bozen: Athesia, 1980). Pilch Ortega, Angela, and Barbara Schröttner (eds), Transnational Spaces and Regional Localization. Social Networks, Borders Regions and Local–Global Relations (Münster-New York-München-snf Berlin: Waxmann, 2012). Pries, Ludger, “Transnationale Soziale Räume. Theoretisch-empirische Skizze am Beispiel der Arbeitswanderungen Mexiko-USA”, Zeitschrift für Soziologie 25 (1996), pp. 437–543. Pries, Ludger (ed.), Transnationale Migration. Soziale Welt Sonderband 12 (BadenBaden: Nomos, 1998). Scott, Alan, “Regionen und die Institutionalisierung der Demokratie”, in: Tamás Meleghy and Heinz-Jürgen Niedenzu (eds), Institutionen. Entstehung – Funktionsweise – Wandel – Kritik, Veröffentlichungen der Universität Innsbruck VUI 243 (2003), pp. 87–100. Terkessidis, Mark, Interkultur (Berlin: Suhrkamp, 2010). Wakounig, Vladimir, Der heimliche Lehrplan der Minderheitenbildung. Die zweisprachige Schule in Kärnten 1945–2007 (Klagenfurt: Drava, 2008). Waldenfels, Bernhard, Grundmotive einer Phänomenologie des Fremden (Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp, 2012, 4th edn). Welsch, Wolfgang, “Auf dem Weg zu transkulturellen Gesellschaften”, in: Lars Allolio-Näcke, Britta Kalscheuer and Arne Manzeschke (eds), Differenzen anders denken: Bausteine zu einer Kultur der Transdifferenz (Frankfurt a.M.: Campus, 2004), pp. 313–330. Welsch, Wolfgang, “Transkulturalität. Zur veränderten Verfasstheit heutiger Kulturen”, Zeitschrift für Kulturaustausch 1/45 (1995), pp. 39–44. Wenning, Norbert, “Heterogenität als neue Leitidee der Erziehungswissenschaft? Zur Berücksichtigung von Gleichheit und Verschiedenheit”, Zeitschrift für Pädagogik 4 (2004), pp. 465–582. Wenning, Norbert, Migration und Ethnizität in pädagogischen Theorien (MünchenWestfalen: Waxmann, 1993). Yildiz, Erol, “Postmigrantische Perspektiven. Aufbruch in eine neue Geschichtlichkeit”, in: Erol Yildiz and Marc Hill (eds), Nach der Migration. Postmigrantische Perspektiven jenseits der Parallelgesellschaft (Bielefeld: Transcript, 2015). Barbara Angerer 19 Living Apart Together in South Tyrol: Are Institutional Bilingualism and Translation Keeping Language Groups Apart? abstract Multilingual societies do not consistently yield high levels of individual multilingualism. But why is this so? Rather, shouldn’t the contemporary presence of two or more languages produce an integrative form of bilingualism? In this chapter, Barbara Angerer sheds light on the South Tyrolean case and asks: What is the relationship between institutional and individual bilingualism in South Tyrol? Multilingual societies do not consistently yield high levels of individual multilingualism. Dropping rates of individual multilingualism with the official languages of Switzerland (Lüdi 2013: 2) or territorial monolingualism in multilingual Belgium, where “access to the other language is seen as desirable but not essential” (Stavans, Hoffmann 2015: 49), alongside with decreasing L2 competences in young South Tyroleans (Baur, Larcher 2011) illustrate this tendency well. But why is that so? Should the contemporary presence of two or more languages on one and the same territory not lead to more contact instead and thus produce higher L2 skills and an integrative form of bilingualism? What triggered the question in the title of my contribution is the following statement from Belgian translation policy specialist Reine Meylaerts: “As an institutionalized phenomenon, translation has an ambivalent function in multilingual societies: it enables and hinders multilingualism.” In her view, allowing citizens to benefit from public services in their language, translation preserves or creates monolingual communities, often 362 Barbara Angerer “living apart together similar to small islands in multilingual states” (my translation) (Meylaerts 2007).1 In order to approach these questions, this chapter is going to shed light on the South Tyrolean case and ask: What is the relationship between institutional and individual bilingualism in South Tyrol? What levels of L2 competences does the South Tyrolean population effectively reach? What is the present-day state of institutional bilingualism in this Italian province? And: What role does translation as an institutionalized phenomenon play in this respect? Multilingual countries exhibit their multilingualism often as a proof of economic success and cultural development. The North Italian bi- and trilingual Autonomous Province of Bolzano/South Tyrol (Südtirol/Alto Adige)2 is no exception in this respect and proud of its multilingualism. From an institutional point of view, one could argue that this sentiment is justified: since the enforcement of the Statute of Autonomy in 1972, German is, alongside Italian, an official language with equal legal status – at least de jure, and on the territory of the Autonomous Region. During the last three decades, the bilingualization of the Province’s administrative structure has progressed: public administration officials and employees are required to be bilingual (i.e. to master their second language at a level that suits their professional duties) and translation services are available to ensure a relatively high degree of institutional bilingualism, meaning the presence of two languages in the public sphere that allows 1 2 “En tant que phénomène institutionnalisé, la traduction a une fonction très ambivalente dans les sociétés multilingues: elle rend possible et impossible à la fois le multilinguisme. Elle permet les citoyens d’avoir accès aux services publics dans leur langue à eux, de parler, écrire et lire dans ‘leur’ langue et préserve ou crée donc des communautés monolingues, souvent ‘living apart together’ comme de petits îlots à l’intérieur d’Etats multilingues […]” (Meylaerts 2007). This chapter focuses on Italian–German bilingualism, neglecting the third semiofficial language of the Province, Ladin. For a discussion of individual and societal/ institutional trilingualism in Südtirol/Alto Adige, see Egger and Lardschneider McLean (2001). Living Apart Together in South Tyrol 363 all (recognized) members of a bilingual society to utilize public services in their first language (L1).3 In spite of this and despite the occurrence of individual bilingualism, intended as the use of two languages by an individual, is significant among both the German- and the Italian-speaking group (with about 90 per cent of German speakers and 62 per cent of Italian speakers stating to know and use their respective L2 [ASTAT 2006]), a high level of language competence is not particularly widespread (Lanthaler 2006). The results of the 2004 Sprachbarometer, published in 2006, show that upper-intermediate L2 skills (B2) and L2 mastery (C2) are significantly more common among German speakers than among Italian speakers: if we look at the active language skills, approximately 58 per cent of German and 27 per cent of Italian speakers rank their L2 oral production skills at C2/B2 level (CEFR); similarly, the self-assessment percentages for written L2 competences at the same level reach 60 per cent among German and 25 per cent among Italian speakers. Not surprisingly, respondents from both groups estimate their passive language skills higher (ASTAT 2006).4 More recent research, such as the KOLIPSI study testing L2 competence at South Tyrolean high schools (Abel et al. 2012) and the in-depth interviews conducted by Baur and Larcher with high school graduates (2011), also suggests that integrative bilingualism is far from being achieved by individuals from both language groups in the Province.5 3 4 5 This chapter presents some of the issues and findings discussed in the author’s Master’s thesis (Angerer 2010). For a concise, up-to-date presentation of historical and sociodemographic factors of multilingualism in South Tyrol (in English), see Stavans and Hoffmann (2015). At the time the present contribution was written, the results of the new language survey from 2014 were still due to be released. Literature distinguishes between integrative and instrumental bilingualism; where instrumental bilingualism is a result of functional language learning, whereas integrative bilingualism is a result of integrative L2 acquisition in real-life contact. Integrative L2 acquisition is believed to produce higher L2 skills in individuals (Kremnitz 1990, Egger 1990, Mackey 2006). 364 Barbara Angerer SELF-ASSESSMENT L2 COMPETENCE GERMAN SPEAKERS 78% ITALIAN SPEAKERS 63% 58% 60% 48% 27% oral comprehension oral production 31% written comprehension 25% written production L2 SKILLS AT B2/C2 CEFR (ASTAT 2006) Figure 19.1: Self-assessment for L2 competence levels B2/C2, CEFR (ASTAT 2006). Therefore, we can say that Mioni’s findings from 1982 are still valid today. According to Mioni, the South Tyrolean society maintains a form of bicommunitarian bilingualism (“bilinguismo bicomunitario”): society is divided into two linguistic communities, in situations of intergroup communication one language prevails (Italian) and only few speakers of the community display high L2 skills (Mioni 1982, cited by Berruto 2003). Applying the models of societal multilingualism discussed by Franceschini, this can be integrated with the concept of a-symmetrical crossed multilingualism: “[…] that is the scenario when one group is clearly more multilingual than the other. One group knows the L1 of the other group distinctly better. One language group therefore tends to adapt when speakers of the other language group are present” (Franceschini 2013). Here, the Germanspeaking group is clearly more bilingual, having a distinctly higher command of Italian than the Italian group has of German. The German speakers therefore tend to adapt when Italian speakers are present. Living Apart Together in South Tyrol 365 Figure 19.2: Bi-communitarian bilingualism in Südtirol/Alto Adige. Adapted from Berruto (2003: 213). Let us now move from the individual and societal level to the institutional one. How is institutional bilingualism achieved in the particular South Tyrolean minority-majority setting? Imposed multilingualism (‘plurilinguismo sofferto’) – is the term with which Di Luca describes the phase of South Tyrolean language policy aimed at ensuring protection and equal rights to the German and Ladin minorities in the Province (Di Luca 2008). The legal foundations for this process were built over several decades: the Treaty of Paris of 1946 between Austria and Italy had prepared the grounds for the 1948 Statute of Autonomy (Autonomiestatut), an off-spring of the new Constitution of the Italian Republic from the same year, committed to the protection of linguistic minorities. In the late 1950s and until the mid-1960s, the discontent over the Italian government taking its time to implement the Statute triggered civil unrest and terrorist activities. This prompted Austria to bring the South Tyrol question to the attention of the UN General Assembly that issued two resolutions, one in 1960 and the second in 1961, urging the parties involved to “resume negotiations with 366 Barbara Angerer a view to finding a solution for all differences relating to the implementation of the Paris agreement” (Resolution 1497/1960).6 In 1972 a second revised Statute of Autonomy was approved that ultimately led to a greater autonomy in legislative issues (especially with regard to language and culture policies). The protection of the recognized linguistic minorities and their languages set out in the Statute was implemented and put into practice through decrees passed in 1976 and 1988. More specifically, the South Tyrolean language legislation is based on articles 99 and 100 of the Statute of Autonomy. Article 99 attributes equal legal status to German alongside the national official language Italian on the territory of the Region, applying thus the territoriality principle: the use of German as an official language equal to Italian is restricted to this specific territory and is of no avail in the rest of Italy. Article 100 states the right of the German-speaking citizens of the Province of Bolzano to use their language in communication with the local tribunals and bodies of the public administration, providing the territorial-based Statute with a personality dimension: according to the personality principle language regulation depends on the linguistic status of each individual (s. Di Natale 2005: 69–70). In the wake of the Statute’s compromise between territoriality and personality, the bilingualization of the institutions and public life was worked out through a twofold requirement of bilingualism: an individual requirement to be bilingual and an institutional one.  On the individual level, an obligation of individual bilingualism is set out in the public sector by the so-called Proporzdekret (decree setting forth the principle of ethnic proportionality, D. P. R. 752/1976) that requires an appropriate knowledge of Italian and German, demonstrated by public examination (the official bilingual exam, Zweisprachigkeitsprüfung, or, more recently, any other recognized language proficiency test) in order to access public employment. D. P. R. 752/1976 aims at ensuring equal distribution of public-sector 6 <http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/152/71/IMG/ NR015271.pdf ?OpenElement>. Living Apart Together in South Tyrol 367 employment in proportion to the relative size of the three recognized language groups, correcting a situation created during the fascist period and through its forced Italianization of the Province when access to public service functions was given exclusively to Italian speakers.7 As Siegfried Baur pointed out, in practice, the proportional representation of all language groups allows for a compensation of a possible lack of individual language skills through a communicative strategy where a person who does not sufficiently understand the L2 can call upon a colleague who instead does (“I hol amol schnell jemand, der di versteht” [Let me get someone who can understand you]).8 Baur cited hospitals and services of the health care sector in general as contexts where these situations frequently occurred, however further onsite inquiry also suggests that situations of this kind are not rare in tribunal offices either.9 This confirms what Zanon called an existing unpopularity of the German language in the judicature and the fact that the sole possession of a valid diploma proving bilingualism does not always guarantee appropriate language proficiency, especially for judges, public prosecutors and office servants (Zanon 2001: 181). 