Page 89 - Dark Shades of Istria
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5.3 Region of Istria: A Brief Historical Overview
tomatic sign of the authorities at the time. In addition, Cobol (1919, p.
200) – see also in Scotti (2008, p. 34) and Pirjevec et al. (2012, p. 55)
– writes interesting doggerels in promotional/propaganda material (a
travel guide) about Istria:
There is the Arena in Pula,
there is the foiba in Pazin:
they are thrown into that abyss
all those who are cheeky.
Who by their fantasies
will cross our path,
tell him clearly and loudly:
move away, move away.
These systematic state measures in the damnatio memoriae context
were aimed at erasing the identity of the Slavic people. Thus, Slavic rebels
as well as native local Italians of different political ideologies were perse-
cuted by the fascists due to common work in an anti-fascist coalition
movement (Ashbrook, 2006; Dukovski, 1998; Rusinow, 1963a; Scotti,
2008; Violante, 2009);⁴⁹ wartime Italo-Slavonic cooperation was a clear
sign of the characteristic Istrian convivenza (Medica, 1998, p. 33). Con-
sequently, a strong and organised anti-fascist resistance was formed, e.g.
the Slovenian-Croatian organisation t i g r (Trst, Istra, Gorica, Rijeka) as
well as Italian organisations Italia libera and Giustizia e Libertà – all of
which were illegal (Dukovski, 1998, 2009; Hančič & Podbersič, 2008, p.
41; Kacin-Wohinz, 1990). However, on the symbolic level, the arson of the
Hotel Balkan, also known as the National Hall (Narodni dom), in Trieste
and the arson of the National Hall in Pula (both in the summer of 1920)
were the culmination of the hostile attitude of the fascists toward Slavic
people in the Upper Adriatic in the early 1920s (Dukovski, 2011a, p. 50;
Hančič & Podbersič, 2008, p. 40; Kacin-Wohinz, 1990; Scotti, 2008, pp.
21–22; Radošević, 2021). During his visit to Pula on 20 September 1920
in the Ciscutti Theatre (Teatro Ciscutti), Mussolini presented his attitude
towards the eastern border and the non-Italian population (Redazione
Contropiano, 2014; Pirjevec, 2015, p. 381; Scotti, 2008, p. 12):
What is the story of Fascism? It is brilliant! We have burned the
Avanti! in Milan, we destroyed it in Rome. We shot our opponents
⁴⁹ Socialists, communists, liberals, Christian-socialists, and the workers’ movement were
originally included.
89
tomatic sign of the authorities at the time. In addition, Cobol (1919, p.
200) – see also in Scotti (2008, p. 34) and Pirjevec et al. (2012, p. 55)
– writes interesting doggerels in promotional/propaganda material (a
travel guide) about Istria:
There is the Arena in Pula,
there is the foiba in Pazin:
they are thrown into that abyss
all those who are cheeky.
Who by their fantasies
will cross our path,
tell him clearly and loudly:
move away, move away.
These systematic state measures in the damnatio memoriae context
were aimed at erasing the identity of the Slavic people. Thus, Slavic rebels
as well as native local Italians of different political ideologies were perse-
cuted by the fascists due to common work in an anti-fascist coalition
movement (Ashbrook, 2006; Dukovski, 1998; Rusinow, 1963a; Scotti,
2008; Violante, 2009);⁴⁹ wartime Italo-Slavonic cooperation was a clear
sign of the characteristic Istrian convivenza (Medica, 1998, p. 33). Con-
sequently, a strong and organised anti-fascist resistance was formed, e.g.
the Slovenian-Croatian organisation t i g r (Trst, Istra, Gorica, Rijeka) as
well as Italian organisations Italia libera and Giustizia e Libertà – all of
which were illegal (Dukovski, 1998, 2009; Hančič & Podbersič, 2008, p.
41; Kacin-Wohinz, 1990). However, on the symbolic level, the arson of the
Hotel Balkan, also known as the National Hall (Narodni dom), in Trieste
and the arson of the National Hall in Pula (both in the summer of 1920)
were the culmination of the hostile attitude of the fascists toward Slavic
people in the Upper Adriatic in the early 1920s (Dukovski, 2011a, p. 50;
Hančič & Podbersič, 2008, p. 40; Kacin-Wohinz, 1990; Scotti, 2008, pp.
21–22; Radošević, 2021). During his visit to Pula on 20 September 1920
in the Ciscutti Theatre (Teatro Ciscutti), Mussolini presented his attitude
towards the eastern border and the non-Italian population (Redazione
Contropiano, 2014; Pirjevec, 2015, p. 381; Scotti, 2008, p. 12):
What is the story of Fascism? It is brilliant! We have burned the
Avanti! in Milan, we destroyed it in Rome. We shot our opponents
⁴⁹ Socialists, communists, liberals, Christian-socialists, and the workers’ movement were
originally included.
89
