Republic of Labin
| Labinska Republika | |||||
| Republic of Labin | |||||
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Motto : "Kova je naša" ("The mine is ours") |
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| Official language | Croatian | ||||
| Capital | Labin | ||||
| surface | about 325 km² | ||||
| founding | March 2, 1921 | ||||
| resolution | April 8, 1921 | ||||
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The Republic of Labin (also: Free Republic of Labin , Republic of Albona , Croatian. Labinska republika , Italian. Repubblica di Albona ) was from March 2nd to April 8th 1921 by miners and farmers in Labin ( Istria , now part of Croatia ) in the frame self-governing “republic” proclaimed after a strike. In regional historiography, the uprising is considered the first anti-fascist uprising in the world. He was violently suppressed by Italian police, military and fascist paramilitary forces.
history
prehistory
Istria, part of the Austrian coastal region until 1918 , was incorporated into Italy after the First World War through the Treaty of Saint-Germain in 1919 . Croats and Slovenes in particular suffered from a rigorous policy of Italianization . Under Italian rule, coal mining was intensified in the region with increasing pressure on the miners.
Origin and process
Even before the Italian fascists came to power in Italy themselves, they attacked workers' representatives in Trieste and Pazin in 1921 . In Proština there had already been a peasant uprising against Italian fascists in February 1921.
The miners in the Labin region tried for weeks to fight against the oppression and exploitation with the Italian mine owners. The conflict came to a head on March 1, 1921, when fascist fighters, allegedly supported by the mine owners, attacked and seriously injured the miners' leader, Giovanni Pippan (other spelling: Pipan). As of March 2, more than 2,000 workers protested against the fascist terror. Labin farmers and residents joined them. A miners' committee (later popularly referred to as the "Central Committee") decided on a strike and the occupation of the coal mines and declared a free republic under the slogan "Kova je naša" ("The mine is ours"). The Central Committee took over the local administration and the maintenance of public order by armed forces, the so-called Red Guards ( crvene straže ).
The End
The uprising was put down on April 8, 1921 after hours of fighting.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Article Labinska republika in Istarska enciklopedija (Croatian )
- ↑ Samoupravljanje u Labinu - Kova je naša! (Croatian)
- ^ Frank Schindler: Labin, section history
- ↑ Proštinska buna (Croatian)
Web links
- Marijan Milevoj: Mining as a Way of Life (English)