BRENNER PASS

Greymouth Evening Star, 3 August 1938, Page 12

BRENNER PASS

LONG-DEBATED GROUND. 1 Up on the Brenner Pass, one of • Europe’s historical gateways, German Jand Italian frontier guards are fra- ■ Itemising. Only a few weeks ago the •I Brenner stood on the boundary line •[between litle Austria and her “pro- • ! teeter,” Italy. Now it divides, or, as Jll Duce and the Feulirer like to put ij,it, bindiiu-togetliar,-74,000,000 Germans aiid 43,000,000 Italians,/ For centuries Italians' have feared '’the Germans north of the Brenner. Since the World' War it has been an axiom of European- politics that Italy must insist on. the independence of 1 Austria; ,to prevent a mighty, German Reich from standing on. her northern ■horger, Now the Germans are there and Mu&sofihi-lias -extended, his welcome. There are many observers in Europe however, who wonder how long the welcome can last. Theypoint to the German Irredenta on the' Italian side of the Brenner. Here in Jtalian South Tyrol live more than ’200,000 < Tyroleans, annexed by Italy after War.

: './The Brenner isi the shortest and most convenient route between Northern Europe and- Italy. It was through the Brenner tliah tlie ancient Romans extended .their sway to the Danube. It was through this: pass that the barbarians of the North invaded tbe fertile plains of-Italy. Through the Brenner endless streams of pilgrims marched'on their way to Rome. Various Emperors crossed it sixty-six times in the early Middle Ages, penitent.., and militant, bent on war and peace.Th’e' House of .Habsburg was the overlord of this region for hundred's of yeays. Here Napoleon met an unexpected defeat at the hands of liberty-loving mountain folk. Twenty years .ago the Brenner became the rronliier between Italy and Austria. The Brenner is the widest gap on the 20.0-mile/. frontier between Italy, and .Germany, Most of the boundary [ hi.. easily defensible for Italy—a con-./ tinuous chain of high, impervious j

mountains pierced by infrequent pasiscs. The ;BrenneT 4/495‘feet above sea level; dominated- by/two. senti- ; Sella/S;'lO7. feet high, and' Spina del Lupo, feet'; In recent years important defence works have been built by Italy along the'pass.' Duringhhe last six' months this work has .been’ speeded up—indicating that recent Austrian developments were not entirely unforeseen by Rome. These are busy days along- the .pact's. The Germans have gone- to iwoflc. with iigli’tning speed. In the (•wa'ilh’i’g* room of jihe -frontier station ’{he ifi ctur.es of the jat'e Chancellor, of ;sr. Schuschnigg have. with a/large portrait of Adolf* Hitler, deiynan I’rpntier guards ! haVO been* making' changes on the border .signs. The swastika and the letter D 'Tor Deutschland have been chipped out of ; the- marble boundary ..markers, to take the place of the Aus;t,rinn eagle and the letter O for Oes- j t’eryeich.... . . , j ;/* Boies,., fifty .-yards apart, separate] tltaly and . Germain-, across the road, at the pass. From, these points Ital- ! ian and German frontier guards face each other, occasionally meeting in I between to transact, their business. At j b ! ath poles all persons desiring to. &;pss from- one . country into the ] .other . are carefully- scrutinised; only •those with special permits are allow-: ed. to pass. "/ J On the German side of the Brenner the inountain slopes are dotted with whitewashed houses 1 -and wood-; cn carved balconies -on which, much] ■native workmanship has been ex-? Tended. ” ’Glacial - muralnos;~ deposited' by the slowly moving ice rivers, fur■nTsTi the stbirek wMf'woo'd'; sowbread, fSGaT-worivlsea-libllyi anil hellebore;.Pine and larch-are-in evidence cverySvhore. The. green? of Uicrmeadb'ws is? almost ■unreal;ih the.cTystallihe'mountain air. ITlrese .are-the- “Alin-fen,” on which the mativb brown cattle r graze . all year round. . .’ ■? ; : ’ • Villages are widely ’ scattered, look-, ing like hamlets, anywhere in- South- ! •ern Germany. ’ Large, store-houses are, |- hpw'eyer, a. special feui-ur-e. rem'iim.iag the. tourist of the merchandise which North-and’South exchanged along tbe t j'.put.ej,-;.The chureliesare- high-steepled .Gothic,. .many of them-, wi{.b -.-rich al-?-, tars and valuable frescoes,.-; /Thirty •• hjouseSfOf worship nyay be: e'een from; one. observation point south of th-;, Brenner. Pass. : ..' r - ( ;C - . ; ... .. | This is also . the land <,f many i castles, now mostly,.’• in ruin, almost;' theatrical- ,in settings. ,oi‘/. boulder-1 ..sti'.ewn slopes, unbelievably inac.cesSihl'e to untrained legs'. On" the main north and. -south . route "of .Central; Europe, the robber barons of. past; i'.’goS carried on. their predatory pur-, suits.•” The competition was keen, evi-" dc-ntly, and- .unwelcome guests could i hi?/ eluded' through undorgrbUjid'. passages into trailless mountains.