7 Although the bureaucratic downsides and practical aberrations of this laborious 368  Barbara Angerer On the institutional level, an institutional obligation of bilingualism is set forth by decree D. P. R. 574/1988 regulating the use of the German and the Ladin languages in the communication incurring between citizens and public offices and tribunals. Published in 1989, the decree came into force after a transitional four-year period in 1993. Article 3 rules that public institutions and offices have to maintain appropriate structures that ensure communication in both languages, that is, translation and interpretation services. Documents of the public administration are usually written in one language but have to be translated when they are administrative acts either addressed to the public, addressed to more than one public office or for public use. Original text and translation have to be printed in columns parallel to each other and on the same page (for an example, see Appendix I). State laws and legal provisions concerning the Province of Bolzano/ South Tyrol have to be translated into German. In doubt, the Italian version prevails. Court trials can be held in Italian, in German or in bilingual mode, and a need for translations can occur in both monolingual and bilingual trials as the parties still have the right to be heard in another language than the language of the proceeding. It is worth to note that translation is only ensured if the parties do not abandon their right to benefit from it, as we will see further on. What are then the possibilities and limitations of institutional bilingualism, and more specifically, translation? What are their functions – and what not? The bilingualization of the institutions aims at guaranteeing to the (recognized) members of a bilingual society the right to use their L1 in public life and in contact with public services. It serves to adhere to the minorities’ linguistic human rights, notably through translation and language mediation. In the South Tyrolean context, translation is attributed a special role and function: Its prominent task is not to ensure cultural and linguistic mediation among members of different language and cultural communities – this role is predominantly played by the L2 competences of individuals (Putzer 2001: 154), and by Italian as almost institutionalized language of intergroup communication (Abel et al. 2012: 400). Translation, however, becomes in this context an important instrument for upholding Living Apart Together in South Tyrol 369 and protecting language equality and its practical enforcement. Moreover, when we look at one particular field of translation, legal translation, we find that, in this particular context, translation has discarded its habitual role of bridging the linguistic gap between two different legal systems. Instead, legal translation has the function of providing legal practice and dispensing justice in the language of the national minorities, German and Ladin, and to give German and Ladin speakers access to the Italian legal system. As German and Italian legal texts refer to the same legal order, this allows, in principle, complete equivalence between the original text and the translation and between German and Italian legal terms – a circumstance that De Groot describes as “linguistic translation” (De Groot 1991: 293). To put this legal equality into practice, a Parity Commission on Terminology was established in 1990. Its three Italian-speaking experts, appointed by the Italian government, and three German-speaking experts, appointed by the South Tyrolean government, were charged with elaborating systematic solutions to the practical problems of legal translation and legal equivalence. The Paritätische Terminologiekommission’s role is to standardize legal, administrative and specialized terms needed for legal translations and the creation of a legal terminology that fits the official bilingualism’s needs of Südtirol/Alto Adige. Its goal is to thus lay down the foundations of a uniform use of language for legal, administrative and public purposes in the Province in order to promote and protect legal certainty and the effective equality of the recognized official languages. The Commission works in close collaboration with the European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano (EURAC), which gives terminological and technical support to the decisions taken by the Commission. The results of EURAC’s preparatory works and the Commission’s final decisions are made available to the public through an online database for terminology called bistro.10 The database currently consists of approximately 50,000 terms, among which Italian legal terms and their equivalents in German and Ladin as well as legal terms from other German-speaking legal systems, such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Public offices are required to use the standardized 10 Available at: <http://dev.eurac.edu:8080/cgi-bin/index/index.en> (currently under development, accessed 23 June 2015). 370 Barbara Angerer terminology in official texts. As of 2008 the Commission has issued as much as around 3,000 standardized terms (Zanon 2008: 57). Heinrich Zanon, former president of the district tribunal (Landesgericht Bozen) and member of the Commission on Terminology, notes that the Commission faces serious obstacles because of a lack of acceptance of the standardized terms by the users (Zanon 2008: 58), who are often not aware about the decisions taken by the Commission and their compulsory nature. Freelancers and public servants who are called to translate still prefer self-made solutions or even neologisms and fail to check beforehand if a standardized term is available. According to Zanon, the reason for this is that the Commission so far has not worked enough to promote its terminological decisions and push terminology users to respect its decisions – a circumstance that Zanon attributes to the fact that the members of the Commissions were not given a full-time mandate, even if the workload would have required such a commitment. The legislator, still according to Zanon, seems to have underestimated the terminological difficulties caused by the use of the German language for Italian legal terms (2008: 58–60). Also, the different offices and services mandated with translation for public use do not seem to have a say in the decision-making process of the Commission. Leaving out the main users of legal terminology is certainly not favouring the promotion of terminological acceptance. But who are those main users in the South Tyrolean translation landscape? The following paragraph contains a non-exhaustive list and brief description of the main bodies and actors.   Amt für Sprachangelegenheiten/Ufficio Questioni linguistiche: As part of the administrative apparatus of the Province, this office is responsible for the translation of legal provisions and administrative acts issued by the Province or the State as well as documents for public use. Its currently eleven members are linguists, jurists and translators. Staff also ensures the quality of monolingual or already translated texts. Übersetzungsamt des Landtags/Ufficio traduzioni del Consiglio provinciale: The translation office of the Province’s Parliament employs eight translators and interpreters who mainly conduct interpretation services during the sessions of the Parliament and its committee meetings. As Living Apart Together in South Tyrol   11 371 South Tyrolean MPs are exempt from the obligation to be bilingual, they can ask for interpretation. It is noteworthy that during sessions interpreters generally work only from German into Italian, as the German-speaking MPs do not generally make use of interpretation services from Italian into German. Übersetzungsdienst des Verwaltungsgerichts Bozen/Servizio tradu­ zioni del Tribunale regionale di giustizia amministrativa: The internal translation service at the administrative tribunal in Bolzano/Bozen employs one translator/interpreter who works mostly as a translator from German into Italian. Staffing plan would require two full-time positions that were never filled. According to D. P. R. 574/1988, all tribunal documents written in German, such as judgements, decrees, decisions, process protocols and reports, have to be translated into Italian. Translations from Italian into German are required in case the parties of a bilingual recourse process insisted on receiving a translation of the Italian documents. Since modifications were applied to D. P. R 574/1988 in 2001, this no longer happens, as the parties can renounce this right – and generally do so.11 Sprachenamt des Landesgerichts Bozen/Ufficio linguistico del Tribunale di Bolzano: The internal translation and interpretation service of the district tribunal of Bolzano is composed of five translators/interpreters (three Italian and two German speakers) filling three-and-a-half full-time positions. Set up in 1994, it is charged with translating acts, documents, records, advisory opinions, reports, decrees, requests, appeals and judgements of both criminal and civil proceedings, as well as the tribunal’s corporate identity texts from Italian into German and vice-versa. When the service came into being, it employed seven language professionals, falling still short of the initial goal set at fifteen planned full-time positions to meet the demand. Although workload has diminished with the possibility to forgo interpreting and translation services both in monolingual and bilingual proceedings introduced by legislative decree modifying D. P. R 574/1988 in 2001 This is what came out from a personal interview held in 2010 with the staff translator and interpreter at the Administrative Tribunal in Bolzano, Daniela Pietragnoli. 372  Barbara Angerer and 2005, today the service would need at least twice as many employees to reach the best possible efficiency and handle the workload. In particular Legislative Decree 124/2005 rendered both monolingual and bilingual proceedings more flexible as to language provisions. According to the head of the service, passive language competences allow a reduction especially of “instantaneous translation”, that is, consecutive interpretation, during proceedings, as there is no need for translating when the party says to understand what has been said and consequently forgoes the interpreting services.12 Laypeople: Because of their obligation to be bilingual, administrative staff is often solicited for “small” translation mandates, even if they did not undergo any type of training as translators. Texts considered to be of lesser importance are often submitted to laypeople for translation – very often because there is no internal translation service or because staff translators cannot cope with the workload. Sometimes, but not always, these translations pass through an internal translation office for revision and quality assurance. The complexity of the legal translation process requires not only profound technical knowledge and translational competence, but also legal expertise and a good mastery of the linguistic conventions in use in the respective culture of reference. Otherwise, functional equivalence is not achievable. Legal equality is achieved thanks to the equal status of German de jure and to the work of the Commission on Terminology – but functional equivalence and functional equality has to be guaranteed by translation professionals themselves who are called upon to put this equality into practice. Functional equivalence is ensured when “citizens can trust the translation as they trust the original text, because both texts have the same significance and acceptance” (Putzer 2001: 156). This means that the language used in the translation has to be natural, and style as well as content must be impeccable. Equivalence can in fact only be achieved via a natural, correct 12 Valentina Vecellio, head of the translation and interpretation service at the tribunal, gave this information in occasion of a semi-structured interview with the author in August 2015. Living Apart Together in South Tyrol 373 and precise language use that does not produce any feeling of alienation in the target audience. This means that unnatural translations not only deteriorate the quality of the work, they also – and more importantly – undermine the effective equality of German as an official language next to Italian. If a text produces alienation in the target audience, not only has the translator failed his/her task, but the very purpose of institutional bilingualism has missed its point. In order to achieve language standardization in practice and effectively put the German legal language on a par with the language of the State, a distinction between important and lesser important texts is not appropriate, if we consider that the target audience, that is, the consumer of documents issued by an institution, generally does not distinguish between these categories. In external communication, it is the end result that matters – the final text provided to the German- or Italian-speaking public that has to be understood, valued and accepted in the same way as the original text. The sole presence of a translated document is no warranty for official equivalence of the two languages: the quality of the translation, including natural language use and intelligibility, and the resulting functional equivalence, are primordial preconditions for the effective acceptance of the text. Another important caveat is the aforementioned underrepresentation of translation experts in local tribunals and other public institutions, as one of the main reasons for lacking quality in the translation or interpretation output is undoubtedly the lack of time and resources necessary to ensure quality.13 If we are to give an appreciation of the role of institutional bilingualism and translation in the protection and promotion of linguistic rights in Südtirol/Alto Adige, we have to draw a mixed picture. On the one hand, the legal-institutional apparatus, including translation services, set up for the protection and promotion of linguistic minorities, and especially for the German-speaking group, guarantees the German-speaking citizens 13 The Social Responsibility Report of the district tribunal from 2011 is an example of a (corporate identity) text for which not enough time could be invested. The German translation can be found under: <http://www.tribunale.bolzano.it/FileTribunali/72/ Sito/Trasparenzaper cent20eper cent20comunicazione/Sozialbilanz.pdf> accessed 31 August 2015. 