Faces of autonomy

The Treaty of Paris formed the basis of South Tyrolean autonomy. However, the autonomy of 1948 was extended to the entire region of Trentino-South Tyrol, where the Italian parties were in the majority. The growing unease about the inadequacy of the measures to protect the German-speaking population led to the policy of “Away from Trento”, accompanied by protracted and difficult negotiations, and even bombings, before the second Autonomy Statute was agreed in 1972. The major South Tyrolean personalities of this first phase included:

Erich Amonn (1896-1970)
A critic of the 1939 agreement between Hitler and Mussolini on the emigration of the South Tyrolean population to Germany (the “Option”), he campaigned for resistance to the Nazi occupation during the Second World War – a necessary precondition when negotiating with the Allies to establish the South Tyrolean People’s Party (SVP), of which he was the founding chairman. His commitment was first to self-determination, then to the first Autonomy Statute.

Lit.:

Heiss, Hans/Lechner, Stefan: Erich Amonn. Bürger, Unternehmer, Politiker. 1896-1970. Ein Porträt, Bolzano/Bozen 2019.

Karl Tinzl (1888-1964)
A former Member of Parliament in the Kingdom of Italy and from 1943 to 1945 Prefect of the Province of Bozen/Bolzano, he served as the SVP’s chief lawyer and from 1954 to 1956 as its chairman; from 1953 to 1963 he represented South Tyrol in the Italian Parliament. In 1958 he was the first signatory to introduce a draft Autonomy Statute that would solely affect South Tyrol.

Lit.:

Trompedeller, Annuska: Karl Tinzl (1888-1964). Eine politische Biografie, Innsbruck/Vienna/Bolzano/Bozen 2007.

Canonico Michael Gamper (1885-1956)
An important representative of the peaceful anti-Fascist and anti-Nazi resistance, as head of the “Dolomiten” daily newspaper he exerted great influence on South Tyrolean politics. His 1953 editorial on the “Death March of the South Tyroleans” is considered a signal for a political change.

Lit.:

Steininger, Rolf (ed.): Ein Leben für Südtirol. Kanonikus Gamper und seine Zeit, Bolzano/Bozen 2017.

Hillebrand, Leo: Medienmacht & Volkstumspolitik: Michael Gamper und der Athesia-Verlag, Innsbruck/Vienna 1996.

Hans Dietl (1915-1977)
From 1952 he was the regional councillor for agriculture and forestry. Demonstratively resigning from the regional government in 1955, he initiated the policy of “Away from Trento” and the SVP’s new line on autonomy, with whose results he was ultimately not however satisfied.

Lit.:

Peterlini, Hans Karl: Hans Dietl. Biografie eines Südtiroler Vordenkers und Rebellen. Mit Auszügen aus seinen Tagebüchern, Bolzano/Bozen 2007.

Franz Widmann (1921-2012)
As a long-serving SVP functionary, he was significantly involved in preparations for new elections to the SVP leadership, the so-called “palace revolt”.

Lit.:

Widmann, Franz: Es stand nicht gut um Südtirol. 1945-1972. Von der Resignation zur Selbstbehauptung. Aufzeichnungen der politischen Wende, Bolzano/Bozen 1998.

In 1956-57 a group led by Hans Stieler carried out attacks to demonstrate against the attitude of the various Italian governments. At the same time, the Befreiungsausschuss Südtirol (South Tyrol Liberation Committee or BAS) was formed around Sepp Kerschbaumer, a shopkeeper from Frangart/o. Beginning as political actions, these were gradually widened to include attacks. A series of bombings on the night of 11-12 June 1961 saw 37 electricity pylons blown up. This was followed by arrests, severe maltreatment and an escalation of violence, but also by the establishment of the “Commission of Nineteen” to negotiate a political solution for South Tyrol.

Sepp Kerschbaumer (1913 – 1964)
The symbolic figure of the South Tyrolean attacks, he had previously tried to draw attention to the South Tyrol problem with (among other actions) a hunger strike and the forbidden hoisting of the Tyrolean flag. After the “Night of Fire” he was arrested: at the Milan trial he impressed even the Italian media with his straightforward and determined manner. Sentenced to almost 16 years in jail, he died in prison in 1964.

Lit.:

Fontana, Josef/Mayr, Hans: Sepp Kerschbaumer, Eine Biographie, Bolzano/Bozen 2011.

Peterlini, Hans Karl: Feuernacht. Südtirols Bombenjahre. Hintergründe, Schicksale, Bewertungen, 3th edition, Bolzano/Bozen 2021.

The SVP’s harder line led the old leadership to criticise what they saw as overly radical and economically damaging policies. As the so-called Aufbau (“Reconstruction”) group, they made a public appeal that was seen as an attack on Magnago’s policies. Their most vocal exponent was Canon Michael Gamper’s successor at the helm of the “Dolomiten” newspaper:

With the significant involvement of Silvius Magnago, the so-called “Package” was agreed with the Italian government: it became the basis for the second Autonomy Statute in 1972. Containing 137 measures, 25 sub-measures and 31 footnotes, the Package was discussed throughout South Tyrol in local groups of the SVP, with two almost equally strong groups crystallising. Fiercely pointed discussions ensued, especially from 1967 onwards. In retrospect, however, even opponents of the Package described these as “great moments for democracy”. At the provincial assembly held on 22-23 November 1969, the supporters gathered around Silvius Magnago achieved a narrow majority of 583 votes in favour, with 492 voting against and 15 abstentions. His defeated opponent, Peter Brugger, shook hands with Magnago following the announcement of the election result and, like most opponents of the Package, subsequently campaigned for its implementation.

