In 1945 the South Tyrolean peoples party (Südtiroler Volkspartei) was founded, above all by “Dableiber” - people who had chosen to stay in Italy after the agreement between Hitler and Mussolini. A party founded by the “Optanten” would not have been acceptable for the occupying Americans, due to their apparenty close relationship to the Nazis.

After World War II

With the Treaty of Gruber-De Gasperi (1946) the German-speaking people were granted special rights. But the statutory order was implemented by De Gasperi for the whole region (South Tyrol and Trentino), where Italians were in the majority, making impossible a real self government for the German speaking South Tyroleans. Even the implementation of this “First statutory order” was delayed over and over again, while more and more Italians were encouraged to relocate to South Tyrol, with the aim of creating an Italian majority.

As consequence of delaying implementation of the statutory order, the late 1950s and especially 1960s saw the rise of anti-Italian terrorism in South Tyrol. At the beginning the terrorist strategy was targeted only against structures.

The 1960s finally brought a some progress towards establishment of self-government for South Tyroleans. In consequence, only the most fanatical of the terrorists wanted to continue their fight for an Austrian South Tyrol with violant means. Terrorists carried out 361 attacks with explosives, guns and land mines, between 1956 and 1988. Acts were mainly against structures, so human casualties were very few considered the time span involved. However there were 21 human casualties, among which 4 terrorists who were slain by their own explosive devices. The wounded amounted to 57.