374 Barbara Angerer the right to use their L1 in the public sphere. However, because of practical problems with functional equivalence in translation, a deficit of qualified professionals employed by some public entities, and shortcomings in the elaboration of a uniform legal terminology described above, this linguistic right to the use of the L1 is not sufficiently ensured. The lack of competence in German in highly specialized areas, as in court, entail, that Italian is still preferred to German. In this respect, it has to be said, that there is no obligation to be bilingual for lawyers, who more often than not influence the decision as to which language shall be used during a trial (Bonell, Winkler 2006: 336; Zanon 2001: 183). The ability to abandon the right to translation introduced by the Italian legislator represents in practice the alienation of the right to use the L1 in official settings, which, as linguistic human right, should be inalienable. In these cases, communication on an official level – and institutional bilingualism – is delegated to and ensured through an often insufficient degree of individual bilingualism. Institutional bilingualism aims first and foremost at promoting the use of two or more languages and protect them in the official sphere. Translation as one aspect of institutional bilingualism cannot be directly linked to lacking L2 competences in the population of an institutionally bilingual or multilingual region. It has been shown in various occasions that, at least in the case of South Tyrol, other sociolinguistic and demographic factors come into play, as the territorial distribution of language communities, internal diglossia within the German-speaking group and divergent linguistic repertoires, the context of L2 acquisition, the school system and teaching L2 as a second or a foreign language, the ambivalent relationship between minority and majority, historical traumata and the policy of ethnic and linguistic separation, to name just some of the issues operating in South Tyrol (see among others Abel et al. 2012, Baur 2009 and 2000, Egger 2001, Eichinger 2001 and 2002, Mayer 2000, Mioni 1990). On the other hand, extending our focus on linguistic human rights as a whole, used in literature to refer mostly to the rights of new minorities, we see that the concept of unalienable (necessary) linguistic rights not only comprises the right to learn and use one’s mother tongue (a concept for Living Apart Together in South Tyrol 375 which we prefer the term “L1” in the present chapter), but embraces also the right to acquire effectively an official language in the country of residence (L2) in order to achieve a “linguistic repertoire which is necessary for basic social and psychological survival and economic and political participation” (Skutnabb-Kangas, Philipson 1995: 102). Transposed to the South Tyrolean situation, both the German-speaking and the Italian-speaking groups should claim the right to use their L1 and effectively learn their respective L2, that is, Italian as the language of the Italian State and German as official language in the province of Südtirol/Alto Adige. What tends to be forgotten in the public debate on bilingualism in South Tyrol is the fact that promoting bilingualism does not mean automatically to endanger the right to use one’s mother tongue or L1 – particularly if the involved languages are both major European languages that dispose of a relatively high status and prestige and can rely upon a solid cultural Hinterland. As Lanthaler puts it “the right to a mother tongue is often interpreted as a right to monolingualism” (Lanthaler 2006: 373). This is particularly true for the South Tyrolean debate on L2 teaching at schools, for which the Statute of Autonomy rules a rigid separation of the language groups and the teaching of subjects (other than languages) exclusively in the L1 of the students (art. 19). Ethnic separation between members of the Italian and the German group is thus institutionalized in education and persists in social, cultural and political life. This certainly is one of the main reasons for low levels of integrative bilingualism in both language groups. The present chapter shows that, although institutional bilingualism and translation in South Tyrol come close to their primary task of contributing to the maintenance of language diversity and guaranteeing the minorities’ right to L1, there is still a certain need for action to ensure language equality, in particular when we look at functional equivalence between Italian as the State language and German as de jure equally official language in highly specialized areas and legal translation. Important language promotion and protection tasks are still delegated to the L2 competences of citizens that, as we have seen at the beginning of this chapter, do not always achieve high levels of integrative, or even functional, bilingualism due mostly to a lack of contact between ethnic groups. 376 Barbara Angerer One last note has to be made, in order to reassure fellow translation professionals: as a matter of fact, translation and linguistic mediation remain necessary also in societies with high levels of integrative bilingualism, so as to ensure the protection of minorities’ linguistic human rights. What emerged from the discussion developed in this chapter is that, simply, institutional bilingualism and individual bilingualism operate on different levels in South Tyrolean society, and in bi- or multilingual societies in general, the first being designed for language maintaining, the second for linguistic-cultural mediation – and both being necessary in bilingual societies. Therefore, the initial question as to whether institutional bilingualism and translation are keeping language groups apart has to be reformulated in order to trigger the right answers: What can be done on an individual, societal and institutional level in order to make integrative bilingualism attractive for all language groups in Südtirol/Alto Adige and shift from a monolingually biased “plurilinguismo sofferto” towards an integrative “plurilinguismo realizzato”? Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to the numerous people whose contribution, precious suggestions and helpful information were essential to the present chapter. Special thanks go to all the public officials in the examined translation services who were ready to receive me, answer my questions and provide a detailed insight into their everyday work. Danke e grazie! Living Apart Together in South Tyrol 377 Bibliography Abel, A., C. Vettori and K. Wisniewski (eds), KOLIPSI – Die Südtiroler SchülerInnen und die Zweitsprache: eine linguistische und sozialpsychologische Untersuchung. Vol. 1 (Bozen: EURAC Research, 2012). Angerer, B., Individuelle und institutionelle Zweisprachigkeit: das besondere Spannungsfeld in Südtirol, Master’s thesis, University of Geneva, 2010 <http://archiveouverte.unige.ch> accessed 17 June 2015. ASTAT (eds), Südtiroler Sprachbarometer 2004. Sprachgebrauch und Sprachidentität in Südtirol (Bozen: La Bodoniana, 2006). Baur, S., Die Tücken der Nähe. Kommunikation und Kooperation in Mehrheits-/Minderheitssituationen (Meran: Alpha&Beta, 2000). Baur, S., and D. Larcher, Fit für Europa. Studie zur subjektiven Wahrnehmung sprachlicher Sozialisation von Absolventen und Absolventinnen höherer Schulen (MeranKlagenfurt: alpha beta/Drava Verlag, 2011). Baur, S., G. Mezzalira and W. Pichler, Die Sprache der Anderen. Aspekte der Sprachenund Schulpolitik in Südtirol von 1945 bis heute (Meran: Alpha&Beta, 2009). Berruto, G., Fondamenti di sociolinguistica (Bari: Laterza, 2003). Bonell, L., and I. Winkler, Südtirols Autonomie. Beschreibung der autonomen Gesetzgebungs- und Verwaltungszuständigkeiten des Landes Südtirol (Bozen: Südtiroler Landesregierung, 2006, 9th revised edition). Di Luca, G., “Descrizione di una battaglia”, in: Academia 46/1 (2008), pp. 34–36. Di Natale, P., Sprachpolitik und Linguistic Human Rights. Eine soziologische Untersuchung zu Mehrsprachigkeit, muttersprachlichem Unterricht und Fremd­ sprachenunterricht in Sekundarschulen (Frankfurt a. M.: Peter Lang, 2005). Egger, K., “Sprachenlernen in Südtirol: Antrieb und Zugang”, in: A. Mioni, K. Egger and F. Lanthaler (eds), Mehr als eine Sprache. Zu einer Sprachstrategie in Südtirol (Meran: Alpha & Beta, 1990), pp. 37–55. Egger, K., Sprachlandschaft im Wandel. Südtirol auf dem Weg zur Mehrsprachigkeit (Bozen: Athesia, 2001). Egger, K., and M. Lardschneider McLean, Dreisprachig werden in Gröden: eine Studie zum Spracherwerb in der frühen Kindheit (Bozen: Institut Pedagogich Ladin, 2001). Eichinger, L., “Die soziolinguistische Situation der deutschen Sprachgruppe in Südtirol”, in: K. Egger and F. Lanthaler (eds), Die deutsche Sprache in Südtirol. Einheitssprache und regionale Vielfalt (Wien-Bozen: Folio, 2001), pp. 121–136. Eichinger, L., “South Tyrol: German and Italian in a changing world”, in: Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development 23 (2002), pp. 137–149. 378 Barbara Angerer Franceschini, R., “Die Potentialität von Mehrsprachigkeit: vier Szenarien für ein drei­ sprachiges Gebiet wie Südtirol”, in: B. Hans-Bianchi, C. Miglio, D. Pirazzini, I. Vogt and L. Zenobi (eds), Fremdes wahrnehmen, aufnehmen, annehmen. Studien zur deutschen Sprache und Kultur in Kontaktsituationen (Frankfurt a. M.: Peter Lang, 2013), pp. 179–194. Groot, G-R. de, “Recht, Rechtssprache und Rechtssystem. Betrachtungen über die Problematik der Übersetzung juristischer Texte”, in: Terminologie et Traduction 3 (1991), pp. 279–316. Kremnitz, G., Gesellschaftliche Mehrsprachigkeit: Institutionelle, gesellschaftliche und individuelle Aspekte (Wien: Braumüller, 1990). Lanthaler, F., “Die Vielschichtigkeit des Deutschen in Südtirol – und wie wir damit umgehen”, in: A. Abel, M. Stuflesser and M. Putz (eds), Mehrsprachigkeit in Europa: Erfahrungen, Bedürfnisse, gute Praxis (Bozen: EURAC Research, 2006). Lüdi, G., “Mehrsprachigkeit”, in: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS) (2013) <http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D24596.php> accessed 24 August 2015. Lüdi, G., and I. Werlen, Sprachenlandschaft in der Schweiz (Neuenburg: Bundesamt für Statistik, 2005). Mackey, W., “Bilingualism and Multilingualism”, in: U. Ammon, N. Dittmar, K. Mattheier and P. Trudgill (eds), Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society 2 (Berlin-New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2006, 2nd revised and integrated edn), pp. 1483–1495. Meylaerts, R., Les langues de la littérature: multilinguisme, traduction, identité, European Day of Languages (Brüssel: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 2007) <https:// lirias.kuleuven.be/bitstream/…/1/Eumultilinguisme.doc> accessed 25 August 2015. Mioni, A., “Bilinguismo intra- e intercomunitario in Alto Adige/Südtirol: considera­ zioni sociolinguistiche”, in: A. Mioni, K. Egger and F. Lanthaler (eds), Mehr als eine Sprache. Zu einer Sprachstrategie in Südtirol (Meran: Alpha & Beta, 1990), pp. 13–35. Mioni, A., “Variabilità linguistica e contrastività”, in: D. Calleri and C. Marello (eds), Linguistica contrastiva (Roma: Bulzoni, 1982), pp. 339–357. Putzer, O., “Kommunizieren oder Übersetzen? Methoden und Verfahren bei der Zweisprachigkeitsprüfung in Südtirol”, in: K. Egger and F. Lanthaler (eds), Die deutsche Sprache in Südtirol. Einheitssprache und regionale Vielfalt (Wien-Bozen: Folio, 2001), pp. 153–165. Skutnabb-Kangas, T., and R. Phillipson, “Linguistic human rights, past and present”, in: T. Skutnabb-Kangas and R. Phillipson (eds), Linguistic Human Rights: Overcoming Linguistic Discrimination (Berlin-New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1995), pp. 71–110. Living Apart Together in South Tyrol 379 Stavans, A., and C. Hoffmann, Multilingualism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015). Südtiroler Landesregierung (eds), Das neue Autonomiestatut (Bozen: 2009, 14th integrated edn) <http://www.provincia.bz.it/news/de/publikationen.asp?publ_ action=4&publ_article_id=1586> accessed 24 April 2015. Zanon, H., “Spurensuche 1999: Die deutsche Sprache bei Gericht in Südtirol”, in: K. Egger and F. Lanthaler (eds), Die deutsche Sprache in Südtirol. Einheitssprache und regionale Vielfalt (Wien-Bozen: Folio, 2001), pp. 166–186. Zanon, H., Zur Problematik der Entwicklung einer deutschen Rechtssprache für Südtirol. Die Normierung durch die Paritätische Terminologiekommission, contribution at the conference “LexAlp – Normierung, Harmonisierung und Sprachplanung”, 8 February 2008, EURAC, Bozen <http://webfolder.eurac.edu/EURAC/ LexALP_shared/media/Zanon.pdf> accessed on 27 August 2015. 