Author: Enzo Guercin

Reflections on the initiative jointly promoted by the Italian Union and the Free Municipality of Pola in exile, in memory of the victims of opposing totalitarianisms. The joint commitment in defense of the Italian presence in the Eastern Adriatic can only pass through an indispensable process of recomposition between the two "souls" of the Italianness of this area. The need to rebuild, for our community, a lost civil and national unity. “…The charm and the curse of Central Europe consist in the poignant and ferocious inability to forget, in the meticulous memory that records everything and rereads the minutes of the centuries every day, eager to take revenge for the defeats suffered in the Thirty Years' War with the same passionate intensity dedicated to the events of the Second World War”. C. Magris, L'infinito viaggiare, Milan 2005 Last May 12, the Italian Union, the Free Municipality of Pola in exile and the Federation of Exiles wanted to pay homage to the Italian victims of the opposing totalitarianisms in our regions, within the framework of what has been defined as a “path of memory and reconciliation”. An important signal of reconciliation and dialogue aimed at building a common European future. Four symbolic places of violence and inhumanity generated by wars, totalitarianism, ideological conflicts and national hatred were visited, with stops at the Capodistria Cemetery, at the monument that holds the remains of hundreds of victims of summary executions carried out during the war and in the immediate post-war period, in Strugnano, to remember the sacrifice of a group of boys killed in 1921 by fascists, at the Terli foiba, near Barbana (where 26 victims were recovered and identified, including several anti-fascists, the three young Radecchi sisters and the grandfather of the current CEO of Fiat Marchionne), and at the monument to the victims of fascist terror in Montegrande, in Pola. A “historic” initiative, a symbolic act of extraordinary moral, ethical and civil importance especially for the Italians of these lands, intended as an irreplaceable point of reference for an unavoidable and long-awaited process of recomposition between “gone” and “remained”. Why the choice of this “path”, what is its “innovative” value, its meaning of “breaking away” from the barriers, the ideological and political antagonisms, the rigid divisions of the past? Why do we think it is so important to build a possible future in this area, as well as to start a reflection on the heavy legacy of suffering in our history? And, above all, why do we believe that this symbolic act, the first ever carried out by the representatives of the two components, until now divided, of the "torn" Italianness of these lands, is essential to share a project that, without forgetting, will allow us to definitively overcome the wounds of the twentieth century, and allow us to conceive, with the recomposition of our people, a common destiny? The joint commitment to defend the Italian presence in the Eastern Adriatic, the cultural, civil and historical heritage of our community can only pass through an indispensable process of recomposition between the two "souls" of the Italianness of this area. This project of defense of the roots and of a common identity, the partial “reconstruction” and “mending” of our “Heimat”, of a small homeland in our historical settlement territory, depends, to a large extent, not only on the civil, cultural and political recomposition, but also on a process - which appears particularly difficult, slow and complex - of historical reconciliation between “those who have gone” and “those who have remained”. To speak of reconciliation means to admit, in many respects, that the Italian community in these lands has been devastated and divided, in the past, particularly during and after the Second World War, and in general during the period of totalitarianism (fascism, Nazism, communism), by what was an overt, or, at times, latent “civil war” (the “stasis” of the Greeks). A war of "Italians against Italians", which was intertwined and overlapped with the broader and more complex war of harsh national, ideological, political and class confrontations that have profoundly marked the social and civil history of this area. The analysis proposed by the historian Claudio Pavone on the Italian resistance also seen as a "civil war", is proposed here, albeit with its limitations, also to our regional dimension and, in particular, to the political, ideological, military divisions, to the painful choices of sides that have torn the Italian community of the north-eastern Adriatic. The goal, as has been repeatedly underlined by the representatives of the associations that wanted to start this first “path of memory and reconciliation”, is to overcome the barriers still present between “Us” and “You”, to finally define ourselves and recognize ourselves as “Us” and “We”, a united people, a single community. Reconciliation has been initiated - and is being laboriously accomplished - by the initiative of people no longer burdened by the weight and lacerations of the past; by those who, objectively, have not and cannot have any blame for the traumas and lacerations caused by wars, any responsibility for the suffering inflicted by the distortions of ideologies and political conflicts. Dialogue and rapprochement, in the spirit of the search for a common future, is above all the fruit of the will of the