Franz Joseph ordered the “persecution” of Italians in Trentino, Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia. According to some historians, the emperor’s decision remained only on paper. But a careful reconstruction based on original sources shows that, unfortunately, this was not the case. And this policy was the basis of subsequent tensions between Italians and Slavs…

The famous – or, if you prefer, infamous – order given by Franz Joseph of Habsburg to the Crown Council on 12 November 1866 to proceed with the Germanization and Slavicization of Trentino, Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia, is a historically indisputable fact, being reported in the official imperial documentation. However, there has sometimes been debate over its actual application: this was done, for example, by the Croatian historian Grga Novak in his Političke prilike u Dalmaciji g. 1866.-76 (Zagreb 1960, pp. 40-41). The answer to the question must however be affirmative, because its application continued for decades and was expressed in many ways and actions. Franz Joseph had traced a strategy of Austrian politics which, with inevitable oscillations and changes, marked the conduct of the Empire towards the Italians until its fall in 1918.

There would be no way here even to summarise the enormous mass of the Emperor's personal decisions, of regulations, administrative measures, police and military provisions, choices of the Catholic clergy (which was in fact a branch of the State in those years), far-reaching projects and small local anecdotes, which in the fifty years following 1866 were to the detriment of the Italians in Austria.

 

[As an introduction to this vast subject, on which there is still no monograph, please refer to the following introductory article: The agony of Italian Dalmatia under Franz Joseph by Marco Vigna, Nuovo Monitore Napoletano, 20-10-2013]

 

We will therefore limit ourselves to demonstrating that the implementation of the order to Germanize and Slavicize the Italian communities was undertaken as early as November 12, 1866 (already during the Crown Council itself) and its implementation will be verified along the administrative process.

 

The Emperor Orders: Denationalize the Italians

 

First of all, the imperial order is unequivocal and required the denationalization of the Italians who lived in Trentino (then called Südtirol in the official terminology of the empire, even if this toponym was rejected by its inhabitants, who preferred the previous term Trentino, a modernization of Tridentino in use in the modern era, in turn a vulgarization from the Latin Tridentum), in Dalmatia and in Venezia Giulia (Küstenlande in the generic official denomination of the empire, i.e. Litorale), forcibly Germanizing and Slavicizing them, with the utmost energy and without any reserve.

 

It was duly included in the minutes of the crown council, as found in the official documentation of the empire, which we quote verbatim: «If. Majestät sprach den bestimmten Befehl aus, dass auf die entschiedenste Art dem Einflüsse des in einigen Kronländern noch vorhandenen italienischen Elementen entgegentreten durch geeinignete Besetzung der Stellen von politischen, Gerichtsbeamten, Lehrern sowie durch den Einfluss der Presse in Südtirol, Dalmatien und dem Küstenlande auf die Germanisierung oder Slawisierung der betreffenden Landesteile je nach Umständen mit aller Energie und ohne alle Rücksicht hingearbeitet werde».

 

[Die Protokolle des Österreichischen Ministerrates 1848/1867. V Abteilung: Die Ministerien Rainer und Mensdorff. VI Abteilung: Das Ministerium Belcredi, edited by Stefan Malfèr, Wien, Österreichischer Bundesverlag für Unterricht, Wissenschaft und Kunst 1971; the quotation appears in Section VI, vol. 2, session of 12 November 1866, p. 297].

 

The translation is as follows: "His Majesty has given the precise order that decisive action be taken against the influence of the Italian elements still present in some territories of the Crown and, by appropriately filling the positions of public employees, judiciary, teachers as well as with the influence of the press, work be done in South Tyrol, Dalmatia and the Littoral for the Germanization and Slavization of said regions according to the circumstances, with maximum energy and without any consideration."

 

The Befehl with which the Kaiser enjoined the Germanization or Slavicization of the Italians is therefore a banal historical truth.

 

The Emperor still orders: Germanize and Slavicize the Italian areas

 

Secondly, the codification of the denationalization order was accompanied by the emperor's own disposition to all central authorities to proceed organically with Germanization and Slavicization: «If. Majestät legt es allen Zentralstellen als strenge Plifcht auf, in diesem Sinne planmäßig vorzugehen» [Op. cit.].

