Heimatkunde, 2017-2018

Prior to the first Great War, South Tyrol belonged to the Austrio-Hungarian princely County of Tyrol, but this predominantly German-speaking territory was occupied by Italy at the end of the war in 1918. With the rise of Italian Fascism, the new regime made efforts to bring forward the Italianization of South Tyrol. The German language was banished from public service, German teaching was officially forbidden, and German newspapers were censored. The regime also favored mass-immigration from other Italian regions.

Due to its peculiar history, a divide between the German and the Italian speaking communities is still felt among the population and particularly inside institutions: there is only on elementary school in my hometown were Italian and German speaking kids share the same building, although they are only allowed to use the playground at different times. The school, named after the South Tyorlean politician and activist Alexander Langer, a strong advocate of peaceful and convivial coexistence among minority groups, was symbolically chosen as the first venue for the installed book.