Zaraćeno poraće: Konfliktni i konkurentski narativi o stradanju i iseljavanju Talijana Istre
The book analyzes how conflicting historical narratives about the suffering and mass emigration of Italians from Istria and Rijeka developed in Croatia and Italy after World War II (1943–1956), debunking myths and encouraging an empathetic approach to the
The author compares Italian historiography, which emphasizes the “foibe” (mass murders in karst pits) and the “Istrian egozodus” as ethnic cleansing, with Yugoslav/Croatian historiography, which has long tabooed these events, presenting them as “liberation” from fascism or the result of “people’s justice”.
Dota divides the analysis into two phases: 1945–1990, where in Yugoslavia the topic was suppressed and in Italy politicized for revisionism; and after the 1990s, when Croatian historiography begins to critically examine, but still struggles with, national myths. He uses primary sources (documents, memoirs, newspaper articles) and juxtaposes texts to show ideological structures: Italian narratives use sacrificial rhetoric for national cohesion, while Croatian ones move from denial to recognition, but with a focus on the anti-fascist context.
Key examples are the mystification of “fobes” (e.g. the number of victims: from 5,000 to 20,000) and accusations of “genocide”. The book is not only a historiographical synthesis, but also a contribution to the culture of remembrance: it calls for a dialogue between narratives in order to understand that the emigration (up to 350,000 Italians) was a consequence of war, but also of political decisions (the Peace of Paris in 1947).
One copy is available
