Editing South Tyrol (section)

=== Annexation by Italy ===
South Tyrol as an administrative entity originated during the [[World War I|First World War]]. The [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] promised the area to Italy in the [[Treaty of London (1915)|Treaty of London of 1915]] as an incentive to enter the war on their side. Until 1918, it was part of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire|Austro-Hungarian]] princely [[County of Tyrol]], but this almost completely German-speaking territory was occupied by Italy at the end of the war in November 1918 and was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1919. The province as it exists today was created in 1926 after an administrative reorganization of the [[Kingdom of Italy]], and was incorporated together with the province of Trento into the newly created region of ''Venezia Tridentina'' ("Trentine [[Venetia (region)|Venetia]]").

With the rise of [[Italian Fascism]], the new regime made efforts to bring forward the [[Italianization of South Tyrol]]. The German language was banished from public service, German teaching was officially forbidden, and German newspapers were censored (with the exception of the fascistic ''Alpenzeitung''). The regime also favoured immigration from other Italian regions.

{{Main|South Tyrol Option Agreement}}
The subsequent alliance between [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Benito Mussolini]] declared that South Tyrol would not follow the destiny of Austria, which [[Anschluss|had been annexed]] by [[Nazi Germany]]. Instead the dictators agreed that the German-speaking population be transferred to German-ruled territory or dispersed around Italy, but the outbreak of the [[World War II|Second World War]] prevented them from fully carrying out their plans.<ref>{{cite book |author=Hannes Obermair |title="Großdeutschland ruft!" Südtiroler NS-Optionspropaganda und völkische Sozialisation – "La Grande Germania chiamaǃ" La propaganda nazionalsocialista sulle Opzioni in Alto Adige e la socializzazione 'völkisch' |publisher= South Tyrolean Museum of History |location=[[Tyrol Castle]]|year=2020|language=de, it|isbn=978-88-95523-35-4 }}</ref> Every citizen was given the choice to give up their German cultural identity and stay in fascist Italy, or to leave their homeland for Nazi Germany to retain their cultural identity. This resulted in the division of South Tyrolese families.

In this tense relationship for the population, [[Walter Caldonazzi]] from Mals was part of the resistance group around the priest [[Heinrich Maier]], which passed plans and information about production facilities for [[V-1 flying bomb|V-1 rocket]]s, [[V-2 rocket]]s, [[Tiger tank]]s, [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]], and [[Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet]] and other aircraft to the Allies. The group planned for an independent Austria with a monarchical form of government after the war, which would include Austria, Bavaria and South Tyrol.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://austria-forum.org/af/Biographien/Caldonazzi%2C_Walter|title=Caldonazzi, Walter|website=Austria-Forum}}</ref><ref>Elisabeth Boeckl-Klamper, Thomas Mang, Wolfgang Neugebauer: ''Gestapo-Leitstelle Wien 1938–1945.'' Vienna 2018, {{ISBN|978-3-902494-83-2}}, pp. 299–305; Hans Schafranek: ''Widerstand und Verrat: Gestapospitzel im antifaschistischen Untergrund.'' Vienna 2017, {{ISBN|978-3-7076-0622-5}}, pp. 161–248; Fritz Molden: ''Die Feuer in der Nacht. Opfer und Sinn des österreichischen Widerstandes 1938–1945''. Vienna 1988, p. 122; Christoph Thurner "The CASSIA Spy Ring in World War II Austria: A History of the OSS's Maier-Messner Group" (2017); [https://www.meinbezirk.at/kufstein/c-lokales/gedenkstaette-fuer-vier-tapfere-tiroler-widerstandskaempfer-geweiht_a2229816 Memorial dedicated to four brave Tyrolese resistance fighters]</ref>

In 1943, when the Italian government signed [[Armistice of Cassibile|an armistice]] with the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]], the region was occupied by Nazi Germany, which reorganised it as the [[Operation Zone of the Alpine Foothills]] and put it under the administration of [[Gauleiter]] [[Franz Hofer]]. The region was ''[[de facto]]'' annexed to the [[Nazi Germany|German Reich]] (with the addition of the [[province of Belluno]]) until the end of the war. Italian rule was restored in 1945 as the Nazi regime ended.