IT-POW FAMILIES · FAMILIES AND MEMORIES OF ITALIAN PRISONERS OF WAR IN YUGOSLAVIA AFTER WORLD WAR II

FAMILIES AND MEMORIES OF ITALIAN PRISONERS OF WAR IN YUGOSLAVIA AFTER WORLD WAR II

IT-POW FAMILIES is focused on the experience and memory of the families of Italian POWs held in Yugoslavia after WWII. The main goal was to study, understand and communicate the history of POWs through family stories, using the paradigm of microhistory, the methodology of oral history and the tools of public history, and to effectively promote the outcomes among the non-academic society. The personal experience of POW families and the persistence and transmission of trauma through generations have not been studied up to now, thus the project went beyond the state-of-the-art by giving voice to people that are not directly involved in war operations, but suffered the consequences. The aim was to raise European awareness of how WWII had a big influence on the lives of people also years after the end of the war and, in this way, increase the understanding of the situation Europe is facing today (the refugee crisis etc.). The action was successfully concluded, fully achieving all training and scientific objectives. During the action, 5 scientific articles and 1 scientific monograph (all open access) have been published. The project has undoubtedly had a significant impact on society as well, what is particularly evident from the first feedbacks on the final exhibition Memorie liberate / Osvobojeni spomini / Unchained Memories. People's impressions are very positive, as for the first time the exhibition sheds light on stories and the past that have been silenced and forgotten for many years at the expense of some major events in history. The impact and importance for society is reflected in the great interest for the exhibition, which will be exhibited in at least three more locations (Treviso, Koper, Maribor). As one of the long-term achievements, the project has created a transnational – Italo-Slovenian – research community, which established the basis for long-term cooperation in the field of research based on oral sources and ego-documents. In 2021, the Laboratory of Ego-Documents (EgodocLab) was established at the Department for Humanities at Ca' Foscari University in Venice, followed by the establishment of the Centre for Oral History at the Institute IRRIS for Research, Development and Strategies of Society, Culture and Environment in Čentur (Slovenia) in 2023.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union