380 Barbara Angerer Appendix I Legge 8 ottobre 2010, n. 170 (Gazzetta Ufficiale N. 244 del 18 ottobre 2010) Gesetz vom 8. Oktober 2010, Nr. 170 (Gesetzesanzeiger Nr. 244 vom 18. Oktober 2010) Nuove norme in materia di disturbi specifici di apprendimento in ambito scolastico Neue Bestimmungen im Bereich spezifischer schulischer Lernstörungen Articolo 1 Riconoscimento e definizione di dislessia, disgrafia, disortografia e discalculia Artikel 1 Definition der Begriffe Dyslexie, Dysgraphie, Dysorthographie und Dyskalkulie und Anerkennung dieser Lernstörungen 1. La presente legge riconosce la dislessia, la disgrafia, la disortografia e la discalculia quali disturbi specifici di apprendimento, di seguito denominati «DSA», che si manifestano in presenza di capacità cognitive adeguate, in assenza di patologie neurologiche e di deficit sensoriali, ma possono costituire una limitazione importante per alcune attività della vita quotidiana. 1. Mit diesem Gesetz werden die Dyslexie, die Dysgraphie, die Dysorthographie und die Dyskalkulie als spezifische schulische Lernstörungen anerkannt, die bei Menschen mit angemessenen kognitiven Fähigkeiten und ohne neurologische Krankheiten oder Sinnesbeeinträchtigungen auftreten und sie in ihren täglichen Handlungen beträchtlich einschränken können. Figure 19.3: An original public administration document and its translation presented in two columns. See: <http://www.provinz.bz.it/anwaltschaft/ download/G_2010–170.pdf>. Source: http://www.provinz.bz.it/anwaltschaft/download/G_2010-170.pdf (Courtesy of the Amt für Sprachangelegenheiten der Autonomen Provinz Bozen-Südtirol) Siegfried Baur 20 Grenzregion Südtirol. Schwierigkeiten und Möglichkeiten einer Erziehung zur Mehrsprachigkeit für ein vielsprachiges Europa abstract Siegfried Baur investigates the potential for South Tyrol to become either an “open society” or a “container-society”, meaning that separate cultural communities share one state-like territory. South Tyrol’s new “Autonomiekonvent”, that is, the participation of society’s stakeholders in the furnishing of the province’s autonomy, coupled with its participation in the Euroregion Tirol, may help to transform South Tyrol into a “container-free society”. He investigates the significance of “opening and closing mechanisms” in this context and poses the question: How much language and how much cultural awareness are necessary and desirable? This chapter questions the accepted verdict that South Tyrol is a multilingual country as Baur argues that people in South Tyrol relate to anything but their mother tongue as a foreign language. In order to become an open society, Baur proposes that individuals change their minds towards their language use and turn the option of multilingualism, as enshrined in the Statute of Autonomy of 1972, into a reality. „Container-Gesellschaft“ und „offene Gesellschaft“ Der Fokus dieses Textes ist folgender: Wieviel „Container-Gesellschaft“, wieviel „offene Gesellschaft“ in Südtirol? Diese Frage steht in einem unmittelbarem Zusammenhang zu den Möglichkeiten und Schwierigkeiten einer Erziehung zur Mehrsprachigkeit für ein vielsprachiges Europa. Der Begriff der Container-Theorie der Gesellschaft erfordert eine Klärung. Er wurde von Ulrich Beck (1997: 49) vor 18 Jahren im Zusammenhang mit der Globalisierungsdiskussion in die wissenschaftliche 382 Siegfried Baur Diskussion eingeführt und meint, dass es einen staatlichen oder para-staatlichen Rahmen, ein Territorium und einen weitgehend geteilten kulturellen Rahmen gibt, der die Primärfunktion der Integration innerhalb einer Gesellschaft erfüllt und Kohäsion und Integration auch in einer globalisierten Welt sichert. Es ist dies eine Dynamik, die auch Robertson (1998) ansprach, als er den Begriff der Glokalisierung, eine Verbindung zwischen Globalisierung und Lokalisierung, in die wissenschaftliche Diskussion eingeführt hat. Es ist, aus meiner Sicht, durchaus möglich, diesen Begriff der Container-Gesellschaft auf die Situation in Südtirol zu übertragen und die Container-Struktur im Verfassungsrahmen des Autonomiestatutes von 1972 und den nachfolgenden Änderungen, sowie einem definierten Territorium und als rein phantasierte und als solche konstruierte lokale Kulturen zu verorten. Es ist einsichtig, dass die Einbindung in die Europaregion Tirol, diesen „Container“ weit öffnen, wenn nicht gar beseitigen kann. Dies wäre dann, nach Hepp (2004: 15), „die von der Container-Theorie befreite Gesellschaft“, oder besser formuliert eben eine offene Gesellschaft. Dieser Begriff geht auf den in Wien geborenen und 1994 in London verstorbenen Philosophen Sir Karl Raimund Popper und sein 1945 erschienenes Hauptwerk „Die offene Gesellschaft und ihre Feinde“ zurück. Das Buch war die bedeutendste Programmschrift des Antitotalitarismus, richtete sich aber auch gegen alle unnötigen Grenzen, Hindernisse und Zwänge, die die Entfaltung der menschlichen Persönlichkeit in irgendeiner Weise, im sprachlich-kulturellen, wirtschaftlichen oder gesellschaftlichen Bereich behindern. Der vom Südtiroler Landtag kürzlich beschlossene Autonomiekonvent steht in dieser Spannung zwischen Schließung und Öffnung, wenn auch selbstverständlich auf der Basis von verfassungsrechtlich geschützten Ansprüchen sprachlich-kultureller Minderheiten. Wie viel Öffnung der Konvent, besonders im Hinblick auf den Art. 19 des Autonomiestatutes von 1972 bringen kann, wird sich zeigen. Grenzregion Südtirol 383 Öffnungs- und Schließungsmechanismen in Südtirol Im Zusammenhang mit der Erziehung für ein mehrsprachiges Europa sollen hier kurz zwei zentralen Fragen aufgeworfen werden: Welche Öffnungsund Schließungsmechanismen wirken in diesem Grenzland? und im Hinblick auf Mehrsprachigkeit und Interkulturalität: Wieviel Language Awareness und wieviel Culturale Awareness braucht es? Mit letzteren Begriffen ist einerseits die Sprachbewusstheit im Zusammenhang mit anderen Sprachen und die Kulturbewusstheit im Zusammenhang mit anderen Kulturen gemeint, das heißt mit Kompetenzen, die die aktive Beschäftigung mit anderen Sprachen als Vertiefung der Kenntnis der eigenen starken Sprache oder der eigenen starken Sprachen versteht und die die Auseinandersetzung mit anderen Kulturen ebenso als Bereicherung versteht, gerade weil dadurch eine wesentliche menschliche auf die Vorstellung einer künftigen „Weltgesellschaft“ gerichtete Distanz zur eigenen selektiven Wahrnehmung ermöglicht werden kann. Südtirol wird aus der Außensicht häufig als ein mehrsprachiges Land bezeichnet, weil es möglich ist, im Territorium mit kleineren oder größeren Schwierigkeiten die deutsche, die italienische und auch schon die englische Sprache verwenden zu können. Dabei wird, und das stimmt nun nicht mehr, diese territoriale durchaus gegebene Mehrsprachigkeit, zumindest in einem funktionalen Sinne, auch auf die Bewohner dieses Landes übertragen, so als ob auch diese durchaus dreisprachig wären. Gehen wir von zwei Studien aus, die mit Sprachen zu tun haben und von denen die erste sicher in wissenschaftlich methodischer Hinsicht fundierter ist als die zweite. Letztere zeigt aber dennoch einen heuristisch bekannten Trend auf: a. Die Kolipsi-Studie der EURAC Bozen (Die Südtiroler Schüler/innen und die Zweitsprache: eine linguistische und sozialpsychologische Untersuchung) deren erste Ergebnisse Ende November 2009 vorgestellt worden sind, brachte z. B. im schriftlichen Kompetenzbereich folgende Gesamtergebnisse: Bei den deutsch-sprachigen Schüler/innen schreiben nach den Kriterien des Europäischen Referenzrahmens 44 Prozent Italienisch auf einem B1-Niveau, während weitere 40 Prozent 384 b. Siegfried Baur ein B2-Niveau erreichen. Nur 4 Prozent bleiben unter dem B1-Niveau (A2), während 11 Prozent über das B2-Niveau hinausreichen (C1). Fast die Hälfte der italienischsprachigen Oberschüler/innen erreicht ein B1-Niveau, 28 Prozent bleiben darunter (A2), 13 Prozent erreichen das Niveau B2 und nur 5 Prozent liegen über diesem Niveau (C1).1 Die im März 2015 veröffentlichte Elternumfrage des deutschen Landesbeirates (N = ca. 13.000) bringt auch für die Zweitsprache italienisch besorgniserregende Ergebnisse, die hier kurz mit Bezug auf die Zweitsprache und auf Englisch dargestellt werden sollen: Von über 9.500 Eltern sind ca. 50 Prozent der Meinung, dass mehr Schüleraustauschprojekte mit italienischen Schulen organisiert werden sollten; 49 Prozent sind der Meinung, dass verschiedene Fächer in italienischer Sprache unterrichtet werden sollten und 20 Prozent meinen, dass eine Zusammenlegung der deutschen und italienischen Schule erfolgen sollte. Immerhin 77 Prozent der 13.000 Eltern wünschen sich jedenfalls eine stärkere Berücksichtigung der italienischen Sprache in der Schule. Im Kindergarten wünschen sich 67 Prozent eine stärkere Berücksichtigung der italienischen Sprache und fast 28 Prozent sind der Meinung (N = ca. 2.500), dass mittelfristig der deutsche und der italienische Kindergarten zusammengelegt werden sollten. Für den Englischunterricht (N = ca. 10.000) wünschen sich 50 Prozent eine stärkere Berücksichtigung der englischen Sprache. Mit dem Unterricht von Hochdeutsch (N = ca. 10.200) sind zwei Drittel der Eltern zufrieden.2 Dies zeigt indirekt sehr deutlich auf, dass ein repräsentativer Teil der Eltern mit den Zweitsprachkompetenzen Italienisch ihrer Kinder und auch mit den Englischkenntnissen nicht zufrieden sind. Diese Ergebnisse müssen nachdenklich stimmen, wenn man bedenkt, dass die Wochenstundenanzahl für den Zweitsprachenunterricht wesentlich höher ist als für den Unterricht der ersten Fremdsprache in jedem anderen 1 2 A2 ist ein Niveau, das ein leicht fortgeschrittenes Anfängerstadium bezeichnet, und C1 ist ein Niveau, das für das Zweisprachigkeitsattest „A“ der höheren Berufslaufbahn ausreicht. <http:// www.umfragen.it/praesentation_elternumfrage.pdf> Zugriff 27. März 2015. Grenzregion Südtirol 385 europäischen Land und dass in den vergangenen vier Jahrzehnten massive, kostenträchtige Anstrengungen für eine Verbesserung der didaktischen Maßnahmen und der Weiterbildung der Lehrpersonen unternommen worden sind. Dies könnte darauf hinweisen, dass es eben nicht so einfach ist, die Sprache der Nachbarn zu erlernen, besonders wenn diese im selben Territorium leben und die Traumata der Vergangenheit nur teilweise aufgearbeitet worden sind.3 Es wird interessant sein, die Ergebnisse der 2. Kolipsi-Studie der EURAC über die Zweitsprachkompetenzen abzuwarten, die 2015 gerade durchgeführt wird. Man kann sich, so heuristische Annahmen, eine Steigerung der Zweitsprachkompetenzen Deutsch bei den italienischen Oberschüler/ innen und eine deutliche Senkung der Zweitsprachkompetenzen Italienisch bei den deutschen Oberschüler/innen erwarten. Dies ist sicher auch darauf zurückzuführen, dass die italienische Bevölkerung in den letzten Jahrzehnten in den Tälern stark gesunken ist und somit auch die Kommunikationsmöglichkeiten in der Zweitsprache Italienisch stark abgenommen haben. Ein Vergleich zwischen den Zahlen einiger Orte in den Haupttälern zur Verteilung der italienischsprachigen Bevölkerung auf dem Territorium zwischen 1971 und 2011 belegen dies: Innichen von 22,66 Prozent auf 14,64 Prozent; Bruneck von 21,60 Prozent auf 15,24 Prozent; Mühlbach von 9,47 Prozent auf 3,93 Prozent; Klausen von 11,86 Prozent auf 7,88 Prozent; Schlanders von 7,91 Prozent auf 5,19 Prozent; Mals von 7,01 Prozent auf 3,00 Prozent. Die vorerst auf einer reinen Erfahrungsebene durch verschiedene Begegnungsprojekte feststellbare Zunahme der Zweitsprachkenntnisse Deutsch bei italienischen Schüler/innen kann auch auf vielfältige Projekte der letzten Jahrzehnte zurückgeführt werden. Sie sollen hier kurz angedeutet werden: Zu erwähnen sind die seit 1992 auf allen Schulstufen durchgeführten Klassenpartnerschaften zwischen Schulen mit unterschiedlicher Unterrichtssprache, die sicher dazu beigetragen haben und weiterhin dazu beitragen, dass die Beziehungsqualität des Miteinander 3 Siegfried Baur, Die Tücken der Nähe (Meran: Alpha Beta Press, 2000). 