Katakombenschulen ( catacomb schools) were clandestine schools established in Italian

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous area, Autonomous Provinces of Italy, province , image_skyline = ...

during the 1920s period of

Fascist Italianization Italianization ( it, italianizzazione; hr, talijanizacija; french: italianisation; sl, poitaljančevanje; german: Italianisierung; el, Ιταλοποίηση) is the spread of Italian culture, language and identity by way of integration or ass ...

. Teaching of and in the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

was banned (Lex Gentile, October 1923) by the authorities of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, which had occupied the area in 1918. Approximately 30,000 students in 324 schools were affected, including the dissolution of German nursery schools and all higher German language based educational institutions. German-speaking school teachers in the province were replaced by Italian-speakers. German language based education went underground when private lessons were banned in November 1925. The main organizers were, among many others, priest

Michael Gamper Canon Michael Gamper (1885–1956) was an Austrian priest seen as a hero of the Tyrol between the world wars. He is an important figure in the disputed zone between what is now Austria and Italy. The white-haired activist was editor of the pap ...

and lawyer Dr Josef Noldin. School books were smuggled from farm to farm and lessons taught by the dismissed German teachers; they were augmented by approximately 500 young female volunteers. The ''Katakombenschulen'' focused on the teaching of writing and reading in German. The penalty for being found out was prison and repeatedly caught teachers were deported to South Italy. The 25-year-old teacher Angela Nikoletti died from tuberculosis during a prison term. Josef Noldin was deported to Lipari in 1927. After the signing of the Lateran treaty in 1929 German language religious lessons on Sunday were allowed.

References

Literature

* Stefan Lechner (2003). ''„Die Eroberung der Fremdstämmigen“: Provinzfaschismus in Südtirol 1921–1926''. Wagner: Innsbruck. (= ''Veröffentlichungen des Südtiroler Landesarchivs''. Vol. 20). * Maria Villgrater (2004). ''Katakombenschule''. Bozen, Athesia 1984. * Andrea Bonoldi, Hannes Obermair (2006). ''Tra Roma e Bolzano / Zwischen Rom und Bozen. Staat und Provinz im italienischen Faschismus''. Bozen: Stadt Bozen 2006. .

References

Literature

See also