Page 118 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 118
Memories and Dark Tourism in Istria
prove tourism business in the region, but all activities had only limited
success.²⁶ The beginning of wwi i would bring a new difficult period for
Istrian tourism.
6.3 wwii-Related Memorial Practices and Dark Tourism
After wwii, the memory of wwi was completely suppressed due to dif-
ferent positions of individual nations during the war²⁷ and due to the con-
stitutive role of wwi i for the Second Yugoslavia, including the creation
of brotherhood and unity of nations (Luthar, 2000, pp. 97–98). Con-
sequently, the Second Yugoslavia systematically introduced new mon-
uments/memorials and commemorative practices consistent with the
regime and the prevailing mentality. For example, the memorial to the
victims killed or wounded in Strunjan was erected in the aftermath of
war, when the border issue with Italy had not even been resolved (Figure
6.4). Such memorial heritage of the national liberation struggle was in
the service of the state, which effected the collective memory. Anti-Slavic
fascist repression in Istria (including Nazi-terror), created post-wwii rit-
uals of commemorations and celebrations that pacified Yugoslav public
opinion (D’Alessio, 2012a). The main celebrations and commemorations
were on federal or republic public holidays, e.g. 4 July – Fighter’s Day,
29 November – Republic Day, 27 April – Day of the Liberation Front,
27 July – Day of the Uprising of the People of Croatia. There were also
lower-level historical days, e.g. 9 September – The Day of the Uprising
in Istria and the Slovenian Coast, which significantly marked the lives of
people in the Second Yugoslavia, including Istria.
In the early post-w w i i period, symbols and monuments of fascism
were quickly removed, although, according to Rusinow (1963b), some
commemorative plaques in honour of some Italian irredentists remained.
The author detected that the idea for the reconstruction of the monu-
ment to Nazario Sauro in Koper, dismantled by the Nazis in 1944, also ap-
peared;²⁸ the tomb of his parents at the Koper cemetery, with a large stone
cross and a memorial plaque with an Italian patriotic inscription from
1923, was not damaged and is still there today. However, all post-w w i i
generations attended ceremonies and commemorations and adored the
²⁶ More can be find in Šuligoj and Medarić (2015) and Kavrečič (2020).
²⁷ The Serbs were among the winners, while Slovenians and Croats were among the losers,
which means that memory cannot be unified.
²⁸ This idea was not realised.
118
prove tourism business in the region, but all activities had only limited
success.²⁶ The beginning of wwi i would bring a new difficult period for
Istrian tourism.
6.3 wwii-Related Memorial Practices and Dark Tourism
After wwii, the memory of wwi was completely suppressed due to dif-
ferent positions of individual nations during the war²⁷ and due to the con-
stitutive role of wwi i for the Second Yugoslavia, including the creation
of brotherhood and unity of nations (Luthar, 2000, pp. 97–98). Con-
sequently, the Second Yugoslavia systematically introduced new mon-
uments/memorials and commemorative practices consistent with the
regime and the prevailing mentality. For example, the memorial to the
victims killed or wounded in Strunjan was erected in the aftermath of
war, when the border issue with Italy had not even been resolved (Figure
6.4). Such memorial heritage of the national liberation struggle was in
the service of the state, which effected the collective memory. Anti-Slavic
fascist repression in Istria (including Nazi-terror), created post-wwii rit-
uals of commemorations and celebrations that pacified Yugoslav public
opinion (D’Alessio, 2012a). The main celebrations and commemorations
were on federal or republic public holidays, e.g. 4 July – Fighter’s Day,
29 November – Republic Day, 27 April – Day of the Liberation Front,
27 July – Day of the Uprising of the People of Croatia. There were also
lower-level historical days, e.g. 9 September – The Day of the Uprising
in Istria and the Slovenian Coast, which significantly marked the lives of
people in the Second Yugoslavia, including Istria.
In the early post-w w i i period, symbols and monuments of fascism
were quickly removed, although, according to Rusinow (1963b), some
commemorative plaques in honour of some Italian irredentists remained.
The author detected that the idea for the reconstruction of the monu-
ment to Nazario Sauro in Koper, dismantled by the Nazis in 1944, also ap-
peared;²⁸ the tomb of his parents at the Koper cemetery, with a large stone
cross and a memorial plaque with an Italian patriotic inscription from
1923, was not damaged and is still there today. However, all post-w w i i
generations attended ceremonies and commemorations and adored the
²⁶ More can be find in Šuligoj and Medarić (2015) and Kavrečič (2020).
²⁷ The Serbs were among the winners, while Slovenians and Croats were among the losers,
which means that memory cannot be unified.
²⁸ This idea was not realised.
118