second and third generations, or rather of their "enlightened" minority, who have become aware of the importance and necessity of rebuilding, where possible, for our community, a lost civil and national unity. But why is it that those who have no responsibility for the lacerations of the past are taking on the need to start a “path of reconciliation”; symbolically asking for “apologies” for the wrongs inflicted on each other, or granting forgiveness for the suffering endured? Reconciliation is above all an act of conscience; the awareness of having to fully recognize the memory of others, the burden of the suffering of those who, precisely because of these, have been divided from us, and like us have suffered the dispersion and fracture of a national community. It is not a question of wiping out with a sponge individual responsibilities that remain, but of becoming aware, precisely because we are strangers and innocent, of the weight of a historical legacy, of the fact that in any case, as posterity, we have the duty to deal with the errors, the choices - right or wrong - of those who preceded us, with the traces, the furrows left by our past. The point is not to assume "guilt" that we do not have: but to question ourselves deeply about our history, to understand the reasons of others, of the heirs of those who, for various reasons, were forced to take sides on an "opposing front", to make choices that forced us to divide and, which, in many respects, continue, absurdly transmitted on a generational level, to separate us even today. Different memories, especially if contrasting, cannot be "shared"; however, they can become the object of mutual recognition, of legitimate and respectful consideration. What should ultimately be shared, as a goal of a process of human, national and civil reconciliation, is respect for the memory of the other. And precisely for this reason it is right, as was done in Pola, Capodistria, Terli and Strugnano, that the "memories" remain distinct; that the monuments, the memorial stones and the plaques each honour "those" victims, remembering specific sufferings.  What is important is their mutual recognition, respect for the pain of "others", the legitimization, for all, of their universal meaning. It should also be added that "memory", understood not as a simple recollection, but as awareness of our past, matures, evolves, transforms. Reconciliation - the prerequisite for any recomposition - is the result of this maturation, of the constant, laborious, difficult, reciprocal relationship of our conscience with the legacy of history. Let us recall, in this regard, the great gesture made on 7 December 1970 by German Chancellor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Willy Brandt when he knelt, as a member of the German people (as an anti-fascist and social democrat), at the monument commemorating the victims of the Warsaw ghetto. The homage paid, for the first time, together, by the representatives of the Italian Union and a significant part of the Associations of exiles, to the victims of the opposing totalitarianisms was the beginning of this common process of maturation. Hence the extraordinary value of this symbolic gesture made by someone who, free from responsibility of any kind, instead took on, with a gesture of human piety, the weight of history, of its difficult and often cumbersome legacy. With the awareness that only by symbolically asking for and granting forgiveness for the faults or mistakes committed by others, but which nevertheless continue to weigh on the present and therefore on our conscience, will it be possible to overcome the obstacles and lacerations that continue to divide our people, the Italian community of the Eastern Adriatic. Sharing respect for experiences and recognizing the memory of others, acknowledging the existence of a plural and complex memory and identity is the first, indispensable act of a process of "pacification"; an important step towards the definitive overcoming of that unacceptable and latent "civil war" that has torn apart the unity of the Italians of these lands and, in general, marked the relationships between the social, national and political components in this area. We had a moral debt that others placed on us. As innocent people, but aware of the damage it has caused and could continue to cause in the future, we have tried to extinguish it. Someone had to do it: we had to “clean up”, “free” our history from the painful trappings caused by the harshness of the past, free ourselves from the grudges and divisions, from the prejudices that had accumulated and become encrusted over time. Maybe, indeed, it is certainly not enough: but we did it. And this today allows us, perhaps, to laboriously build - aware of the little time we have left - a new common path towards the future. There is no shortage of possible objections. Many say that the reconciliation, in fact, between the “gone” and the “left” has already taken place for some time: the divisions and fractures have never existed between the people, the simple people, the majority of our members, between family members who have always continued to cultivate relationships, friendships, to share values ​​and experiences. The conflicts have concerned, if anything, the "political" leaders of the respective organizations; the representative "elites" who now, belatedly, propose the useless political "liturgy" of a "reconciliation" that has already taken