A gripping political history of South Tyrol, Europe's forgotten borderland, Between Hitler and Mussolini explores fascism, nationalism, resistance, and self-determination while confronting a question that remains urgent today: what should the left do when just causes are championed by the political right?
If people know South Tyrol at all, it is as the picturesque German-speaking corner of Italy on the southern edge of the Alps. Less known is the region’s turbulent political history. Annexed by Italy in 1919, South Tyrol became a pawn in European power struggles, the subject of a cynical pact between Italian and German fascists, and the site of a militant secessionist campaign in the 1960s.
With family roots in the province, Gabriel Kuhn, who grew up in neighboring North Tyrol, traces this history while confronting a difficult question: what happens when a struggle based on self-determination and anti-colonialism is led by right-wing nationalist forces? The dilemma reaches far beyond South Tyrol.
Combining political history with critical analysis, Between Hitler and Mussolini examines the region’s path since its incorporation into Italy and assesses the secessionist movement that shaped its modern identity. At the same time, it recovers the voices of progressive currents that were often overshadowed by reactionary politics on all sides.