ABSTRACT
South Tyrol that is, the present Italian Province of Bolzano was an undivided part of Austro-Hungarian Tyrol, which, in turn, included also Trentino, known at the time as Welschtirol or "Italian-speaking Tyrol". Most South Tyrol PoWs died of malaria or tuberculosis, as shown in re cords of post-war exhumations performed by Polish authorities. In spite of the very mild attitude of the German occupants towards the local non-Italian population, the little harassment suffered was deemed enough for an immediate post-war declaration that the inhabitants of South Tyrol considered themselves collectively as victims of both Italian and German fascisms. Independently from Austrian initiatives at the UN and from official negotiations between the Rome executive and the Party of South Tyrol (SVP) as a representative of the German national group in South Tyrol internationalization of the issue proceeded in a violent manner.
