Abstract
This chapter traces the evolution of history teaching in schools from 1945 to the present day in South Tyrol (Alto Adige/Südtirol), a border region originally belonging to Austria but annexed to Italy at the end of the First World War. After the Second World War, the birth of an education system with teaching in the German language led to a gradual distancing from the national system, especially in history teaching which was awarded a strong identity-making role. After 1972, when South Tyrol was awarded significant provincial autonomy, this process underwent yet further acceleration. Firstly, with the use of German and Austrian language textbooks, the focus on Italian history was replaced with greater attention to the history of German-speaking countries. Secondly, with the approval of its own provincial guidelines, the prime importance of the history of its own Heimat was established (in the sense of a small local homeland) in school history lessons. From 2000 onwards, however, a change emerged at political and cultural levels, with history partially losing its traditional role as a weapon in the national conflict, becoming instead a tool of pacification and identification in institutes of the autonomous province. Despite conflicting standpoints, the study of history continues to be awarded other non-academic and ethico-political objectives. One classic example is the question of the production of a history book for common use by schools of all three languages.