A border that divided people

The Gorizia area had always been culturally and politically connected. The new border, artificially defined together with the peace treaty, was unusual and alien for the people. At the beginning nobody took seriously the American soldiers who, in summer 1947 had marked fields, roads and even houses with a white crossing line. The border was too unnatural, nobody believed it could become permanent and impossible to cross. The white line created numerous unfair and illogical situations as well as personal tragedies that would become clear only years later.

Allied units had withdrawn from A Zone, the area defined by the white line, on 16-9-1947, during the night. For the local population the Italian occupation had come to an end. The white line became the border that the Yugoslavian army had taken on 16-9-1947 during the day. With their presence the border became the border between Eastern and Western political blocks and a real iron curtain. Almost immediately, it became impossible to cross the border any more. It was entirely closed off. This was a big shock for the people living behind this area.

Relatives, friends and neighbours suddenly became foreigners. Whoever tried to approach the border ran the risk of being shot by the KNOJ soldiers (Corps of National Defense of Yugoslavia). It was forbidden for people without a special permit to be in the border area.

Shooting along the Italian border was quite often heard of. Between April 1949 and May 1950 1646 people were taken prisoner and 26 were killed. During the mid-fifties the border slowly started to open and crossing it became possible again.

In spite of severe controls and examinations, visiting friends after a period of ten years meant a lot for local people. Fear of customs officers was slowly substituting the fear of the Yugoslavian army. During the period when Yugoslavia was suffering from a relative shortage, customs officers would carefully control the goods people had bought on the other side of the border.

With the admission of Slovenia to the European Union the border has become just an administrative demarcation line and let's hope it will never divide people again.