The Beginning of the Elimination of Italianity: November 12, 1866

Written by an unknown author

During the meeting of the Austro-Hungarian Council of Ministers, under the presidency of Franz Joseph, the following decision made by the Emperor was verbalized:

"His Majesty has expressed the precise order that we decisively oppose the influence of the Italian element still present in some Crown lands, and to aim unsparingly and without the slightest compunction at the Germanization or Slavicization – depending on the circumstances – of the areas in question, through a suitable entrustment of posts to political magistrates and teachers, as well as through the influence of the press in South Tyrol, Dalmatia and the Littoral."

The decision, made at the highest level by Emperor Franz Joseph and the Habsburg Council of Ministers, to Germanize and Slavicize the Italian populated lands, i.e. Trentino, South Tyrol, Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia, "unsparingly and without the slightest compunction", is incontrovertible proof of the imperial will to proceed with a discriminatory and oppressive policy of eliminating the Italian populations in those lands.

From that moment on, a systematic persecution of the Italian communities was implemented. Homicides, beatings, violence, burning of Italian meeting halls, destruction, closure of Italian schools, devastation of shops and offices of Italian newspapers, mass expulsions, ban on the use of the Italian language, Slavicization of Italian surnames. These were some of the means by which the Germans and Slavs, under the protection of the Habsburg authorities, tried to pursue the total elimination of the Italian population and Italian culture.

Following the Italian Victory in World War I the lands of Trentino, South Tyrol and Venezia Giulia were redeemed, saving them from complete Germanization and Slavicization. On the other hand, fate dictated that Dalmatia would continue to suffer, as it was assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by the Treaty of Rapallo in 1920 (with the exception of Zara and the islands of Lagosta and Pelagosa). Between 1920 and 1921, due to Slavic violance and ethnic hatred, the Italians of Dalmatia were forced to leave and seek refuge in Zara and the Italian peninsula.

November 12, 1866 officially marks the beginning of the policy of eliminating Italianity in the unredeemed lands. The approval of the aforementioned decree provided a "legal" basis for the hatred that the Germans and Slavs had for the Italian populations, as well as for the violence which they had begun to inflict upon the Italians since the first half of the nineteenth century.

The order of the emperor was entitled "Maßregeln gegen das italienische Element in einigen Kronländern", that is "Measures against the Italian element in some territories of the Crown". Below is the complete text in the original language and in Italian:

"Se. Majestät sprach den bestimmten Befehl aus, daß auf die entschiedenste Art dem Einflusse des in einigen Kronländern noch vorhandenen italienischen Elementesentgegengetreten und durch geeignete 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. Se. Majestät legt es allen Zentralstellen als strenge Pflicht auf, in diesem Sinne planmäßig vorzugehen."

"Sua Maestà ha espresso il preciso ordine che si agisca in modo deciso contro l’influenza degli elementi italiani ancora presenti in alcune regioni della Corona e, occupando opportunamente i posti degli impiegati pubblici, giudiziari, dei maestri come pure con l’influenza della stampa, si operi nel Tirolo del Sud, in Dalmazia e sul Litorale per la germanizzazione e la slavizzazione di detti territori a seconda delle circostanze, con energia e senza riguardo alcuno."

The original document can be found in Die Protokolle des Österreichischen Ministerrates 1848-1867. V Abteilung: Die Ministerien Rainer und Mensdorff. VI Abteilung: Das Ministerium Belcredi, Wien, Österreichischer Bundesverlag für Unterricht, Wissenschaft und Kunst 1971.

The passage in question is found in Section VI, vol. 2, session of November 12, 1866, p. 297.