Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.32728/h2020.04
The arson of Peopleʼs Hall in Pula on 14 July 1920, or how the fascist Pandoraʼs Box was opened
Milan Radošević
Sažetak
The paper discusses and analyses political events on the eastern Adriatic coast, culminating in the fascist arson of the Peopleʼs Halls in Trieste (13 July 1920) and Pula (14 July 1920), as well as the attack on the Socialist Youth Club of Pula and law firm offices of Mirko Vratović and Ivo Zuccon (16 July 1920), by consulting the archival and newspaper material. The focus of the paper, after a brief historical overview of the Peopleʼs Hall, is specifically centred around the reconstruction of these inci-dents in Pula, the role of fascists in the riots, the positioning of local civilian authorities (civilian commissioner and vice-quaestor during and after the violent episode), media discourse (the agitation stemming from the Istrian newspapers, as well as those from the territory of the Kingdom of Italy) and, ultimately, the reaction of the Italian Socialist parliamentarians. Mild reaction and direct participation of the members of the public order and peace services, as well as the army, in the riots, unreliable reports of local civilian authorities and printed media on the involvement of persons, as well as the course of the attack, clearly indicated the policy of denying the right to preserve Croatian culture and the national identity in general. The arson of the Hall(s), which Benito Mussolini himself boasted about in his speech at the Theatre in Pula (21 September 1920), destroyed the cultural, economic and political, already symbolic by then, seat of the Croats in Pula, and with the burning of thousands of books belonging to the Public Peopleʼs Library, a culturicide was committed there, which will go down in history as one of the first fascist bonfires in Europe. This clearly indicates the policy that will be implemented in Istria even before the official fascistsʼ rise to power in October 1922, primarily in terms of violent assimilation of the so-called “native foreigners” (Croats and Slovenes).
Ključne riječi
fascism; Istria; Pula; National Hall; Giovanni Oriolo; Luigi Bilucaglia; Mirko Vratović; Ivo Zuccon; Ivan Cukon
Hrčak ID:
269645
URI
Datum izdavanja:
30.12.2020.
Posjeta: 2.325 *