Page 142 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 142
Memories and Dark Tourism in Istria
can conditionally be used in the case of the foibe and the forced post-
wwii exodus (as highlighted before in relation to the typification by Fon-
seca et al., 2016). Public opinion on this matter is strongly divided in the
multicultural Upper Adriatic, which also refers to today’s Istrian disso-
nant heritage that was subject to damnatio memoriae in the period of the
Second Yugoslavia – the crimes were systematically pushed into silence,
but not forgotten. Completely different, positive and benevolent, is the
attitude toward the memory of the Independence War (Homeland War
in Croatia), which is specific from several aspects:
• the absence of major military clashes in Istria in the 1990s, which
means that the Istrians fought mainly on other battlefields and the
Istrian infrastructure remained un-devastated;
• participants from Istria fought on the same side regardless of their
nationality or belief;
• short time distance (participants are still alive);
• Istrians were not and are not involved in legal proceedings due to
their role and acts in the war.
Generally speaking, historical events of the 20th century were and still
are well present in the collective memory of the Istrian people, although
they are sometimes marked by ‘collective silence,’ but not by amnesia.⁶⁴
Hence, the cohabitation of different cultures and belief systems influence
memorial practices organised by different communities or social groups
in Istria. In this context, Istrian memorial practices are different from the
practices in the rest of Croatia. In fact, based on the available sources,
the tourist component of visits and events is not particularly evident at
all, which means that they may also have other purposes and thus may
be intended for the local population. In this context, it is correct to rely
on the ‘seven dark suppliers’ of Stone (2006), both in terms of terminol-
ogy and in professional terms. Moreover, it was not specifically observed
which part of the population is active in this regard. This is particularly
relevant from the perspective of the intergenerational memory transfer –
see sub-chapter 3.2 ‘Memory and History.’
A clear orientation toward war-related tourism in the Istrian context,
as defined in sub-chapter 2.4 ‘Warfare Tourism,’ was described within
⁶⁴ Coexistence of these phenomena in general is well described by Vinitzky-Seroussi and
Teeger (2010); see also Hrobat Virloget (2021). w w i-related dark commemorative events
in Istria are evidently performed only on milestone anniversaries, which, nevertheless,
shows that they have not completely sunk into oblivion.
142
can conditionally be used in the case of the foibe and the forced post-
wwii exodus (as highlighted before in relation to the typification by Fon-
seca et al., 2016). Public opinion on this matter is strongly divided in the
multicultural Upper Adriatic, which also refers to today’s Istrian disso-
nant heritage that was subject to damnatio memoriae in the period of the
Second Yugoslavia – the crimes were systematically pushed into silence,
but not forgotten. Completely different, positive and benevolent, is the
attitude toward the memory of the Independence War (Homeland War
in Croatia), which is specific from several aspects:
• the absence of major military clashes in Istria in the 1990s, which
means that the Istrians fought mainly on other battlefields and the
Istrian infrastructure remained un-devastated;
• participants from Istria fought on the same side regardless of their
nationality or belief;
• short time distance (participants are still alive);
• Istrians were not and are not involved in legal proceedings due to
their role and acts in the war.
Generally speaking, historical events of the 20th century were and still
are well present in the collective memory of the Istrian people, although
they are sometimes marked by ‘collective silence,’ but not by amnesia.⁶⁴
Hence, the cohabitation of different cultures and belief systems influence
memorial practices organised by different communities or social groups
in Istria. In this context, Istrian memorial practices are different from the
practices in the rest of Croatia. In fact, based on the available sources,
the tourist component of visits and events is not particularly evident at
all, which means that they may also have other purposes and thus may
be intended for the local population. In this context, it is correct to rely
on the ‘seven dark suppliers’ of Stone (2006), both in terms of terminol-
ogy and in professional terms. Moreover, it was not specifically observed
which part of the population is active in this regard. This is particularly
relevant from the perspective of the intergenerational memory transfer –
see sub-chapter 3.2 ‘Memory and History.’
A clear orientation toward war-related tourism in the Istrian context,
as defined in sub-chapter 2.4 ‘Warfare Tourism,’ was described within
⁶⁴ Coexistence of these phenomena in general is well described by Vinitzky-Seroussi and
Teeger (2010); see also Hrobat Virloget (2021). w w i-related dark commemorative events
in Istria are evidently performed only on milestone anniversaries, which, nevertheless,
shows that they have not completely sunk into oblivion.
142
