Foibe killings The foibe " killings or foibe " massacres refers to the killings that took place mainly in Venezia Giulia , Istria and Dalmatia during and after World War II from 1943 to 1949 , perpetrated mainly by Yugoslav Partisans , against the local Italian population . Origin and meaning of the term . The name derives from a local geological feature , a type of deep karst sinkhole called a " foiba " . The term includes by extension killings in other subterranean formations , such as the Basovizza " " foiba " " , which is not a true " foiba " but a mine shaft . In Italy the term " foibe " has , for some authors and scholars , taken on a symbolic meaning ; for them it refers in a broader sense to all the disappearances or killings of Italian people in the territories occupied by Yugoslav forces . According to Raoul Pupo , " It is well known that the majority of the victims didn ' t end their lives in a Karst cave , but met their deaths on the road to deportation , as well as in jails or in Yugoslav concentration camps " . The terror spread by the disappearances and the killings eventually contributed to an atmosphere sufficient to cause the majority of the Italians of Istria , Rijeka and Zadar to flee to other parts of Italy or the Free Territory of Trieste . Other authors have asserted that " [ t ] he post - war pursuit of the ' truth ' of the " foibe " as a means of transcending Fascist / Anti - Fascist oppositions and promoting popular patriotism has not been the preserve of right - wing or neo - Fascist groups . Evocations of the ' Slav other ' and of the terrors of the " foibe " made by state institutions , academics , amateur historians , journalists and the memorial landscape of everyday life were the backdrop to the post - war renegotiation of Italian national identity . The estimated number of people killed in Trieste is disputed and varies from hundreds to thousands . Events . The first ( very disputed ) claims of people being thrown into " foibe " date back to 1943 , after the Wehrmacht took back the area from the Partisans , when around 70 local people were thrown into a " foiba " by the Germans after the bombing of a cinema . Many of the bodies found in the Basovizza pit , and in the " foibe " of Corgnale , Grgar , Plomin , Komen , Socerb , Val Rosandra , Cassorana , Labin , Tinjan , Cerenizza , Heki and others were ethnic Italians , but , according to Katia Pizzi , " despite evidence that Fascist soldiers had also used " foibe " as open - air cemeteries for opponents of the regime , only their equivalent use on the part of Yugoslav partisans appeared to arouse general censure , enriched as it was with the most gruesome details " . The number of those who died in " foibe " during and after the war is still unknown , difficult to establish and a matter of much controversy . Estimates range from hundreds to twenty thousand . According to Katia Pizzi : " In 1943 and 1945 , hundreds , perhaps thousands , of Italians , both partisans and civilians , were imprisoned and subsequently thrown alive by Yugoslav partisans into various chasms in the Karst region and the hinterland of Trieste and Gorizia " . According to data gathered by a mixed Slovene - Italian historical commission established in 1993 , " the violence was further manifested in hundreds of summary executions - victims were mostly thrown ( still alive ) into the Karst chasms ( " foibe " ) - and in the deportation of a great number of soldiers and civilians , who either wasted away or were killed during the deportation " . Some historians like Raoul Pupo or Roberto Spazzali estimated the total number of victims at about 5 , 000 , but this is again contested by many . The episodes of 1945 occurred partly under conditions of guerrilla warfare by Croatian and Slovenian Partisans against the Germans , the Italian Social Republic and their Slavic collaborators ( the Chetniks , the Ustaše and Domobranci ) and partly after the territory had been secured by Yugoslav army formations . It was never possible to extract all the corpses from the " foibe " , some of which are deeper than several hundred meters . Until a few years ago it had only been possible to extract just a small number of bodies , less than six hundred , while other sources are attempting to compile lists of locations and possible victim numbers . Background . Since the early Middle Ages , Latin and South Slavic communities in Istria and Dalmatia lived peacefully side by side . The population was divided into urban - coastal communities ( mainly Romance speakers ) and rural communities ( mainly Slavic speakers ) , with small minorities of Morlachs and Istro - Romanians . Sociologically , the population was divided into Latin middle - upper classes ( bourgeoisie and aristocracy in coastal areas and in the towns ) and Slavic lower classes ( peasants and shepherds inland ) . Some contemporary Croat studies suggest that Dalmatia ' s towns were settled almost exclusively by Slavic populations since A . D . 1000 and ethnic Italians emigrated there after Venetian domination . After the Napoleonic age ( 1800 – 1815 ) , nationalism spread among the populations of Istria and Dalmatia , with each ethnic group starting to strive for the unification of their lands with the respective fatherland . To counter Italian irredentism , which was seen as a threat to the Habsburg Empire , the government decided to " encourage an influx of Slavic populations into the coastal region " . Also , German - speaking population , coming from inner parts of the Empire and mainly working in the government bureaucracy , moved to Venetia increasing the German community of Trieste to 5 % . After World War I , the whole of Istria was annexed by Italy , while Dalmatia ( except Zadar ) was annexed by the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . Each state began a policy of cultural homogenisation , a common practice in Europe at the time ( see — for example — Germans in Alsace - Lorraine or in the Sudetes , Ukrainians and Lithuanians in eastern Poland , Magyars in Transylvania and Banat etc . ) . The remnants of the Italian community in Dalmatia ( which had started a slow