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Presentation of the Volume "Austrian Exile in Italy: 1938-1945"

15.09.2010
Austrian Exile in Italy 1938-1945

The Italian translation of the book "Österreichisches Exil in Italien. 1938-1945" (Austrian Exile in Italy. 1938-1945) will be presented on 12th and 13th October 2010 at the Austrian Cultural Forums in Rome and Milan, respectively.

The volume, edited by Klaus Voigt and Christina Köstner, was published by Mandelbaum Verlag in 2009, the Italian version will be edited by Forum editrice in autumn 2010.

Italy as a place of refuge for many thousands of people from Austria and other countries occupied by the Nazis, who were persecuted for racial and political reasons, was characterized by extreme contradictions: On the one hand the official politics of persecution of Jews and on the other hand almost cordial helpfulness and moral courage of the poorer population and of the lower clergy. This gave justified hope to numerous refugees, who stayed here longer than originally planned. However, Italy for many of them remained a country of transit to an uncertain future. The book collects numerous contributions of exile researchers from Austria, Germany and Italy as well as texts from people in Italian exile in times of the Nazi terror.