2009/10/01 by Gaia Baracetti · 12 citations
Social Sciences · #Italian Fascism and Post-war Society #Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics #European history and politics #Rivalry #Nationalism #Ethnic Cleansing #Ideology #Persecution #Ethnic group #Political science #Political economy #History #Law #Sociology #Politics
paper · doi:10.1177/0022009409339344
published in Journal of Contemporary History 44(4), 657-674 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2009/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
This article deals with a little-known but controversial chapter of second world war history: the massacres, arrests and deportations Yugoslavs carried out against Italians in the Venezia Giulia region between 1943 and 1945. Many of the victims were thrown into natural cavities of the Carso region called foibe. It is argued that these events were neither simply the effect of an anti-fascist reprisal, nor an instance of planned ethnic cleansing against Italians. Rather, the article will explore the complex interplay of personal and collective revenge, national and ideological rivalry and policies of pre-emptive cleansing that led to mass persecution.