but steady emigration to Istria and Venice during the 19th Century ) left their cities toward Zadar and the Italian mainland . Slavic communities in Istria , Trieste and the Gorizia countryside were subjected to a policy of Italianization after the end of the war . The Italianization of the Slavic population worsened during the Fascist era , and was " exacerbated by a blatant policy of erasure of Slavic identity " and by " fascist terrorism not hampered by the authorities " . In 1927 , the Italian Fascist Minister for Public Works Giuseppe Cobolli Gigli wrote , with the pseudonym " Giulio Italico " , in the party magazine Gerarchia , that " The Istrian muse named as " foibe " those places suitable for burial of enemies of the national [ Italian ] characteristics of Istria " . Previously , in 1919 , in the book " " Trieste , la fedele di Roma " " , the future minister had written a ditty in Venetian : " " A Pola xe l ' Arena / la Foiba xe a Pisin / che i buta zo in quel fondo / chi ga certo morbin " " ( " In Pula there is the Arena , in Pazin the " Foiba " , into that abyss is thrown , whoever has some itching " [ meaning ' bad thoughts ' ] ) . According to Galliano Fogar and Giovanni Miccoli there would be " the need to put the episodes in 1943 and 1945 within [ the context of ] a longer history of abuse and violence , which began with Fascism and with its policy of oppression of the minority Slovenes and Croats and continued with the Italian aggression on Yugoslavia , which culminated with the horrors of the Nazi repression against the Partisan movement " . After the invasion of Yugoslavia , persecution of Croats and Slovenes , some of whom were Italian citizens , intensified in Italian - held territory , with whole villages being emptied of their inhabitants , who were removed to concentration camps such as those in Rab , Gonars , and others spread all over Italy . Between 7 . 000 and 11 . 000 people died from abuse and neglect in the camps . Investigations . No investigation of the crimes had been initiated either by Italy , Yugoslavia or any international bodies in the post - war period until after Slovenia became an independent country in 1991 . In 1993 a study titled " Pola Istria Fiume 1943 - 1945 " by Gaetano La Perna provided a detailed list of the victims of Yugoslav occupation ( in September – October 1943 and from 1944 to the very end of the Italian presence in its former provinces ) in the area . La Perna gave a list of 6 , 335 names ( 2 , 493 military , 3 , 842 civilians ) . The author considered this list " not complete " . The study has , however , been the subject of criticism , in that its " list of over 6 , 000 dead includes not just those who disappeared in the " foibe " or Yugoslav concentration camps but also legitimate wartime casualties , executions after due process of Fascist officials , Germans or German collaborators . Finally , many Slovenes or Croats are listed as Italians because they happened to be Italian citizens ; the fact that they were from the South Slav nations persecuted by the Italian Fascists does not seem to bother the author " . A 2002 joint report by the Rome " Society of Fiuman studies " ( " Società di Studi Fiumani " ) and the Zagreb " Croatian Institute of History " ( " Hrvatski institut za povijest " ) concluded that from Rijeka and the surrounding area " no less than 500 persons of Italian nationality lost their lives between 3 May 1945 and 31 December 1947 . To these we should add an unknown number of ' missing ' ( not less than a hundred ) relegated into anonymity due to missing inventory in the Municipal Registries together with the relevant number of victims having ( . . . ) Croatian nationality ( who were often , at least between 1940 and 1943 , Italian citizens ) determined after the end of war by the Yugoslav communist regime . " In March 2006 , the border municipality of Nova Gorica in Slovenia released a list of names of 1 , 048 citizens of Gorizia ( Nova Gorica ' s Italian half ) who disappeared in May 1945 after being arrested by the Partisan 9th Corps . According to the Slovene government , " the list contains the names of persons arrested in May 1945 and whose destiny cannot be determined with certainty or whose death cannot be confirmed " . Alleged motivations . It has been alleged that the killings were part of a purge aimed at eliminating potential enemies of communist Yugoslav rule , which would have included members of German and Italian fascist units , Italian officers and civil servants , parts of the Italian elite who opposed both communism and fascism ( including the leadership of Italian anti - fascist partisan organizations ) , Slovenian and Croatian anti - communists , collaborators and radical nationalists . Others see the main motive for the killings as retribution for the years of Italian repression , forced Italianization , suppression of Slavic sentiments and killings performed by Italian authorities during the war , not just in the concentration camps ( such as Rab and Gonars ) , but also in reprisal s often undertaken by the fascists . However , others point out Josip Broz Tito ' s political aim of adding the Istrian territories as far as Trieste and the city itself to the new Federal People ' s Republic of Yugoslavia . The ethnic map of the area could potentially be a decisive factor in a treaty of peace with Italy and for this reason , according to some Italian historians , the reduction of the ethnic Italian population was held desirable . However , the Istrian exodus , which reduced the Italian population of Istria and Dalmatia , started before the killings had spread . Pamela Ballinger in her book " History in Exile : Memory and Identity at the Borders of the Balkans " wrote The report by the mixed Italian - Slovenian commission describes the circumstances of the 1945 killings as : Post - War silence . The " foibe " have been a neglected subject in mainstream political debate in Italy , Yugoslavia and former - Yugoslav nations , only recently garnering attention with the publication of several books and historical studies . It is thought that after World War II , while Yugoslav politicians