ABSTRACT
The measures of the Fascist program under Mussolini had an impact on every aspect of South Tyrolean society. By April 1923, Italian place names had already been introduced in South Tyrol in accordance with the directory that Tolomei had published in 1916. The Tiroler Anzeiger assured its readers that the name Tyrol would still be shining "long after Mussolin's star has set." A law passed in May 1924 declared South Tyrol to be a fortified border region. By 1924, the German Teachers College in Bozen was closed. The Lex Gentile simultaneously began the systematic dismissal of German teachers. In the area of education, the South Tyroleans put up resistance in the form of "catacomb schools." Due to the courage, discretion, and solidarity of many individuals, the Fascist authorities never succeeded in wiping out the German provisional schools. The Italian Chamber of Deputies passed the resolution to construct a victory monument in Bozen on 10 February 1926.
