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4: CASE STUDY 1: THE ITALIAN/SLOVENIAN BORDER near the border, particularly at night and in the mornings bodies were removed by the guards (Velušček and Medved 2002). The borders were heavily guarded on both sides and even if particular passes and visas were given to people who lived near the border these crossings were heavily regulated. People from other parts of Yugoslavia or from further east in Europe were often denied visas to cross. In 1948 Yugoslavia was expelled from Cominform, the organisation of communist parties dominated by the Soviet Union, following a resolution in Bucharest on the 28 th June (Benson 2004:94). After the break with the Soviet Union in 1948 there was some relaxing of the border security, however, during the 1950s the border was still intensely patrolled and those people within the area who were considered suspicious were often brought in for questioning. This could include people working in the area who had to be able to identify themselves when asked. Many people used the border to Italy as an escape route from the Eastern bloc. During the 1960s and onwards the security at the border was slowly toned down. This coincided with the economic upswing seen in Yugoslavia during the 1960s which led to more open borders and increased trade and exchange with Western Europe. The Osimo Treaty that signed on 10 November 1975 in order to finally settle the border between Italy and Yugoslavia and deal with several problematic areas where tension had been rising along the border established in 1954. Although the border had been recognised and established at the Memorandum of London, in which Zone A, previously under allied government, was handed over to Italy there had been many disputes regarding the validity of the border. Its problematic route through mixed ethnic areas made it subject to constant challenge from both Italian and Yugoslavian sides (Ballinger 2003:92). Through the Osimo Treaty Italy and Yugoslavia agreed to a few adjustments to the border line to solve particular problems caused by the border. Examples of two of these changes can be seen in the study area. The first was of more practical nature along the border by Nova Gorica railway station where the border was moved a few metres eastwards in order to create more space on the Italian side. This was to make the streets here more accessible to larger vehicles, such as emergency services. The second change was seen on the top of Mount Sabotino/Sabotin where the border was again moved eastwards in one section so that it ran along the top of the mountain. This was a trade in order for Yugoslavia to be granted the rights to build a road corridor through a small section of Italian territory. This road was to be called Strada di Osimo in Italian and Osimska cesta in Slovenian and was opened in 1985. Apart from a better view to the 79
AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE IRON CURTAIN east of the mountain, there were no great advantages to Italy gaining the extra land, however, Mount Sabotino/Sabotin has been of great symbolic importance to Italy since the First World War when their troops fought here. The change in border position was therefore not of great strategic importance here but had more of a symbolic value (Drago Sedmak, 2011, pers. comm. 1 st August). Even though conditions changed throughout the 20 th century and security was subsequently scaled down this border remained more guarded and controlled than most of the borders in Western Europe until the 1990s. The security along these borders therefore changed gradually throughout the latter part of the 20th century. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the opening of the former Iron Curtain in many other parts of former Eastern Europe in 1989 meant that Yugoslavia’s position as “straddling the fault line between east and west” became even more clear (Benson 2004:155). While other newly formed states in former Eastern Europe experienced a peaceful transition to independence, the so called Velvet Revolution, the Yugoslavian path to independence was reached through conflict and war two years later. 1989 was a defining year which brought major changes to borders between Eastern and Western Europe and therefore had very little effect on the border between Italy and Yugoslavia. Although Slovenia gained independence in1991, the border’s character did not change much at this point, instead the largest changes were seen in 2004 and 2007 when Slovenia joined the European Union and the Schengen Convention respectively. On the 14 th of February 2004 BBC News reported on the Cold War fence being removed between Italy and Slovenia which referred to the removal of fences between Nova Gorica and Gorizia two days earlier. Large crowds on both sides of the border watched as the mayors of both towns dismantled what BBC referred to as “One of Europe’s last symbols of Cold War-era division” (BBC News 2004). The border was removed under major festivities. Gorizia’s mayor stated “Today we are tearing down a real wall, but our hope is that a mental barrier will also be knocked down” (BBC News 2004). When Slovenia joined Schengen on the 21 st of December 2007 the mayors of the two towns met yet again on the border to celebrate the abolishment of barriers between the two countries. Although checks had been carried out on people crossing the border right up until midnight, as the clocks turned twelve the mayors lifted the barrier at the Casa Rossa/ Rožna Dolina crossing, removing a barrier that had divided the town for 60 years. For the first time since WWII it now became possible to cross this line without showing any documents (Figure 21). 80
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An Archaeology of the Iron Curtain
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An Archaeology of the Iron Curtain
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Contents Acknowledgements 11 CHAPTE
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The end of a journey 212 Sammanfatt
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AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE IRON CURTAIN
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CHAPTER 1 Introduction Standing on
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1: INTRODUCTION carried out of the
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1: INTRODUCTION they may be… It i
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1: INTRODUCTION where the observer
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1: INTRODUCTION former Iron Curtain
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1: INTRODUCTION criticism from othe
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1: INTRODUCTION itioned somewhere i
Page 30 and 31: 1: INTRODUCTION World War II dividi
Page 32 and 33: CHAPTER 2 A physical metaphor Concr
Page 34 and 35: 2: A PHYSICAL METAPHOR established
Page 36 and 37: 2: A PHYSICAL METAPHOR The changing
Page 38 and 39: 2: A PHYSICAL METAPHOR the events t
Page 40 and 41: 2: A PHYSICAL METAPHOR As time has
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Page 73 and 74: Figure 16: Postcard of the newly op
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Page 85 and 86: 402 Kojsko Hum 402 THE OSIM
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Page 128 and 129: CHAPTER 5 Case Study 2 The Czech/Au
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5: CASE STUDY 2: THE CZECH/AUSTRIAN
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Figure 55: Bunker near the crossing
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Figure 59: Military map from 1980 o
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Figure 77-78: Painting inside the f
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CHAPTER 6 An archaeology of the Iro
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6: AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE IRON CURTA
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Figure 102: Fence and Watch Tower a
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Sammanfattning (Summary in Swedish)
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SAMMANFATTNING En fysisk metafor I
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SAMMANFATTNING komst och kunskapsf
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SAMMANFATTNING Fältstudier av läm
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SAMMANFATTNING som försöker ta si
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SAMMANFATTNING mets dilemma”. Han
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Södertörn Doctoral Dissertations
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33. Sofie Bedford, Islamic activism
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67. Anne Kaun, Civic Experiences an
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Stockholm Studies in Archaeology Se
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29. LINDGREN, Christina. 2004. Män
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The Iron Curtain was seen as the di
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