The South Tyrol Option

Today's episode will cover the South Tyrol Option in the years between 1929 and 1943. It explains the history of the disputed area of South Tyrol, describes why people had to choose between Germany and Italy and it details the destiny of those who decided to leave.

Sources:
- Haas, Hildegard: Das Südtirolproblem in Nordtirol von 1918-1938 (Dissertation), Innsbruck 1984.
- Gatterer, Klaus: Im Kampf gegen Rom. Bürger, Minderheiten und Autonomien in Italien, Vienna a.o. 1968.
- Partheli, Othmar: Geschichte des Landes Tirol. Band 4 Südtirol (1918-1970), Bozen 1988.
- Steininger, Rolf: 1918/1919: Die Teilung Tirols. Wie das Südtirolproblem entstand, in: Konrad, Helmut & Maderthaner, Wolfgang (Ed.): ... der Rest ist Östereich. Das Werden der Ersten Republik - Band 1, Vienna 2008, pp. 103-119.
- Steininger, Rolf: Südtirol im 20. Jahrhundert. Vom Leben und Überleben einer Minderheit, Innsbruck 1997.

Music Used:
Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 23
Schubert - Symphony No. 8

Chapters:
0:00 How South Tyrol became a part of Italy
3:03 Atlas VPN
4:21 Italy and Germany come to an agreement
9:02 The Fate of the South Tyrolers
12:57 The End
14:17 Outro

[minermax]

My Grandmother on my Mothers Side remained in South Tyrol and my Grandfather on my Fathers Side left, only to end up somewhere in the Sudetenland and to flee from the eastern front and to return illegaly over some mountain pass about the time the war ended. Only to end up paying rent in the house they previously owned...

Of course were both little children at that point, but their memories and the stories they tell were always so fascinating to me. I am glad to live in happier times, where peaceful co-existance and collaboration between the two cultures is possible here and overall works really well.

Thank you very much for providing such an accurate summary which I can show my international friends!

[djvel]

Italy has quite a few weird regions, but I was always surprised that Alto Adige was never a big issue, with how expansionist Hitler was. My father was born in Val d'Aosta, a formerly majority French speaking region of Italy, and they had similar issues after World War 2 (France wanted the region). Unlike in Alto Adige, Italianization policies largely succeeded in the region, especially during Mussolini's reign, so the province is now majority Italian speaking.

[handsomegeorgianbankrobber]

Just a clarification: the Gruber-De Gasperi agreement didnt grant South Tyrol any autonomy, it enshrined South Tyrol´s right to have one. The first "autonomy statute" from 1948 granted autonomy to the entire region of South Tyrol AND Trentino, so the German speakers were always outvoted by the Italians. It required a second "autonomy statute" from 1972 for South Tyrol to have "true" autonomy, since it granted significant autonomy to the province of South Tyrol, not the entire region.

[Snooopej]

I have no idea how this channel isnt getting more attention than this. Love the content and and keep up the good work!

[Artur_M.]

How do you upload so frequently, well-researched and produced videos about such diverse and often complicated topics?

[ilFrancotti]

I love the Dankeschön at the end :D

That said, really nice video. You managed to stay impartial between Italianization wanted by Italy on one side and relocation/deportation wanted by German authorities on the other.

[derdude]

That "Dankeschön" at the end was so heartwarming. Wonderful video, we are the ones to thank you ✌

[bronkobjama]

My man’s getting sponsors now! Keep it up man, love the content!

[Wolffjord]

Very good video on a little known piece of history: I am Italian and passionate about history and I ignored the resettlement!
Thank you for it.

[Tea_N_Crumpets]

This channel never fails to teach me about the most interesting and obscure parts of history. Great video as always! I can definitely see you becoming as big as channels like History Matters, BlueJay, and Jack Rackam eventually.

[eizzah]

11:40 as a Burgundian I was NOT expecting that

[michaelplunkett]

Really interesting and well done. This is a brief but tragic period of which I wasn't aware. Most of the WW II burials in San Candido/Innichen were Wehrmacht, not Italian army. The Sud Tirol has become my favorite place to visit. Having studied in Rome I love all of Italy but having discovered the Sud Tirol I now like it the best. Mountains and lakes, cities and country, both cuisines, a people rich in faith and culture. Being there at the festival of Hertz Jesu Feuer was especially moving. Thanks, again, for your informative presentation.

[luquai]

And again a wonderful video! This man never disappoints :))

[trago]

In my hometown we have a south tyrolian settlment, I always wondered why it's called like that.

[andreastiefenthaler]

My fathers family opted for Gemany, because their farm had been expropriated and destroyed to build a road (that never was...). They ended up in Upper Austria.

[donutsteelthisname]

i love how he could barely contain his laugh when mentioning the aryan origin part

[eidechsentyp]

12:40 Sorry, but it seems to me that you’re trying to show that South Tyrolean is closer to English than to German.

You seem to omit that South Tyroleans were usually settled to areas that spoke other Austro-Bavarian dialects. Their pronunciation would have been weird to someone from other parts of Austria, but the vocabulary and the grammar would have been similar.

[jalalakhundov]

Thanks for the video! Keep up the good work!

[maxsauer]

This is my favorite channel! Keep up the great work!

[west]

Love these videos man this is some quality content covering things that you really see covered no where else