rejected any alleged crime , Italian politicians wanted to direct the country ' s attention toward the future and away from the idea that Italy was , in fact , a defeated nation . Another reason for the neglect of the " foibe " can be found in the high degree of ideology historically present in the public debate in Italy . Many Istrians concealed their origins for fear of being identified by other communist Italians , who tended to believe that Italian Istrians who left after the war likely co - operated with the Fascists , since they were abandoning a " Socialist heaven " . Moreover , when the Cold War broke out , in order to maintain good relations with Tito , the foibe were a dangerous topic to broach . So , the Italian government tactically " exchanged " the impunity of the Italians accused by Yugoslavia for the renunciation to investigate the " foibe " killings . Italy never extradited or prosecuted some 1 , 200 Italian Army officers , government officials or former Fascist Party members accused of war crimes by Yugoslavia , Ethiopia , Greece and other occupied countries and remitted to the United Nations War Crimes Commission . On the other side , Belgrade didn ' t insist too much in requesting the prosecution of alleged Italian war criminals in order to avoid investigations on the " foibe " and responsibility on their part . Thus , both Italian war crimes and Yugoslav war and post - war mass killings were forgotten in order to maintain a " good neighbour " policy . Re - emergence of the issue . For several Italian historians these killings were the beginning of organized ethnic cleansing . Others assert that the number of victims was too small for this to be true , and that the killings were mostly restricted to fascists , both military and civilian , who might have committed war crime s during World War II in Yugoslavia . Silvio Berlusconi ' s coalition government brought the issue back into open discussion : the Italian Parliament ( with the support of the vast majority of the represented parties ) made February 10 National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe , first celebrated in 2005 with exhibitions and observances throughout Italy ( especially in Trieste ) . The occasion is held in memory of innocents killed and forced to leave their homes , with little support from their home country . In Carlo Azeglio Ciampi ' s words : " Time has come for thoughtful remembrance to take the place of bitter resentment " . Moreover , for the first time , leaders from the Italian Left , such as Walter Veltroni , visited the Basovizza foiba and admitted the culpability of the Left in covering up the subject for decades . However , the conciliatory moves by Ciampi and Veltroni were not endorsed by all Italian political groups . Nowadays , a large part of the Italian Left acknowledges the nature of the foibe killings , as attested by some declarations of Luigi Malabarba , Senator for the Communist Refoundation Party , during the parliamentary debate on the institution of the National Memorial Day : " " In 1945 there was a ruthless policy of exterminating opponents . Here , one must again recall Stalinism to understand what Tito ' s well - organized troops did . ( . . . ) Yugoslav Communism had deeply assimilated a return to nationalism that was inherent to the idea of ' Socialism in One Country ' . ( . . . ) The war , which had begun as anti - fascist , became anti - German and anti - Italian . " " However , Malabarba and his party maintained that discussion of the massacres was being manipulated by the right - wing parties and that the new Memorial day was part of a general attempt to criminalize anti - fascism and Italian Resistance . Italian president Giorgio Napolitano took an official speech during celebration of the " Memorial Day of Foibe Massacres and Istrian - Dalmatian exodus " in which he stated : The Croatian President Stipe Mesić immediately responded in writing , stating that : The incident was resolved in a few days after diplomatic contacts between the two presidents at the Italian foreign ministry . On February 14 , the Office of the President of Croatia issued a press statement : In Italy , with Law 92 of 30 march 2004 has been instituted the " Day of Remembrance " in day 10 february , to keep memory of victims of Foibe and of the exodus to which almost the whole population of italian origins living in Dalmatia and Julian March has been constricted by jugoslavians . The same law has instituted a specific medal to be conferred to relatives of victims : In February 2012 a photo of Italian troops who were killing Slovene civilians was shown on public Italian TV as if being the other way round . When historian Alessandra Kersevan , who was a guest , pointed it out to the television host Bruno Vespa the photo depicted the killings of some Slovenes rather than Italians , the host did not apologize . A diplomatic protest followed . Bibliography . Many books have been written about the " foibe " , and results , interpretations and estimates of victims can in some cases vary largely according to the point of view of the author . Since most of the alleged " foibe " currently lie outside Italian territory , no formal and complete investigation could be carried out during the years of the Cold war , and books could be of a speculative or anecdotal nature . Since the topic seemed especially appealing to the far right , there is an overrepresentation of authors that are affiliated with neo - fascism . Many authors from the left wing have maintained that the " foibe " were an exaggeration ( or , some suggested , an invention ) of the extreme right for propaganda purposes , since the fascist crimes in the same areas dwarf even the most lavish of the " foibe " allegations . Since a definitive investigation on all " foibe " has not yet been carried out , and is unlikely to be carried out anytime in the near future due to technical and political difficulties , the subject is still controversial , and one should approach any book in this bibliography with a critical spirit . Further reading . Report of the Italian - Slovene commission of historians ( in three languages )