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The creation of the Kingdom of Croatia in 1941 on the pages of the periodical “L’illustrazione Italiana”

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Violante A.

Security Dimensions: International & National Studies

2013

vol. 10(10)

46-58

With the May 18th 1941 agreement, the fascist Italy recognized the institution of the Kingdom of Croatia, and had also designated Aimone di Savoia as its sovereign, that was suppose to found a new dynasty, able to guide the country towards a renaissance, after twenty years of the Croatian population’s being tormented ever since Versailles. This study does not aim to analyse the historic context that has seen the birth and formation of this new state, tightly allied with the Axis powers, and also limited by their political and territorial interests, nor does it aim to investigate its ephemeral existence which ended with Germany’s defeat; but it does aim to verify how the creation of this political subject was treated by the periodical “L’illustrazione italiana”, one of the Mussolini regime’s biggest means of propaganda. After an analysis of its articles dedicated to the Kingdom of Croatia, and after comparing that to the reality provided and documented by other sources, it shows how obviously the Italian state tried to acquire an hegemony on the Adriatic, all the while basing such intent upon historical and cultural motivations, and how this attempt was presented as both the result of an unbreakable friendship between Italians and Croats, and as an operation aiming to guarantee a new European order in the name of the justice. The reality was, as it is well known, that even though the Kingdom of Croatia was born as an Italian protectorate, during its short existence it “slipped” slowly towards German influence, considering the incompatibility between its own and the Italian geopolitical interests.

The Baltic Sea as the mediterranean of the North. The Baltic Region and Poland in the periodical “Geopolitica” (1939–1942)

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Violante A.

Studia z Geografii Politycznej i Historycznej

2019

vol. 8

139-165

W styczniu 1939 roku ukazał się pierwszy numer włoskiego magazynu „Geopolitica”, który wydawany był co miesiąc do 1942 roku. Założony został w środowisku naukowym Triestu przez dwóch geografów – Giorgio Roletto (1885–1967) i Ernesto Massiego (1909–1997), którzy zostali odpowiednio redaktorem naczelnym i współredaktorem. Magazyn inspirowany był niemieckim czasopismem „Zeitschrift für Geopolitik” Karla Haushofera. Jednak w podejściu do kwestii geopolitycznych zastosowano własne podstawy koncepcyjne, całkowicie odmiene od tych w geopolityce niemieckiej. W zamyśle założycieli „Geopolitica” powinna była przyczynić się do ponownej oceny szkolnej dydaktyki geografii i wspierać imperialistyczną politykę reżimu Mussoliniego, chociaż nigdy nie musiała odgrywać znaczącej roli w polityce rządzącej Włochami. Nigdy nawet nie uzyskała pełnego uznania ze strony akademickiego środowiska geograficznego, które w rzeczywistości odmówiło geopolityce cech autonomii naukowej. Najczęściej poruszanymi problemami w tym magazynie były basen Morza Śródziemnego, Bałkany i Afryka, regiony bliskie włoskim interesom geostrategicznym; ale było też ostrożne zainteresowanie Polską, uważaną za w pełni zintegrowaną z niemieckim „Lebensraumem”. Można zatem powiedzieć, że „Geopolitica” podchodziła do tego tematu z pewną powściągliwością, a także ze swoistą czcią wobec niemieckiego sojusznika, który był także „konkurencją”, pomimo faktu, że na jego terytorium przez całe cztery lata obserwowano wydarzenia strategiczne i polityczne o najwyższym znaczeniu. Z drugiej strony uwaga skierowana na region bałtycki była wolna od jakichkolwiek uwarunkowań. Był on postrzegany jako swoisty „nordycki region Morza Śródziemnego”, pożądany zarówno przez Niemców, jak i Sowietów, a także jako obiekt pożądania państw, które chciały bronić trudnej neutralności w wojnie szalejącej w Europie.

In January 1939, the first issue of the Italian magazine “Geopolitica” came out: it would go on monthly until 1942. Founded in the scientific circles of Trieste by two geographers, Giorgio Roletto (1885–1967) and Ernesto Massi (1909–1997), who went on to become editor and co-editor-in-chief, respectively, the magazine was inspired by the German periodical “Zeitschrift für Geopolitik” by Karl Haushofer. However, its approach to geopolitical issues used autonomous conceptional bases quite different from those of the German school. In the intentions of its founders, “Geopolitica” should have contributed to a re-evaluation of didactics of geography and to support the imperialistic politics of Mussolini’s regime, even though it never got to have a substantial role in Italy’s governing policies. It never even obtained full recognition by the academic geographical establishment that in fact denied geopolitics its own scientific autonomy. Frequent issues discussed in the magazine were the Mediterranean basin, the Balkans and Africa, close to the Italian geostrategic interests; but there was also cautious interest towards Poland, considered to be fully integrated into the German Lebensraum. Therefore, we could say there was some reticence in approaching this theme, along with a sort of reverence towards the German ally who was also “competition”, despite the fact that its territory saw strategic and political events of utmost importance during the entire four years of the magazine’s life. On the other hand, the attention towards the Baltic region was free of any conditioning. It was perceived as a sort of a “Nordic Mediterranean”, wanted both by Germans and Soviets, and an object of desire also of the states who wanted to defend their difficult neutrality in the war that was raging throughout Europe.

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1 Security Dimensions: International & National Studies

1 Studia z Geografii Politycznej i Historycznej

2 Violante A.

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The creation of the Kingdom of Croatia in 1941 on the pages of the periodical “L’illustrazione Italiana”

The Baltic Sea as the mediterranean of the North. The Baltic Region and Poland in the periodical “Geopolitica” (1939–1942)