Lit.:

Stocker,Martha: Die Paketschlacht. Ringen um die richtige Entscheidung in der Südtirolfrage, Bolzano/Bozen 2019.

South Tyrol was also a heartfelt political issue in Austrian Tyrol: the South Tyrol question was for decades a fixed item on the agenda of meetings in the federal state of Tyrol. The driving force behind this was the notion of regional unity, which was also deeply sensed by the population at large.

Viktoria Stadlmayer (1917 – 2004)
Head of the South Tyrol department of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol from 1957 to 1985 and an influential expert in Austrian diplomacy in regard to South Tyrol.

Lit.:

Riedl, Franz Hieronymus (ed.): Tirol im 20. Jahrhundert. Festschrift für Viktoria Stadlmayer zur Vollendung des 70. Lebensjahres in Würdigung ihres Wirkens für das ganze Tirol, Bolzano/Bozen 1989.

Franz Gschnitzer (1899 – 1968)
A university professor and politician from Tyrol: as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the Federal Chancellery (1956-1959) and in the Foreign Ministry (1959-1961), he was significantly involved in Austria’s policy towards South Tyrol.

Lit.:

Barta, Heinz/Kohlegger, Karl/Stadlmayer, Viktoria (ed.): Franz Gschnitzer Lesebuch. Anläßlich des 25. Todestages von Franz Gschnitzer am 19. Juli 1973, Vienna/Innsbruck 1993.

The 1972 Autonomy Statute meant that new and complex areas of administration had to be built up, sometimes from scratch. Decisive roles were played in this regard by (among others) Waltraud Gebert (social policy, housing), Anton Zelger (German and Ladin schools and culture), Franz Spögler (economy, tourism), Joachim Dalsass (agriculture), Giorgio Pasquali (landscape, nature and environmental protection, subsequently Mayor of Bozen/Bolzano), Giuseppe Sfondrini (Italian schools and culture, subsequently industry and vocational training), Remo Ferretti (Italian schools and culture) and Valentino Pasqualin (among other roles, deputy provincial governor, subsequently Mayor of Bozen/Bolzano). As a regional councillor, Klaus Dubis rendered outstanding service in the introduction of German-language TV and radio programmes and the setting up of the South Tyrol Broadcasting Corporation (RAS). Also important was Hans Rubner as a long-serving provincial councillor for public works, fire services and civil defence and, from 1987 on, as a senator. Other outstanding personalities in the implementation, critical support and further development of autonomy were:

Eva Klotz
(*1951)

She is the daughter of freedom fighter Georg Klotz and was a member of the provincial assembly from 1983 to 2007. The leading advocate of the right to self-determination for South Tyrol and secession from Italy, in her opinion autonomy can only offer insufficient long-term protection for minorities in South Tyrol.

Lit.:

Klotz, Eva: Georg Klotz. Freiheitskämpfer für die Einheit Tirols. Eine Biographie, 4th edition, Egna/Neumarkt 2010.

Pietro Mitolo
(1921 – 2010)

The most important representative of the neo- and post-Fascist party known as the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI), he criticised the provisions for minority protection, perceived by the Italian-speaking population as a painful loss of privileges.

Lit.:

Gatterer, Joachim: Aus den Kriegstrümmern zur Demokratie. Zum politischen Werdegang von Alfons Benedikter, Pietro Mitolo und Egmont Jenny, in: Pallaver, Günther (ed.): Politika 11. Jahrbuch für Politik/Annuario di politica/Anuer de politica, Bolzano/Bozen 2011, p. 325-338.

Ignazi. Piero: Il polo escluso. Profilo storico del Movimento sociale italiano, Bologna 1998.

Luis Durnwalder
(*1941)

The successor to Silvius Magnago as provincial governor (1989-2014), he was pivotal in the policy of openness towards the Italian-speaking population, modernisation in terms of economic policy and the further expansion of autonomy into a dynamic form of autonomy.

Lit.:

Asam, Robert: Der Luis. Luis Durnwalders Aufstieg zur Macht. Die Biographie, Bolzano/Bozen 2001.

Durnwalder, Luis/Gehler, Michael: Luis Durnwalder. Erinnerungen. Im Gespräch mit Michael Gehler, Innsbruck 2021.

Alois Mock
(1934 – 2017)

Austrian Vice-Chancellor and foreign minister at the time of the conclusion of the Package, he was an important mediator in the clarification of open issues and the settling of the dispute between Austria and Italy as regards the South Tyrol question, which had been pending before the UN since 1960.

Lit.:

Mock, Alois: Standpunkte, Graz, Cologne 1982.

Eichtinger, Martin/Wohnout, Helmut: Alois Mock. Ein Politiker schreibt Geschichte, Vienna/Graz/Klagenfurt 2008.