“FORBIDDEN ZONE.” On the’-Italian side of rhe border the. mountains, recede gradually into ths- plains of, Venetia, and Lombardy, beyond the horizon. Much of the territory, here. is. marked “Forbidden Zone.” . From the pass’ which the roofs, of the houses are weighted in Hi 6 fight against the sudden squalls, 'rhe facades of many houses are ornamented' .with inlaid , shrines of the Virgin, or are decorated- with water-colours-of: flowers and’ folk life. An abundance' of taverns.; bqars/.the ’ traditional sign: “Weisses Roes'sl.” ' Here Alpine vegetationfj is •• •luxuriant. Special laws- protect the coveted edelweiss. It is forbidden to take pictures of make Sketches.-Italian soldiers are likely :to be found everywhere —weather-beaten bersaglieri, Alpine chasseurs,' regular army men and Fascist black shirts’. This is the frontier fortification zone. Although the’names of the villages arb'ltalian [ since the- end of the Wbrlil ‘War,’ they ?db not look any different' from those on the northern slope. Some years ago 11 Duce gave oiclefs i’hat the G.erman names in the ceni'ctefics must'lie Italianised. The shop signs are also in Italian. Sonic, twenty-five miles south of old Bozen, now called Bolzano, affords the first glimpse of lite so.ivth. Cypresses, .give the mountainside a Mediterranean look. Chestnuts, almond, fig and mulberry trees attract the eyes. The palms- of the public gardens weather the winter winds.- In the eQrly spring the town is- qn unfougettahle .sight of colours running wild in its perfectly tended orchards. "

Although .the general impression is German, hero we encounter the first groping's of the Italian style of architecture. Tho famous Mercantile Palaeo is authentic Veronese... Fart her .south the. I tali.:] j.).. type -of building pre■(lominates: " This’ is the' Tr'enliho— Austrian before the- war but inhabited by Italian-speaking people and known

as ‘‘ltalia irredenta” —a trouble centre- of the world. On both, sides of the- Brenner Pass j people speak a Tyrolean dialect, clas'e;ly akin to Bavarian. In isolated val- • 'h:ys the dialects vary greatly, and ( Italianised German words arc quite common. The people are thick-boned moun ; , * tain folk, the kind of Teutonic type ’ that quickens Hitler’s pulse. Most of . them are tall,. aiid many of them are ’ blond. In some- Sections the mixture of southern, blood may be seen. In the ’lmore- outlying parts of the Alto Adige section of Italian; Tyro,l, one I encounters the mountain folk who 'speak Ladino, a corruption of Latin, which, may also be heard in the Gri--1 sons l of -Switzerland; ..... I One has- to go . several miles south 'into the Trentino to, meet Italianspeaking Tyroleans. Because of the large number of Italian officials and soldiers, the language -of II Duce is now heard more, frequently in the of the Gothic arcades• of.the i old German, towns .on the southern side of the Brenner than was the case

before.. ..... •uiQn '•holidays the village natives- in ; the valleys of South Tyrol still wear 'picturesque -costumes. .The men wear broad-brimmed hats,. cocked at a rakish angle. They , have widd ’ belts, ami.their dark vests, jackets and knee breeches are gaily, ornamented.-. Their woollen stockings ' are white: The .women’s dresses are studies in 1 black and white.’ Their strange hats arc peaked and made of the wool of the native sheep. In the ride valleysthere is a rich variety of cdstumes. [. The occupations of the inhabitants, of the Brenner district are mostly pastoral and agricultural. The men arc famous as hunters and fishermen. As foresters they have little competition.; Since flie country is a great attrac-; tioii to foreign tourists, is a large field for guides lin’d Small, industries also employ Some: people-- The population of Austrian’ Xno ( w Gr-rmail')-TJn'6l is alidut 350,000, ! and that of, ‘German-speaking Tyrol’ ql? Italian; nationality in the’ Alto Adige sectioii is'about'2fs',ooo. _ ’

