The Night of fire (german: Feuernacht; it, Notte dei fuochi) happened on the night of 12 June 1961 when 37 electricity pylons were blown up in

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

by the

South Tyrolean Liberation Committee The South Tyrolean Liberation Committee (german: Befreiungsausschuss Südtirol, abbreviated ''BAS'') was an underground secessionist and terrorist organisation founded by Sepp Kerschbaumer and several combatants including Georg Klotz in the mid-19 ...

. It formed a turning point in the history of the province.

Background

After

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

came to an end in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, the situation of the German-speaking population in South Tyrol seemed to be getting better. However, a large section of the population was not ready to accept the status quo as existed under

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

. Even though fundamental questions were addressed in the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

, the conditions of the treaty were rarely fully fulfilled. In addition, many German speakers of the province wanted to renege their attachment to Italy and to once again become part of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and others wanted to become self-governing. Starting in 1957, small militant groups were prepared to use force to achieve their aims. The night of fire was the starting point for a series of attacks throughout the 1960s, planned and carried out by a group called the South Tyrolean Liberation Committee ('' Befreiungsausschuss Südtirol (BAS)'').

Aims

The aim of the attacks was, first and foremost, to make the world aware of the South Tyrolean question. By blowing up the electricity pylons the electricity supply to the

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

industrial zone was cut off. This goal was not achieved during the night of fire, but the world was indeed made aware of the plight of the province. The immediate response of the Italian state was to massively increase the military and police presence there. One month later there was another attempt, at a smaller scale, which did indeed cut off the power supply to a part of the northern Italian industrial zone and forced international trains to grind to a halt.

References

History of South Tyrol 1961 in Italy 1961 crimes in Italy Terrorist incidents in Italy in 1961 Terrorist incidents in Italy Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1961 South Tyrolean nationalism Improvised explosive device bombings in Italy {{Italy-hist-stub