386 Siegfried Baur bei den jungen Generationen steigt, die aber, wie Baur und Larcher (2012) über ein Forschungsprojekt nachgewiesen haben, keinen wesentlichen Einfluss auf die Steigerung der Sprachkompetenz haben. Dazu müssten Klassenpartnerschaften intensiviert und weitaus stärker finanziert werden. Eine weitere wichtige Initiative waren die vom Namen her zensierten Immersionsansätze an italienischen Grund- und Mittelschulen, die nichts anderes waren als ein zaghafter „Sach-Fachunterricht“ in der zweiten Sprache Deutsch, der mit verschiedenen Auflagen zum Schutze des Grundprinzips des muttersprachlichen Unterrichtes, wie vom Art. 19 des Autonomiestatutes vorgesehen, dennoch mit Beschluss der Landesregierung Nr. 5053 im Jahre 1997 genehmigt wurde. Zu erwähnen ist sicher noch das Projekt „Ein Jahr in der anderen Schule“, bei dem deutschsprachige und italienischsprachige Oberschüler/innen ein Jahr die jeweils andere Oberschule besuchen (Cennamo und Provenzano 2010). Dieses Projekt, das bei Schüler/innen und Eltern zunehmend großen Zuspruch erfuhr, wurde mit Beschluss der Landesregierung Nr. 4250 vom 17. November 2008 offiziell genehmigt und betreut im laufenden Schuljahr 2014/2015 63 deutschsprachige Schüler/innen, die eine vierte Klasse einer italienischen Oberschule und 62 italienischsprachige Schüler/innen, die eine 4. Klasse einer deutschen Oberschule besuchen. Hervorzuheben ist schließlich noch der auf der Grundlage des Beschluss der Landesregierung Nr. 1034 vom 8. Juli 2013 ermächtigte Sach-Fachunterricht mit der CLIL-Methodik an den deutsch- und italienischsprachigen Grund-, Mittel- und Oberschulen, der 50 Prozent des Jahresstundenkontingents von maximal 2 Sachfächern umfassen kann. Gekoppelt wurde diese Initiative teilweise mit einem Lehrer/innenaustausch, bei dem vor allem auf Mittelschulebene, wo es ja für die einzelnen Fachbereiche spezifische Lehrbefähigungsklassen gibt, ein/e Lehrer/in der deutschen Mittelschule bzw. der italienischen Schule z. B. Mathematik in der Zweitsprache in der jeweils anderssprachigen Schule unterrichtet. Die Zunahme der Zweitsprachkenntnisse Deutsch bei italienischen Schüler/innen ist aber mit größter Wahrscheinlichkeit auch auf eine teilweise Überwindung des „disagio degli italiani“, des „Unbehagens der Italiener“ zurückzuführen, das sich bereits bald nach 1972 zu zeigen begann, da das neue Autonomiestatut für die italienische Sprachgruppe Grenzregion Südtirol 387 auf lokaler politisch-administrativer Ebene de facto den Übergang von einer Mehrheits- in eine Minderheitsposition mit sich brachte. Als Folge dieser Situation entstand bei der italienischen Sprachgruppe damals eine heute deutlich abnehmende individuelle und teilweise kollektive Phantasie, dass das „Land der Mehrheit“ das „Land der neuen Minderheit“ auffressen könnte. Dazu führt Reiterer (1996: 44) aus: „Minderheiten sind definitorisch Gruppen minderer Machtausstattung. Einer Minderheit anzugehören bedeutet, dass man mit verminderten Chancen ins Leben geht. Nichtdiskriminierung als Grundprinzip des Individualschutzes reicht nicht aus, dieses strukturelle Gefüge der Ungleichheit zu beheben. Diskriminierung ist hier automatisch eingebaut“. Dies bedeutet nicht, dass die deutsche und ladinische Sprachgruppe nicht mehr Minderheiten im nationalen Kontext seien und dass sie sich weiterhin des Rechtes einer ganz besonderen Autonomie auf der Basis des internationalen Pariser Vertrages von 1946 bewusst sein müssen. Es besteht jedoch kein Zweifel daran, dass im lokalen Kontext die deutsche Sprachgruppe dominiert (die ladinische in den ladinischen Tälern). Und dies steht im Zusammenhang mit den Traumata des vergangenen Jahrhunderts. Die kollektiven Erinnerungen aus der Zeit des Faschismus, in der Südtirol eine „innere Kolonie“ Italiens war, und des Nationalsozialismus wirken bei den ehemaligen Beherrschern, aber auch bei den ehemals Beherrschten nach. In Südtirol hängen die Schwierigkeiten beim Erlernen der Sprache der Anderen (Baur 2005 und Baur et al. 2009) auch mit diesen Nachwirkungen zusammen. Ein Autonomiestatut für alle oder eine Autonomie mit starken Akzenten einer Personalautonomie? Selbstverständlich garantiert das Autonomiestatut von 1972 allen seit vier Jahren im Territorium vorwiegend ansässigen Personen weitgehend einen Rahmen der Rechtsgleichheit und kann daher auch als starke, aber eben nicht ausschließliche Territorialautonomie bezeichnet werden. 388 Siegfried Baur Dieser Rahmen der Rechtsgleichheit ist aber für die Einzelpersonen je nach Sprachgruppenzugehörigkeit weiter oder enger gesteckt. Zentrale Felder dieser Personalautonomie sind die Proporzbestimmung, d. h. die Zuweisung öffentlicher Arbeitsplätze nach der Stärke der Sprachgruppen, eine diesem Verhältnis entsprechende Verteilung der Geldmittel (abgemildert durch die Berücksichtigung besonderer Bedürfnisse) in bestimmten sozialen Bereichen, wie dem geförderten und sozialen Wohnbau, die Notwendigkeit des Nachweises der Kenntnis beider Sprachen sowie das im Art. 19 des Autonomiestatutes verankerte getrennte Schulsystem. Diese deutliche Politik der Kompensation, d. h. diese im Statut verankerte Maßnahme der positiven Diskriminierung der deutschen Sprachgruppe als Minderheit im nationalen Kontext, ist der italienischen Sprachgruppe nie wirklich bewusst geworden und wurde von ihr auch kaum akzeptiert. Es ist diese vom Autonomiestatut vorgesehene Regelung, die von den Italienern in Südtirol aus der Sicht ihrer Sprachgruppe zu Unrecht, aber aus der Sicht des einzelnen Bürgers, der einzelnen Bürgerin nicht ganz so zu Unrecht noch teilweise als Benachteiligung, als „relative Deprivation“, empfunden wird. Der im Verfassungsrang stehende ganz besondere Sonderautonomie, die sicher nicht mit anderen Sonderautonomien der Republik Italien verglichen werden kann, gelingt es jedoch nur schwer, außer im zivilgesellschaftlichen Bereich, den Trend zum Miteinander entschieden voranzutreiben. Ein Grund dafür liegt auch darin, dass die Brennergrenze im Diskurs vieler deutschsprachiger Südtiroler, auch wenn die Mehrheit wahrscheinlich zur Landesautonomie steht, immer noch als eine „Wunde der Geschichte“ betrachtet wird, für die folgende „Schiefheilungen“ versucht wurden und werden:    Die von Alexander Langer als solche bezeichnete „Rückverdeutschung“ (Baur et al. 1996: 203), die Stärkung von Hegemonie und Dominanz und das Beharren auf einer „ethnischen Flurbereinigung“ (Peterlini, 1998: 84), das heißt dem nun jahrzehntelangen Versuch, die italienische Ortsnamensgebung zu reduzieren. (Baur 2013 b: 76f ) Grenzregion Südtirol 389 In ihrer Untersuchung zum Spannungsfeld zwischen ethnischer und postnationaler Gesellschaftsstruktur in Südtirol stellten Baur, von Guggenberg und Larcher bereits 1998 klar, dass das Südtirol-Paket nur dann als Regelwerk für ein konfliktfreies Zusammenleben der Sprachgruppen verstanden werden kann, wenn es nicht nur als Instrument zum Schutz der sprachlichen Minderheiten, sondern auch eine möglichst weitreichende Realisierung des Territorialprinzips anstrebt, das durch Partizipation, Integration und Mitverantwortung gekennzeichnet ist. Grenzregion Südtirol, Art. 19 und die Förderung der Mehrsprachigkeit Die Vielsprachigkeit des europäischen Territoriums kann nur dann aufrecht erhalten werden, wenn die Individuen in Europa, unabhän- 390 Siegfried Baur (Saarland–Lothringen–Luxemburg) der Weg ins neue Europa besonders leicht fällt, weil man im kollektiven Gedächtnis kulturell erfahrener 392 Siegfried Baur Art. 19 zwar ein Recht für die „deutschsprachige nationale Minderheit und lokale Mehrheit, aber keine Pflicht ist und dass dieser Artikel des Autonomiestatutes nicht die Förderung der Mehrsprachigkeit, der Muttersprache (der ersten oder starken Sprache) sowie der Zweitsprache und des Englischen und noch anderer Sprachen (be)hindern darf und kann“ (Baur 2013a: 241). Darüber nachzudenken und Lösungen zu suchen, die mit grundlegenden Minderheitenrechten kompatibel sind, kann als eine der zentralen Aufgaben des geplanten Konvents über das Autonomiestatut von 1972 angesehen werden. Denn die kritischsten Felder des Hidden Curriculum der Südtiroler Bildungspolitik (vgl. die Ergebnisse des Forschungsprojektes Baur und Larcher 2012) sind immer noch: a. b. die gesellschaftliche Konstruktion der „natürlichen“ Verschiedenheit und die Automatisierung des Diskurses der ständig und auf allen Schulstufen nach Sprachgruppen getrennten Schulsysteme und der Mythos von der allheilenden Kraft der Sprachendidaktik. Wie sehr man darüber nachdenken sollte, wird auch durch ein Zitat klar, das zwar aus einer ganz anderen Zeit und einem völlig anderen historischen Kontext stammt. Ernst Moritz Arndt schreibt 1813 in seiner Schrift: „Über Grenzregion Südtirol 393 Bibliography Baur, S. (Hrsg.), Austauschpädagogik und Austauscherfahrung. Sprach- und Kommunikationslernen durch Austausch (Hohengehren: Schneider Verlag, 2012). Baur, S., Die Tücken der Nähe. Kommunikation und Kooperation in Mehrheits-/Minderheitssituationen. Kontextstudie am Beispiel Südtirol (Meran: Alpha & Beta Verlag, 2000). Baur, S., „Schulpolitik in Südtirol“, in: J. Marko, S. Ortino, F. Palermo, L. Voltmer und J. Woelk (Hrsg.), Die Verfassung der Südtiroler Autonomie. Die Sonderrechtsordnung der Autonomen Provinz Bozen Südtirol, S. 351–366 (Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 2005). Baur, S., „Schwierigkeiten und Möglichkeiten einer Erziehung für ein mehrsprachiges Europa am Beispiel der Grenzregion Südtirol“, in: A. Raasch und G. Schlemminger (Hrsg.), Régions transfrontalières. Langues des voisins et l’Europe, Synergies Pays germanophones 20013/6, S. 71–82 (Sylvains les Moulins (F): Gerflint, 2013). 394 Siegfried Baur Kugler, L. (Hrsg.), GrenzenLos: Lebenswelten in der deutsch–französischen Region an Saar und Mosel seit 1840 (Saarbrücken: Historisches Museum Saar, 1998). Lüsebrink, H-J., „Grenzziehung in den Köpfen. Nationalismus in Druckschriften des saarländisch-lothringischen Raumes (1815–1919)“, in: L. Kugler (Hrsg.), GrenzenLos: Lebenswelten in der deutsch-französischen Region an Saar und Mosel seit 1840, S. 300–322 (Saarbrücken: Historisches Museum Saar, 1998). Peterlini, H. K., „Fesselnde Heimat. Südtirol, das Entstehen einer Verteidigungskultur“, in: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kunsthalle Tirol (Hrsg.), Sehnsucht Heimat, S. 74–115 (Innsbruck: Alpina Druck, 1998). Popper, K. R., Die offene Gesellschaft und ihre Feinde Teil 1, Der Zauber Platons (Tübingen: Mohr, 2003). Raasch, A., „Grenzregionen und die Mehrsprachigkeit“, in: H. P. Kelz (Hrsg.), Die sprachliche Zukunft Europas. Mehrsprachigkeit und Sprachenpolitik, S. 193–208 (Baden-Baden: Nomos-Verlag, 2002). Reiterer, A. F., Kärntner Slowenen: Minderheiten oder Elite? Neue Tendenzen der ethnischen Arbeitsteilung (Klagenfurt-Celovec: Drava Verlag, 1996). Robertson, R., „Globalisierung: Homogenität und Heterogenität in Raum und Zeit“, in: U. Beck (Hrsg.), Perspektiven der Weltgesellschaft, S. 192–220 (Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp, 1998). Chiara De Paoli 21 Redefining Categories: Construction, Reproduction and Transformation of Ethnic Identity in South Tyrol abstract Being the object of a wide political scrutiny, the introduction of the South-Tyrolean “Declaration as to linguistic origin” builds upon a wide body of multicultural norms fostering segregation rather than pacific coexistence. Affecting the socio-cultural arena, these norms led German and Italian speakers to perceive themselves as two separate and contrasting identities. Having survived changes in the social fabric, the Declaration draws from historical divisions and – in the name of leaner administrative processes – perpetuates the perception of a strongly self-excluding identity. Against the global backdrop of rising nationalisms and ethnic-based conflict, Chiara De Paoli contends that the redefinition of the normative body should consider the anthropological perspective and the regulative use of the concept of “ethnicity” in order to promote difference and encounter. Introduction Wenn in Südtirol ein Setzer oder eine Tippsekretärin das Wort “ethisch” vor sich sieht, wird der vermeintliche Fehler meistens ohne nähere Nachfrage in “ethnisch” ausgebessert – so sehr ist dieses Fremdwort zu einem allgegenwärtigen Schlüsselwort geworden. — Langer (1996: 327)1 1 “If in South Tyrol a typist or a secretary runs by accident into the word ‘ethic’, he/she probably will interpret it as an error, and will immediately and without hesitation correct it into ‘ethnic’” (my translation). 