Figure 1.--This unidentified boy and his baby brother or sister before World War I were still Austrian citizens. They lived in the South Tyrolean capital of Bozen. The Allies fter the War ttrabsferred South Tyrol to Italy as a reward for coming kinto the War on the Allid side. Bozen became Bolzano and the Ausrtrains there becme Italian citizens. The studio was Hans Pohl in Bozen.

South Tirol is a beautiful area, combining Mediterranean landscape and Alpine peaks. Unlike most of Italy, the province is covered by snow during the winter. South Tirol was once part of Austria. It was historically an Alpine area connecting Italy to the south and Germny to the north. This is why the stoneage iceman, Ötzi, was discovered in the mountains nearby. He was apprently attempting to cross Alpine passes. It had been for years part of Austria. After World War I as past of the peace settlement, South Tirol was annexed by Italy and became the country's most northerly province. At the time very few Italians lived there. Italy's Austrian minority is mostly located in South Tirol. In the inter-War era Austrian German-speaking community resisted Mussolini's attempts at Italification. The people not only spoke German, but actually looked down on Italians. Other territories Italy won as a result of the War were heavily populated with ethnic Italians. They were a stubborn people, staunchly Catholic and proud of their own ways. They would have welcomed Hitler;s attempts to reunite them with Austria/Germny. The largest city and capital is Bolzano /Bozen. It is today best know for its archaeology museum where Ötzi is housed.

Geography

South Tirol is a beautiful area, combining Mediterranean landscape and Alpine peaks. Unlike most of Italy, the province is covered by snow during the winter. Italian possessionof South Tirol, brings the Italian border up to the Brenner Pass. The Brenner Pass (Brennerpass / Passo del Brennero) ) is a mountain pass through the Alps along the ItalianAustrian border. It is one of the principal Alpine and imprtantly the lowest of the Alpine passes. There is evidence of use in pre-history and coveted throughout recorded.

History

South Tirol has a fascinating history. It was historically an Alpine area connecting Italy to the south and Germny to the north. This is why the stoneage iceman, Ötzi, was discovered in the mountains nearby. He was apprently attempting to cross Alpine passes. The province and capital was fr many years part of austria and within the Holy Roman Empire. The location south of the Brenner Pass made the capital (Bozen/Bolzano) the scene of important trade fairs frquented by Austrian and Italian merchants.It was the scene of heavy World war I fighting after Italy joined the Allies (1915). After the War as past of the peace settlement, South Tirol with its mostly Austrian German speaking popultion was annexed by Italy and became the country's most northerly province. At the time very few Italians lived there. Italy's Austrian minority is mostly located in South Tirol. In the inter-War era Austrian German-speaking community resisted Mussolini's attempts at Italification. The people not only spoke German, but actually looked down on Italians. Other territories Italy won as a result of the War were heavily populated with ethnic Italians. They were a stubborn people, staunchly Catholic and proud of their own ways. They would have welcomed Hitler's attempts to reunite them with Austria/Germny. Mussolini and the Fascists worried that Hitler, in pursuing his ideology of all ethnic Germans under one Reich, would demand South Tyrol as he did other areas with German ethnic populations. This was one reason that Mussolini did not embrace Hitler when he first seized power (1933). The issue was finally settled before Hitler launched World War II (1939). They signed the Option Agreement under which Hitler renounced territorial claims over South Tyrol as part of Germany's Lebensraum (living space). Some ethnic German South-Tyroleans tryurned to the Reich. Those who chose to stay in South Tyrol were subjected by the scists to intensive Italianisation. They lost of their German names and national identity, German-language school, and the use of the German language in public. The province today is largely Italian m but with a German minority tht has regained some degree of autonomy.

Cities

The largest city and capital is Bolzano/Bozen. It is today best know for its archaeology museum where Ötzi is housed.

Reader Comments

A German reader wites, "Yes, South Tirol is a very beautiful placey. High Mountains, many lakes, vineyards in the hills and apple orchards in the plains. Most people there speak German even to this day. In the villages, you find many public schools and children gardens with the note on the door: German speaking. Shopping, holiday time in hotels, cultural events, all in German. Old historical marks, not only Ötzi, can be found everywhere, hundreds and thousands year back, churches, graves, bridges, etc. There is very beautiful scenery! The fighting of Tirol nationalists after Word War II in the 1950s is over. It is an example of (relatively) good coliving of old and new (Italian) population. The Italians are mostly working class. South Tirol, economically, is a very well established part of Italy, I think the most prosperous area of the country."

A Dutch reader writes, "It is true that Mussolini tried to Italicize South Tyrol. What is most amazing is the fact that Hitler did not lift a finger to help the German-speaking Tyroleans. Where ever there was a German minority in Europe at that time, the Führer was ready to make war for them. Remember the Volksdeutsche in Poland "who suffered so much" and the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939? Hitler needed his friend Mussolini to help him with bigger plans and he could not be bothered with some yodlers in the Dolomites."

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 1:02 AM 12/12/2014
Last updated: 8:47 AM 1/11/2016