February 10th is celebrated as the Day of Remembrance, a celebration established in Italy in 2004 to commemorate the victims of sinkholes and the Julian-Dalmatian exodus. The historical reconstruction of that period and those events is among the most controversial and divisive of the history of Italy in the last century. Between exploitations, distortions and artfully partial narratives, the analysis of that period almost always leaves the historical context to invade the political sphere – very often in the least noble sense of the term.

by Pietro Aleotti – 10/02/2021
Source: EastJournal

 

Opening that chapter still means finding yourself in the middle of a clash between opposing factions: a clash that is expressed, usually in a sterile way, in pure ideological opposition, good/bad, communists/fascists and so on. The historical study, rigorous and as objective as possible, remains in the background, almost as if it were a secondary detail, even negligible, overwhelmed by the need to make one's presumed biased truth prevail, often omitted.

Il 10 February, therefore, it is not a day like any other, but it is actually "a crucial passage in our recent history". This is how it is defined Maurizio Tremul, Italian from Slovenia (born and raised in Koper) and president of theItalian Union (UI), the organization representing the Italian National Community (CNI) living in Slovenia and Croatia – a community that today numbers around 30.000 people who reside mainly on the Slovenian coast, in Istria and in the cities of Rijeka and Zadar. We interviewed him for East Journal to give voice to the Italians who lived and still live on the opposite shore of the Adriatic: an important voice, often overlooked, to better understand the events to which the Day of Remembrance refers.

Why is February 10 such an important date for Italians in Slovenia and Croatia?

Because it is the basis of the ethnic simplification implemented in our territory which has transformed our community from a majority to a minority small. The exodus of the majority of the Italian population from these territories has radically changed their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and identity composition. It has a people torn apart, divided families, bringing pain, desperation and suffering. Very different paths began, then, between those who chose the painful path of exile in Italy and those who chose the path ofexile in their homeland. February 10 reminds us every year of the suffering and violence that we have suffered as Italians from communist regime after September 10, 1943 and after the end of the war, but it also reminds us of the suffering and violence that we Italians inflicted on the Croats and Slovenes, during the fascism.

In Italy this date is experienced in a divisive way, a contrast that moves from history to politics, why do you think?

It's mistaken remember those facts in a divisive way. We cannot deny the truth: the misdeeds and terrible crimes of Nazism and then of Communism which, despite having contributed to liberating Europe from an inhuman regime, then bloodied a significant part of it by subjugating it, becoming equally inhuman. We need knowledge, information, education, culture, dialogue, mutual respect. Any shared narration of the facts presupposes the recognition of wrongs done and those suffered, a process that cannot be unilateral. We, the Italian Union, Italians of Croatia and Slovenia, have done this path.

What remains unsaid, unrecognized at a historical level about the foibe and the exodus?

I believe there is still a lot to be said, especially at the level of historical research, without preconceptions or pre-established theses, but with objectivity and impartiality.

After the end of the war, what were the reasons that pushed many Italians to remain in Yugoslavia?

The vast majority of those who stayed did so because they didn't feel like it. leave everything or because, as is the case with my family and many others I know, the elders did not want to leave, abandon their land and their dead. It was a good thing, it is thanks to them that today Italian is still spoken in these lands, the Istro-Veneto and also the Istriot are languages ​​still alive and vital. It is produced Italian culture, it perpetuates itself the italian identity. Only a small part of the minority remained for ideological choice, others, even fewer, did it for convenience.

What was the climate around Italians in Yugoslavia in the immediate post-war period and how did it change over time?

They were potential enemies at home, basically fascists, because fascist was synonymous with Italian. Over the years, slowly, at a very high price in terms of assimilation, the climate has changed to the point where these perceptions have almost disappeared nowadays.

Today can we say that the Italian community is integrated into the societies of Slovenia and Croatia?

Our community has a very high percentage of mixed marriages, does not suffer from nationalism, is open and a cooperative with the other historical components of our territory, pursues the intercultural dialogue, the values ​​of coexistence. It is integral part of this anthropic space where it contributes to producing culture, civilization, economic and social wealth. It respects others, their traditions, their history, their aspirations. It firmly believes in European values of democracy, solidarity, active citizenship, integration that It does not mean assimilation. It asks, it demands, respect for its history, its origins, its language, culture and identity that have shaped this region in an indelible and profound way. It demands respect and full application of the rights that the Slovenian and Croatian legal and constitutional systems recognize, that the international agreements and understandings and the main documents on European minority rights establish, without ifs and buts. Certainly in Slovenia the CNI, which is guaranteed important rights, is not recognized as active political role in the society that is instead recognized to Italians in Croatia, especially in Istria, where, at the level of local and regional Istrian autonomy, but also at the national level, they hold political and institutional roles of focus on.

No danger of nationalist drifts, then?

Not at all. We are proud to represent the Italianness of these lands in the most open and respectful possible, not at all exclusive and excluding, free from nationalistic streaks, but with the pride of being aware of belonging to a great culture and civilization. We are proud to have held high the name of Italy, to have built bridges, first and foremost with the Slovenian National Community in Italy, as well as with the exiles in Italy, friendship, brotherhood, solidarity, values ​​and medium-high pace.