 

The imperial will was then directly and immediately transmitted to all the main organs of the state with the directive to carry it out «planmäßig», that is «in accordance with the plan» and «regularly».

 

The response of the ministries - The case of Venezia Giulia

 

Thirdly, the ministries automatically communicated to the local authorities to proceed according to the will of the emperor. The Kronländern to which the imperial order was intended were three, as we have seen: Trentino, Dalmatia, Venezia Giulia (Südtirol, Dalmatien, Küstenlande).

For the sake of brevity, we will examine the case of Venezia Giulia. Well, the Ministries of the Interior and Justice, in declared compliance with the imperial order and following the explicit declaration of Prime Minister Richard Belcredi on the dangerousness of the Italian ethnic group, communicated to the Lieutenant of Trieste and the Coast to implement some measures against the Italians themselves.

 

Specifically, it was required to: strictly prefer Austrians and Slavs [«des deutschen und slawischen Elementes»] in the selection of personnel for every branch of the public administration, while it was necessary to limit as much as possible the Italians [«italianischen Elementes»], who were to be rejected and reduced in number in the public administration [«Zurückdrängung und Einschränkung» were the terms used]; to place the press under energetic control. In short, the Kaiser's order to Germanize and Slavize the territories of the empire inhabited by Italians by using state personnel and the press was being implemented exactly.

 

[The complete quotation of the passage: «An den Statthalter von Triest und Küstenland geht die schnelle Reaktion des Staatsministers auf die Anordnung des Kaisers hervor; next Belcredi nachdrücklich auf die vom italianischen Element ausgehenden Gefahren verwiesen hatte, schloss er das Schreiben folgendermassen: Namentlich hinsichtlich der Besetzung von Stellen ist es unbedingt geboten, dass durch die Wahl der Personn in Allen Zweigen der Staatsverwaltung auf die Förderung des German und Slawischen Elementes strengste Rüchsickt genommen und dadurch nicht nur dem Umsichgreifen des italianoschen Elementes entgegengewirkt, sondern auch vielmehr dessen Zurückdrängung und Inschränkung planmässig verfolgt werde. Gleichzeitig wende ich mich an den Herrn Justizminister, um eine energische und eindringliche Überwachung der Presse zu er zielen»] [op. cit.]

 

Still in Venezia Giulia: the activities of local authorities

 

Fourthly, it is possible to prove that as early as November 1866 the local authorities implemented the measures received from the central ministries.

 

One of the objectives that the Crown Council set itself was the removal of Italian as an administrative language within the Littoral. This privileged role was due to the fact that Italian, like Latin before it, was the written language used by educated people throughout Venezia Giulia.

The Minister of Justice underlined that this operation was already taking place to the extent possible [«Der Justizminister wies darauf hin, dass dies im Bereich des Möglichen ohnehin geschehe.»]. [Die Protokolle des Österreichischen Ministerrates 1848/1867, cit., appendix, p. THERE.]

 

Again, on 25 November of that year, the Lieutenant of the Littoral, Ernst Leopold von Kellersperg, wrote to the Minister of Justice in response to the above communications, explaining that the use of the Italian language was prevalent in the judicial sphere, but that he was working to change this situation, since, he specified, «more important State interests suggest that non-Italian elements should be favored in the most energetic way». [«the most important State protections for the non-Italian elements should be given priority»].

 

[The lieutenant communication is reported and examined in several studies. Here we intentionally refer to a German-language essay published in Vienna: Frank Wiggermann, KuK Kriegsmarine und Politik: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der italienischen Nationalbewegung in Istrien, Wien 2004, p. 54].

 

In conclusion

 

The sequence of orders and activities is indisputable: Emperor Franz Joseph orders the Germanization and Slavicization of Italians to be carried out and the Crown Council records its decision; the directive is transmitted to all central authorities with the instruction to act systematically in this direction; the Ministries of the Interior and Justice, in compliance with the Kaiser's wishes, communicate to the Lieutenancy of Trieste to encourage in every way the hiring of Slavs and Germans in the administration and to place the press under control; the Lieutenancy responds that this is being done and the Ministry of Justice confirms it.

Marco Vigna – 13/08/2021

Source: History On The Net