Descrizione

Return migration, also termed remigration or repatriation, is still an all too frequently neglected topic within migration studies and migration history. In academic studies on migration, the movement of people was often viewed as a one-way process, beginning with the ‘uprooting’ of people at the point of origin and ending with ‘assimilation’ into their adopted culture and country. Still, recent research indicates that many people left their home countries with the notion of returning home at a certain point not so far in the future. This is also true for those South Tyrolean migrants who left their home during the “voluntary” expatriation that came to be known as the “Option” during the Second World War. In 1939, the so called “option agreement” between the two dictators, Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini, was announced: The German-speaking inhabitants of the South Tyrol were allowed to opt for an emigration to the German Reich and thus become German citizens or they could opt to stay in Italy and consequently accept the Italian language and culture. Until 1943, around 75.000 people left their homeland to find an uncertain future in the German Reich. Only after 1948 could those who had moved abroad apply for the reacquisition or retention of Italian citizenship and legally return to their native country. Historical research so far suggests that about one third of those who had emigrated finally returned to South Tyrol. However, a systematic approach to the history of “Return Option” has not been a central research interest so far. This ongoing neglect is due to a missing interest in return-movements in general but also reflects the tricky nature of archival research which leads to a lack of an empirical basis for adequate historical analysis.

The central research question therefore will ask for a reassessment of the history of the “Return Option” based on existing archival material and some collected Oral Histories. In order to be able to do this, it will be essential to find out how the specific return-migration of the South Tyrolean’s can be researched using the existing archival fragments, dislocated collections and printed sources. Because of its complex nature an approach with digital methods and technologies will be used in order to be able to reconstruct the history of the “Return Option”. Due to the combination of traditional and digital take, this project has the benefit of opening up the research area for further studies in the field. In addition, it adds to existing migration research and offers ample room to grow.

Partner

Lead Partner Università di Innsbruck, Istituto di Storia contemporanea, Partner Libera Università di Bolzano, Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione