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South Tyroleans’ stark choice: Assimilate or emigrate to Nazi Germany?

02/09/2025

Martin Halla has won a grant from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) to fund research on migration and the history of South Tyrol.

In 1939, the South Tyrol Option Agreement forced around 230,000 German-speaking South Tyroleans to make a far-reaching decision: stay in Italy and assimilate culturally or move to Nazi Germany. Martin Halla from WU Vienna’s Department of Economics leads a research project – funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) – that looks at the economic, political, and social consequences of this decision.

Schwarz-weiß-Foto zeigt Umsiedler*innen in Innsbruck bei der ersten Mahlzeit auf deutschem Gebiet.

Umsiedler*innen aus Südtirol in Innsbruck (1940)

© Schwabik, Marian; Federal Archives/German Institute Abroad (Image 137);
About the Option Agreement

After World War I, the southern part of Tyrol, formerly part of Austria-Hungary, was annexed by the Kingdom of Italy. Under Italy’s fascist regime and its policy of “Italianization,” the situation of the local German-speaking population worsened steadily. In 1939, Mussolini and Hitler reached an agreement that became known as the South Tyrol Option Agreement. For 230,000 German-speaking South Tyroleans, this meant making a stark choice: remain under Italian rule or emigrate to the German Reich. While about 80% initially opted for emigration, in the end only around 65,000 actually left the country.

The research project

WU Professor Martin Halla, together with Steven Stillman of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, is launching a three-year research project on the Option Agreement, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). The project investigates the reasons why households decided for or against emigration, focusing on the role economic factors, cultural ties, social networks, and propaganda played in these choices. The researchers are working with archival materials, such as detailed application files and baptismal records, and the team is digitizing these sources to make them available for future research.

Expected results

The project seeks to provide new insights into how the affected South Tyroleans made their decisions. Beyond individual choices, the researchers also aim to better understand how migration and forced assimilation shaped not only individual biographies but also broader economic, political, and social dynamics over the long term. In addition, the project will explore how the historical experiences of South Tyroleans can inform today’s debates on migration and integration.

Congratulations to Martin Halla and his team on receiving this grant!

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