📜 Anna Donatich’s Provisional Passport Issued in 1948 by the Consulate of Italy in Zagabria

Anna Donatich’s Provisional Passport

Anna Donatich, Italian, received a provisional passport from the Consulate of Italy in Zagreb on the 19th of October 1948. She had opted to maintain her Italian citizenship under the terms of the Paris Peace Treaty.

Today we have the privilege to see this historical document and to honour Anna’s memory with this beautiful piece of written history.

At first glance, this might look like an ordinary old document. However, it played a significant role in Anna’s family today. Keep reading to discover more.

Table of Contents

• Anna Donatich

• The Paris Peace Treaty of 1947: A Turning Point fo …

  • The Emotional Impact on the Affected Italians

• What Did Anna Choose?

• The Relevance of the Provisional Passport Today

• Conclusion

Anna Donatich

Anna was born in a tiny village near Fianona, now known as “Plomin” in Croatia, on the 2nd of November 1919. She was the daughter of Giuseppe and Cristina (Bucich) and was residing in Fiume (now Rijeka in Croatia) at the time of her Italian passport issuance.

She was 28 when her passport was issued. Her 29th birthday was just a few days away.

We do not know when her photo on this document was taken, if for the purpose of the passport or before, but it gives us a glimpse into her life.

We can see Anna has a slight smile. Had she already known that she had to leave her home and soon? Her expression appears confident and composed, perhaps hopeful too, and her gaze seems determined yet soft. She transmits a sense of strength and quiet resilience.

On the back of the document, we can read that she crossed the border on the 19th of November 1948 and that the border checkpoint was Sežana, a town in Slovenia near the border with Italy.

To understand the importance of this provisional passport, we must go back to the historical context of post-World War II.

The Paris Peace Treaty of 1947: A Turning Point for Many Italians

After the Second World War, Peace Treaties were signed in Paris on the 10th of February 1947. In the Treaty between Italy and the Allied Powers, one of its many provisions was to redraw the borders of Italy.

Specifically, Italy ceded some territories, including Fiume (now Rijeka in Croatia), to the newly formed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Moreover, under the terms of the Treaty, Italian citizens, who on the 10th of June 1940 (date in which Italy joined World War II) were domiciled in territories surrendered by Italy to Yugoslavia, lost their Italian citizenship and this was also extended to their children.

However, the Treaty also included a provision (article 19) allowing these individuals to choose to retain their Italian citizenship, within a one-year timeframe following the Treaty's entry into force.

This granted the Italian citizens the right to maintain their Italian citizenship through a formal declaration. The process was known as "opzione" (option). So, if they did not actively opt for Italian citizenship, this would have made them fully Yugoslavian citizens.

The Emotional Impact on the Affected Italians

The signing of the Peace Treaties must have had a devastating blow to the Italian people, who had fervently hoped that those territories remained Italian. These were contested territories and terror amongst Italians had already spread, especially during the foibe massacres.

So, the new territorial change created a complex situation for the Italians there. They suddenly found themselves residents of a foreign state in what until before the signature of the Treaty was legally their home.

Furthermore, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia made use of a clause in the Treaty to compel those who had chosen to retain their Italian citizenship to relocate to Italy. This resulted in a large-scale migration of Italians in the aftermath of World War II.

These waves of departures emptied entire cities and towns. There was no distinction between men and women, old and young, rich and poor, professionals and workers. It was not their decision to migrate; they were forced to leave their long-established lives.

Therefore, while the cession of these territories to Yugoslavia marked the end of a long-standing territorial dispute, an uncertain future awaited those Italians who were heading to Italy but had no real place to call home.

The Italian government organised refugee camps (109, spread across Italy) to accommodate them. Although this may appear fortunate, their lives were incredibly challenging.

What Did Anna Choose?

Amongst many other Italians, Anna exercised her right to opt for Italian citizenship.

But what might that have felt like for her? She had not received an expulsion decree, her choice was voluntary but at the same time involuntary.

Imagine her walking through the streets of her town for the last time, knowing that soon she would leave behind the only home she had ever known.

The familiar sights and sounds of her neighbours, the markets, and the sea breeze would soon be memories. She was leaving behind her roots and the looming uncertainty of her future must have weighed heavily on her mind. Did Anna ever wonder if she would return?

Choosing this option meant going through a bureaucratic process at the Consulate of Italy in Zagreb. Her passport was issued with a validity of six months only and solely for the purpose of “rimpatrio” (repatriation). It included a crucial statement:

So this document held much more than legal importance, it was not just a travel permit. It was a tangibile symbol of Anna’s choice to maintain her ties to Italy at a time when national identities and borders were being reshaped across Europe.

When holding her Italian passport in hand, did Anna feel relief, anger, grief, anxiety, fear, hope, determination? Or perhaps a complex mix of all these emotions? With just a few belongings that she was allowed to take with her, what were Anna’s thoughts as she prepared to leave?

We will never know. What we do know is that she eventually travelled to the USA, where a new beginning awaited her.

The Relevance of the Provisional Passport Today

Fast forward to the present day, Anna’s provisional passport, now yellowed with age, tells us a story of courage, resilience, and an unwillingness to let her Italian identity be erased.

But there is more. Using this 1948 document to prove that Anna had retained her Italian citizenship after the Paris Peace Treaty, one of her descendants, an American citizen, successfully had their Italian citizenship jure sanguinis recently recognised.

This highlights the critical role that historical documents can play in applications of Italian citizenship by descent. Without the provisional passport, it might have been difficult to establish Anna’s Italian citizenship status, and her descendant’s claim could have been denied.

Anna died on the 29th of June 2016, in New York City, at the age of 97.

How would Anna feel today knowing her decision decades ago continues to shape her family’s connection to Italy? Perhaps a quiet pride would fill her heart, knowing that her choices still echo through generations.

Conclusion

The story of Anna and her 1948 provisional passport reflects the enduring significance of the Paris Peace Treaty and its impact on Italian citizenship. Through the Treaty’s option clause, Anna was able to maintain her citizenship. It was a legal provision that represented a lifeline for her and many other Italians.

But this passport was more than just a travel document. It represented a decision to step into the unknown and start from scratch in a world where everything she knew was being reshaped.

Decades later, Anna’s decision continues to have legal and emotional consequences for her descendant in the USA who is now a recognised Italian citizen. With their Italian passport, they officially reconnected to their roots, fostering a deep sense of belonging to a heritage that transcends borders and time.

In just a few days, Anna would have turned 105 years old. Though she is no longer with us, her memory lives on, a testament to the enduring spirit of those who dared to face the unknown and rebuild a new life away from their home.

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