The Role of Political Refugees from Slovenia in Reviving the Slovenehood in the Italian Borderlands Cover Image

Vloga političnih beguncev iz Slovenije pri oživljanju slovenstva v zamejstvu v Italiji
The Role of Political Refugees from Slovenia in Reviving the Slovenehood in the Italian Borderlands

Author(s): Ivo Jevnikar
Subject(s): Local History / Microhistory, History of Education, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Migration Studies, Identity of Collectives
Published by: Študijski center za narodno spravo
Keywords: Slovenian political emigrant communities; optants; Free Territory of Trieste; History of Education; Srečko Baraga;

Summary/Abstract: The present Slovenian communities in the Italian borderlands have undergone extraordinary changes in the size and composition of their populations over the last century. After World War II, a large number of political refugees from Slovenia also settled there. Since the Italian authorities did not grant them Italian citizenship, most of them emigrated across the ocean after a few years. The rest became actively involved in the social and cultural life of the borderlands. Certainly, the refugees played a very prominent role in the culturally deprived Slovenian community in the Primorska region, which was the result of a quarter of a century of fascist oppression. This applies in particular to the education, media, cultural activities and religious life, where traces of their work are evident.

  • Issue Year: 6/2022
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 67-94
  • Page Count: 28
  • Language: Slovenian