RUNAWAY · pRisoners, escapers, and their afterlives: yUgoslav pows iN itAly in World wAr II and beYond

The case of Yugoslav prisoners of war (POWs), held in Italy from the invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941 until their mass escape following the Italian capitulation in September 1943, is still overlooked in the literature on WWII. However, it reveals crucial dynamics of the history of 20th century Europe: the fascist imprisonment system; the diverse (civil and international) forms of resistance; and the interplay between wartime memories and the Cold War geopolitical divisions arising after 1945.RUNAWAY aims to: 1) map the Yugoslav POWs’ trajectories during the war (camps, escape routes to Switzerland) and in the aftermath (repatriation or migration); 2) illustrate how these trajectories were shaped by encounters with Italian civilian helpers and partisans; 3) in-depth analyse how their overall experiences as prisoners and fugitives were transformative to their own identities, decisions and memories over time.RUNAWAY is based on a mixed interdisciplinary methodology which, through a wide range of archival searches and oral interviews in Switzerland, Italy, Serbia and Slovenia, integrates tools of military, social and political history combining paradigms of micro- and macro-history. It ambitiously bridges academic research with digital and public history through dissemination tools (maps, databases, hiking trails’ plan) which will contribute to raise public awareness of the Nazi-fascist invasion of Yugoslavia and its consequences, aligning with the commitment to preserve the legacy of European history as a pillar of EU values. The training and research activity conducted within the project will significantly expand the research’s competencies in social, political, digital and public history.