396 Chiara De Paoli With his keen insight, Langer defined ethnicity as a “keyword” (Schlüsselwort) within the South Tyrolean context. In one of his many explanations, a key is defined as a tool that allows us to achieve a specific aim; it fosters a better understanding, by revealing something. In this specific case, ethnicity is the key that discloses a hermetic world, whose study is not only a process of acquiring knowledge but also a self-knowledge process: the world of cultural representations. Representations of this kind do not only concern the portrait of ourselves that we project outside, but are also (and mainly) self-representations (Selbstdarstellungen). Within South Tyrol, “ethnicity” is a word that doesn’t raise particular reactions at all: the ethnic sentiment is so participating, so internalized, to the point that it makes itself almost unrecognizable for those who constantly deal with it. We can liken it to a sort of shadow that always follows the body: it is actually very difficult to be conscious of our own shadow! The fact is that – within the Autonomous Province of Bozen/ Bolzano – “thinking ethnically” seems natural and taken for granted just as sleeping, eating or brushing teeth. Therefore, the process of clearly posing questions based on ethnicity is not easy nor taken for granted, especially if one is steeped in it since birth. As human beings, we tend to internalize the history we belong to, and – at the same time – we unconsciously contribute to perpetuate it, minute by minute; deconstructing our own automatisms requires rather devoted training and relentless commitment. Being born in a social world, we accept a whole range of postulates, axioms, which go without saying and require no inculcating. […] Of all the forms of “hidden persuasion”, the most implacable is the one exerted, quite simply, by the order of things. (Bourdieu 2004: 272) It is no coincidence that we use the term ethnic identity. Identity is a term that encloses all those aspects of life we can no longer separate from ourselves. This is also the case for the places that we hold dear; the country2 2 The reference is to the original term used by South Tyrolean German speakers, which is “Heimat”. This particular term is very frequently employed in common Redefining Categories 397 we were born in, for example. In the first place we must state that this mechanism is not necessarily negative: the sense of belonging has affected us all since the dawn of time, it is a pure expression of humanity; we human beings were born with an inherent need of warmth, shelter and home. And since the places where we were born and raised in are often populated by the people we love, it is not uncommon for people and countries to merge into some kind of unique and blurred “identity melting pot”. Moreover, it is important to underline that specifically in the South Tyrolean context, linguistic and cultural aspects are particularly interwoven: it goes without saying that those who speak a certain language will also belong to a given culture. For example, speaking Italian since birth, my habits and attitude will undeniably show “Italian characters”. The same applies for those who speak German. The prescriptive strength of linguistic prejudice reveals itself in its ability of climbing over physical stereotypes, which are usually impossible to overthrow: for example, although having ginger hair and blue eyes, if a South Tyrolean girl speaks Italian, she will be first of all identified according to the latter characteristic. Conversely, it is a matter of fact that in “multi-ethnic” cities – where one would expect a much more accentuated sensitivity, as a result of the melting pot – the “ethnic” component does not leave a profound mark in daily life, or better: it is not the interpretation of society. One proof of this is, for example, the fact that in a metropolis nobody is asked to give a declaration as to which ethnic group they belong.3 3 parlance, and does not have a literal translation in the English language: “Heimat is a loaded word in the German language. Translating it simply as ‘home’ does not fully do it justice. The powerful emotional ties it evokes in many German citizens when speaking about their hometowns or home regions would best be described as ‘a sense of belonging’” (<http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/__pr/GIC/ TWIG__WoW/2011/20-Heimat.html>). The “Declaration as to linguistic origin” is mentioned later on. 398 Chiara De Paoli Anthropology as an interpretative tool In order to understand the countless implications related to a stereotyped view of the concept of ethnicity that prevails in many countries and territories around the world, adopting an anthropological perspective turns out particularly efficient thanks to its peculiar capacity for the deconstruction of “common sense”. As Michael Herzfeld states, Social and cultural anthropology “is the study of common sense”. […] Whether viewed as “self evidence” (Douglas, 1975: pp. 276–318) or as “obviousness” (Miceli, 1982), common sense – the everyday understanding of how the world works – turns out to be extraordinarily diverse, maddeningly inconsistent, and highly resistant to scepticism of any kind. It is Embedded in both sensory experience and practical politics – powerful realities that constrain and shape access to knowledge. (Herzfeld 2001: 1) Cultural anthropology defines ethnic identity and ethnicity (i.e. the sense of belonging to an ethnic group) as “definizioni del sé e/o dell’altro collettivi che hanno quasi sempre le proprie radici in rapporti di forza tra gruppi coagulati attorno a interessi specifici” [collective definitions of self and/ or the other that mostly find their roots in the balance of power between groups which are coagulated around specific interests] (Fabietti 1998: 14). Within the framework of ethnic disquisitions, the crucial (and too often underrated) role of the anthropological perspective consists of its attitude to treat ethnic groups and ethnicity as genuine symbolic constructions rather than “natural” and static realities; in South Tyrol, the construction of ethnic identity has led Italian and German speakers to perceive themselves as two separate and closed-off universes, “equal but divided”, thanks to a type of politics that has all too often aimed for segregation rather than for pacific coexistence. Discussing ethnic identity is not an easy task: there is a reasonable risk of degenerating into clichés, or rather, into shaky grounds and controversies that have nothing to do with social research. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to highlight just one essential point: the fact that in order to resolve local conflicts and to building a more peaceful coexistence, it will Redefining Categories 399 be essential to redefine some categories that are by now taken for granted (in this case, the ethnic one). Towards a redefinition of categories For the purpose of redefining categories, first of all we need to understand what they are. Contemporary anthropology sees ethnic identity as a construction; ethnicity is not innate but acquired. In other words: it is not rooted in human “nature” and is always the result of a particular history. Ugo Fabietti (1998) defined “production of ethnic identity” as a process by which very precise distinctions are highlighted within the copious differences among people, and it is exactly through these selected cultural traits that a group is able to confer itself an inner homogeneity and, at the same time, diversity toward others. In his autobiographical writings (1996), Langer crystallizes this concept through his personal experience describing how, by growing up in a purely German context, he learnt from very young age a strong sense of being “us” and of communitarian belonging. He highlighted that – in order to survive – this sense of being “us” also implied the need to keep their own identity and difference: he remembered for example the embarrassment he felt when his parents (due to a habit picked up during the fascist occupation and the war) used some Italian sayings such as pazienza or che ci vuoi fare. He remembered perceiving it as a concession factor, and noticed how much that kind of sentiment was alive in a twelve-year-old boy who wasn’t even raised to ethnic contrast. The South Tyrolean issue allows us to observe how ethnic identity – once produced – also acts through the legislative system, triggering a continuous and irrepressible conflict between (often political) forces that tend to exemplify and subserviently reproduce the values they protect, and (usually social) forces that fight for them to be revised or even called into question hand in hand with social change. 400 Chiara De Paoli Construction of ethnic identity: “Us” and “the others” Johan Galtung (1994) used to highlight the difficulties experienced by the Western tradition of human rights handling with group rights at large, and with community rights in particular, suggesting that “a group is a gathering of individuals, and if group human rights are a gathering of individual human rights, then everything is all right. The problem arises when they differ” (Galtung 1994: 67, my translation). Taking just one example – that is, the so-called “ethnic proportion” law – will help to ease the analysis and to avoid dangerous abstract concepts. The proportional law was originally born in 1972, as a raft of measures designed to fairly distribute public administration employment, public housing and several grants (e.g. the ones allocated to associations). The so-called “declaration as to linguistic origin” (Erklärung über die Zugehörigkeit) was hence included in order to implement this system: […] everyone resident in the Province had to give an anonymous declaration as to their ethnic group at the time of the decennial census, with the parents giving the declaration on behalf of their children up to the age of fourteen. The declaration could not be changed before the next census. But the declaration had an import far beyond that of public employment. It governed to what schools chindren could be sent. It concerned those standing for political office since it affected institutionalised political power-sharing. It governed the distrubution of public housing. (Alcock 2001: 16) Interviews with eminent representatives of the South Tyrolean socio-political landscape, including Guido Denicolò and Riccardo Dello Sbarba, highlight that it is exactly through such a strict regulatory system that it becomes possible to prove that ethnicity is a product of history even in South Tyrol. Guido Denicolò explains, for example, that the very wording of the proportional law did not originate from an “innate” and latent ethnic sentiment that suddenly emerged at a particular point in time, but rather from economic competition and a major socio-economic emergency within the post-war German-speaking South Tyrolean population. In the 50s, agriculture went into crisis and was no longer strong enough to support the population, tourism did not yet exist and neither did industry outside of that which was introduced by fascism, monopolized by Italian workers. Redefining Categories 401 Furthermore, the crisis of agriculture was also accompanied by the expansion of public employment – typical of the construction of a new system – for the exclusive prerogative of the Italian population too: hence the request of proportion, not due to “ethnic” motives. But what happened is that a rule which was born for historic reasons, with the intent of rebalancing a state of imbalance, contributed to the segregation in groups. Reproduction of ethnic identity: The border But then a question automatically arises: why was the segregation maintained even when the post-war socio-economic emergency was overcome? For those who rule a given territory, the reproduction over time of separation dynamics has one specific advantage: the creation of a border. The so-called “ethnic border” (Friedrik Barth’s idea) is capable of extraordinary strength because it channels social life: thanks to the border, there is an iron rule allowing the distribution of benefits and disadvantages, whose validity is never called into question. A border has such an amazing strength, to the extent that not only it is not destroyed if crossed, but it is even individual identity that changes when this happens. By reconnecting Barth’s considerations with our ethnographic case, we notice that even the declaration of belonging is an example of how differences (and specifically, linguistic ones) can be used to voluntarily produce a sense of identity. An interesting point of view, that underlines the cultural matrix of ethnicity (not synonymous of natural and everlasting “race” any more) and most importantly, identifies border as the tool whereby it reproduces over time. The introduction from the early 80s of the possibility of aggregation instead of belonging is a perfect example of crossing: if I wish to, nobody forbids me to change group or identity, but “the ethnic border in itself is being maintained” (Fabietti 1998: 103, my translation). This also reveals the pretence of ethnicity: if it was innate, it would always stay the same, and it would also be impossible for an individual to switch from the Italian to the German group or vice-versa. 402 Chiara De Paoli Ethnicity is likely to be the same as religion in 800, that is the “opium of the people”. Therefore, it would be a miracle if everyone could realize that ethnic or group affiliation is a pretense, a role playing, a political construction. It has nothing to do with what you really are […]. So it would be important for people to realise that it is a pretense, a political construction, in some ways a tacky and betrayer ideology: and it is in this regard that we need to get shots. Then, when we got that, it is important to deal with the problem of understanding if this construct, this fake rule we adopted (every rule is of course a fake) … if this rule works or not. Does it make people happy or not? And this can be debated. But first of all, everybody should realise that it is not a law of nature, because it still tends to be presented as law of nature, that is the problem! This topic should be secularized. (De Paoli 2015: 27–28; interview with Riccardo Dello Sbarba, my translation) However, ethnicity being a pretense does not necessarily make it obsolete. Fabietti (1998) also discerns between a regulative use and a constitutive use of ethnicity. Ethnicity is indeed a pretense that can channel a combination of elements (cultural or even somatic traits) which lend themselves very little to be gathered in a uniform and coherent sequence; this is the reason why it can reveal itself useful to lead a certain type of conversation on cultural differences. But this is possible only if it is used in a regulative sense, that is, when I am aware that it is a convention (“as if ”). Things change – and get extremely problematic – if we mean ethnicity in a constitutive sense (“is”), if we immerse in this game enough to confuse it with reality. It is still an undervalued danger, but ethnic wars are always born starting from this uncritical – and easy to exploit – use of differences. In many parts of the world, conflicts and genocides of tragic, devastating rage arise from this alleged ethnic sentiment. The problem is that there is an increasing tendency to “ethnicise” every