Zone A

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Zone A of the Free Territory of Trieste (official)
location
Basic data
Country Trieste Free Territory
Capital Trieste
surface 222.5 km²
Residents 302,000 (1949)
density 1357 inhabitants per km²

Coordinates: 45 ° 38 '  N , 13 ° 48'  E

The Zone A was after the Second World War, one of the two military managed zones of the Free Territory of Trieste and formed the northern part of the small state. It existed from 1947 to 1954.

location

Zone A comprised the area of ​​today's Italian province of Trieste . In the west it bordered the Adriatic Sea and the Gulf of Trieste , in the north on Italy, in the east on the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (now Slovenia ) and in the south on Zone B , which was occupied and administered by the Yugoslav People's Army .

Zone A covered an area of ​​222.5 square kilometers and was in fact a coastal strip connecting the territory with Italy. It was therefore smaller than Zone B.

The largest city in Zone A was the capital Trieste .

history

Until the end of the First World War, the area of ​​zone A belonged to the coastal country , a crown land of Cisleithania within the Austro-Hungarian monarchy . In 1918 it was occupied by Italian troops.

The area of ​​Zone A was created through the ratification of the Rapallo Border Treaty of 1920 by the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (SHS State, Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929) . The newly formed province of Trieste existed until 1947. During the Second World War , after the capitulation of Italy on September 8, 1943, it was occupied by German troops . On May 1, 1945, the area was occupied by the Yugoslav People's Army and handed over to units of the British Army and the US Army on June 12 .

Zone A was created at the same time as the proclamation of the Free Territory of Trieste on September 15, 1947. It was dissolved on October 5, 1954 with the signing of the London Memorandum by representatives of Italy, Yugoslavia, the United Kingdom and the United States . Officially it was only placed under Italian administration at that time and de jure only dissolved on November 10, 1975 with the Treaty of Osimo , and converted into the province of Trieste in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region .

Demographics

The population of Zone A was 302,000 in 1949. Most of the inhabitants lived in Trieste or in the vicinity of the city. Zone A's population consisted mostly of Italians and Slovenes . The minorities included Croats , Jews and Austrians .

Ethnicity number Percentage
Italian 239,200 79%
Slovenes 63,000 21%
Total 302,000 100%

The two official languages ​​of the zone were Italian and Slovenian . English was used for administrative purposes.

Politics and administration

Zone A, like Zone B, enjoyed extensive autonomy rights and had a similarly strong position as the former federal states of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The zone was proclaimed a representative democracy with a directory system based on Switzerland . Parliamentary elections were held in 1949 and 1954 .

The civil regional government had its seat in Trieste. The headquarters of the British-US-American troops stationed in the zone and the military government were at Duino Castle in Duino-Aurisina .

Military governors

The military government was headed by a military governor . A total of two governors were appointed.

Administrative division

Zone A consisted of the following 8 municipalities :

safety

The following units were available to ensure safety in Zone A:

literature

  • Bogdan C. Novak: Trieste 1941–1954 la lotta politica, etnica e ideologica . Milan. 1996. ISBN 978-88-425-2009-2 (Italian).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Worldstatesmen / Italy / Trieste by Ben Cahoon