During the Julian-Dalmatian exile, from the 1943 armistice until the postwar period, the role of women was crucial and extraordinary. They paid a high price and had to face experiences of uprootedness, violence, and resilience that are still little known. Through direct and indirect testimonies, Giuseppina Mellace recounts the difficult reception in Italy, life in refugee camps, and forced renunciations. The common thread is the story of Egea Haffner, the little girl featured on the poster for Remembrance Day, and Licia Cossetto, who was forced to leave Istria after recognizing the body of her sister Norma, brutally raped and then thrown into a sinkhole. These are ordinary women who never asked for anything except to live with dignity. They are everyday heroines, forgotten by official history, who courageously pierced the veil of silence that covered this tragedy for many years.

Giuseppina Mellace, Women and the Julian-Dalmatian Exodus: Memories of a Forgotten History, Mursia, Milan 2026. 

Josephine Mellace (Rome, 1957) is the author of plays, essays and novels, mostly on historical themes. Among other works she has published A great forgotten tragedy (2014) on the Foibe massacre, Mussolini's Forgotten (2019) on the drama of the Italian Military Internees and The question of Osimo (2025) on the treaty of the same name.