kind of conflict or social problem, to speak of ethnic groups, if not of races, where we should only speak of individuals who interact with one other and with society. Individuals, hence, that carry with them a way of reading the world, not cultures in the abstract. And people are not unscratchable monoliths, as remembered by the words of Tiforau, Raymond Firth’s tikopian friend. To the great New Zealander anthropologist, who was trying to convince him of how it would have been difficult for him to live in the white men’s land, Tiforau answered: “What is a man, a stone?” (Aime 2004: 54–55, my translation)4 4 Il problema è che invece si registra sempre più spesso una tendenza a “etnicizzare” qualsiasi tipo di conflitto e problema sociale, a parlare di etnie, se non di razza, laddove Redefining Categories 403 Cultural difference exists, among individuals equally as in groups (given that groups are ultimately nothing other than agglomerations of individuals); it is well known, though, that difference may represent – where appropriate – a factor for growth (when translated into dialogue and discussion) or for division, diffidence, hate and even war. It is exactly in that branch point that lies the “choice of coexistence”. This is the reason why in that sense South Tyrol has tremendous potential, still partly unexpressed and to be developed. And this is also why, once the concept of ethnicity has been outlined while emphasizing its character of pretence, the conclusion leaves one question necessarily open: how can we make cultural difference become a cause of growth instead of a cause of conflict? Transformation of ethnic identity Once again, the key is how we use differences. In order transform the end result into a social and political commitment, the task of “making good use” of diversities is first of all based on an individual and personal level. Serge Latouche (1999) states it very well, noting that We need to start to see things differently so that they can become “other”, so that it might be possible to devise truly original and innovative solutions. In other words, we should decolonise our imagination in order to really change the world before the changing of the world hopelessly condemns us. (Latouche 1999, <http://www. nigrizia.it/notizia/lutopia-alternativa> accessed 25 August 2015, my translation)5 5 si dovrebbe parlare soltanto di individui che interagiscono tra loro e con la società. Individui, quindi, che portano con sé un modo di leggere il mondo, non culture in senso astratto. E le persone non sono monoliti inscalfibili, come ricordano le parole di Tiforau, amico tikopia di Raymond Firth. Alle parole del grande antropologo neozelandese, che cercava di convincerlo di come per lui sarebbe stato difficile abituarsi a vivere nella terra dei bianchi, Tiforau rispose: “Che cos’è un uomo, un sasso?” Occorre iniziare a vedere le cose altrimenti perché esse possano divenire “altre”, perché si possano concepire delle soluzioni davvero originali e innovatrici. In altri termini, bisognerebbe decolonizzare il nostro immaginario per cambiare davvero il mondo prima che il cambiamento del mondo ci condanni senza speranza (<http://www. nigrizia.it/notizia/lutopia-alternativa>). 404 Chiara De Paoli Standard-bearer of the habit of “seeing otherwise”, contemporary anthropology offers in this regard a very simple but absolutely not banal advice: trying to replace the term “border” with “frontier”. This is by no means a meaningless intellectual exercise, since the words are powerful symbols that can not only reflect one’s way of thinking, but also turn it into something else. The matter of how we denominate things is far from secondary, and this is also the reason why in South Tyrol toponymy sparks so many controversies. Denominating is a creative act, and linguistic choices (like all the other ones) “are never neutral, but they rather incessantly produce, reproduce and transform belongings/differences, representations of reality, values concerning the world” (Biscaldi 2009: 52, my translation). Consequently, to think of South Tyrol as a “frontier land”, and not as a “border land” any more, would have an extraordinary impact. Unlike borders, frontiers enclose the potential of change, since it is definable as something that “the moment it separates, it connects” (Fabietti 1998: 105, my translation); and to connect is exactly what we need, because the tool for coexistence finds place precisely in this unity in diversities. While when I bump into a border – unless I get a running start and jump very long – the risk is to fall and plummet, on the frontier I can try to walk: this is why one of the advantages related to the “frontier mentality” is the opportunity of bringing out of invisibility those who have always been “in the middle”, that is, the so-called “mixed-languages”.6 It is yet important to remember that words are an effect rather than a cause, the reflection of one’s way of thinking. If we could just change a word into another, everything would clearly be too much simple. However, despite being unable to base itself only on an individual awareness, a transformation of ethnic prejudice and of group segregation may be possible through an accurate work of deconstruction involving people one by one; this because “reflexive analysis, which teaches us that we endow the situation with part of the potency it has over us, allows us to alter our perception of the situation and thereby our reaction to it” (Bourdieu 1992: 136). 6 By this term we mean, in common parlance, the children of parents belonging to different linguistic groups, therefore grown up in a multi-linguistic context. Redefining Categories 405 Conclusions The commitment to stop the eternal reproduction of dynamics of hate and separation cannot but pass through culture and education, the most powerful vehicles to transform collective imagination. Not necessarily (or better, not yet) through bilingual schools, but for example by increasing educational projects focused on interculture and plurilingualism – promoted in a coordinated and organic manner over the whole territory and fashioned using specific and professionalizing competencies. This is the direction that most of the citizens wish for the future of their Province: many steps forward have already been made, but now that the time is ripe we should better strengthen it further, for example by enforcing specific aspects. 1) To support – within every educational establishment – the opening of sections where Italian and German are equally taught, not only by working on linguistic trials or European certifications, but also on mingling and approaching the two groups through school; 2) to train professional experts, lacking so far, in integration and mediation between the groups, who might work in the Culture assessorships and interface with the institutions if necessary; 3) to extend intercultural projects to the labour market, too, for example, through the promotion – starting from the schools – of internships bringing together in the same context young people coming from the three different linguistic groups. In conclusion, in front of us we have the occasion to create a South Tyrol ready to become a model of linguistic lab in Europe, where citizens will not be afraid to lose their identity anymore (isolated in separate worlds and unable to communicate), but rather capable of creating – supported by a renovated and cutting-edge education system – a sort of “third world” where our “sense of self ” is reinforced by the comparison with others. Transforming the encounter with others from judgement to enrichment will also mean to concretely build a culture of coexistence, through a 406 Chiara De Paoli constant dialogue and a strong assumption of responsibility that overcomes the immediate interests of the two groups. Besides, the importance of adopting a dialoguish perspective, and the imperative of a strong assumption of responsibility by common citizens, are core elements of the well-known Alexander Langer’s “Tentative Decalogue for the Art of Inter-ethnic Togetherness”. Within a framework ruled by fear and mistrust, Langer encouraged himself and his fellow citizens to challenge in the opposite direction. By acting “locally” (in South Tyrol as in Bosnia) and thinking “globally”, he showed us with his own life how a true revolution consists of nothing but engaging in our closest environment – the only one on which we have the power to act – thus creating a model of inspiration and encouragement for others. In his “tentative decalogue”, Langer remembered that coexistence offers and asks many possibilities of mutual acquaintance, but getting to know and talk to each other, informing and interacting will be necessary to ensure that it can be carried on with equal dignity and without marginalization. To separatist slogans and ethnocentric views he answers that “the more we have to do one with the other, the better we will understand each other”:7 his life’s mission and spiritual baton are both condensed in these simple words. On the frontier, “others” stop being the enemies. In a world that is becoming more and more globalized and crossbred, looking at others as a resource will be increasingly necessary, since by now – in the words of the well-known anthropologist Clifford Geertz – “those puzzles [due to the presence of cultural diversity] arise not merely at the boundaries of our society […] but, so to speak, at the boundaries of ourselves. Foreignness does not start at the water’s edge but at the skin’s”. The social world does not divide at its joints into perspicuous we’s with whom we can empathize, however much we differ with them, and enigmatical they’s, with whom we cannot, however much we defend to the death their right to differ from us. The wogs begin long before Calais. (Geertz 1985: 261–262) 7 <http://www.alexanderlanger.org/it/266/1297> accessed 27 October 2015. Redefining Categories 407 It is my belief that this new way of looking at things, based on the effort to “decolonise our imaginaries” (Latouche 2010) will be a source of profound enrichment both for the citizens of this little Province – Italian, German, Ladins, French, Dutch, Mexican or whosoever – and for those who are looking at South Tyrol from near and far, in Italy, Europe and the rest of the world. Bibliography Aime, M., Eccessi di culture (Torino: G. Einaudi, 2004). Alcock, A. (2001), The South Tyrol Autonomy. A Short Introduction <http://www. provinz.bz.it/en/downloads/South-Tyrol-Autonomy.pdf> accessed 25 February 2015. Biscaldi, A., Relativismo cultuale: in difesa di un pensiero libero (Torino: Utet università, 2009). Bourdieu, P., “The practice of reflexive sociology (The Paris workshop)”, in: P. Bourdieu and L. Wacquant (eds), An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1992). Bourdieu, P., and L. Wacquant, “Symbolic Violence”, in: N. Scheper-Hughes and P. Bourgois (eds), Violence in war and peace: An anthology (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2004), pp. 272–274. De Paoli, C., La scelta della convivenza. Costruzione, riproduzione e trasformazione dell’identità etnica nel Sudtirolo (University of Milan, 2015). Fabietti, U., L’identità etnica. Storia e critica di un concetto equivoco (Roma: Carocci, 1998). Galtung, J., I diritti umani in un’altra chiave (Milano: Esperia, 1997). Geertz, C., “The Uses of Diversity”, in: S. M. McMurrin (ed.), Tanner Lectures on Human Values 7, pp. 251–275 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986). Herzfeld, M., Anthropology. Theoretical Practice in Culture and Society (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001). Langer, A., Aufsätze zu Südtirol / Scritti sul Sudtirolo 1978–1995 (Merano/Meran (Bz): Alpha & Beta Verlag, 1996). Latouche, S., “L’utopia alternativa”, Nigrizia, 1 September 1999, Dossier “Per un’economia di giustizia – Efficienza economica o efficacia sociale?” <http:// www.nigrizia.it/notizia/lutopia-alternativa> accessed 25 February 2015. Notes on Contributors barbara Angerer holds a Master’s degree in Specialised Translation and Conference Interpreting from the University of Geneva. With work experience at the public information department of the United Nations and in foreign-language teaching, she has been freelancing as a translator and conference interpreter since March 2015. She also conducts research in sociolinguistics with a special focus on institutional multilingualism, bilingual communities and linguistic minorities. siegfried baur is Professor Emeritus for Pedagogics and Social Pedagogics at the Faculty for Education in the Freie Universität Bozen/Brixen, prior to which he was a lecturer at the Alpen Adria Universität von Klagenfurt/ Celovec. He has authored numerous publications on political, intercultural and multilingual education and on the challenges of encountering other cultures within a European linguistic framework. nina f. caprez studied History and Islamic Sciences at the Universities of Zurich and Aix-en-Provence. Her PhD at the University of Fribourg focused on the history of the monastery Muri-Gries after World War I. Her areas of research are biography and monasterial history. Chiara De Paoli was born in Bolzano (South Tyrol) in 1989. She has lived, studied and worked in Milan since 2008. After graduating with honours in Social Sciences at the University of Milan in 2015 with a thesis on the issue of ethnic identity, she is currently studying Cultural Anthropology at the University of Milan-Bicocca. Antonio Elorza is Professor of Political Science at the University of Madrid (UCM). He has been Visiting Professor at the Universities