Illustration – South Tyrol autonomy

Sprachliche Minderheit in einer sprachlichen Mehrheit.
Minoranza linguistica in una maggioranza linguistica.

This illustration describes the linguistic minority inside the context of a linguistic majority, during the fascist peiod. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini determined the status of the German and Ladin ethnic groups living in the region: they could emigrate to Germany, or stay in Italy and accept their complete Italianization. As a consequence of this, the society of South Tyrol was deeply riven. Those who wanted to stay, the so-called Dableiber, were condemned as traitors while those who left (Optanten) were defamed as Nazis. Because of the outbreak of World War II, this agreement was never fully implemented.