Escluse dalla narrazione pubblica: profughe trentine nella Grande guerra

During WWI about 115,000 civilians living in Trentino were evacuated and resettled in the internal regions of the Habsburg Empire (79,000) and of the Kingdom of Italy (36,000). The majority of these refugees were women, who were given new roles of responsibility within the displaced families, because adult males had been called to the front. First, the paper introduces some statistical data on the composition of the refugee community, investigating the role of women. Then, it delves into the key words used by relief workers to represent the refugees. This allows us to understand how the assistance was organised in relation to gender. A second part of the paper shows how the evacuation induced the refugees to develop new responsibilities and spatial mobility skills, although it was the result of choices made by others. Then, the text focuses on the relationship between refugees and state authorities, stressing the importance of labour in changing traditional social roles. Finally, the article proposes some reflections regarding the duration and depth of these changes.