of Paris-Sorbonne IV, School for High Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS, Paris), Turin, Burgundy and CIDE (Mexico). His fields of research span 410 Notes on Contributors nationalist movements in Spain and France, political contemporary thought in Spain and political Islam. His books include: Anarchism and Utopia (2015); Genocides (2015); The Two Messages of Islam (2008); The Totalitarian Origins of Basque Nationalism (2005); ETA: une histoire (2002); Umma (2002); and La religión política (1996). Lucio Giudiceandrea was born in Brixen/Bressanone and lives in Bozen/Bolzano where he works as a journalist for RAI. He has published significant comments on the role of Italian South Tyroleans and societal change in South Tyrol. Georg Grote has been Associate Professor for Western European History at University College Dublin. He has published on the areas of historical nationalism and modern regionalism in Europe, and is now working with the European Research Academy in Bozen and as a curator of Prösels Castle in South Tyrol. Friederike Haupt is a radio and television journalist who, since 1990, has produced numerous broadcasts and features on various musical themes and traditions for the Bayerischer Rundfunk and the ARD. Gareth Kennedy is an Irish visual artist based in Dublin, Ireland. His work explores the social agency of the handcrafted in the twenty-first century and generates “communities of interest” around the production and performance of new material cultures. Deploying an anthropological approach, his work draws on the particular social, cultural and economic histories of a location to uncover hidden histories and relationships. He has produced and shown work both nationally and internationally, and his practice to date includes public art work, educational projects, exhibitions, residencies and collaborations. In 2009, he co-represented Ireland at the 53rd Venice Biennale along with artist Sarah Browne. Sabine Mayr studied German and English Philology at the University of Vienna and has worked for the OSCE and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna. Researching the private archive of Albert Sternfeld, Notes on Contributors 411 she published with Anton Pelinka “Die Entdeckung der Verantwortung” (1998) on the foundation of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism, and with Albert Sternfeld the biography “Die Sternfelds” (2005). With Joachim Innerhofer she published “Mörderische Heimat. Verdrängte Lebensgeschichten jüdischer Familien in Bozen und Meran” (2015) and its extended Italian version “Quando la patria uccide. Storie ritrovate di famiglie ebraiche in Alto Adige” (2016). Aldo Mazza was born in Calabria, but has been living in Meran/Merano since 1972. As a publisher and lecturer he is most involved in the development of society in South Tyrol. Johanna Mitterhofer is a researcher at the Institute for Minority Rights at EURAC Research (Bozen/Bolzano, Italy) and holds degrees in Social Anthropology from the Universities of Cambridge and Durham, both in the UK. She is interested in borders, cultural heritage and minority rights. Her current research focuses on migrant integration in rural municipalities. Carlo Moos has been Professor Emeritus of Modern History at University of Zurich since 2010. Sarah Oberbichler studied History and German Literature at the Universities of Innsbruck and Gothenburg. After completing her MA thesis, she embarked on a PhD Project on the perception of migrants and migrations through two major South Tyrolean newspapers. She is affiliated with the Institute of Contemporary History in the University of Innsbruck. Hannes Obermair is Head of the Civic Archives of Bozen-Bolzano and teaches contemporary history at the University of Innsbruck. He has published in the areas of medieval and urban history with a special focus on the pre-modern documentary systems in the Tyrolean-Trentino region. He also specializes on the fascist and Nazi impact on the Bolzano region and has co-created an award-winning permanent exhibition within Bolzano’s Monument to Victory. 412 Notes on Contributors Hans Karl Peterlini, born in Bozen in 1961, has for a long time worked on issues of identity building, ethnic conflicts, processes of peace-building and the cohabitation of different ethno-linguistic groups in South Tyrol, which he uses as an example for regions with ethnic minorities elsewhere. He applies a pedagogical perspective on this issue, researching processes of personal and social learning in heterogeneous spaces, regions and contexts (i.e. in “Lernen und Macht” and “An der Seite des Lernens”). Since 2014 he has been Professor of Education and Intercultural Education at the Alpen-Adria-University of Klagenfurt/Celovec, Austria. Eva Pfanzelter is Associate Professor at the Institute of Contemporary History and Deputy Head of the Research Center for Digital Humanities at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Her fields of research and teaching are European and regional contemporary history, memory and politics of memory, migration studies, the Holocaust and digital humanities. Bettina Schlorhaufer was born in Innsbruck and studied Art History and History at the Leopold-Franzens University, Innsbruck. In 1988 she was awarded her doctorate with honours and, in 1990, her postdoctoral diploma at the Institut Supérieur de Management Culturel ISMC (Paris). She works as a scientist in the field of arts and cultural management and as a curator. From 2009 to 2013, and from 2016 onwards, she has been an assistant at the Institute of Architectural Theory and Architectural History, Department of Architectural Theory. Rolf Steininger is Professor Emeritus presently at the Free University of Bolzano; Head of the Institute of Contemporary History at the University of Innsbruck from 1984 to 2010; European Union Jean Monnet-Professor; Senior Fellow of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans; and the author of numerous books, articles and television documentaries. Julia Tapfer works at the Institute of Contemporary History at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. She has been involved as a student assistant on the project “Labour Migration in South Tyrol since 1972” with her Notes on Contributors 413 research focusing on migrant associations and their South Tyrolean network. Her publications include “Das illustrierte Flugblatt im Dreißigjährigen Krieg. Zwei ausgewählte Flugblätter gegen den Winterkönig Friedrich V. von der Pfalz im Vergleich” (historia.scribere 4 [2012], S. 353–370) and “Burn, ware-house, burn! Die Flugblätter Nr. 6 bis 9 der Kommune I zur Brüsseler Kaufhausbrandstiftung” (Innsbrucker Germanistische Elektronische Lektüren 1 [2014], S. 202–221). She has also contributed on the homepage of the 2014 project “‘Die Erinnerung an die Südtiroler Option 1939: Erinnerung an die Option’ – digitale ZeitzeugInnen-Interviews im Geschichtsunterricht”. Her teacher training diploma thesis was “Subject History, Social Studies and Political Education and German”, and her graduate thesis researched “Memories of the South Tyrolean Option 1939 – digital witness interviews in history teaching”. Her main research interests are migration, the South Tyrolean Option 1939, memory studies, regional history, didactics of history and oral history. Paolo Bill Valente is a journalist and writer from Meran whose work focuses on interreligious and intercultural dialogue, international development and cooperation and related social issues. He has published several works on previously undocumented aspects of regional history, as well as several novels. Marta Villa holds a PhD in Contemporary Anthropology from the Università Milano-Bicocca. For her thesis, she researched identity and membership in fertility rituals and in the landscape construction of a Südtirol small community. She collaborates with political science and cultural anthropology and she is member of the Research Unit VADem – Valori Appartenenze Democrazia in the Department of Sociology and Social Research of the University of Trento. She has published extensively on her research area and is currently pursuing a PhD at the Laboratorio di Storia delle Alpi at the Università della Svizzera Italiana Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio. Markus Wurzer was born in 1990 in Lienz, Austria and studied History and German at the Universities of Graz and Bologna. He wrote his diploma 414 Notes on Contributors thesis about the war diary of a South Tyrolean participating in the Italo– Abyssinian War (1935–1936). From October 2015 until September 2016 he was Research Fellow at the Department of History at the University of Graz, and since October 2016 he has been a university assistant at the Department of Contemporary History of the University of Linz. His dissertation focuses on “South Tyrolean Amateur Photography of the Italo– Abyssinian War 1935–1941: Self-images – External Images – Images of War”. His research focus lies in Italo–Austrian History (especially World War I and the Italo–Abyssinian War) and the history of everyday life. Index Ahnenerbe 243, 250 Allianz für Deutschland 329 Alpenburg, Johann Nepomuk von 277–278 Alps, the 289–290 Alto Adige 155, 159ff, 198, 210, 241, 311, 314, 328, 333, 373 Alto Adige (newspaper) 147–169 Ansitz Reichenbach 225, 231ff, 232, 233, 235 Anthony of Padua 284 Apocalypse, Book of Revelation 280 archaeology 240, 242, 288 Archivio per l’Alto Adige 7–10 Arndt, Ernst Moritz 393 Augner, Abbot Alfons 45, 46–50 Autonomiekonvent 382 Bauer, Otto 17, 20, 28, 30–39, 60 bilingualism 314, 354, 361ff “bloody Sunday” (Blutsonntag) 311, 318 Brenner Pass 58, 69, 124, 388 carnival(s) 287–292 Klosen and Klaubauf (carnival ritual) 292–294 Pflugziehen (carnival ritual) 295 Scheibenschlagen (carnival ritual) 297–298 Christianity 277–278 Churchill, Winston 264 denationalization (Entnationalisierung) 21, 307ff see also nationalization Dolomiten (newspaper) 130, 137, 147–169 Drau 262 Dual Monarchy 43 Enzensberger, Hans Magnus 328 ethnic identity 396ff ethnicity 342ff, 396ff EURAC (European Academy) 148, 370, 385 farmhouse, alpine 290–292 fascism xvii–xviii, xx, 49, 62– 71, 101–103, 120–138, 237, 242–246, 251, 266, 270, 279, 310–315, 321–323, 346, 367, 399, 400 fire as a ritual ceremony 298–299 foreigner(s) 111, 113, 164, 166, 169, 296, 317, 328, 331– 334, 342–343 Frei.Wild 211ff Freiheitliche Partei (Freiheitlichen Party) 16, 329, 341ff Friedensplatz 314 Friedensverhandlungen 3, 11 Front National (France) 329 globalization 122, 123, 134, 276, 327–328, 352–354, 382, 406 Great Depression, the 67 Gruber-De Gasperi Agreement 127 Heimat 109, 111, 112, 114, 117, 183, 200, 318, 390 Heyl, Johann Adolf 277–278 Hofer, Andreas 22, 59, 79, 80, 310 Hofer, Franz 313 416 Holocaust, the 129, 134, 135, 136, 204 identity xvii, xxi, 110, 120– 124, 133, 237, 242, 253, 266–267, 302, 307ff, 328, 334, 347–353, 356, 371, 395ff inflation 42 Innichen, village of 262 interculturalism (Interkulturalität) 188– 189, 193–194, 198–199, 209, 349, 355–356, 383, 405 Klezmer music 201–204 KOLIPSI study 363–364, 383, 385 Kompatscher, Arno 314 Ladiner 7, 208, 342, 347, 365, 387, 407 Lega Nord (La Lega) 329 legends of Meran 275–285 treasure 283 Londoner Vertrag 4, 6, 264 Mais-Maia 285 masks and folklore 299–300 Meran, legends of see legends of Meran Messner Mountain Museum 79–80 (im)migration 128, 138, 147ff, 173ff, 197–198, 202, 308, 316, 323, 329, 341ff Monument to Victory (Siegesdenkmal) 120, 124, 136, 313, 322, 332 multilingualism (Mehrsprachigkeit) 342, 345, 349, 361ff, 381ff Mussolini, Benito xvii, 300, 313 nationalism xvi, 134, 136, 137, 222, 242, 247, 309, 318, 321–323, 329, 395 nationalization 318, 320 see also denationalization (Entnationalisierung) “Naturgrenztheorie” (natural boundary theory) 6, 8 Index “Operationszone Alpenvorland” 64, 103, 110, 313 Option, the xviii, xxi, 24, 101, 103, 110, 117, 119, 121, 125ff, 208–209, 239, 242, 246, 253, 312 Ottmann farmhouse 283 Ötzi 199, 275–276, 284–285, 289 paganism 277–279 Passeier Valley 333 Pegida 329 Perathoner, Julius 16, 310 Piedmont 288 Platter, Günther 80 pogrom, anti-Jewish 54 Prad am Stilfserjoch 294–295 Prösels Castle xx, 285 Provvedimenti per l’Alto Adige 243, 246, 312 Puster Valley (Pustertal/Val Pusteria) 260, 262 regionalism xix, xxi, 122–125, 217ff, 316, 318, 319 Reichsdeutsche 112–115 Renner, Karl 20, 28, 29, 31 Reschenpas 290 Rienz 262 St Germain 3, 19, 20, 27, 30–31, 34–39, 61 Schengen Agreement 260, 269–270 self-determination (Selbstbestimmung) 3, 16, 21, 29, 35, 126, 314, 317 Sicherheitsdienst (the SD) 62, 66 Sigmundskron Castle 79 South Tyrolean People’s Party (Südtiroler Volkspartei/SVP) 16, 101, 126, 130, 137, 153, 163, 165, 167, 313 SS, the 62–66, 248, 252 417 Index Statute of Autonomy (Autonomie­ statut) 129, 338, 344, 388, 392 Stilfs in Vinschgau 287–302 Stilfserjoch 290 Südtiroler Ordnungsdienst (the SOD) 62, 66 transculturalism (Transkulturalität) 135, 197ff, 210, 299, 352, 355, 356 Trenker, Luis 96 Trient, Trentino 4–7, 25, 136, 186, 192, 205, 311, 314 Tyrol Castle 281 Tappeiner, Dr Franz 232 Teilung Tirols 4–25 Third Reich 113, 126, 128 Tinzl, Karl 313 Tiroler, Der (newspaper) 59 Tiroler Soldaten Zeitung (newspaper) 87, 88, 91 Tiroler Volksblatt (newspaper) 58 Tiroler Volksbote (newspaper) 58 Tiroler Volksbund (political movement) xvii, 13, 14 Tolomei, Ettore 6–8, 10, 20, 276, 311, 313 UKIP (UK Independence Party) 329 Viktor Emanuel III, King 21, 69 Villa Ultenhof 217, 226ff Vinschgau Valley 45, 287–290 Widmayr, Johann Philipp 285 Wilson, Woodrow 3–4 Zenoburg Castle 282 “Zero Hour” (“Stunde 0”) 101–118 Zingerle, Ignaz Vinzenz 277–278