p ■ ' •BEV'OND THE BRENNER. ] Bey-ong the Brenner region, on both, sides of the border, the real G-ermanyi land 1 the real Italy begih. On the one' side lives a Southern people; on the; [other a Northern. The contrast between them .is great. j I The Italians are spontaneous and; ■gay. Among them song frequently! [takes the place of speech, social life] seeks the streets and friendships are easily struck up over a glass of wine? Although Italy is the land- of regi-; : mented fascism it is still a CQuntrjj ■of .-strong-lindividualism. - Within his ! limited means the “typical” Italian is lan artiri in living, devoted to his. .family and to his religion. -i I The music of Verdi and of W’agneil ’perhaps best reflect the contrast be-: twen Germans and Italians —the one tsweet. and full of melody, the othe'j torrential,, wrestling with transcendent problems concerned with -thq [-'deepest'.secrets of man and nature| .The. German is . inclined ,to be shrouded in mystic gloom, with a bent.foi 'abstract thinking. Ho likes -.uni•'forms, likes to inarch and obey. The State occupies’ a more import-t'iiri I'placc in his. allegiance- than’ if’- does Tor the Italian. ■ a .To t-lio ancient; Romans; the- Bren J.ner Road , was the. Via Claudia. Au] gusta. In tile .earliest times the pass] i'rogioii.-was by the- mysteril [mis R}i'ue.tian...race,-dhc..ancestry ■. of which has caused so much, discus] sion. This mountain, land became al dfmitier after the Teutonic invasion hr ilato -clasjsical times', when Rome was£ ’ /ready -tO’.topple. • • ’ ■ ’ ; VWTh'&du3£roliiigfiui -I’ttlGrsi- extended th'eir’ sway to these' coveted rnoun] . tains which controlled the.'.great high-j' way of Ce’ntral:i.'Edrope.s! ..For/ '.'name, from?’ Castle?, Tirol, near Meran, now] •Mci-ano? . jTlieu jcame.the Habsburgs,; only ,tc»iauxious'.to tak&gpossession ofi so strategical a place, and they stay-] ed in power, except for a few years; during the Napoleonic times,* until: ■ twenty years ago. ' - -of tbe- Brenner conn-! 4rj" to-‘/Napoleon made- world histciy.i The- Hab;siburg dyiiasty had already]. capitulated when the mountain . folk; .w-eiegvictorious.. Their its- native rul-i ei/s-. who .took their leader was an inn-, .keeper from >the village-, of -.-.Sand,l < whose jiarae i-s enshrined.in' folklore-:-:. Andreas, Hofer..-. Against - the. world’ .- conqueror he prevailed for months at; the head of a motley crowd of rnoun- : tain shepherds, armed?'with, pitch-: ■fni'ks-.'- billhooks-and-spiked wood. In! the. lend, superior numbers-, won, and; Hofer found himself surrounded. He! took refuge in a. mountain hut, but was. betrayed by. a. jealous-neighbour. T'lio French, took him- .to ..Mantua,; where he . wai. executed- by. special order of Napoleon. He is the hero of’ tliq Brenner. .During the . World War I taly de : ; ?' manded 'the Brenner Paso,’ until then’ safely in. Austria’s interior.. The. .secret. treaty of 1915. which she’eonclud-i cd with the Allies, gave her' this; famous mountain 'pass. When . the’ World War ended President Wilson at 'Cii st expressed liis’., misgivings about ■ turning a German district oyer’ft? life Jillians. Finally, he yielded in* the. (Tn I'osi’tidn of what lie- called “a con-/ sidcrahle region populated by '.'.alien. 3 inhabitants;” because of his '‘sincere; sym') athy” .for'ltaly. [■ ■ Wheir 11 'Duce caine to power lie started a policy of higlnpre-ssm-e assimilation in .the-, country. of the ; Brenner Pass. The' inhabitants were;" at first indignant. Austria protested,’ bitt; she- Avas -Weak. Republican Ger-./ iiiany took up the cudgel-on behalf of.' ’"Unredeemed GermanV,” and Mussolini gave a defiant answer. Then the Austrians turned to Mus-’ solini, and, more recently, the- 1 two Fascist dictatorships, created -the / '“l%rlln-Rome axis,’'; wvhich- passes through the Brenner. , -When Hitler took Austria he assured Mussolini that the frontier between-.their twd"'couni ric-i'was there to stay. Tn his speech id/ iheijCluunbef of-Deputies, Mussolini'..called': it. 'an “intangible trontier.'U Thus-the' Brenner Pass is to remain for thei. time being the divid- • ing .line between the Teuton and Latin.