place. Others reiterate that reconciliation is useless, because the evolution of the times would have in fact surpassed it and made it useless, others still are convinced that it is not objectively possible; what has been cannot change and each must resign themselves to remaining hostage of their own mourning, their own memories, their own suffering. There are also those who believe that it makes no sense for the younger generations, now light years away from the events that divided us. Impossible, absurd, useless, already happened: reconciliation can evidently be seen from different angles. But one point remains: when history ceases to teach - and it often does - it turns against its children; if burdened by the useless weight of prejudices, of conflicting memories, it can overwhelm us like an avalanche. We have a duty, especially towards those who will come after us, to confront the "toxins" contained in our memories, to reflect together on our past in order to critically rework it. A task that everyone must do their part and that, where possible, should be carried out together by the two divided components of the Italianness of these lands. In the last two years we have been fortunate to witness the first great “symbolic gestures” of reconciliation and peace made by the Heads of State of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Of extraordinary importance was the meeting of July 13, 2010, in Trieste, when the presidents of the three countries participated in the peace concert of Maestro Muti and in an eagerly awaited journey of remembrance to the places of suffering, of wrongs done and of those suffered by their respective peoples during the twentieth century. A journey that continued on September 3, 2011 in Pula, when the Croatian president Josipović and the Italian president Napolitano read the historic joint declaration on past relations and future prospects of the two nations, reaffirming the irreplaceable and central role of the Italian community. We recall that a similar initiative had been put forward, among others, in the early 1990s by the mayor of Trieste - then president of the FVG Region - Riccardo Illy (who specifically had proposed inaugurating, in Trieste, in the presence of the Heads of State, a monument to the victims of all totalitarianisms); the idea had then, for various reasons, been set aside, a sign that the time was not yet ripe. Without these important events of extraordinary symbolic, political and moral value it would not have been possible to imagine the initiative promoted jointly last May, in Pola, Capodistria, Terli and Strugnano, by the minority organization and those of the exiles. With their symbolic action, the heads of state have interpreted a dutiful act of reconciliation and dialogue between peoples. The representatives of our representative structures instead wanted to propose an initiative aimed at promoting reconciliation and mending the ancient rifts between the Italians of these lands, reiterating the need to recompose the foundations of a common identity to guarantee the future continuity of an Italianness that risks disappearing. But are these common gestures of high symbolic value sufficient today? They are indispensable; but it is useless to hide that they are not enough. These are only the first, significant steps on a long and difficult journey. It is important that these are followed by other important initiatives. From the organization of study conferences, jointly promoted by the organizations of exiles and the minority, to the launch of common European projects in the field of historical studies, the valorization of memories, the recovery and deepening of common traditions, the care and relaunch of the traits of a common civil, cultural and social heritage. Symbolic acts, to enable us to build a future, now need to be supported by a great common project. An ideal path that, through the launch of initiatives and, why not, the establishment of common cultural, economic institutions and organizational structures, allows us to implement an indispensable process of human, historical and social recomposition between the two "souls" of the Italian component. We could start from where the States have stopped, attempting a common analysis: with the creation of a mixed commission of historians, or rather a study group that deals with examining the most complex issues and the most difficult and controversial chapters of our common history. A similar initiative was partly started with the manual and multimedia project “Istria nei tempi”. It is a question of continuing, in an organic way, on this path, building a dense network of common initiatives. All communities, scarred by divisions caused by conflicts and civil wars, by political or ideological violence, have tried, from the amnesty of Thrasybulus, from the orations of Lysias to the Odes of Horace, from the attempts at pacification conducted after the collapse of Francoism in Spain, or from the commissions for truth and reconciliation established after the end of apartheid in South Africa, to start a process of healing fractures through the recognition of the dignity of others. The time has come for us, divided Italians of these lands, to do the same, however difficult this path may seem to us. We must do it in the name of our common cultural, historical and civil heritage, of our identity, of our future.   from "La Ricerca" n. 61 - June 2012 - Historical Research Center of Rovinj